Oak Hill Baptist Church

Church life is important, so protect it

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to live worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Church life is important, so protect it”

“The Church” exists in two forms. There is the universal church, which is the body of Christ worldwide. It is made up of all Christians everywhere. The other expression of the church is what we know as the local church. Local churches are the individual communities of believers who gather together as church families. There is one universal church, but there are millions of local churches.

Every Christian is a member of the universal church simply by virtue of your profession of faith in Christ. But every Christian also needs to be a member of a local church. But that doesn’t happen automatically. It has to be an intentional choice by the individual and it is essential. Life in a strong and healthy local church is essential to your spiritual health. In fact, the New Testament provides us no picture of “Lone Ranger Christians.” The ideal is always portrayed as individual Christians gathered in church families watching out for and taking care of each other. This is why Hebrews 10:24-25 commands us not to skip church gatherings (the implication is that you are a member of a church).

There are multiple reasons Christians sometimes do not belong to a local church. Sometimes it’s because the person has had a bad experience in church and has therefore written off church life. That’s unfortunate, and it’s also of Satan. Satan likes nothing better than to cause problems in churches and then to convince Christians that church life isn’t worth the trouble.

In Ephesians 4:1-3 Paul gives us some guidance about this. There he urges us to relate to each other with a humble attitude, a gentle disposition, and in a spirit of love. And also, with patience. We are to be patient with each other. All of that taken together means that we must all be careful not to give offense, and we must all be slow to take offense. Protect the fellowship by being kind to each other – and also by being thick-skinned.

As we conclude these two months of devotionally considering the important theme of Christian community, I urge you to be actively involved in the full life of a healthy church. And then do your part to protect that fellowship and to help keep it healthy.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

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I think we hit the sweet spot

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:7b (CSB)

Our thought for today: “I think we hit the sweet spot”

I have mentioned in previous devotionals that one of the most helpful and enjoyable group Bible studies I’ve ever participated in and led was “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” by Philip Yancey. I love the emphasis on grace, kindness, and compassion. It’s so like Jesus. However, it’s not cheap grace. It’s not the kind of grace that provides weak Christians with a license to sin. It’s grace that is securely tethered to Biblical truth and then lived out in a kind and gracious manner.

The subject of grace is especially important to Yancey because he was raised in, and traumatized by, a stern fundamentalist religious culture that was heavy on wrath and threats and light on grace. I detest that kind of religion. It sets my teeth on edge. Personally, I have little tolerance for modern-day Pharisees.

Which brings me to the subject of our current sermon series at Oak Hill Baptist Church. We are studying Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul had been the worst of all the New Testament Pharisees. Granted, at the time of writing Romans he had been a Christian for decades but still, here was this former Pharisee now writing the most important and concise letter on Christian doctrine in the New Testament. The potential for that doctrine to be communicated in a heavy, legalistic, and fundamentalist manner was high.

But Paul hit the sweet spot. He managed to balance doctrine and grace in a beautiful way that clearly communicates non-negotiable truth, but applied in a kind and compassionate manner.

When I consider our church life at Oak Hill Baptist, I think we have managed to hit that same sweet spot. Our church life is firmly grounded in sound doctrine based upon Biblical truth, and Oak Hill is also the most kind, compassionate, and gracious church family I have ever known. (Let me also be quick to note that the other churches I have had the privilege to serve as Pastor were fine congregations as well.)

I want to invite you to join us in our study of Romans. This week we will be in Romans 1:7-15 and the entire sermon will be an illustration of how Paul managed to achieve that sweet spot – that beautiful balance between non-negotiable truth, lived out in a gracious and kind way. The service begins at 10:00. If you are nearby, then please join us in-person. If you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, then join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville.

Paul hit that sweet spot. I believe we have too. And I think you can as well.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Put feet to your faith

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.” Hebrews 13:16 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Put feet to your faith”

I want to take us back this morning to the illustrations I used in two previous devotionals. One was about how it is that when fishermen don’t fish, they fight, and how true that can be of church life. The other was about our Acts 1:8 model of ministry and how that continuous focus on serving others helps to keep our church healthy.

When Christians are not focused on serving, and when we aren’t intentionally looking for opportunities to share our faith in both word and deed, we tend to focus instead on other things that are less important, things that are maybe even silly and unhelpful. There’s a lot of truth to the old saying, “An idle mind is the devil’s playground.” I think Christians sometimes give Satan far too many opportunities for recreation and fun by allowing him to play around in our minds and in our relationships. That happens because we’re bored with life (especially church life) and not engaged in things that really matter.

In Hebrews 13:16 the writer urged his readers to stay focused on doing what is good (good deeds; acts of ministry), and generously sharing with those in need (using our individual and our church resources in generous ways that benefit others). He says that such actions are pleasing to God.

This is all about putting feet to our faith. It’s what James was calling for when he wrote in James 1:22 “But be doers of the word and not hearers only.” One of the most repeated themes in the Bible is that the proof of our faith is found in what we do, not just in what we say. Repeatedly we’re urged to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the poor, care for widows and orphans, comfort those who are hurting, assist those who are struggling, and so much more. It’s all about love in action – it’s about faith in action.

One of the best things an individual and a church can do to stay spiritually healthy is to take your eyes off yourself and focus instead on serving and helping others. I encourage you to put some feet to your faith today.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

God’s goodness and love follows you

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian Community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “God’s goodness and love follows you”

Psalm 23 is by far the best-known and best-loved of all the Psalms, and for good reason. The Psalm pictures us as much-loved sheep under the watchful care of a Good Shepherd. He cares for us; He feeds us; He makes sure we get proper rest; He leads and guides us; He rescues us; and He leaves us with a sense of being enveloped in His goodness and love to the point that it follows us all throughout this life and into eternity. We are never outside of the protective embrace of God’s goodness and love.

Our awareness of that protective bubble of goodness and love that we exist in should give us a great sense of peace and security. It should chase away our fears and insecurities. It should help us to feel safe, secure, quietly confident, and content. That should be true in general, but it should be especially true during those times when we’re gathered with our church family. Where else should we feel the goodness and love of God more than in church and when we are surrounded by our brothers and sisters in Christ?

In yesterday’s devotional I wrote about how it is that Christians sometimes allow their times of gathering to be contentious and stressful. That happens because we lose sight of the things that are most important and focus instead on things that shouldn’t matter much. Another reason for tension and strife in churches is when members bring their personal fears, worries, and insecurities with them into the fellowship and those things are allowed to infect the atmosphere in the fellowship.

There are two ways that problem can be addressed. First, each of us individually needs to be cultivating the personal relationship with God described in Psalm 23. We all then bring that sense of being enveloped in God’s goodness and love with us into our gatherings. Second, for those who don’t already have that personal relationship and who do therefore bring their issues with them into church, once they arrive, they should be engulfed in and overwhelmed by the sense of peace, love, and security that everyone else has brought with them and which is creating a wonderful spiritual dynamic for the entire group.

Psalm 23 describes the ideal relationship for God and His people. The goodness and love of God follows you all of your life, and that should be especially true in church.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Let’s fish instead of fight

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.” Ecclesiastes 4:9 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Let’s fish instead of fight”

In yesterday’s devotional I told you a little about our worship service at Oak Hill Baptist this past Sunday. I mentioned that it was a mountaintop spiritual experience that helped prepare us to enter back into the valley of everyday life. But something else happened during that gathering of our church family that is worthy of mention as well.

After the service we held a mission committee meeting to plan our mission projects for the spring and summer. There will be a night of service at our local rescue mission; various activities to help at a local Christian camp for disadvantaged children; a mission trip to deliver relief supplies to our partner church in the coal-mining region of eastern Kentucky; and our teens will go on a week-long mission trip of their own. Additionally, we will host a missionary family from southeast Asia; we will also have a week-long Vacation Bible School; and we will have a church picnic and community outreach event at the local State Park.

We are an Acts 1:8 church and mission projects are the heartbeat of our church life. This is also an important element in keeping our church healthy. There’s an old adage regarding church life that says “When fishermen don’t fish, they fight.” It’s a reference to the old days of fishing villages. When the fishermen weren’t out on their boats fishing (as they were supposed to be), many of them were hanging out in the bars instead and drinking heavily. Before long one fisherman would conclude that another fisherman was looking at him crossways and soon a fight would start. Then the friends of each fisherman would jump in to defend their friend and soon there would be a full-fledged brawl.

Church life can be like that. When church members (called by Jesus to be fishers of lost people) don’t fish, they sit around in their Sunday school rooms and fellowship halls looking at each other. Soon enough, someone looks at someone else crossways and before you know it, you have the church equivalent of a barroom brawl. You know the story. Church fights are legendary, and almost always they’re started by bored Christians focusing on silly things that don’t really matter much. The key to avoiding fights is to fish. In church that means being actively on-mission with Jesus outside the walls of the church.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 is true. We’re at our best when we work together in constructive ways to further the cause of Christ. So, let’s fish instead of fight.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

From the mountaintop into the valley

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “But be doers of the word and not hearers only.” James 1:22 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “From the mountaintop into the valley”

Yesterday was a good day at Oak Hill Baptist Church. We had a good crowd; the worship was powerful; the fellowship was deep and rich; and mutual blessings flowed in all directions (as discussed in the previous devotional.)

I’ve often thought of the Sunday gatherings of our church family as being a spiritual mountaintop. We are lifted-up and out of regular life and for the time we’re together, we are on a spiritual mountaintop. The air is often electric and there’s a sense that we’re all involved in something special (it’s the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit).

But most of life isn’t lived on the mountaintop, it’s lived in the valley. The mountaintop is a special experience that’s refreshing and renewing, but then we have to go back into the valley of everyday life – just living life, serving others, and sharing the Good News of the Gospel.

We see an example of that pattern set for us by Jesus in Matthew Chapters five through seven. Some of you will remember that those chapters contain The Sermon on the Mount. Talk about a spiritual mountaintop! But note what Jesus did immediately after the Sermon on the Mount was over. Chapter eight verse one tells us that He came down from the mountain into the valley and immediately encountered a crowd of people who needed to be ministered to. His time on the mountaintop was preparation for His time in the valley.

The same is true for us. One of the reasons we come together on the mountaintop on Sunday is so we will be more effective in the valley Monday through Saturday. This is what James was speaking of in James 1:22 when he wrote, “But be doers of the word not hearers only.” You have heard the word, now go put it into practice.

I hope your time on the mountaintop with your church family was as special for you as ours was for us. Now I encourage you to take the mountaintop experience with you back into the valley of everyday life and make a difference for the cause of Christ today.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

The blessings are mutual

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “For I want very much to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” Romans 1:11-12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The blessings are mutual”

In yesterday’s devotional I referred to my old friend Dick DeGrow as one of the mentors who had an important impact on me in my early years as a pastor. When I arrived at Bancroft Baptist as a newly-minted pastor beginning my first assignment as a pastor, Dick was already there. He was a retired pastor who was serving as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, and as the church custodian.

I had just finished a career as a Naval officer and I was still very much in the mode of the hard-charging, in control, military man with a “Do it because I said so,” attitude (which doesn’t work so well in a church setting.) Dick, on the other hand, was very calm, mild-mannered, and extremely patient. He quickly (but subtly and gently) took me under his wing (and often followed behind me smoothing ruffled feathers.)

I loved being around Dick. He was so wise and he had such a calming influence on me. He often complimented me regarding my preaching and teaching and he told me what a blessing I was to him and to the rest of the church. But Dick was certainly a big blessing to me as well. The blessings were mutual.

In Romans 1:11-12 the Apostle Paul writes about mutual blessings when he notes that he hoped to be a blessing to the Roman Christians when he was with them, and he fully expected to be blessed by them in return. This is how we grow in Christian community. You bless me and I bless you. You learn from me and I learn from you. None of us grows on our own. God places wise, insightful, and inspirational people around us to help deepen our own faith and to spur us on to greater spiritual growth.

I get to experience this every Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist Church. For my part, I work hard all week to be prepared so maybe I can say or teach something that will be helpful to someone, but in return, I’m always blessed and inspired by others in our church family.

That’s the way good Christian community is. You bless me and I’ll bless you. You help me and I help you. The blessings are mutual. None of us does this alone.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Walk with the wise

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “The one who walks with the wise will become wise …” Proverbs 13:20 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Walk with the wise”

Dallas Willard is the smartest and most spiritually deep person I have ever not known. I say that I have not known him because I never actually met him, although I have read pretty much everything he has written. Dallas is in heaven now but in his lifetime, he was a professor of religious philosophy at the University of Southern California and one of the most influential Christian thinkers of the last one hundred years.

I never knew Dallas in the sense of having spent time with him, but I did come to know him through his writings, and in that way, he had a profound impact on me. He opened my mind and my heart to knowing God in a much deeper way. His two best books were “The Divine Conspiracy” and “Hearing God: Developing a conversational relationship with God.” Henry Blackaby is also in this category of great Christian thinkers who helped to form my understanding of God. It is not an exaggeration to say that his Bible study “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God” altered the course of my life. The writings of Eugene Peterson and Philip Yancy fall into this category as well.

Fortunately, in addition to those mentioned above who I did not know personally but who had an impact on me just the same, there have been others who I did know well and who I did spend much time with, and who also profoundly influenced me for good. My pastor and mentor Oren Teel would be the primary one. My friend Dick DeGrow (a former pastor) also played a key role in my early years as a pastor. And then there have been dozens of very wise men and women, in four churches over more than thirty years, whose wisdom and spiritual insight blessed me and helped me along the road of my own spiritual growth.

I tell you all of this just to provide a little personal commentary regarding the important Biblical principle given to us by Solomon in Proverbs 13:20 that if you want to become wise, spend time with those who are wise. Now, let me be clear that I’m not even close to being as wise and insightful as the men and women I’ve mentioned above, but hopefully I’m getting closer day-by-day and my association with them, through their writing or in-person, has been of great benefit to me.

The value of being around wiser more mature Christians is that some of their wisdom and insight will rub off on you. Sherwood Wirt (the brother-in-law of Billy Graham) once said, “I surround myself with the thoughts of those who have thought much about God.”

This is a vitally important principle when it comes to our spiritual growth, and so we will come back to it tomorrow. For today, I encourage you to seek out and spend time with someone who is wiser than you.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

You’re not a turnip

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him; bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.” Colossians 1:9-12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You’re not a turnip.”

Growth takes time. How much time depends on what it is you’re growing. Alan Falding offers an interesting take on this in his book, “An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Work and Rest.” Falding writes, “It’s hard to argue with the idea that growth happens over time. You might be able to grow a turnip to maturity in a couple of months, but that’s not true for people. It may take nine months for a baby to fully develop in her mother’s womb, but it takes years for that baby to reach maturity, and longer still to reach emotional, relational and spiritual maturity.”

So, you’re not a turnip. You need more than just a few months to reach full maturity. Growth takes time. A baby needs nine months in the womb before its even ready to be born. Then another eighteen to twenty years are needed to reach full physical maturity. More are required to achieve full emotional maturity. And for spiritual maturity – well that’s a lifelong process. It just takes time. And as was noted in yesterday’s devotional, we won’t grow at all if we’re not intentional about nurturing our spiritual growth.

In Colossians 1:9-12 Paul was telling the Christians in the church in Colossae that he was praying for their continued spiritual growth. He wasn’t just praying for them individually, he was praying for them as a church. Spiritual growth is an individual process, that’s true, but it happens in community. Nowhere in the New Testament do we find examples of isolated Christians who are out of community and it being portrayed as a good thing. Always, a full and healthy Christian life occurs in community.

An important part of your lifelong process of growing spiritually is your full involvement in the life of a good church. Settle in, stay there, and grow. You’re not a turnip. Spiritual growth takes time – it takes a lifetime – a lifetime spent in a good church with other growing Christians.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)

Are you living the same year over and over again?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Are you living the same year over and over again?”

This morning I want to continue our thinking from yesterday regarding how we are to work out our salvation together – spurring one another on in our spiritual growth. There are many passages in both the Old and New Testaments that refer to the importance of spiritual growth. A quick search turned up over one hundred. 2 Peter 3:18 (above) is just one of them.

But why? Why does God find it necessary to keep reminding us to pay attention to our spiritual growth and to be intentional about engaging in the practices of our faith that help to facilitate spiritual growth? It’s because we forget; and we get lazy; and we lose our passion for God. If we’re not intentional about it we will become stale and spiritually stagnant; we will then stay stuck right where we are rather than moving forward in our growth.

I recently came across a statement written by a man who was reflecting on his own spiritual growth. He had been a Christian for thirty-three years at that point and this is what he wondered, “Have I been growing for thirty-three years with Jesus, or have I sometimes lived the same year over and over again, covering the same ground year after year?”

It’s a good question. Are you moving forward spiritually, or are you stuck in the same place you were last year, five years ago, ten years ago? It’s not uncommon to encounter professing Christians who have spent years and even decades just going through the motions of faith in a superficial and relatively meaningless way, and consequently they are pretty much in the same place now, spiritually, that they were many years ago. They’ve never grown. This is the situation the writer of the letter to the Hebrews was addressing when he admonished his readers in Hebrews 5:12: “Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food.”

Returning again to yesterday’s devotional – in a good Christian community we spur one another on to spiritual growth. We encourage each other; we inspire and motivate each other; maybe we sometimes even poke and prod each other; but we try to make sure that none of us are just treading water and staying in the same place.

This is an important element in Christian community and so we’ll come back to it again tomorrow. In the meantime, let me challenge you to prayerfully consider if you are growing and moving forward, or if you’re stuck, just living the same year over and over again.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant of if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville)