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Each summer our denomination holds its General Assembly. Commissioners from churches all across our denomination gather to hear reports from our permanent committees and agencies. They also give attention to matters that impact our constitution and the overall well-being of the denomination. I have attended General Assembly five of the last six years. One avenue the General Assembly addresses the business of the church is through overtures. An overture is a proposal or request from a lower court like a Presbytery or Session for the higher court to take action. This past summer GA passed Overture 50 from the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley. It reads: Be it resolved that the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley overture the 53rd General Assembly to call upon the Presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church in America to appoint a time most convenient to them during the month of September 2026, or as soon thereafter as is practical, to observe a solemn day of fasting and prayer for the revival and renewal of the church. On this day, Presbyteries, congregations, RUF campus chapters, officers, and members of the Presbyterian Church in America shall be urged to humble themselves before the LORD, fast and pray, and seek his mercy in heartfelt repentance over ministerial sins, the sins of officers, members, and whole congregations. Earnest prayer should be made for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the blessing of heaven on the preached word, the conversion of the lost, the planting of faithful churches at home, and the success of the gospel in our communities, on college campuses, and on the mission field around the world. The Heartland Presbytery, of which Oak Hills is a member, has appointed Sunday, October 11 as a solemn day of fasting and prayer for the revival and renewal of the church. This overture urges you to participate. Let me share some thoughts. ... Keep Reading

I ran out of time on Sunday as we were studying Genesis 45. We spent most of our time contemplating Joseph’s “Godward perspective” as he reconciled with his brothers. The second half of the chapter highlights how Joseph reaps fruit from being a blessing to others. Let me draw these out. In verse 16 we read, “When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, ‘Joseph’s brothers have come,’ it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.” For those of us who are very familiar with the story of Joseph, these words may seem unremarkable. We are going to hear, however, in 46:34, “Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” And historians teach that ancient Egypt did not trust the people who traveled from the northeast, those from Asia. The Egyptians were predisposed to despise Jacob and his family of shepherds from the northeast. And yet, “it pleased Pharaoh” that they showed up. Why is this? Joseph has been a blessing in Egypt since the first day he showed up. Sold into Potiphar’s house as a slave, he quickly caught the attention of his master. 39:3 says, “His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” So Joseph was elevated to the role of overseer in the house. After he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison, Joseph once again caught the attention of the keeper of the prison. And Joseph was put in charge of all the prisoners (39:21-22). While in prison, Joseph helped two prisoners by interpreting their dreams, which led to Joseph’s appearance before Pharaoh in chapter 41. Joseph does what no one else could do, interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. Pharaoh immediately recognizes the wisdom of Joseph and promotes him (41:38-40). All this activity has been a set up for the moment Joseph’s family arrives in Egypt. Now, you might be thinking, “This is all well and good for Joseph; he was special and God enabled all these abilities to bless the Egyptians. How can this apply to me at all?” I would say that you are right; Joseph is special. But so are you and every single one of us in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” If you are in Christ, you have been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” You have spiritual resources that unbelievers do not. Wherever God places you, you are a conduit of those spiritual blessings to the people around you. Even Jeremiah tells the exiles in Babylon, “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jer. 29:7). That is a privilege and responsibility from the Lord. We may not rise to the level of second in command of a nation like Joseph, but we have opportunities to bless the people where God has placed us. Do you see yourself in this role? Back to Genesis 45:16 where Pharaoh is pleased that Joseph’s family has arrived in Egypt. His disposition towards a people he normally would have despised was changed because Joseph faithfully served for 22 years in Egypt and gained the favor of Pharaoh. Pharaoh immediately gave instructions and great provisions for bringing Jacob and the rest of the family to Egypt so that they may be protected during the famine (v. 17-20). This is the fruit of Joseph serving as a blessing in Egypt for 22 years. We can never know how our impact on other people will play out. Did Joseph arrive in Egypt thinking about and strategizing ways to rescue his family from famine? No. He simply served faithfully as God enabled him, and God opened doors. The same is for us. We are called to serve faithfully wherever God places us. This means walking in wisdom, making the best use of time, and letting our speech always be gracious (Col. 4:5-6). This also means not being haughty, not repaying evil for evil, and doing what is honorable in the sight of all (Rom. 12:16-17). “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9). We have been blessed to be a blessing wherever God has placed us. And in his timing (“due season”) we will reap the fruit of that blessing.... Keep Reading

Last week I shared some reflections on Psalm 145. It is a beautiful testimony to David’s passion to praise God for who He is and what He has done. Verse 3 stands out: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” And then in verse 4, David exclaims, “One generation shall commend your works to another.” I concluded my reflection on this psalm by saying, I want my life dedicated to the worship of the Lord. I want the whole faith community to join in with me to worship the Lord. I want the next generation to grow up knowing the wondrous works of God. This week I want to look at this from a practical viewpoint. What does this look like in real life? If I am to “greatly praise…every day,” what do I do? How can or should one generation commend the works of God to another? Let me highlight several ways what the “Psalm 145 life” looks like. As an individual. The Psalm 145 life must start on the individual level. David says, “Every day I will bless you” (v. 2). This is a daily orientation of the heart and mind to center on God and his goodness. This takes discipline: intentional, habitual, diligent activity. Psalm 19 is a window into David’s daily habits. He viewed creation as a window on God’s glory and majesty (v. 1-6). This means his mind was trained to not see things only as they are physically, but as they point to the magnificent Creator. Then we hear his devotion to God’s Word in verses 7-11. Millenia before the printing press and personal hand-held computers, David’s access to a copy of God’s Word was limited. To meditate on the Word “day and night” (Ps. 1:2), David had to memorize Scripture. Then David highlights his prayer life in Psalm 19:12-14. He pleads the Lord’s help in keeping his heart pure and devoted to God. Without these disciplines that train the heart and mind to live Godward, one cannot develop the Psalm 145 life. You will not know the greatness of God. You will not be inclined to praise him every day. You will not be compelled to speak of his goodness to others. The Psalm 145 life doesn’t happen by accident. ... Keep Reading

Psalm 145 is a beloved psalm. The psalm title, part of the inspired text of Scripture, simply reads, “A Song of Praise. Of David.” Most believe that the psalms that include the phrase “of David” are psalms written by the great king of Israel. But this title does not give us any information of the time or circumstances in which David wrote this psalm. Perhaps that ambiguity allows the psalm to be an overarching theme for one’s life, no matter what circumstances he may find himself in. God is worthy of praise at all times. Verses 1 and 2 start with Hebrew poetic parallelism. David starts, “I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.” The words “extol,” “bless,” and “praise” are all synonyms. These opening statements are both expressions of worship and statements of commitment. Expressions of worship seek to magnify the greatness of God. Statements of commitment reveal a heart centered on God-glorifying activity. When David commits himself to praise God’s name “forever and ever,” he honors God by dedicating himself to this ongoing activity. In poetic manner, verse 3 gives a straightforward reason for David’s commitment to praise God. He says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” As a means to add emphasis, David uses the word “great” as an adjective, an adverb, and a noun. The superlative highlights that God is above all; there is no one in all of creation that compares with God. Since God is above all, he should be praised above all. ... Keep Reading

At Oak Hills we will return to our sermon series on Genesis this Sunday for the final eight chapters. Over our two and a half years in this series, we have seen many different themes highlighted: God’s sovereignty and rule in creation, the nature of mankind and marriage, sin and judgment, and covenant and grace. As the name indicates, Genesis really does lay out the “beginnings” or foundations for our life with God. From chapter 12 through the end, Genesis focuses on one family line: Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and his twelve sons. This does not mean that God is ignoring the rest of the families of earth. This does not mean that God has a plan for only this one family line. This family line was God’s chosen people to bring the snake crusher into the world. The promise of Genesis 3:15 is for all people. But the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent and so rescue humanity from the tyranny of the devil would be a descendent of a specific family. And that is the family of Abraham. God tells Abraham so much in Genesis 12:2-3, “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” That last line links the story of Genesis to every single one of us. In Abraham’s family line, all the families of the earth, including yours and mine, shall be blessed. The apostle Paul makes this explicit in Galatians 3:8-9, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Paul says that the gospel was preached in Abraham in Genesis 12:3. The blessing that comes to all of us is that we can be justified by faith in Christ. Jesus is the descendent of Abraham who crushes the head of the serpent and brings the hope of redemption to the whole world. ... Keep Reading

At our Getting Acquainted with Oak Hills luncheon, we typically share a brief history of our church. This reminds us of God’s faithfulness to our church over the years. It also emphasizes that this is God’s church, not any one person’s church. Finally, a history of the church also helps us discern where God is leading us in our next chapter. Today I would like to share the history of Oak Hills, with a view to what’s next. In the mid 90s, West Hills Presbyterian Church was a fast-growing congregation under the leadership of Jimmy Dodd. They had a desire to plant more churches in the Kansas City metro in order to proclaim the astonishing grace of God in Christ throughout the area. Even before West Hills had a building, they called Scott Sauls to plant a new church. Starting in 1998, Scott met with a core group of people interested in the new church. Their target area was Lees Summit. On November 1, 1998, a group of 25 people signed the original charter, requesting the Heartland Presbytery to form Oak Hills Community Church as a mission church of the PCA. In January 1999, Oak Hills held her first Sunday worship service. After holding services for one year in Lees Summit, they decided to move back to Johnson County, because the majority of the people coming to Oak Hills were from Kansas. The church grew under the preaching of Scott Sauls, as he emphasized the free and amazing nature of God’s grace. Many found the church as Scott’s sermons were broadcasted locally on the Bott Radio Network. ... Keep Reading

Note: This article originally appeared in the Touchpoint on August 20, 2015. A new school year. A new season. A new chapter. We all like new beginnings, don’t we? They give us fresh opportunities to “reinvent” ourselves, turn a new leaf, and embrace new experiences. This longing for newness is evidence that things in this life and world are not as they should be. Only the power of the gospel brings the newness that “satisfies.” Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” This newness, though, is not practically worked out in our lives all at once. How should we seek the newness promised in Christ? Jonathan Edwards, a puritan pastor in the early 18th century, longed for the newness of the gospel to be worked out in his life. He understood clearly that it was only by God’s grace that he would be “renewed in the whole man after the image of God.” He also embraced his responsibility to strive for that growth in newness, as enabled by God. When Edwards was only 17 years old, he began to write resolutions that centered his attention on striving for this growth, eventually writing 70 resolutions by age 20. He prefaced his resolutions by stating, “Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.” Personal responsibility working alongside the grace of God. Consider some of Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions (read all of them here): ... Keep Reading

Mission and vision are common words in leadership discussions, whether it be a business or a church. Some don’t like using the words in the church context because they are so common in business. The concepts, however, are biblical. A vision is what God has called us to be. A mission is what God has called us to do. Therefore Titus 2:14 is a vision statement, “A people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Ephesians 4:1 is a mission statement, “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” We can find such vision and mission statements all over the Bible. Any statement about the blessing we receive as a result of the redeeming work of Christ is a vision statement. In Christ we are the children of God, the bride of Christ, a city on a hill, a new community, holy and blameless, and a people zealous for good works. Through the gospel, God calls us to be transformed. And any statement of duty or command can be heard as a mission statement. We are to love God and neighbor, make disciples, walk worthy, set our minds on things above, put to death what is earthly in us, and love in deed and truth. As a result of the gospel, and through the empowerment of the gospel, God calls us to do his will. You might wonder, then, if vision and mission statements can be found throughout Scripture, why would a church have specific vision and mission statements? At Oak Hills, our vision statement comes from Isaiah 61:3, “That they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” We flesh out the implications of figure “oaks of righteousness” by speaking about being rooted in the gospel, growing in community, and blessed to be a blessing. And we print our mission statement on the front of the bulletin every week, “Longing to know and make known the astonishing grace of God.” So, why settle on specific vision and mission statements, when there are many in Scripture? ... Keep Reading

This summer the men are invited to study the book of Nehemiah with one of four groups that will meet twice per month. Nehemiah, however, has valuable truths for the whole church family. I will use this avenue to share some of my findings from studying Nehemiah. In Titus 2:11-14 the apostle Paul reminds his young mentee about the goodness of Jesus Christ. He starts by saying that Jesus has brought “salvation for all people” (v. 11) and ends with “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (v. 14). Jesus does not merely save us from sin, as awesome as that is, he also saves us for good works. Salvation is a complete transformation. This last phrase, “zealous for good works,” is a good descriptor of Nehemiah. Certainly, he did not know Christ as revealed in the New Testament. But he knew God as a faithful and gracious covenant-keeping God, promising to redeem his people from their sin. And Nehemiah lived by faith, turning to God in prayer at every step. The book of Nehemiah closes by drawing attention to his zeal for good works, which ultimately is a zeal for the glory of God. We are going to skim through chapters 11 and 12 today. When the wall surrounding Jerusalem was finished, we learn “The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt” (7:4). This issue is finally addressed in chapter 11, after the worship and covenant renewal service recorded in chapters 8-10. 11:1 states, “The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns.” The rest of the chapter records the names of the family heads who moved into Jerusalem, just over 3,000 families. ... Keep Reading

This summer the men are invited to study the book of Nehemiah with one of four groups that will meet twice per month. Nehemiah, however, has valuable truths for the whole church family. I will use this avenue to share some of my findings from studying Nehemiah. Nehemiah continues to take a backseat in the story for a couple more chapters. As I pointed out last week, his ultimate goal was to provide the means for the people of God to glorify and enjoy God. The wall project, the protection from enemies, the distribution of food, and his governing all aimed to enable the people to worship God in peace. Chapter 8 records the beginning of that worship with the reading of Scripture. Chapters 9 and 10 record the response of the people as they hear the word of God proclaimed in their midst. They confess sin and devote themselves to obedience. Nehemiah was thrilled to see such renewal of covenant faithfulness. After the reading of God’s word and the joyful celebration and feasting in chapter 8, chapter 9 opens with the people gathering again “with fasting and in sackcloth and with earth on their heads” (9:1). Even though the people were told to not mourn or weep (8:9), there still is a place for grieving sin, repentance, and humility. 9:6-37 is a long corporate confession of sin. Let me touch on some of the highlights. ... Keep Reading