Blog

At Oak Hills we say our mission is “longing to know and make known the astonishing grace of God.” Every year I seek to take time to step back and take stock of how we are doing as a church, in light of our mission. We have many reasons to give glory to God for his work among us to fulfill this mission. We also have room to grow, as we always will this side of heaven. This summer, I want to encourage our growth in “longing” by looking at pictures of longing from Scripture, praying that we would be challenged and inspired. This is part three of a multi-part series. Did you know that Paul’s letter to the Romans is a strategic, gospel-advancing, fund-raising letter? Typically, when we think of Romans, we think of the great theological unpacking of the riches of the gospel. And Romans does contain some of the richest explanations of the justification by faith and the power of grace in all of the New Testament. Paul dives deeply into the truths of the gospel, however, in order to bring peace and unity to the church at Rome, which was conflicted by the ethnic divide between Jews and Gentiles. Still, peace and unity were not Paul’s end goal. He states his purpose in writing this letter in chapter 15. He says, “I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while” (v. 24). Paul explains his passion to go to Spain a few verses earlier: “I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation” (v. 20). Paul had a personal ambition to preach Christ to those who have never heard of Christ. ... Keep Reading

At Oak Hills we say our mission is “longing to know and make known the astonishing grace of God.” Every year I seek to take time to step back and take stock of how we are doing as a church, in light of our mission. We have many reasons to give glory to God for his work among us to fulfill this mission. We also have room to grow, as we always will this side of heaven. This summer, I want to encourage our growth in “longing” by looking at pictures of longing from Scripture, praying that we would be challenged and inspired. This is part two of a multi-part series. Paul’s letter to the Philippians is called the Epistle of Joy. Throughout this letter Paul is expressing joy for all sorts of people, circumstances, and, mostly, the power of the gospel. Paul’s joy is remarkable because he is in prison when he writes the letter. If I was in his shoes, I would struggle to find reasons to rejoice in such dire circumstances. ... Keep Reading

At Oak Hills we say our mission is “longing to know and make known the astonishing grace of God.” Every year I seek to take time to step back and take stock of how we are doing as a church, in light of our mission. We have many reasons to give glory to God for his work among us to fulfill this mission. We also have room to grow, as we always will this side of heaven. This summer, I want to encourage our growth in “longing” by looking at pictures of longing from Scripture, praying that we would be challenged and inspired. This is part one of a multi-part series. For my latest doctoral class I have been reading and writing a lot about the New Testament’s teaching on marriage, divorce, and remarriage (like 80 pages of writing). One of the passages that I have had to consider is 1 Corinthians 7:10-16. In this passage, Paul reaffirms Jesus’ teaching on divorce (cf. Mark 10:10-11, Luke 16:18, and Matthew 19:9). But the Corinthian situation presented a problem that Jesus did not explicitly address. What does a new believer in Christ do if his/her spouse remains unconverted? Paul says the believer “should not divorce” the unbelieving spouse (7:12 & 13).... Keep Reading

Joyplosion! Yes, I made up the word. Let me explain why. When I was a child, I learned to cheer for the Chicago Bears from my father. Long before I understood the game of football, I had a team to cheer, because that was who my dad was cheering. When I was eight years old, I began to understand more about the game. And the Bears were winning. A lot. And they won the Super Bowl. I’ve been a fan ever since. Children learn to cheer before they fully understand why we cheer. We teach our children to sing and pray long before they understand why God is so worthy of our praise and trustworthy of our dependence. So, when we pass on the faith to our children, what do we want them to understand first and foremost? What affectional responses will become the foundation of their understanding and experience of the Christian faith? ... Keep Reading

Last week we spent some time reflecting on the “Cycle of the Judges,” a pattern repeated throughout the OT book of Judges. At the heart of this pattern is the return to sin. There are parallels between this cycle we find in Judges and our own lives. We “forget” like the Israelites of the OT and fall into patterns that cause us to drift away from the Lord. We need his continual renewing ministry of the Word and Sacrament. One of the most convicting words in this “Cycle of Judges” is the word “again.” It is used frequently in the repeated phrase, “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (4:1). Bible scholar, Dale Ralph Davis, reflects on the use of this word: “It tells us something about sin. It is difficult to be creative in sin; there’s a certain monotony about it; most all of it has been done before; it is simply that we do the same thing again (v. 1). Sin is a boring routine, not a fresh excitement. The fast lane becomes an old rut. Evil never lends itself to originality. Hence these are two problems: the slavery and staleness of sin” (Judges: Such a Great Salvation, p. 72). This is a fascinating insight, which impacts our wrestling with personal sin. ... Keep Reading

The Old Testament book of Judges is well-known for what is called “The Cycle of the Judges.” This cycle refers to a pattern of events, introduced in chapter 2, that occurs over and over again throughout the book. There are five steps in the cycle: Israel turns away from serving God. God allows a foreign nation to rise up and oppress Israel. The Israelites, typically after an extended period of time, cry out for help. God empowers a judge to rise up and rescue Israel from the oppressor. The land experiences a period of rest, typically during the lifetime of the judge. This cycle repeats in the book of Judges nearly a dozen times. It’s easy to “judge” Israel for this repeated cycle of defeat. You would think that the people would have learned their lesson after two or three times through the cycle. Doesn’t behavior modification theory have something to say about this (okay, okay… I admit, it’s been nearly twenty years since I had psychology; my memory is a little foggy)? If we are honest, though, don’t we fall into similar cycles and patterns, even with sin? ... Keep Reading

This Sunday I had the opportunity to give a charge to our high school graduates of 2019 (Way to go guys/gals!). It’s the second time that I’ve had the privilege of giving such a charge during my time at Oak Hills. While I was grateful for the opportunity and I don’t regret anything that I said, if I had the chance to speak a little longer I probably would have spent a little more time looking at Paul's words from Philippians 1:21 and following; words for the Philippian church, words for our graduating seniors and words for the rest of us. “…More necessary on your account.” Paul, in his letter to the Philippians writes, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again” (Phil 1:21-26). The first verse, verse 21, is one of the very first passages of scripture that I committed to memory as a young Christian. This was in large part due to how epic it was. It is an expression of hope and of commitment in and to the Gospel that is summarized so powerfully and so simply. Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this passage however is not necessarily Paul’s profound soundbite, but Paul’s motivation to live for Christ in this life ... Keep Reading

A tragedy is recorded in Judges 2:10. It’s the tragedy that every believing parent and grandparent dreads. “And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.” The faith was not passed on to the children. The Old Testament is full of stories of children not following in the faith foot-steps of their parents. Aaron with his sons, Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:1-3). Eli and his sons (1 Sam. 2:22-25). Solomon with his son, Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:1-15). Hezekiah with his son, Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1-3). Josiah and his boys, Jehoahaz and Eliakim (2 Kings 23:31-35). God-fearing parents with children who reject God and his ways. It’s a heart-breaking tragedy.... Keep Reading

Sometimes the Old Testament is not easy to read. Not only are we separated by the millenia and the cultural differences, but also some activity and practices of the Israelites seem so foreign, even repulsive, to our Western sensibilities. If God is the “same yesterday, today, and forever,” how can he direct his people to do things in the OT that seem so contrary to his ways in the New Testament? Perhaps the best example of this is God’s command to “drive out” the inhabitants of the Promised Land. He says in Exodus 23:23-24, “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces.” We read of how God fulfills this in Joshua and Judges. How should we make sense of this apparent genocide, ethnic-cleansing? ... Keep Reading

The Bible reading plan I am using this year has me reading through the book of Acts repeatedly (with readings in other portions of the Bible). I have not been perfect in reading every day, but I already have read through Acts a couple times. One of the things that has struck me, is the emphasis on the disciples’ call to be “witnesses.” It starts in what many consider to be the theme verse of the book, when Jesus says, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (1:8). Peter embraces this calling immediately when they chose someone to take Judas’ place among the Twelve, “one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection” (1:22). ... Keep Reading