Oakhaven Church Podcast

A great number of God's promises made since the beginning of time are fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are many other promises that are still in force in our lives here and now. Since we know He kept earlier promises, we know He will keep these, even (and especially) when that truth feels far away. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We will be resurrected to a new body that synthesizes spiritual and physical just like Jesus’. This captures Paul’s (and our) imagination and gives us certain hope. Jesus’ return coincides with the coming of the similarly synthesized “new heaven and new earth” and “new Jerusalem” that straddle physical and spiritual reality. We are linked to Jesus’ resurrection from the beginning of our walk with Jesus through our baptism. The power that raised Jesus repeatedly raises us from the dead in everyday struggles in our everyday lives. Grounded and powered in our resurrection identity, we replace our old self with an ever-growing new. Romans 6To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We are still celebrating resurrection in this Season of Easter. Paul refers to the Resurrected Christ as the "firstfruits" of a massive resurrection harvest. Firstfruits are the first, best portion of the annual harvest that signal a bounteous crop to follow. We will be resurrected in the bounteous kingdom that comes finally and fully at the Second Coming. Until that happens, Paul describes what will happen as a way of encouraging us to remain faithful, because it is all going to be worth the wait and effort!To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Luke 24:30-49 The resurrection of Jesus has far-reaching implications in our lives. Understatement!To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

The resurrection of Jesus is the lens through which everything else in scripture is to be seen and understood. His victory over sin and death changes the universe, including our small portion of it. Luke 24.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Larry looks at John's account of Jesus' last night with His disciples, beginning the evening by washing their feet, ending it by praying for their unity. And ours. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Luke 19:28-44 is Dr. Luke's account of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, launching what we call Holy Week. The good doctor is spare in his details so that we can focus on one thing. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

In the second half of His Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus uses colorful, nearly comic illustrations to convey His primary point of our need to see to our hearts and lives before we presume to check others'. Then Jesus shares the core secret of how to live the best of all lives: (1) Come to Him; (2) Hear His Words; and (3) Act on Them. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Jesus chooses His 12 closest disciples and then teaches for the first time in the Gospel of Luke in today's message. A parallel to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Luke has Jesus convey the bulk of His teaching in today's Sermon on the Plain. It's not in Spain, nor does it rain, at least during this episode. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Today’s Luke sequence begins with a miracle and ends with a parable, but parable is present from the beginning. The featured friends believe and care deeply enough to take dramatic action to bring a friend to Jesus. We can do the same with and for those we love, family or friend. Jesus’ display of power and compassion continues in us and others. We are called to witness with wonder & awe. Levi, like Peter, sets an example of immediate full following of Jesus, telling everyone he knows about it. Our new walk with Jesus in His kingdom is not something to add to our life. It is our life. He is our life. Pass it on. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We come to Luke 5:1-11 in our journey through that gospel and see how Jesus customizes His call on Peter (and his gang) in a way uniquely suited to the fisherman's sensibilities. He does the same with us, just not with fish. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Here's the audio podcast of Sunday's sermon, the next lesson from Luke's gospel. Jesus pushes back against darkness and brokenness as His kingdom break in, then and now. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

In Luke 4:14-30, Jesus is without honor in His hometown because everyone is too familiar with Him, His family, etc. We run the risk of being too familiar with Him to the point of losing our wonder and taking Him for granted.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Focusing on Luke 3:21-4:13, Jesus begins His ministry by submitted to baptism by His predecessor, John. Jesus' identity is majestically confirmed by the presence of the Spirit and the voice of the Father booming affirmation from the heavens: You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased!  We are each His beloved children as well, just as affirmed and blessed as part of the family (of which His Spirit is a seal upon us). Jesus goes straight into temptation - a pattern of the enemy's, coming after us when we've had a mountaintop experience. Jesus shows us the way to parry the temptations sent our way by being centered in our identity in God and knowledge of His word. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

The ministry of John the Baptist fulfills prophecies made about him by Isaiah and Gabriel, and as he calls the people to repent and be baptized, we are called to do the same, and if we've already done so, it's time to renew our commitments to the King. Luke 3:1-20. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We begin a series on the Gospel of Luke today, whose first sentence states he will summarize "the things that have been fulfilled among us," in a far reaching work that begins with Gabriel's visit to Zechariah in the temple predicting the birth of John the Baptist through to the gospel being taken to all the known world at the end of the Book of Acts, the companion volume to Luke's gospel. Luke devotes his introductory first two chapters to Jesus' birth, and we look briefly today at Luke 2:22-40 and its themes of waiting and promise fulfillment. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

The mercies of God are new every morning, and each day offers us a fresh start in Him. God is in the business of making all things new, including us, and He reminds us today of the moment when everything changed. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We focus today on the convergence of multiple themes around the visit of the wise men to the Christchild. In looking at that story today (in Matthew 2:1-12), we focus on two prime lessons: they represent all of us as OUTSIDERS being welcomed into the family of God. And Matthew holds two kings up to us to ask which one we follow: the Heroes of the world, or the Christ in a humble manger?To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

One of the dangers of telling the Christmas story (or Easter, or how your grandparents walked from home to school uphill both ways...) as often as we do is that the stunning, mind-blowing aspects of God becoming human - and all that that means - can become ordinary and unremarkable. In this message we ask John in his prologue (John 1:1-14) and Paul in his use of an ancient Christian hymn (Phil 2:5-11) to help refresh our wonder. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

The good news of Jesus begins with four humans and one angel: Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, and Gabriel. The angel startles the humans with news of God’s upcoming action in and through their lives. Their different reactions are patterns for us to follow - or avoid - as we walk in their steps. None of them are of great import in their world. In fact they are decidedly ordinary. If God can use them to transform the universe, He can certainly move His plan through us. *If* we walk in their steps of willingness and walking in His promises.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

On this third Sunday of Advent we hear from someone intimately acquainted with the early goings-on associated with the Incarnation. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

On this second Sunday of Advent, we focus on the theme of peace. Our sense of peace (and hope, joy, and love, etc.) is far more a function of perspective rather than circumstance. The prophet Isaiah and the apostle Paul both set touchstones for us with which to orient ourselves and live in “Peace on Earth.”To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Keeping Sabbath is a test of faith that removes a day’s wages (or a day’s progress in our projects for workaholics) so that we recognize that his care for us far surpasses our efforts. At the core of observing Sabbath rest is an intentional use of time aimed at personal (and church body) renewal. That renewal is driven by an awareness of God’s goodness, provision, and presence flowing from prioritized time in worship together with family and church. Sabbath provides a weekly opportunity to cease from things that crowd our spirit, to rest deeply, to feast on things that fill our spirit, and to embrace God’s way more fully. When we regularly reboot in Sabbath rest, we are in much better shape OEL to serve as ambassadors for the King.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

The culture around us defines us according to our occupation and income. We are human “doings” in the eyes of the world. We are created in the image of God, the true source of our value, worth & identity. We are human “beings” in His eyes. Because we are made in His image, His example of resting from His work from the very beginning is a precedent for us. Jesus’ teaching that the Sabbath was made to benefit us is a guiding principle that surpasses the legalistic rote obedience exemplified by the Pharisees in His time. Sabbath provides a rhythm of reset that feeds our soul and refreshes our identity in part by remembering God’s faithful actions on our behalf in the past.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

God very strongly identifies the orphan/fatherless, widow and immigrant as being objects of His special attention. His identity is bound up with how much He cares for them. YHVH commands a structure in Israel’s everyday society that provides for the poor in their midst. That provision includes various “flavors” of food. We are called to live like and look like our Father in our treatment of the orphan/fatherless, widow and immigrant. Mistreating the poor is equal to worshiping other gods in YHVH’s view of Israel. Their failure to compassionately care for the poor is a chief reason for their exile. The purest way to follow/please God is to care for the poor.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Several times in scripture humans are likened to sheep. This is not a compliment. Isaiah famously intones that "all we like sheep have gone astray." We are weak, learn slowly, and require the leadership of a shepherd. Sheep that do have a shepherd - especially when His name is Jesus - reap countless benefits of safety, provision, community, and on and on. Those without a shepherd are lost in every way. Jesus' answer to this is His call to US to ask the Lord to send out workers (Matthew 9). Most of the time, part of His answer to that prayer is to send us. Quoting Bill Hybels, we never lock eyes with someone who doesn't matter to God, who doesn't merit an all out search. (Read here.) We are His search and rescue team!To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Last week we concentrated on seeing people the way Jesus does. The next thing Jesus does after seeing a person is: He loves them. He has compassion for them. He cares about them and for them. One of the challenging things He sees in them is that they "are harassed and helpless." They are under the thumb of the enemy, and unable within themselves to change their situation. Jesus, however, can handle it. All of it. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Jesus sets a clear pattern in His ministry of deeply seeing people. Many of those people are on the margins and are not seen by others. Human tendency is to self-protect with distance and an “eye bounce” that avoids seeing them. In contrast, when Jesus sees someone, His first reaction is to love them. BECAUSE He loves them, He speaks and ACTS in their first, best interest. To follow Jesus in loving and living like He did, our hearts must soften and our agendas must shift from pursuing our needs first to meeting others’.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Looking at Jesus' Kingdom through the lens of Romans 5, we are encouraged to remain faithful and confident in our salvation because of the lengths to which God, Jesus, and the Spirit have gone to rescue us from sin and death and restore us to eternal friendship with our Creator. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Being a Christian doesn’t remove us from the hardship in our lives. Far from it. However, because of the Kingdom of God (and its King), we take strength and comfort from three things: His past faithfulness: His current indwelling (and PERMANENT) presence, and the perspective established for us by Jesus' resurrection and the promise of His return. Until He does, His presence beside us brings us comfort. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

The Book of Psalms is sometimes called “The Little Bible.” It mirrors the five books of law, and Blake Adams tells us “We should read it not as an assortment of poems and songs but as a single rhapsody on God’s covenant promises.” This year’s Midwest Preachers’ Retreat was held this past week, led by Hebrew scholar and former Oakhaven member, Dr. Lance Hawley, focusing on the psalms as a deep, remarkable resource in our walk with God. In addition to an overview of the book, we examine more closely Psalm 103. The final sentence of Psalm 103 is the one upon which all else in heaven and earth turns: YHVH has established His throne in the heavens; His kingdom rules over all. If all these things are true then…”Technical note: center third of sermon was without sound and so has been cut from podcast. You'll barely miss it. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

According to the standards of the world, Jesus assumes a very low profile in His ministry that launches the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God not by edict, governmental action, or human might, but by compassion that drives Him to recover the helpless sheep that need a shepherd. Through it all, though, Jesus is the glorious King revealed as the Son of Man to Daniel, not a wolf in sheep’s clothing but a king in shepherd’s clothing. He is the same to us, invoking His authority to assure us that His death is His choice, and then invokes His authority one last time to spur us to share the amazing news of what He has done.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Recent sermon themes converge today as we see the arc of God’s interactions with humans adapting over time as He matures the human race to have the capacity to receive His greatest self-revelation: Jesus. We note again how Moses’ and the hebrews’ experience of Yahveh met them “where they were at” and moved on from there, spiritually and literally! Then God reveals Himself most fully in Jesus, who intones the inbreaking of the kingdom of God here and now. Peter joins the story as our representative, and Jesus calls him in a way tailored to Peter’s sensibilities in a huge catch of fish in impossibly hot water. Then as this fisherman turns into an ambassador of the kingdom fishing for people, our example is set to follow in his footsteps and fish for people ourselves. This is all the result of who Jesus has made us: His brothers and sisters, the sons and daughters of the king. Cultivating awareness of our identity and call are essential if we are going to walk them out in every day life, for “if we aim for nothing, we’ll hit it every time.”To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

It’s a mighty special day at Oakhaven Church: our annual homecoming corn roast! Today’s message will be in a creative vein as we hear one of Jesus’ followers describe some of the highlights of their years of ministry together.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Scripture says that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. However, humans are not. We are on a huge learning curve when it comes to understanding God and His ways, and we examine how He customizes his revelation and relationship with us on levels far beneath Him but right on our wheelhouse. Take, for instance, the story of the burning bush...To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

God sets a pattern of revealing Himself in ways that are simple enough for His children to understand. These revelations are far from where He will eventually “arrive.” The sense of where God is begins with Him being distant and separate and VERY gradually grows toward a sense of His nearness, even though at the beginning He is thought to be in specific places. We also cannot understand everything about God. (!!!) Each one of us is on a similar journey of learning and maturing. HOW is He revealing Himself to you? Where is He leading you?To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We embark on a journey to discover how God "customizes" His presence (via our perception of where He dwells) to meet the needs and frame of reference of different people across time. We start with a spoiler alert and read the final chapter first. In Revelation 21 we are promised “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” This side by side, face to face reality is begun in Eden, wherein the great fall/schism occurs, the repair of which will occupy the rest of the bible. After quite a rough and tumble start to things, YHVH makes numerous promises to be with His people, even though what that "withness" looks like will change over time. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Today we revisit the story of Jesus walking on water, this time in Matthew 14. As a template for our experience, we acknowledge that storms happen, often in the natural course of things. At other times they are caused by human influence, whether our own or others’. Regardless of storm type or strength, at some point Jesus shows up to “divinely intervene” in the moment. Jesus’ intervention is manifest when we engage and interact with Him with faith in HIS POWER TO SAVE US. Jesus’ intervention often does not end the storm. Instead, He empowers us to keep walking in spite of it until the storm is over (and beyond).To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Today we look closely at Psalm 42, a beautiful psalm of lament that we often don’t get past the first verse on: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you.” As we track with the psalmist, we learn that the seasons of life shift at times. There will be chapters in our life in which it feels like God is far away, and we will thirst for His presence. (We should thus be deeply grateful for times of smooth abundance.) Being honest with God about our frustrations helps us sense His presence and reassures us He sees us. The things we tell ourselves are extremely important and can connect us to God’s truth (or do the opposite). When we are walking through a difficult chapter we must remember God’s faithfulness in the past. God has been faithful. He will be again. This is always true.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Today we look at Jesus’ call on Saul on Acts 9. God appeals to the next apostle through an experience that reaches all Saul’s senses, capturing his attention and heart. At times Jesus places a dramatic call on each of us through sensory experiences that may be physical, spiritual, emotional, or relational. How we respond to that call determines our next steps on the road to our own Damascus.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Oakhaven Church has the tradition of setting aside "regular sermons" on fifth Sundays to instead hear members and their testimonies of how God has worked in their lives, especially how He has drawn them into life with Him. Today, Josh Patterson shares his story with us. Dust off your disco ball.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

As we continue to examine Paul’s wide-ranging message in Romans 8, we come away with several insights. First, following Jesus will include moments of pain and suffering that are sometimes overwhelming.   In those hardest moments when we don’t know what to say, the Spirit is there with us in the heart of our anguish to translate it all to God as a cry for His intervention and healing.   God knows every aspect of the journey He has called us to and He will bless us along the way by using every circumstance for our good and the good of His kingdom.   In the face of temporary trouble, hardship, and persecution, God reminds us of His ultimate perspective and ultimate outcome of endless glory for His entire family. We are His children, and nothing can separate us from Him or His love. Not now. Not ever.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

On this day celebrating fathers we look at the amazing access God grants us to Himself using Romans 8:9-19 (NLT). To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We are in a complex and mysterious, adventurous and powerful, permanent relationship with the Spirit who lives within us to anoint and nudge and save and remind and inspire and empower and equip and comfort and counsel and reform and transform and reshape and renew and ultimately resurrect us just as He raised our Older Brother from the dead.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We continue to look at Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Luke 11. After He teaches His disciples “The Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus goes on to use humans in everyday situations to illustrate God’s care and attention to our prayers. A human in bed will get up in the middle of the night to help his neighbor. A human father will not give his child a snake instead of bread. If humans can act so well - in spite of their motivation - surely God will act even more kindly. He then tells us to ask and thus receive, to knock and thus have the door opened. We examine more closely these promises that seem to guarantee our desires, but find they have a greater purpose and context.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Luke 11:1-13. Today we look at two different episodes in Jesus’ life with His disciples. First is His teaching them “His” prayer in Luke 11, with a key focus on the prayer that God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Then in Luke 8, we look at the disciples’ fear of the storm and find ourselves with them. Also with them, though, is Jesus. If we focus on Him instead of the storm, our hearts and minds will be as calm as theirs.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Shepherd Brenda Wilusz discusses the many ways God shows His love.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

Oakhaven Church founding member Deb Cleveland shares a special Mother's Day message featuring the women of the bible. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We complete today our year long journey through the Gospel of Mark with a summary of his masterful storytelling. We focus on two of his primary themes: identity and expectation. Our identity is built upon that of Jesus’ the King of kings come to bring His kingdom on earth. We are the beloved sons and daughters of the Father, and the younger brothers and sisters of the King. We also check our expectations of Jesus, as His followers in Mark have a skewed view of Who He Is or should be.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here. 

We continue to explore life in the Age of Resurrection along with the unique ending of Mark's Gospel. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.