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This Sunday at Oak Hills we will return to our sermon series on the book of Genesis. I want to take this opportunity to refresh our memory of the value of an in-depth study of the first book of the Bible. I titled this series “Foundations for Life.” In the book of Genesis, we learn essential truths about God, his covenant, humanity, and the world, upon which we can and should build our lives. Genesis gives us a blueprint for God’s design for work, marriage, sexuality, morality, salvation, and righteous living with a holy God. Since Genesis is all about the beginnings of many of these things, we find God’s original intentions. This is why an in-depth study of Genesis is so valuable. It is not merely a book of interesting stories of bygone people; it provides clear direction for how we should live today. Let me remind us of some of things we have learned so far from Genesis. ... Keep Reading

When it comes to spiritual disciplines, many of us are familiar with Bible reading, prayer, fasting, and memorization. The old child’s limerick, “Read your Bible, pray every day, and you’ll grow… grow… grow,” is simple and truthful. But there is more to spiritual discipline. What we do with the Bible and how we apply it to our hearts and minds are also essential components to our spiritual growth. In light of this, the Puritan writers of the 17th century wrote about the discipline of self-examination. Such self-examination is not an unhealthy preoccupation with self, but a Godward discipline in which we evaluate our lives in light of God’s word. We do not look inward to find greatness within, but to find the hand of God in our lives. Matthew Bingham in his book A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation writes, “In self-examination you are reflecting on the shape of your life, on God’s providential care for you, on your growth in grace and godliness, on your conduct toward others, and on your indwelling sin and need for ongoing forgiveness and inward renewal” (p. 201). It is through self-examination that we massage the truth of Scripture deeper into our hearts, our thought life, and our habits. According to the Puritans, there are two primary focuses for this self-examination. The first is related to our battle with indwelling sin. As we read Scripture, we should also examine our hearts and lives to identify areas that are out of step with God’s will. For example, we read in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” This beloved verse teaches us that God is a faithful and loving caregiver for all our needs. Because of his shepherding, we lack nothing and have no need to be anxious in life. In self-examination, we take this truth to investigate our heart and see if there are areas where we are anxious and longing for more. As areas of sin and weakness are exposed, we are led to repent and hope in the work of Christ. If we merely read the Bible without this self-examination, we hinder the work of the Spirit in convicting us of sin and we will not grow in overcoming sin. ... Keep Reading

Part of the fifth vow that PCA members affirm is to promise to study the purity and peace of the church. A lot is packed into that short phrase, like confronting sin, seeking reconciliation, yielding one’s personal preferences, holding one another accountable, and more. If we ask ourselves why this is required of church members, we can start by affirming the glory of Christ demands the purity and peace of his church. Christ laid down his life to purify the church and present her without blame (Eph. 5:25-27). Christ prayed for the unity and peace of the church (Jn. 17:11). We are commanded to be holy as God and Christ are holy (1 Pet. 1:16). We are commanded to live at peace with others (Rom. 12:18). Christ is glorified when we walk in a manner worthy of our calling. Without taking anything away from the high calling of the glory of Christ, love for the other must be a driving motivation behind our efforts to study the purity and peace of the church. Pursuing the purity of the church without love is very dangerous and harmful and contrary to God’s intentions. Some might say we live at time when people can be easily offended. And in response to offense some believe they need to mete out justice on the offender. Some might even interpret Micah 6:8, where God makes known his will that we “do justice,” as stating we should administer justice on evil and evildoers. But that is not our calling or responsibility, and this attitude of revenge ignores the command of love. ... Keep Reading

This past Sunday at Oak Hills we considered the third membership vow of a PCA church: Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ? As we demonstrated from 2 Peter 1:3-11, this vow espouses the language of Scripture for a believer’s commitment to spiritual growth. There is a tension, we may even call it an oxymoron, in Scripture when it comes to spiritual growth. In Peter’s second letter we hear that “all things that pertain to life and godliness” have been freely given to us (1:3); but then, Peter commands, “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue” (1:5). Which is it? Have all things been given or do we need to work at supplementing our faith? 2 Peter 1 is not the only place we see this tension. Paul uses similar language in Philippians 2:12-13 when he says, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you.” Again, which is it? Am I working or is God working? And specifically with the work of repentance, we hear Paul stating in Acts 17:30, “Now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” Earlier in Acts, however, the church “glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life’” (11:18). If repentance is a gift of God, how is it commanded of all people everywhere? And on that theme of repentance, John the Baptist commanded, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance” (Lk. 3:8) while Jesus preached, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15). In the end, however, Jesus says, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). We are commanded to repent and bear fruit, but we cannot do it on our own. ... Keep Reading

he elders are so thankful that so many stayed for our annual Congregational Meeting this past Sunday at Oak Hills. We are excited to watch God work in and through our ministry efforts this upcoming year. Please be praying for Oak Hills and her leaders. One item we did not get to address at the meeting is Pledge Cards. At the Congregational Meetings in the previous two years the elders introduced a Pledge Card for our members to use as a tool to help evaluate their giving to the Lord through the church. The Pledge Cards we used at Oak Hills were a bit unique compared to what other churches might use. The commitment our members made was completely between them and the Lord. The elders did not know who, let alone what was, pledged. The cards truly were to be used as a tool by our members to help them intentionally and cheerfully give to the Lord through the church on a regular basis. Needless to say, we are not presenting or making available the Pledge Cards this year. The elders still believe that the Pledge Cards can be a helpful tool for Christians to use in prayerfully evaluating one’s giving to the Lord. But that’s just it. They are a tool, not the tool. We decided to not present the Pledge Cards this year because we do not want to create the impression that this is the way for Christians to approach giving. We also believe we can do a better job in clarifying the language and instructions around the Pledge Cards. ... Keep Reading

This Sunday at Oak Hills we are holding our Annual Congregational Meeting. This provides the elders an opportunity to highlight how God has been faithful to Oak Hills this past year and how God is leading for the year to come. We would love everyone to attend this important meeting. Let me give you a little preview of what we will cover on Sunday. The Mission Directs Us. At Oak Hills we long to know and make known the astonishing grace of God. In recent years we have given focused attention on how we long to make known the grace of God. When we called John as our Assistant Pastor, we included Outreach as a main part of his job description. And now we are taking intentional steps to launch John as a church planter. New church plants have a higher rate of seeing conversion growth than established churches. We pray on a regular basis for conversions in and through the ministry of Oak Hills. And our longing to make known God’s grace is propelling plans for a new building (see below). Church Plant: 2026 is a Year of Launching. We had said 2025 was a year of preparation. God has blessed this last year so that John and the Session are ready to launch the New Song KC church plant. We are aiming to send John and Abby out this summer to focus solely on the church plant. As part of our support for the church plant, the Session has committed to keep John on our payroll for the entire year. We are excited to watch God work through this new endeavor. ... Keep Reading

The first declaration to which our members assent is, “I acknowledge myself to be a sinner in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy.” The statement is in the present tense. Some have asked, even contended, that it should be in the past tense. Let’s consider what the Bible teaches. The idea that “I am a sinner” should be past tense, “I was a sinner,” springs from the reality that there is a transformation when one places his or her faith in Christ. Paul summarizes 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.” Paul’s words echo the promise made in Ezekiel 36:26-27, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” The “old” that has passed away is the heart of stone that was spiritually dead. The “new” that has come is the heart of flesh that is spiritually alive to God. Then, to top it off, one might even bring in 1 John 3:9, which says, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.” One may conclude from these passages that in Christ we no longer are to be identified with sin or by sin. In Christ, we no longer are sinners, even if we might sin on occasion. This is where we must allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. Paul, who said we are new creations in Christ, also said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15). The apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit to write God’s word, uses the present tense to identify himself as the foremost sinner. And John, who said no one born of God makes a practice of sinning, also said, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8). Yet another apostle acknowledges that sin still has a presence in the believer’s life. ... Keep Reading

Members of a local congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America assent to five declarations and promises. The Book of Church Order (BCO), the constitutional government guide for the PCA, says that upon assenting to these five declarations and promises one enters “into a solemn covenant with God and His church.” Today I want to give a brief overview of these five statements, seeking to explain what is expected of our members. First, here are the five declarations and promises, from BCO 57-5: Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy? Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel? Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ? Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability? Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace? Let me make some observations:... Keep Reading

My apologies to those who are looking forward to or expecting a return to the Genesis sermon series. We will get back to Genesis in March. In the meantime, I will be preaching a six-part series on church membership. Let me explain why I believe this is an important topic for a sermon series. First, church membership is biblical. While the Bible never using the specific term “church membership,” the concept is ingrained in the New Testament vision for the church. From submission to church leaders (Heb. 13:17) to bearing one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2) to using gifts to serve others (1 Cor. 12:7) to the practice of church discipline (Matt. 18:15-17), there is an implicit commitment to the church body that membership encompasses. Paul uses several analogies to describe the new community of the church: a body (Eph. 2:16), a household or family (Eph. 2:19; 1 Tim. 5:1-2), and a building (Eph. 2:21), all of which speak about the integral connectedness of the individual parts. The point is that when God saves us, we are not only saved from sin, but we also are saved into a new community. Our salvation and our relationship with God are not merely private, individual experiences. Church membership represents our understanding of and commitment to God’s saving work in building the church. Second, church membership is counter cultural. We live in a culture that celebrates and even exalts the individual. Messages like “follow your heart” and “you can do whatever you aspire to” elevate the individual to the authoritative position. We can even contend that such a self-focus lifestyle transcends culture and is ingrained in sinful human nature. It is the water we swim in. Therefore, if we are going to “swim upstream” and live in community with and submission to others, we need regular reinforcement in the biblical call to the church membership. Being a good church member is not normal for human nature. ... Keep Reading

“Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12) You might have only noticed because of Paul’s comments in his letter to the Ephesians, but it’s there we read that the Fifth Commandment (“Honor your father and mother…”) is the “first commandment with a promise.” (6:2) He may not have graduated High School English, because he never seems to get around to telling us about a second one with a promise. But I routinely fail to close parentheses. Nobody’s perfect (humanly speaking, anyway. If you take a look at this commandment, he’s referring to the part where God says to honor our parents, “that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12) But, what’s up with that? What is the big deal about length of days in the land? And what’s it got to do with us? We’re not ancient Israelites, and neither were his Ephesian hearers who he wrote this to. So, what gives? There’s a recurring theme in Scripture, appearing right from the git-go, starting in Genesis 3. Immediately following their encounter with Satan in the Garden, Adam & Eve are exiled from the garden, and God bars re-entry, setting the Cherubim with flaming swords at the gates of Eden. Later on, after the Israelites are rescued from bondage in Egypt, God causes them to wander in the wilderness for forty years, most of the original generation never entering the promised land. Just a remnant makes it. Not even Moses makes this first cut. ... Keep Reading