Oak Hill Baptist Church

Let’s workout our salvation together

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, my friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Let’s work out our salvation together”

What a strange statement Paul writes in Philippians 2:12 that we are to “work out” our salvation. We’ve all been taught that we don’t have to work for our salvation. Salvation is a gift of grace, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9), so what could Paul possibly mean by “working out” our salvation?

In this case, Paul was referring to salvation as it pertains to sanctification. Sanctification is a theological term which means “to set apart and make holy.” When something is set apart and made holy for the Lord, it is sanctified. As a believer in Christ, you have been set aside and made holy for God through His Son Jesus Christ.

However, sanctification (and therefore salvation as Paul means it here), is a multi-phase process. You are sanctified initially in the moment you place your faith in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. At that moment you are set apart for God and made holy through your relationship with His Son Jesus. But sanctification is also an ongoing lifelong process. As the Holy Spirit works in our lives, moment-by-moment and day-by-day, He is progressively transforming us from the person we used to be and into the person God wants us to be. That’s the ongoing process of sanctification and it is the part of salvation that Paul was encouraging us to “work out.” Then, on the day you reach heaven, you will experience final sanctification. You will then be the person you are going to be for all eternity.

So, what does this have to do with our theme of Christian community? Just that as brothers and sisters in Christ we are to help each other work out our salvation – in the sense of the ongoing process of sanctification that we are all involved in. We are to help each other along, encouraging one another, challenging one another, holding each other accountable, and spurring each other on to greater degrees of spiritual growth.

That’s what Paul was doing for the Philippians when he wrote this letter to them, and it’s what they needed to be doing for each other. It’s also what you and I need to be doing for each other. As the writer of the letter to the Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds …”

This is how we grow in Christian community – we help each other to work out our salvation. I encourage you to do that for someone 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)

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We make time for what is important to us

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.” Proverbs 17:17 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “We make time for what is important to us”

I was in a conversation with a friend the other day and she mentioned an encounter she attempted to have with a mutual acquaintance of ours and her comment was, “He was in his typical “hurry” mode, so it was hard to talk to him.”

That caused me to consider how often I’m in my typical hurry mode, and if people sometimes find it difficult to talk to me because of it. Also, I thought about how it is that our entire society seems to operate in the hurry mode, and we all seem to be far busier than we should be. We tend to cram too many things into our schedules and then we rush, rush, rush, from one thing to the next, from one person to the next. A few years ago, Pastor John Mark Comer published an excellent book on this subject with the title “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” I’ve read it three times so far and probably need to go back and read it again.

However, despite that fact that we are all too busy, it is still true that we all have the same amount of time available to us – sixty minutes in every hour, twenty-four hours in every day, and we all make choices about what we will do with that time. And the truth is, we do make choices. And usually, those choices are based upon our priorities. We make the time for the people and things that are most important to us, and for all the rest we make excuses.

When it comes to Christian community, if a person truly is more important to you than that next thing you were rushing off to, then you will choose to stop and spend some time with that person. If a friend or family member asks you to do something with them and you say you can’t, what that means is you considered the other things you could do with that time instead and came to the conclusion that those other things are more important to you than the thing your friend or family member asked you to do with them. In fairness, the other thing may truly be more important and it may be something you simply cannot put off, but the point holds that a choice was made on your part and it was based upon your priorities.

The truth is we make the time for the things and the people who are most important to us. Despite what we say, it’s the choices we make and the actions we take that tell the real story. An important part of Christian community is that we make time for each other.

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 it begin with you, and with me

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Let it begin with you, and with me”

In Psalm 51:10 King David was reflecting on the condition of his own wicked heart and the horrible sin he had committed (He slept with another man’s wife and then had her husband killed). That’s the specific context within which that verse was written, but it also teaches a larger and important general Biblical principle which is this: focus less on other people’s sins and shortcomings and more on your own.

David wasn’t casting blame on others and he wasn’t pointing the finger at those whom he believed to be greater sinners than himself. The cry of his heart was: create in “me” a pure heart, O God, renew a steadfast spirit within “me.”

Now let’s apply this principle specifically to the theme of our devotional from yesterday to “Know, speak, and stand, for the truth.” None of us are as knowledgeable, verbal, or as bold and courageous for the truth as we should be. We can all do better. We all need to know more, speak up more, and take a stand more often than we do.

But doing so takes effort and it also takes desire. We have to want to know more; we have to want to speak more; and we have to want to courageously take a stand in the public square for the Biblical truths we know to be essential for the health and well-being of our society; and we have to be intentional about doing so.

This is where we help each other as a Christian community. Personal example can be a powerful motivator. If others see you faithfully attending the gatherings of God’s people; if they know you diligently apply yourself to a deeper study of God’s Word; if they hear you speaking up for sound doctrine and Biblical principles; and if they see you courageously taking a stand for truth and justice; they will often be inspired by your example and they will be motivated to do the same.

It starts with you and it starts with me – as individuals. Let our prayer be: “Lord, create in me a heart that seeks the truth, speaks the truth, and stands for the truth.”

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)

Know, speak, and stand, for the truth

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:2-4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Know, speak, and stand, for the truth”

2 Timothy 4:2-4 is not intended just for preachers and teachers; it applies to all Christians. “Preach the word” means “Declare Biblical truth.” “in season and out of season” means “whether it’s convenient or not and whether people want to hear it or not.” The instruction applies to all of us. We are all to declare Biblical truth – in our churches, yes, but out in the world too. And we are to do it whether doing so is easy or hard, and whether the listeners want to hear it or not.

Paul then goes on to say that the time will come when people (both in the world and in the church) won’t tolerate sound doctrine. Instead, they will find speakers and leaders who will tell them the things they want to hear. Then, as a society, and sadly in some churches, people turn away from the truth and to myths and lies instead.

Such is the situation in our society today and as a Christian community, it’s largely our own fault. Why is it our fault? Because far too many of us are not doing what Paul commanded in 2 Timothy 4:2-4, we are not boldly and confidently speaking and standing for the truth. There are many reasons. One is that we have allowed ourselves to become busy and distracted. We are just caught-up in life. Another reason is fear – fear of the blowback we might get for speaking Biblical truth to a culture that is opposed to it.

But another reason for our silence is that many Christians in our churches are confused about sound doctrine and Biblical truth. They simply haven’t been instructed in it, and therefore they can’t speak about what they don’t know. This isn’t true of all Christians or all churches, but it is a widespread problem.

This Sunday at Oak Hill Baptist we are going to begin a study of the book of Romans. Romans is the clearest, most concise, and most complete presentation of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith found anywhere in the New Testament. We need to know what Romans teaches, and we need to know it well enough that we can then explain it to others in simple ways that can be easily applied.

I invite you to join us for this study. The service begins 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 encourage each other to know the truth, to speak the truth, and with boldness and confidence, to stand for the truth.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

Maybe it’s our own fault

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “This disaster happened because the people of Israel sinned against the Lord their God …” 2 Kings 17:7 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Maybe it’s our own fault”

I admit it, I am nostalgic for “the good old days”. I grew up in a “Leave it to Beaver” kind of neighborhood. It was very much an “Andy of Mayberry” world. Looking back, it seemed so simple and safe and innocent. We went to church, we pledged allegiance to the flag, we watched Saturday morning cartoons, and we played outside until the street lights came on.

It was a different time, a different world. By comparison, today’s world seems like the stuff of bad science fiction. They actually have Drag Queen Story Time in kindergarten? And this is a good thing? We’re all supposed to pretend that a man wearing a wig and a dress is really a woman, and I’m being hateful if I point out that in reality, he’s actually a man? How did we get from Andy Griffith to RuPaul, and who’s fault is it?

I find the editorial note in the introduction to the book of 2 Kings in the Experiencing God Study Bible to be both insightful and disturbing. The editors wrote, “The best of times became the worst of times. Why? How could Israel explain the radical change of fortunes? How could God’s people go from being the dominant nation on earth under Solomon to a vassal of Babylon with no land, no temple, no political structure, and no apparent hope? … Second Kings shows that God’s people have themselves to blame for judgment …”

By the time the Biblical narrative brings us to the opening chapters of 2 Kings, Israel was a divided land – they had long since ceased to be a united people and they had spent decades fighting each other. As a society they also increasingly focused on material things instead of spiritual – the people who had been faithful to God had increasingly drifted further and further from God. And as all of this went on, their nation continued to fall apart until eventually, there no longer was a nation.

The best of times became the worst of times, and it didn’t happen quickly. It was slow and progressive. But in time, the nation that was blessed by God found itself under the judgment of God, and it was their own fault.

We Christians often complain about the sad condition of our nation today, but how much of it is our own fault? How responsible are we as a Christian community for the social and cultural condition of our society? Have we gotten increasingly lazy and ineffective about being on-mission with Jesus in our world? Have we become lax in our own standards of morality? Have we forfeited our influence in the world because we have become too much like the world? Maybe much of this is our own fault.

We’ll think more about this tomorrow but for now, please pray that God’s people will stop being complicit and/or indifferent to the moral decay in our land.

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 turn the world right side up

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Let’s turn the world right side up”

The context for what we just read in Acts 4:13 is this: The new church in Jerusalem was exploding with growth and power. People were coming to faith in Jesus by the hundreds, even the thousands. One day, Peter and John were about to enter the temple courtyard when they encountered a lame beggar at the temple gateway. The man was hoping to receive money from them but he received something better instead. In Acts 3:6 we read, “But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” Instantly the man was healed and he jumped up, walked, and praised God.

The people all around were astonished and they too praised God for the miracle. Peter then used the opportunity to preach about Jesus to the gathered crowd. That angered the Pharisees and religious leaders, so they ordered that Peter and John be arrested. When they were finally brought before the ruling council, they confidently answered the accusations made against them, and again used the occasion as an opportunity to speak about Jesus. Peter and John were so confident and so bold that we read in Acts 4:13 the leaders were amazed that these simple fishermen were so sure of themselves and were having such an impact on the city. It caused them to realize that these men had been with Jesus.

But that wasn’t true just of Peter and John. That entire Christian community was on fire for Jesus. They were all bold and confident. Not only were they together and caring for each other (Acts 2:42-47) but they were moving throughout the city caring for those in need, blessing people in the name of Jesus, and telling them the Good News of the Gospel.

It has often been said that those early Christians were turning their world upside down for Jesus, but I don’t think that’s the right way to describe it. They weren’t turning the world upside down they were turning it right side up. With the power of the Holy Spirit working through them, they were changing their city from how it was to how it was supposed to be. They were setting things right.

Can the same be said of us as a Christian community? Are we turning our city, our state, our nation right side up? Does the observing world look at us in amazement and conclude, “Those people have been with Jesus!”?

The Holy Spirit guided those early Christians to overcome persecution, prejudice, politics, social issues, cultural differences, and much more, to powerfully impact their world. The same should be true of us. Let’s focus on the things that really matter. Let’s work together to turn our world right side up.

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 power of community

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The power of community”

This morning I want to continue our thinking from yesterday’s devotional regarding how important it is for each of us to be a “stretcher bearer” – someone who helps to carry the load when a brother or sister is struggling and in need of help.

Yesterday I shared a quote with you from a woman whose family was going through a deep, dark valley – a terrible situation – and her church family and friends supported them and helped to carry them through it. Her statement was “I was hurting badly but I was being loved deeply.” That was said by Carol Kent and was recorded in her book, “When I lay my Isaac down: Unshakable faith in unthinkable circumstances.”

The valley Carol and her family were going through was that her only son committed first-degree murder. Up to the point of pulling the trigger and killing a man, her son had been an outstanding person in every respect. He was a strong Christian, he was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he was in the middle of a good career as a Navy officer, and he was married with two children. But convinced that his wife’s ex-husband posed a potential threat to their two daughters, he traveled six hours to another part of their state, hunted the man down, and shot him dead in a parking lot in front of witnesses. He was then arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Carol, her husband Gene, and everyone who knew their son Jason were stunned in disbelief. Carol and Gene’s world quickly fell apart. What would happen to their son now? What about his wife and children? Also, at that time, Carol was a well-known motivational speaker and best-selling Christian author. What would people think? Would she even be able to continue her ministry and if so, how could she encourage, motivate, and guide others through life when her own son was a murderer and her life was falling apart?

It was in this context that Carol experienced the power of good Christian community. She wrote, “I never understood what power of community could do. It’s people in the body of Christ working like a family to sit and cry with you. Holding you. Caring for your needs. Carrying your burdens for a day. Creatively solving problems. Gathering resources. Opening doors of hope. Writing notes of encouragement. Fighting a cause on your behalf. Finding a way when there is no way. Listening. Waiting with you as long as it takes. It’s people “being Jesus” to you.”

I want to remind you today that there is power in good Christian community and chances are, somebody you know needs your help today. I encourage you to be there for them.

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 a stretcher bearer?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “Just then some men came, carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him in and set him down before him. Since they could not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before Jesus.” Luke 5:18-19 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Will you be a stretcher bearer?”

One day Jesus was in a village in Galilee teaching the people. The house was filled to overflowing and a crowd had gathered outside as well. Then, along came some men carrying a paralyzed friend on a stretcher. They obviously believed that if they could just get their friend to Jesus, He could and would heal him. But the crowd was so thick that they couldn’t get into the house. So, they climbed up on the roof, made a big hole in it, hoisted up their friend on his stretcher, and then using ropes they lowered him through the hole in the roof and set him down right at the feet of Jesus.

Imagine the surprised and then amused look on Jesus’ face as bits of debris were falling all around him, and then He sees this stretcher being lowered down from the ceiling. And now, here’s this paralyzed man laying at His feet waiting to be healed. Well, Jesus did heal him, and He forgave the man his sins as well. And, according to verse 20, He did it not because of the faith of the paralyzed man but because of the great faith demonstrated by his friends, “Seeing their faith he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” And (verse 24) “I tell you: Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.”

I read a great statement the other day from a person who was describing one of the deepest, darkest periods of life that she and her family ever had to go through. She said that during that time her church family rallied around them with love, support, and help. With prayers, meals, money, help with daily tasks, and much more, their church family carried them through their ordeal. Her statement was, “I was hurting badly but I was being loved deeply.” Her friends had essentially been stretcher bearers for her and her family. They carried them through their time of difficulty.

That is an essential element of healthy church life and it’s one of the things I love the most about Oak Hill Baptist. We are stretcher bears for each other. As a group we come around the hurting one, we each pick up an end of the stretcher, and together we help to carry our hurting brother or sister through their dark and difficult season of life.

Are you a stretcher bearer? I hope you are. And are you in a church filled with people who are stretcher bears? I hope so because I promise you, the time will come when you will need to be carried. Nobody gets through life without going through deep valleys, and everyone needs help sometimes.

Be a stretcher bearer. Be one of those who can be counted on to be there, to grab an end, and to help carry someone else through a difficult time in life.

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)

He is risen!

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said.” Matthew 28:5-6 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “He is risen!”

Without question, Easter is the most important day of the year on the Christian calendar. Good Friday is the second most important and Christmas is the third. The fact that Jesus was born matters tremendously. The fact that he died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins and mine is important beyond description. But the fact that He arose from the dead changed everything. As the Apostle Paul taught in Ephesians chapters one and two and in Romans chapter eight, the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead is the power He will use to raise you and I to eternal life as well.

The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most provable facts in recorded history. So much so that Billy Graham once wrote, “There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived or that Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three.”

Throughout history it has been the proof of the resurrection that has led many sceptics and atheists to faith in Christ. C.S. Lewis was one of the most brilliant men of his day, a professor at Oxford College in England. He was also a sceptic of Christianity who eventually came to faith in Christ. He wrote that it was his study of the resurrection that eventually led him to conclude that it is impossible for the Christian faith to not be true.

Entire books have been written by former atheists and sceptics documenting the historicity of the resurrection. Josh McDowell was one them. He was a top law student who decided to use his research skills to prove once and for all that Christianity was a hoax. Instead, his studies led him to the same conclusion that C.S. Lewis arrived at, “It’s impossible for this to not be true.” “Evidence that Demand a Verdict” and “A Ready Defense” are two of Josh’s books that record in detail all the evidence he uncovered that convinced him the resurrection of Jesus absolutely did happen.

Lee Strobel is another of those former atheists. He was an investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Different person, same circumstances, same outcome. He set out to prove that Christianity and the resurrection of Christ is all a fraud. Instead, his investigation led him to faith in Christ and then to author a series of books, all based on his research. His book “The Case for Easter” was a New York Times bestseller.

It’s hard to argue with the truth. Jesus lived, He died, and he arose again. So, at Easter, we Christians gather in joyful Easter celebrations. When we do the preacher declares “Christ is risen!” and the people respond in unison, “He is risen indeed!”

Yes, He is risen indeed!

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)

Why did He die for me?

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Christian community”

Our Bible verse for today: “He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Why did He die for me?”

Today is the day we have come to call “Good Friday.” It’s the anniversary of the day that Jesus was crucified. It was not a “good” day for Him, but it sure was for us. It’s the day the price for our sins was paid once and for all and therefore, for us, it was a very good day indeed.

Recently a friend at church gave me another little book of poems. This one was “Poems of Praise and Worship” by Dave Conaghan. One of the poems has the title “Why” and it is about the crucifixion.

Why did He die for me? Why did He go to the Cross?
He was God’s Holy Lamb
Son of the Great I Am.
Why did He suffer such loss?

Why did He die for me? Why was there any real need?
He could have called angels down
And take the crown.
Why did He suffer and bleed?

Why did He die for me? Why did He take my place?
It should have been me
They hung on that tree.
Why such Mercy and Grace?

Why did He die for me? Why did He perish that day?
It was God’s holy plan
To redeem sinful man.
Why would I turn Him away?

Why did He die for us? Pastor John MacArthur says that 2 Corinthians 5:21 (above) explains it. It was so there could be a great substitution. On the one side of the substitution Jesus took the punishment for all of our sins. On the other side we were given all of His righteousness so we would be worthy to enter God’s pure, perfect, and holy heaven. On the cross, Jesus made that possible for us.

I will have more to say about this on Easter Sunday in my sermon at Oak Hill Baptist Church. I invite you to join us for an Easter brunch at 9:00 and for an Easter celebration at 10:00. For now, as a Christian community, on this Good Friday, let’s all take time to prayerfully thank Jesus for bearing our punishment on that cross.

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)