Ocean Lakes Church Service: Recent Episodes
Ocean Lakes Family Campground
Spend a few minutes with Rev. Kirk Lawton for insight and encouragement through the word of God. The longtime Chaplain for Ocean Lakes Family Campground has been an inspiration to thousands of campground guests from all over North America. Located on 310 oceanfront acres in Myrtle Beach, SC, Ocean Lakes is one of the largest family-owned campgrounds in the United States and has welcomed travelers for nearly 50 years. The non-denominational Church Service is held in the Recreation Center every Sunday at 9 AM with up to 800 in attendance.
Those of you who listen regularly to our podcast heard me say last Sunday that the subject of the sermon was "Top Priority." But if you stayed with me till the end of the message, you also heard me say that I didn't finish all I had planned to say. So - today's subject is "Top Priority - # 2." We will pick up right where we left off last week, as we continue to look at the most important issues of life. Will we finish today? Well, stay with us and we'll see.
Thank you for joining us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
What is the most important thing in your life? Is it your job, your house, your automobile, a special friend, your family, your clothes, your health, the money you have accumulated? Or maybe something else? If everything were to be taken from you except the one thing you cherish most, what would you want to keep? The answer to that would be what you call your "Top Priority." And that's the subject of today's message.
Thank you for joining us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
Last Sunday we concluded our series of messages on the subject of faith. However, today we are going to extend that subject by one more Sunday, as our topic this morning is "Faith That Faces Trouble." Last Sunday, we recalled the words of The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.." God's servant, David, from the Old Testament put it this way: "For thou hast been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy." When trouble comes our way, we all need that "strong tower" - a place to go. How wonderful it is to know that our loving heavenly Father provides that for us by giving us a sustaining faith when we face trouble!
Today we conclude our series of messages on the subject of faith. Every person in the world, whatever our place may be, needs a firm faith in God to face trials that come to us. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might ... that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
How wonderful it is to know that our loving heavenly Father is able to help us by giving us a faith that withstands. And that's our subject for today.
Thank you for joining us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
Last Sunday we continued our series of messages on the subject of faith, as we looked at some kinds of faith that are not good enough to save us, to put us in a right relationship with God. We mentioned things like blind, unreasonable faith, misplaced faith, and just "faith" - period as not being sufficient to save us. Admittedly, that sounded a bit negative. So let's come today to consider "Faith That Saves." This is the good news that God has for everyone who has ears to hear and a heart to receive.
Thank you for joining us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
Last Sunday we began our series of messages on the general subject of faith. We will begin today's message with a quote from the poet, Edgar Guest, who says "And only he may stand serene/who has a faith on which to lean." That's true, and we all can probably agree with that idea. But did you know that there is a kind of faith which does NOT save us? What does the Bible have to say about this? God has something to tell us through His Word, and so let's spend these next few minutes listening to Him.
Thank you for joining us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
We welcome you to our worship service today from Ocean Lakes Family
Campground in Myrtle Beach, S. C. Today we are beginning a short series of messages on the general subject of faith. This is a word which we have often heard and used, not only in church or religious settings, but it is a word which is common in many other ways. Some parents even give their infant daughters this beautiful name. But today we are asking the question, "Where Is Your Faith?" Hopefully, we can come this morning to a better understanding of what this is all about.
Thank you for joining us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
Today our podcast will be somewhat different from many others we have presented before. Since this Tuesday is July 4th, the day when we celebrate our nation's independence, I want to use this time to share with you some words of tribute to our nation and to its founders. As we approach this special day in our nation, our prayer is that we may all come to a greater appreciation and spirit of thanks to God for what He has given to each of us.
Many of you are hearing this podcast in a country other than America, so we invite you to celebrate with us in genuine thanksgiving to God for all His blessings, wherever we may be. Thank you for joining us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
Nine days from today our nation will be celebrating once again our independence - - the 4th of July - - Independence Day. Already we are hearing fireworks here at the beach; merchants are decorating their wares in red, white, and blue, and family gatherings are being planned - - all for the purpose of having a grand celebration. It is hoped to be a wonderful time of happiness for all. The question we're asking in today's message is: how do we get that happiness we are pursuing? In these next few minutes, our prayer is that God will help us to find the true road to real happiness.
Thank you for sharing this time with us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
Suppose you bought a lottery ticket, and when the winning number was announced, you discover that it is your ticket. You won the lottery! But let's say that you are the ultimate procrastinator, and you never get around to claiming what you have won! To use another example, let's say that you have a rich uncle who dies and leaves you $50 million, but for some reason, you never claim your inheritance. Did you know that God has left you a great inheritance, just waiting for you to claim it? And that's what we're thinking about on this Father's Day Sunday.
Thank you for sharing this time with us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
Last Sunday we gave our attention in the sermon to the subject, "Ride the Wild Horses." Now today the title is "Drum-Major Desires." There is actually a connection between these two sermons, but it is not obvious just from hearing the titles. And so today we are building on the foundation of what we considered last Sunday. If you haven't heard the podcast from last week, you can still hear it. I jokingly tell people that these podcasts are like the devil - - they never go away! Now let's move right on into the follow-up from last Sunday.
Thank you for sharing this time with us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
We welcome you this morning to our Sunday worship service from Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Here is it the month of June already. When I was a seminary student in Louisville, KY many years ago, we used to look forward to the first Saturday in May for the Kentucky Derby. I never actually got to see a Derby, but that didn't keep me from appreciating all those magnificent three-year-old horses and the way they were trained for this "run for the roses."
The title of today's sermon is "Ride the Wild Horses." Well, the sermon is not about those horses, which are anything but wild, but if you'll stay with us for a few minutes, we'll look at a Bible verse which mentions horses, and we will see how this applies to our spiritual life as well.
Thank you for sharing this time with us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
This last Sunday in November is considered by many churches as the beginning of the Advent Season - a time when we try to prepare our hearts for a meaningful observance of the birth of our Savior Jesus. This morning we are going to take a somewhat different approach to the Advent Season, as we think together -not of the Innkeeper in Bethlehem, who is so often scorned by not letting Mary and Joseph in. Our subject today is "The Other Innkeeper." Who is that, you ask. The answer is found in Luke's gospel, chapter 10 verses 25-37. Our prayer is that this may be a meaningful beginning of the Advent Season for us all.
Thank you for worshipping with us.
Thanksgiving Day is only a few days away. What do you have this year for which you are truly thankful? Well, when we stop to think about it, there is no way in which we can "count our blessings;" they are far too numerous. Yes, we all have troubles and hardships. Some people would have an easier time counting their burdens than their blessings. But today we are going to be looking at one reason why we ALL should be thankful. It is found in our Biblical text for today, Psalm 107:8 -
"O that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His Wonderful works to the children of men."
Among our many thanks to God here at Ocean Lakes Family Campground, we thank YOU for joining us in worship today.
As you listen to the podcast today, some of you may be in your home, some may be riding in your car, some outdoors or at some other place. If it is convenient for you to do so, I'm going to begin today by asking you to do what the sermon title says: "Look at Your Hands." Now, lest you think that this message is not Biblically based, the scriptural test for today is Acts 20:35. We will uncover this as we move along into the sermon.
Thank you for worshipping with us from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
There are many times when preachers use language which may well be above the heads of listeners. There are those occasions when we use phrases which may have had special meanings years ago, but which don't make alot of sense to us today. One such phrase is "walking with God." Now we all know that we cannot literally "walk with God" in the same way in which we might walk down the street with an old friend.
So what so we mean when we say that we should "walk with God?" This morning our subject is, "When we walk with the Lord." Maybe in these next few minutes we can get a better idea of what that means.
Thank you for worshipping with us!
In the Old Testament book of Numbers we find a statement which has often been used as a prayer for people who are about to end their earthly life. It is found in Numbers 23, verse 10: "Let me die the death of the righteous..." These words were spoken by a man named Balaam, who was a rather strange individual, as we shall see today. Was his prayer answered? Well, not exactly; in fact, not at all. It is an interesting story, and our prayer is that we all may learn a lesson from God through the tragedy of this man's life/
Thank you for worshiping with us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
Here at Ocean Lakes Family Campground the month of October each year is a special time for children. This is the month of Halloween, and we have FIVE weeks of festivities for the children here. Sometimes Halloween has a bad name, although its origin is from a religious beginning. Our celebrations here at Ocean Lakes are more joyous than scare, and children are thrilled to go from place to place "Trick or Treating."
This mornings message has nothing to do with Halloween, but the title is "A Night Visitor." Stay with us, and let's see who this is and why he made a visit at night.
Thank you for worshipping with us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
In the 4th chapter of John's gospel, we have the story of Jesus and a woman who had an interesting conversation together. During that conversation, the woman referred to a well where they had met. It was a well that was dug by her ancestor, Jacob. This man was a person who was held in high esteem, and as she talked with Jesus, she asked him, "Do you think you're greater than Jacob our ancestor?"
Well, there's a lot more to this story, and this is what we're going to be thinking about in today's sermon - something that happened hundreds of years before Jesus and this woman talked. Stay with us and lets hear "the rest of the story."
Thank you for worshipping with us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
Students who study in a seminary and take a course called "homiletics" (which basically means how to prepare and deliver a sermon) are told that the title of the sermon should be something which catches the attention of the worshippers and makes them eager to hear what the preacher is going to say about the subject. Well, today's sermon title probably violates that teaching, as we are thinking today on the subject, "The Holiness of God." Not a very exciting subject, right? Well, what is meant by the word "holiness?" Maybe there's more to it than many think. Hang in there with us, and just maybe God has a pleasant surprise for us today as we think about His holiness.
Thank you for joining us from Ocean Lakes Family Campground!
Today our podcast will be somewhat different from many others we have presented before. Since tomorrow is July 4th, the day when we celebrate our nation's independence, I want to use this ref time to share with you some words of tribute to our nation and to its founders. You've heard the expression, "Freedom Isn't Free," and our desire today is that we may all come to a greater appreciation and spirit of thanks to God for what He has given to America. Many of you are hearing this podcast in a country other than America, so we invite you to celebrate with guys today.
Thank you for joining us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground.
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One of the outstanding characteristics of our Christian faith is that it is "a singing faith." Like the people of old, music has been a means through which God speaks to our hearts, not just our heads. Do you recall some old hymns or gospel songs that have become a part of your faith's foundation? Today we will hear the stories of four of the favorite hymns on the subject of the cross of Jesus. Our prayer is that this may help prepare your heart to receive Him in a fresh and wonderful way on this Palm Sunday.
Thank you for worshipping with us!
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. It is a day in the year when we like to express love to those around us who are special in some way. In our thinking today, we are going to look at what Jesus called "the second commandment," or that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. But many people really don't have a wholesome self-love. How are you?
Four Sundays ago we began a series of messages on some of the sins we find in our lives. We have looked at pride, envy, anger, and sloth. Today we come to a fifth sin, "the sin of avarice." If you'll listen closely to the sermon that follows, you will see why I have chosen these particular sins.
Thank you for sharing this time of worship with us today.