Our theme for this month: “Celebrating Christmas”

Our Bible verse for today: “Do not fear; for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Jesus will be with you in 2019”

Throughout Christmas we have celebrated the great truth of “Immanuel – God is with us.” That was certainly true from the time of the birth of Jesus and then on throughout His thirty-three years on earth, but it has never stopped being true since then.

In Isaiah 41:10 we read an Old Testament promise that was written approximately 750 years before the birth of Jesus. It was spoken by God, through the prophet Isaiah, to His people, the nation of Israel. It was a general promise that God would watch over them, protect them, and provide for them. That was true for them in a big-picture general way, but it’s also a promise that was fulfilled through Christ in a very distinct and personal way for each of us individually.

In Matthew 28:20, just before He ascended back into heaven, Jesus promised His followers: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In Hebrews 13:5 He said, “I will never leave you or abandon you.”

As you prepare your mind and heart for a New Year, and as you consider what the New Year might hold for you, remember that not only will Jesus be with you every step of the way, but also you will never enter into any situation where Jesus is not already there. In Deuteronomy 31:8, as Moses was preparing to hand over the mantle of leadership to Joshua so Joshua could then lead the people forward into the Promised Land, Moses said to him:

“The Lord is the one who will go before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

What was true for Joshua and the nation of Israel is even truer for you, the disciple of His Son Jesus – wherever you go, God will already be there. More than just going with you, and more than just never leaving you, wherever you go, when you get there He will already be there waiting for you. He will have prepared the way for you and He will have good things waiting for you.

I hope the reality of what Jesus did for us at Christmas gives you hope and assurance about what waits for you in the New Year. Jesus is with you now, and He will be with you in 2019.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating Christmas”

Our Bible verse for today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV) Proverbs 3:5-6

Our thought for today: “Make sure your heart is right, do your part, and then trust God.”

This morning I want to continue our lesson from yesterday about knowing and doing the will of God. Yesterday we learned that knowing and doing the will of God was the key to the life that Jesus lived. His desire to understand God’s will so He could then be obedient to it was so strong, that it was the motivating factor in His life. That is the key to our own successful life as well. The best life you will ever have is the one that is lived right in the center of God’s will. As we conclude our Christmas celebration and head into 2019, this is one of the most important lessons we can take with us from the life that Jesus went on to live.

When it comes to making good decisions and honoring God, Proverbs 3:5-6 may be one of the most important verses in Scripture. So let’s take a look at the individual pieces of guidance we’re given in that verse:

First, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Know that God loves you unconditionally and that He has a good and perfect plan for your life. He is more interested in your well-being and good decision-making than even you are, so you can trust Him unequivocally.

Second, lean not on your own understanding. In other words, do everything you can to seek His will and His guidance. Through prayer, Bible study, careful consideration of your circumstances, and good counsel from wise Christian friends, patiently place yourself in a position before God whereby He can speak to you and make His will known to you.

Third, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. If your heart is right and you genuinely do want to honor Him with your choices, then you can trust that He is not going to sit back and watch you walk off the edge of a cliff. If your heart is right and you are genuinely doing your part to seek His guidance, He will guide you. He might not give you specific instructions about exactly what to do, instead He might want you to consider your options and then use your spiritual maturity and good judgment to make wise choices. But if your heart is right and you really are trying to honor Him, He will guide you enough to keep you on track.

This Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church the New Years sermon will be about the opportunities will be have in 2019 and how to make good decisions. If you are close to Cumberland County Tennessee then we invite you to join us for the 10:00 service. If you’re not near us, then I encourage you to listen to the message on our website at http://www.oakhillbaptist.net. On the home page click on “listen” and then select the sermon for 12/30/18. You can also bring up the PowerPoint slides that go with the message.

When it comes to knowing and doing the will of God just make sure your heart is right, do your part, and then trust God.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating Christmas”

Our Bible verse for today: “But he said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about … My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:32; 34 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “What motivates you?”

In yesterday’s devotional we learned that Jesus was determined to obey the will of the Father, even to the point of death. When it came to making decisions, the will of the Father was always the determining factor for Jesus. That was true not just when it came to the crucial decision of whether or not to go to the cross, but it was true throughout His life. It was the key to the holy, sanctified, and sinless life that He lived.

In John chapter four we read of a time early in His ministry when He and some of His disciples were on a journey from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north. To get there they had to pass through the region of Samaria. At one point in the journey they stopped at a well outside of a town. Jesus stayed at the well to rest while the disciples went into the town in search of food. When the disciples got back to Jesus they offered Him some of the food they had, but He said to them, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”

That statement confused them. Perhaps they thought He had a secret stash of beef jerky. But no, in verse 34 Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

What Jesus meant is that He was so consumed with the thought of obeying the will of God for His life that it was what got Him out of bed in the morning, and it’s what kept Him going all day. Obediently accomplishing the work God had given Him to do was the motivating factor in the life of Jesus. Everything else took second place to that.

As our celebration of Christmas draws to a close, and as we consider the lessons we should learn from the life that Jesus went on to live, we need to pay particular attention to what factors motivated Him and guided His decision-making. As we have just learned, it was the will of God. Despite any other factors He faced in life, ultimately the only one that mattered was God’s will. That needs to be true for us too.

In 2019 you will have to make many decisions – most of them small, some of them big. As long as your heart is right and your primary concern is to discover the will of God so you can then be obedient to it, you will be okay. This lesson is so important that it warrants one more devotional message, so we will come back to this subject again tomorrow.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating Christmas”

Our Bible verse for today: “Going a little further, he fell facedown and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “How will you make your decisions in 2019?

We have spent the advent season preparing ourselves to properly and fully celebrate the birth of Christ. We have considered the amazing truth that Jesus voluntarily set-aside His heavenly glory and power, descended to earth and placed Himself in the womb of a teenage girl. He was born as a helpless baby in a manager and lived a simple life as a carpenter in a remote village for the next thirty years. Then He had three and one half years of active ministry before He went to the cross.

In Matthew 26:39 we find a scene from the last day of Jesus’ life on earth. It is very revealing and teaches a great lesson for us. In that scene Jesus and the Apostles have just finished what we have come to call “The Last Supper”. They have now gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to spend the night. Jesus knows He is about to be arrested, tortured, crucified, and made to bear the sins of the world. As He considers the staggering implications of this He prays, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus did not want to endure the horror of the cross if it could be avoided. But He would do it if that was the will of the Father. It was, and so He did. And of course, that was a turning point in human history. Because Jesus obeyed the will of the Father, you and I can have our sins forgiven and spend eternity in heaven instead of hell. His obedience and sacrifice in that moment of hesitation and doubt had significant implications for all of mankind.

As our celebration of Christmas 2018 draws to a close hopefully one effect it had on us is that it made each of us more determined to obey the will of God in 2019. In the coming year there will be many decisions to be made, some of them potentially big. Having a moment of hesitation and doubt is normal and it’s okay. Jesus had such a moment. Taking the time to pray and to consider your options is smart and that too is okay. Jesus did that too. But in the end the only right decision is to obey the will of God and trust Him for the outcome.

This is an important lesson we can and should learn from the life of Jesus. It’s so important that we will think about it some more tomorrow.

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating Christmas”

Our Bible verse for today: “After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them … The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:17-18; 20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “What are you taking away from Christmas?”

Today is the day after Christmas. I hope yours was a happy and joyful Christmas and that you are basking in the warm afterglow of a good time with family and friends.

But what are you taking away from Christmas? Perhaps you received some cool presents which you will enjoy and get a lot of use out of for a long time to come. And surely the memories of good meals and good company are special too and you’re grateful for them. But is there more than that? Through your Christmas celebrations did you have meaningful encounters with Jesus? Is your relationship with Him deeper, more vibrant and dynamic, as a result of having celebrated His birthday?

In the Christmas scene recorded for us in Chapter Two of the Gospel of Luke we read that the shepherds went to Bethlehem as the angel had instructed them, they found Jesus in the manager, and they worshipped Him.

The experience was so profound that it changed them forever. They left that manger as changed men. They then went out and excitedly told everyone they met the Good News that the Messiah had come, He was born as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem! We also read that all who heard this report were amazed. In other words, as verse 20 reveals, the shepherds were enthusiastically glorifying and praising God for the encounter they had with the baby Jesus.

So what about us? Now that Christmas has past have we simply shifted our attention to the New Year? Or was our Christmas experience so meaningful and significant that it has changed us and now we are more alive in Christ, and more enthusiastic about our relationship with Him, than we were before?

I encourage you to spend some time today re-thinking Christmas 2018. What did you learn? What did you experience? How has it changed you? What are you taking away from Christmas?

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating Christmas”

Our Bible verse for today: “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child … She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manager, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:4-5; 7 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Christmas Eve is a time of anticipation and preparation.”

Christmas Eve is one of the busiest travel days of the year as people go in cars, trains, and planes to see family and friends. Those of us at home eagerly wait for and anticipate the arrival of our friends and loved ones. Christmas Eve is also a time of eager anticipation for the joy of opening presents on Christmas morning. I’m sixty-four years old and I’m still a big kid on Christmas morning when it comes to giving and receiving presents.

But Christmas Eve should also (first, and primarily, and most importantly), be a time of eager anticipation and preparation as we celebrate the birth of Christ. After all, that’s what Christmas is really all about. Jesus really is the reason for the season.

To help us refocus and have a better appreciation for the significance of Christmas Eve, let’s think back to the original Christmas Eve and what it must have been like in heaven and on earth. Nine months earlier Jesus had voluntarily laid aside His power and His glory, descended to earth and placed Himself in the womb of a teenage girl, and had spent nine months growing just as any other fetus would. Now the birth was about to occur. All of heaven watched and waited in eager anticipation.

For Joseph and Mary it was also a time of anticipation and preparation. Mary was in labor. Her body ached, her back was killing her, and she was more uncomfortable than she had ever been in her life. The pains were shooting through her abdomen and she needed to lie down. Joseph was desperately trying to find a place for his wife to safely give birth. The inn was full.

I consider what was going-on on that first Christmas Eve with Jesus in the womb, the Father and angels watching from heaven, and Joseph and Mary on earth trying to prepare for the birth of their child – and suddenly my preoccupation with presents, guests, Christmas cookies and football games seems shallow and childish. I’ve lost my focus. I’m grateful for the presents; I look forward to having the family together; I love Christmas cookies; and all of those things do have their proper place in the Christmas celebration. But Christmas Eve is about so much more than that.

Tonight at Oak Hill Baptist Church will celebrate Christmas Eve with a short candlelight service beginning at 5:00. The lights in the sanctuary will be dimmed. Candles will be glowing. There will be Christmas music, a short Christmas Eve message, lighting of more candles, and we will end with singing “Joy to the World”. We would love to have you join us. Christmas Eve is a time of anticipation and preparation. It is a time to think about Jesus.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating Christmas”

Our Bible verse for today: “But after he considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit … When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her …” Matthew 1:20; 24 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Notice the forgotten people.”

Recently I came across a wonderful little booklet written by O.S. Hawkins entitled “The Christmas Code”. In it Hawkins shared some observations about the Christmas story that I had never considered before. One of them pertains to Joseph, the husband of Mary. In many respects Joseph is the forgotten man in the Christmas story. He is seldom mentioned and never directly quoted. Mary, the shepherds, the wise men, Elizabeth, Zacharias, Herod, Simeon, and even the angels all have lines to speak. But there is no record of anything Joseph ever said. Most of the time the spotlight is on others and Joseph is in the background.

Also at Christmas we sing songs about Mary, the baby Jesus, the wise men, the shepherds, the angels, and the star. We even have a song about the mythical donkey that Mary was supposed to have ridden on (Dominic the Christmas donkey). But how many of our songs directly mention Joseph? Not many. To a large degree Joseph is the forgotten man in the Christmas story.

Joseph had an important role to play, and there is a good reason God chose him to provide a home for and to raise the child Jesus. Joseph was a good godly man who was certainly a fine husband to Mary and a good father to Jesus. But he was quiet and unobtrusive. He largely remained in the shadows of the story and to this day doesn’t get much attention.

This caused me to wonder, “How many forgotten people are there in our own Christmas stories?” How many quiet and unobtrusive people are in the shadows of our Christmas celebrations?  In your church there are probably single people who have no family close by. The nursing homes in every town are crowded with lonely elderly people who won’t get a present or have a visit on Christmas day.

I encourage all of us to notice the forgotten people all around us. Then select one or two who you will reach out to and bless with some attention, or perhaps a small gift, or maybe even an invitation to join you and your family for Christmas dinner.

In some respects Joseph is the forgotten man in the Christmas story. Let’s make it a point to give some attention to those around us who might be overlooked this Christmas.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is:

Our theme for this month: “Celebrating Christmas”

Our Bible verse for today: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel – which means, “God with us”. Matthew 1:21; 23 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “The names of Jesus tell us everything we need to know about Him.”

Choosing a name for a baby is often a fun and sometimes challenging occasion for parents. Often the parents choose a name simply because they like it. The most popular girl’s names in 2018 were Sophia, Olivia, and Emma. The most popular boy’s names were Jackson, Liam, and Noah.

Sometimes a child is given a name with Biblical significance in the hope that they will grow-up emulating the character traits of that Biblical person. For that reason names like Joseph, Joshua, Caleb, Mary, and Deborah have traditionally been popular. Other families name their children in honor of a close family member. Author O.S. Hawkins explains that his name is a combination of family names, the O.S. standing for Otis Swafford (which is why he goes by his initials!). And sometimes the names parents choose for their children are just plain weird. The rock and roll singer of the 1960s, Frank Zappa, named his children Dweezil and Moon Unit.

In Matthew chapter one the angel told Joseph that he was to name the baby in Mary’s womb “Jesus”, which is derived from the Hebrew name “Yesuha” and means “to deliver or to save”. But two verses later the angel said that Jesus would also be called “Immanuel”, which means “God is with us”.

No other baby name in history so accurately described what would be true of the person it was given to. Jesus came to rescue us from our sins, and He was in fact God in a human body – God with us. God lived among us in the person of Jesus Christ and He saved us from an eternity in hell.

There should be no confusion about the meaning and purpose of Christmas. His names, Jesus and Immanuel, tell us who He is and why He came.

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Our mailing address is: