Oak City Church Podcasts: Recent Episodes
Oak City Church
Everybody's life is an active demonstration of their gospel - their 'good news' - to the world around them. Whether that good news relates to their money or their family or their work or their body, the people in their life pick up on what they put their hope in. This week we're looking at how the life of a follower of Jesus should practically demonstrate the good news of who Jesus is and what he has done for us.
As a church, we embarking on a year-long journey we are calling OakCityGo. Last week we looked at how we are 'going' locally. This week we will search out and share God's heart for all the nations of the earth and be challenged to 'go' globally.
At Oak City Church we are growing together as a family of learners, lovers and givers sent on mission to make disciples. In the final week of our series called His Story Our Story we will take a look at what it means that we are "sent."
We live in a world with real problems that lead to real fears in our lives. And God knows well those problems our sin has caused and has a very real wrath against our sin. But our salvation from that wrath because of the work of Jesus is real, too. And because of what he has done, we no longer have to walk in fear and discouragement, but can be encouraged ourselves, and can encourage one another with the reality of his work on our behalf.
Jesus called told his first disciples he would make them 'fishers of men', and that's exactly what happened. They became fishers of men and through them God started a movement that has spanned millennia and changed the world. He has sent us as disciples to be a part of that same movement. Are we going?
When Jesus calls his disciples he says, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." What does Jesus mean when he says, "I will make you"?
Jesus called his first disciples to follow him, and he calls us to the same today. Following Jesus is something that demands our whole self and shapes who we are becoming. How are you doing as a follower of Jesus?
The Bible describes God as a 'father to the fatherless'. That means that he loves millions and millions of orphans around the world as intensely as we love our own children. In fact, the Bible says he loves them better than we love our own children. And that is why God has called his people, the church, to care for these orphans. So what are we doing for them? What are you doing to help them?
If Jesus has saved us from the penalty of our sins, then why do we still wrestle with so many sins - and their consequences to us and those around us - on a day-to-day basis? This is the essence of the struggle of the Christian life. Today we find encouragement in a bunch of passages that talk about Jesus' power over sin and how that can make a difference in our lives.
While culture's definition of justice is ever-changing, the Bible's is not. There is right and wrong, and there are consequences to doing wrong. Thankfully, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin on the cross, and that frees us to live the life we were made for.
Join us this week for part 4 of His Story Our Story. Our world has great angst about what the future holds, but God wants his people to be confident about what the future holds for them. How should our confidence in the promise of heaven change the way we live today?
Join us this week for week three of His Story:Our Story. This week we look at how Jesus is the answer to absolutely everything.
This week we looked at how Jesus was the promised redeemer and is the one who makes all things right.
Join us this week for week two of His Story:Our Story. This week we look at how sin and all of its consequences entered the story and what that means for us.
We are starting a new series this weekend His Story - Our Story. Join us this weekend as we investigate how the enternal, holy God made absolutely everything that exists, why He made it and what that means to us today.
This week we looked at the story of Lydia in Acts 16 and asked if God still 'opens peoples hearts' to pay attention to the gospel. The answer within Oak City was a resounding 'Yes'. Whether or not we believe that is true in the hearts of our friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and classmates will determine whether or not we join him in his work.
This week we talked with Meg and Andy about Andy's struggle with alcohol, the impact that had on their family, and how God used it to shape both of them. It is a fantastic story of the hope the gospel offers and a picture of perseverance.
This week we here an unexpected story of God's grace at work in many, many ways. This is one you don't want to miss.
Each August we take four weeks to look at how God has met people in some of the darkest times in their lives, and how the gospel informs the way we understand these times. Join us this week as Erin Kala and Katie Pritchett talk about their experience of postpartum depression.
We have spent 8 months looking at the life of Jesus as a church. It's been a fantastic series, but, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if we haven't changed, because change is the end result of discipleship. This week we'll ask some hard questions about our individual and collective relationships with Jesus.
Pastor Siani of New Life Ministries in Kesinga, India joins us this week. During the second service he shared an excellent message on how we can know the will of God for our lives.
Pastor Siani of New Life Ministries in Kesinga, India joins us this week. During the first service he shared an excellent message from Acts 10 on how we can be the type of person whose prayers God listens to.
As Jesus prepares to return to His Father in heaven, He prepares his disciples to take the good news of the gospel to the nations, but there is one more thing they need before they go. Come find out what it is this weekend.
After Jesus rises from the dead, he finds his disciples struggling to understand how things could have gone so wrong and Jesus could have ended up crucified. He goes through the Old Testament with them and explains how the whole thing had been pointing to him and to this moment when he had to suffer on our behalf. How do we understand that today and why does it matter?
In some subtle and many not-so-subtle ways, our culture sends the constant message 'Your life is all about you!' Your life is about your will, your happiness, your feelings, your satisfaction, and you shouldn't let anything get in your way. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus lives out a very different message, and he calls us to follow him by living our lives in a manner very different way from what our culture calls us to.
Oftentimes the road to 'success' as a disciple of Christ starts with failure. This week we look at the greatest failure of one of Jesus' greatest disciples, and we see what it means for our efforts in following him today.
We aren't sure when and we aren't sure how it's a fact that Jesus is coming back. How should that impact how we live our lives here and now?
Kids in churches have been taught "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so" for generations. But ... do we believe this? And WHY does Jesus love us, if so? And what does this mean for us, if it is true? This Sunday, we explore the story in Luke 18 of the rich young ruler and what this bit of history teaches us about God, his love, and our response.
Hell. Few topics evoke more emotion and angst than hell. Jesus speaks to it frequently, and this week we take a look at one particular story where he addresses it, and why it matters to us today.
It is said that 'necessity is the mother of invention', and too often it is true that we only experience the blessing of our best and most motivated work when we are backed into a corner. But what if we weren't made to live like that? This week we look at a parable Jesus tells that shows us we are often seeking our motivation in the wrong places.
We continue our series in Luke this week with Stephen Johnson taking a fresh look at a familiar story.
We are all urgent about something, or some combination of things, but not many of us are urgent about the right things. Jesus tells a story that illustrates what it means to be urgent about the right things, and tells us how we get there.
We are surrounded by stuff. Our stuff screams for attention all the time and people are constantly trying to get us to buy more stuff. Thankfully, Jesus has a lot to say to us about our stuff, and this week's passage hits the topic head-on. Don't miss this week, but come ready to respond.
Different people respond differently to Jesus and the things that He does. Some are amazed and believe, some don't quite buy it and some go about actively trying to undercut Him. Jesus' responses to those different groups tells us what our response to him should be!
'Love your neighbor as yourself' is one of the easiest commands in the Bible to understand, and one of the most difficult to consistently do. This week we look at the parable of the Good Samaritan and see why the key to serving those around us isn't securing an abundance out of which we can give, but instead understanding your own poverty.
There are some things in life you spend much time and effort preparing for, and your preparation pays off. There are other things in life that you just can't be prepared for, and that you'll never do if you wait until your ready. Jesus puts the mission he sends us on squarely in the latter category. You're not ready, but he is sending you anyways.
Luke writes that the disciples 'disbelieved for joy' when they first saw the risen Jesus. The whole thing seemed too good to be true to them. This week we'll look at how they overcame their disbelief, why they experienced so much joy, and how we can do the same. We'd love to have you join us this Easter Sunday!
As Jesus is hanging on the cross, with the two thieves on either side of him, the whole world seems to have turned against him. One of the thieves suddenly grasps the reality of the situation, and it leads him to a place of great freedom. This week we look at how it can take us there too.