OAK HILLS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

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On the way to the cross, the most important thing He would do for mankind, Jesus stopped a few moments for two insignificant blind men.  He was always doing that.  Those around Him were always trying to keep him on schedule.  He was always stopping for people.  He still is.  He stopped for you - for me.  The ones who received their sight followed him.  Do we follow him?

These are precious days ahead. Embrace them. Lean into them. Ask the Lord to give you teachable hearts. I am excited for Oak Hills’ future. I believe the Lord is building His church, and this season ahead both for the Ramseys and Oak Hills is part of that glorious purpose.

Uncertainty strengthens us by posing this question: Do you believe God works all things together for the good of those who love Him? His word says He does, (Rom 8:28) and not simply by working little miracles every time we get in a tough spot. God works through long, deliberate purposes that develop over time.

It is right for us to say to each other, “I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart.” (v. 20) How do we do this? We live out our doctrine, and by so doing, we tell again the story of the love of Christ, rich and free. Doctrine tells the story of the Gospel. Living by it shows the Gospel. 

This is what Christ promises: He will build His church. It’s a promise you can trust. The Gospel comes from Christ. He is building us now to worship and adore Him for all He is. His presence is always greater than His provision.

One key reason Philemon must do something with this letter is because Paul didn’t just send him this note about Onesimus: he sent Onesimus himself with it. And as it is with any relationship, it is going to cost Philemon something.

Following Pastor Russ's sermon on April 25, 2010, he announced that at the end of May he would be stepping down from his position as the lead pastor of Oak Hills to pursue the Lord's leading to serve with a church in Nashville, Tennessee. This is the audio of that special time together.

Philemon is one of Paul’s most personal letters, and it is both humbling and powerful in what it reveals about how Jesus Christ changes our lives—especially in how we treat each other and see ourselves.

Jesus teaches us to pray hallowed be your name. This is the prayer that He would continue to reveal His holiness in His ways in this world. We need to know the holiness of God because only when we behold His holiness are we driven through our despair into Hope through our Savior, who meets our need with holiness and declares us holy.

It is impossible to overstate the significance of this day to those troubled in Spirit. Eternity stepped into time, rescuing desperate people from their separation from God that they might know peace with Him.

So much misunderstanding surrounded Jesus—who He truly was versus who people presumed Him to be. When you read the opening verses of Hebrews and lay them over the events of that first Palm Sunday, you see the sacred and profane powerfully juxtaposed.

The author of Hebrews pleads with a weary, fearful people to trust in their Lord Jesus, regardless of how much it feels like waiting. Do we trust God’s promises? Do we believe His word, because Easter asks us to believe some pretty incredible things?

Jesus draws us into prayer in one word: "Father." This is the heart of prayer; it challenges us with our understanding of who God is. In prayer we learn to engage with God and His world and we engage with God through prayer as we approach Him as our Father. Jesus unfolds for us the impact of knowing God as our Father, in order to show us His love.

Guilt is as poor a reason to give as greed is not to. Both flow from a heart trying to run from the Lord, not to Him. Today we take a look at Godward giving by studying an encounter Jesus had with some meticulously reliable tithers, and unpack what He said about the heart behind their giving.

Though the Apostle Paul didn’t know many of the believers in Rome personally, he knew being with them would encourage him both in his striving for the Gospel and in his refreshment. In fellowship we have an incredible capacity to do both.

Kindness is a virtue not often enough considered, but it remains central to what Christianity is all about. Kindness is one of the purest forms of the imitation of God.

How do we engage in powerful fellowship in those moments when more is needed of us than we feel equipped to give? We practice. We do the work of art. We practice the art of fellowship every day.

Burden-bearing is spiritual work.  It is not one we do because we are strong, but because we are weak.  It is not something we undertake because of our wisdom, but because of our foolishness.  And in it we have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of seeing God at work in us and through us.

If the preserving refuge of God includes the fellowship of the saints, and if that fellowship is meant to bring us delight, what specifically is it about fellowship with God’s people that brings us this joy?

Poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti said, “The worst moment for an atheist is when he is truly thankful, but has no one to thank.” For the Christian, not only do we have Someone to thank, we also have a place to offer thanks where we experience the “Amen” of the fellowship of the saints. What a kindness this is—a daily mercy!

On the Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, we at Oak Hills will labor, by God’s grace, to persuade everyone we can that no one has ever looked upon an unsacred human life, because what we all share in common is that, unlike everything else in all creation, people were made in the image of God.

With the Gospel as our foundation, for Oak Hills the call goes out to receive “one such child.” We have a responsibility as a church family to the youngest among us.  Make time and space to get to know the children around you.  But this extends beyond children—to any who follow behind us in faith no matter what their age.  If you are a believer, there is a place for you.

The Gospel is "grace plus nothing." As Oak Hills celebrates 11 years, may we never pursue appearances out of a fear of man, rebuilding the legalism the Gospel tore down. But even more, may the Lord give us the grace to pursue His call with a zealous passion to glorify His name. And may the way we live be our witness.

With the bookends of our year in the pulpit being the resurrection of Christ and the ancient prophecies foretelling us that this was to liberate us from the tyranny of sin and live in face to face relationship with our Maker, we must then honestly ask, “What is Christ to me?” because in Scripture, He is everything.

The Lord established an entire sacrificial system by which the people could offer sacrifices to God to atone for their sins. But no beast of the field could ever be perfect enough to actually take away the sins of the image bearers of God. Would there ever come a perfect, lasting, atoning sacrifice who would take away the sins of the world? That Lamb would have to be of God.

Abraham's family had become a rich people. With wealth comes power. But lest anyone think wealth and power would be the means by which Abraham’s descendants would bless the earth, the Lord visits Abrham's grandson Jacob at the height of his wealth-and fear-and shows Himself strong while revealing our weakness.

God promised Abraham that his descendants would not only outnumber the stars of heaven, but also that from his line all the earth would be blessed. But how could this be since Abraham had no sons? Today we see God’s answer in a story that is one of the greatest foreshadowings of Jesus in Scripture.

Today we move from the story of the fall of man and God’s promise to restore all that is broken to the story of a man He would choose to be the father of the nation God would preserve as a remnant—Abraham.

Early in the Old Testament, God told His people to tell and retell to their children the story of how He saved them from slavery in Egypt. In this, we are reminded that while our redemption in Christ is set in doctrinal truths, they are anchored in an old, old story—an amazing and true tall tale. The aim of this series is to tell that story.

Why do churches like Oak Hills have a formal membership process and membership vows? It is a fair question. Church membership is the application of a series of Biblical principles—an application arrived at through prayerful, careful consideration of how we might live as faithful followers of Christ.

All of us are looking for something more than simply 'arriving' in life. Some search by striving for God's approval that they can't earn, while others work hard at ignoring the desire through either cynicism or apathy. The declaration to the believer is that we have been set free from sin ruling over us in order that we might live new lives.

Salvation comes to us only by faith. It is not something we achieve. (Rom 4) At the top of the list of implications is the fact that though humanity lives in rebellion against God, through Jesus, we have peace with Him. (Rom 5) And in Romans 6, Paul begins to answer the question, "Now what?"

Countless voices are weighing in on what we should think and how we should act regarding money. Many are saying, directly or indirectly, that we should worry. If we revere Scripture, we must go to God’s Word which tells us when the world cries “Worry!”, don’t.

By the grace of Christ, we not only have a call, but the power of His Holy Spirit within us, giving us what we need to proclaim the whole Gospel to the whole person. Our Savior has freed us from our sin and has made us a Kingdom of priests to His God for the glory of His name.

As believers in Christ, our faith is not a personal possession. Jesus calls us to be stewards of the message of salvation - to invest our lives in testifying to the astonishing grace of God. As with any true church, God means to use us to lead others in the knowledge and enjoyment of God, and in worship and godliness.

Our sacrifices, so long as they're disconnected from our hearts, will always be too small because God doesn’t delight in sacrifices. He delights in His people. God wants us connected in every aspect of our being to a life in pursuit of what pleases Him because nothing brings us greater joy than following Him.

Oak Hills is and will remain by God’s grace, deeply committed to doctrinal accuracy and a high view of the Bible. We will be a church that cares about and strives to convey what Scripture teaches. Doctrine matters. Oak Hills is committed to feeding your mind so that your learning would lead you to a deeper knowledge and enjoyment of God.

The Church exists for God to use her members together for ends pleasing in His sight—ends that are ultimately done through Jesus Christ Himself working in and through the lives of those who make up His Body. Our passion as a Church must be to be equipped for this glorious calling.

Our call is by no means unique. It is the call of every believer in every church to fulfill the Great Commission to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matt 28:19-20)

Why is proclaiming the Gospel our priority above all else? Because, more than anything- money, friendship, leisure, sex, family, food, or shelter- this is what we need. And we’re all prone to wander and wonder whether or not Christ is really enough.

Christ’s church on earth, including Oak Hills’, exists to bear witness to the awesome, life-transforming, reconciling salvation Christ has accomplished on the cross. We have a mission to know and make known the astonishing grace of God with everything we have and are.

Most Sunday's at Oak Hills we have a short Children's message before the sermon. Our objective, aside from teaching the children Biblical truth, is instilling in them at a young age that we value them as an important part of the Oak Hills' congregation. This message is a sample of what you might expect to hear.

Most Sunday's at Oak Hills we have a short Children's message before the sermon. Our objective, aside from teaching the children Biblical truth, is instilling in them at a young age that we value them as an important part of the Oak Hills' congregation. This message is a sample of what you might expect to hear.

Most Sunday's at Oak Hills we have a short Children's message before the sermon. Our objective, aside from teaching the children Biblical truth, is instilling in them at a young age that we value them as an important part of the Oak Hills' congregation. This message is a sample of what you might expect to hear.

Most Sunday's at Oak Hills we have a short Children's message before the sermon. Our objective, aside from teaching the children Biblical truth, is instilling in them at a young age that we value them as an important part of the Oak Hills' congregation. This message is a sample of what you might expect to hear.

This series has centered on the arrest, death and burial of Jesus. But today, at long last, we come to the reason for telling this story. Christ the Lord is Risen today! Hallelujah! This is, you need to know, the central event upon which Christianity stands or falls.

Abstract

Abstract

Most Sunday's at Oak Hills we have a short Children's message before the sermon. Our objective, aside from teaching the children Biblical truth, is instilling in them at a young age that we value them as an important part of the Oak Hills' congregation. This message is a sample of what you might expect to hear.

Most Sunday's at Oak Hills we have a short Children's message before the sermon. Our objective, aside from teaching the children Biblical truth, is instilling in them at a young age that we value them as an important part of the Oak Hills' congregation. This message is a sample of what you might expect to hear.

Abstract

Abstract

Most Sunday's at Oak Hills we have a short Children's message before the sermon. Our objective, aside from teaching the children Biblical truth, is instilling in them at a young age that we value them as an important part of the Oak Hills' congregation. This message is a sample of what you might expect to hear.

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Most Sunday's at Oak Hills we have a short Children's message before the sermon. Our objective, aside from teaching the children Biblical truth, is instilling in them at a young age that we value them as an important part of the Oak Hills' congregation. This message is a sample of what you might expect to hear.

Abstract

We resume our study of the final week of Jesus' earthly ministry leading up to His Resurrection. What is the purpose of this series, which is looking to have at least 24 parts? One reason we're taking the time we are, for sure, is to tell the story of what happened during that pivotal week. Another reason is to fill out the much more epic story to which this series belongs -- the story of God's redeeming grace to a desperate people.

Most Sunday's at Oak Hills we have a short Children's message before the sermon. Our objective, aside from teaching the children Biblical truth, is instilling in them at a young age that we value them as an important part of the Oak Hills' congregation. This message is a sample of what you might expect to hear.

I am deeply indebted to Dr. Bryan Chapell’s booklet “Why Do We Baptize Infants?” for the basic structure of these messages on baptism. My notes rely heavily on his excellent outline found there.

I am deeply indebted to Dr. Bryan Chapell’s booklet “Why Do We Baptize Infants?” for the basic structure of these messages on baptism. My notes rely heavily on his excellent outline found there.

I am deeply indebted to Dr. Bryan Chapell’s booklet “Why Do We Baptize Infants?” for the basic structure of these messages on baptism. My notes rely heavily on his excellent outline found there.