oasisCHURCH

He Reigns: Thought #4

All week long I have found myself reading the same sermon over and over.  The sermon comes from September 17th, 1989 and it was preached by, as you may have already guessed, John Piper.  He titled this sermon "The Sacrifice of Praise".  The scripture he was preaching over was Hebrews 13:8-16.  From this one sermon I have drawn so many points of inspiration and one of those points of inspiration has been about the responsibility that each individual has within a church body.  He lays it out like this:

"Priority Number One at Bethlehem is the cultivation of hearts that stand in awe of God. We believe in missions. We believe in evangelism. We believe in nurture and education. But we know that this is all a weariness of the flesh if it is not preceded and carried by a sense of wonder at the glory of God. If your

• heart is not amazed by the grace of God,
• and your mind is not gripped by the truth of God,
• and your sense of right and wrong is not permeated by the justice of God,
• and your faith is not resting in the power of God,
• and your imagination is not guided by the beauty of God,
• and your life is not steadied by the sovereignty of God,
• and your hope is not filled with the glory of God,

then the service of God will be what Paul calls works of the law, and not the fruit of the Spirit. Work for God that is not sustained by wonder at God is a weariness of the flesh. Priority Number One is the cultivation of hearts that stand in awe of God."

I can't say it any better than Piper.  I read over that yesterday afternoon and it really rocked me backwards.  It made me stop and think about Oasis.  It made me stop and ask the best kinds of questions.  I think Chris and I would agree that one of our big priorities at Oasis is the, as Piper puts it, "...cultivation of hearts that stand in awe of God."  This week we as a church family are "working" for the kingdom of God as we prepare for He Reigns and I know how much hard work so many different people are putting into it.  But what the gospel says is true.  Piper echoes that when he says, "Work for God that is not sustained by wonder at God is a weariness of the flesh."  As a church family, no matter what we're doing, we will be wearied by God's work if we are not "steadied by the sovereignty of God."  

I am praying that one of our great priorities this weekend would be to "cultivate hearts that stand in awe of God".  If your heart is amazed by the grace of God you will want to see that happen and want to be a part of it.  If your mind is gripped by the truth of God then you will want to see that happen and want to be a part of it.  If your faith rests in the power of God then you will want to see that happen and want to be a part of it.  If your life is steadied by the sovereignty of God then you will want to see that happen and want to be a part of it.  If your hope is filled with the glory of God then you will want to see that happen and you will most definitely want to be a part of it.  

Do we at Oasis do more than believe in missions, believe in evangelism and believe in nurture and education?  Do you take that belief and mold it into action and reaction to what God is doing?  Here is a moment standing straight in front of us that gives us the opportunity to say with one very loud voice, "YES!  WE MORE THAN BELIEVE IN THESE THINGS...WE DESIRE TO LIVE OUT THESE THINGS!"  Today I continue the call for the body of Oasis to...

Be Expectant
Savor God in Worship
Be Vigilant
Be Present
Desire to Cultivate Hearts

In 72 hours I will be standing in the Pomeroy parking lot, expectant for God to draw near and receive a sacrifice of praise from His people.  Will you join me?  

"He Reigns" Thought #3b

When this week began, Chad Dodson wrote a brief article for the website. In his post he gave us all a challenge, to BE EXPECTANT. To have an expectancy that the Holy Spirit will make His presence known on the Pomeroy levee this Saturday, and that His glory will be made known to the community and people's lives will be changed. That seeds of Christ's love and mercy will planted, and that for those hours on Saturday, that place will be made to be a worship place--a place where God's presence is evident.

Since then he has written two additional challenge articles. And as the week continues we will have even more to write in order to help prepare people for this weekend, but for now I want to add just one thought to Chad's exhortations to "BE EXPECTANT" and to "BE VIGILANT". In the same spirit of "BE" I would like to add another "BE" phrase. In addition to being expectant and being vigilant, I want to encourage us all to BE PRESENT.

The first step to this being a successful weekend is to have bodies--people from the church which is hosting it--in the parking lot throughout the day. Rarely do I put out a strong call to our local church body to clear your calendars and "be present" for one of our services, gatherings, events, etc. My thought has always been that you are adults, and if something is meaningful to you then you will make a point to attend. But I also recognize that sometimes we need a little push, a little challenge, to do something that we may not have initially been planning to do. So here is the challenge. Make some time to come to the parking lot this Saturday. This is an important event for Oasis. But not just for Oasis, for the kingdom of God in Meigs County. And who is Oasis? We are the church. The church is you, and the church is me. This is not just an event for people who play music or like music. Music is just an avenue to a greater cause. The cause is the Gospel. And you are the greatest component the church has in representing the Gospel to our community.

I know that not everyone who is reading this will have the availability to commit to being there for the duration of the day. But my challenge is, if you can, clear your calender just this one time. If you have other plans on Saturday, and what you have planned can be postponed or even set aside just this one time, then why not do it? If you absolutely cannot clear your day, then how about a few hours? Its an all afternoon and evening event. Come out for what you can. I know you won't regret it.

Finally, I encourage you to pray, perhaps even now at this very moment. Ask God to tell you what your involvement is to be in this weekend's He Reigns event. Ask Him to help you figure out a way to be there. If you have to work, ask God to move in some way that by Saturday you will be given the day off. One of the best things you can do to help this weekend, church, is be present.

God bless you. And may He reign!!!

God Of This City

Chad mentioned that we will be singing "God Of This City" from the Pomeroy levee this Saturday night, and praying that His will would indeed be done in Meigs County, and that people's eyes would be opened to see that He is in fact the God of our city.

Here is Bluetree, authors of the song "God Of This City" telling the incredible story about how the song was born from the Holy Spirit.

He Reigns: Thought #3

The last two mornings I have found myself driving to work with one song pounding out in my brain.  The song is "I Lift My Eyes Up".  The song, as many of you know, comes straight from the Psalms...Psalm 121 to be specific.  

 ¹I lift up my eyes to the hills.
   From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the LORD,
   who made heaven and earth.

 ³He will not let your foot be moved;
   he who keeps you will not slumber.

I realize that this song comes into my heart at the perfect time.  Last night there was some very small drama as we thought one band had already canceled on us without telling us.  That turned out to not be true but for about an hour the sin within me was rising up and championing thoughts like, "Oh great...we've done all this publicity and now somebody's not gonna show."  I was negative for that hour until a song came back into my mind from earlier that morning.  Psalm 121 filled up my head and all of a sudden I realized I was getting worked up for no reason whatsoever.  For a brief moment sin got hold of me and made me start thinking all kinds of crazy things...but Psalm 121 reminded me that God is not slumbering.  He is making preparations for He Reigns that we can't possibly understand.  We at Oasis are making all kinds of plans for the weekend but we are also mindful that our plans and God's plans most likely have some very key differences.  The reinforcement of God's sovereignty in all things was crucial to my turnaround of attitude after that one "self-centered" hour.  Vigilance is my cry today.  

BE VIGILANT

I love the word "vigilant".  One definition that I've seen of that word is "sleeplessly watchful".  Remember the words of Psalm 121:3, "He will not let you be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber."  God is sleeplessly watchful.  God is sleeplessly working.  To say that God is vigilant is simply a true statement.  While we cannot be vigilant in the same sense that God is vigilant as our sovereign God, we can however develop true grit and undeterred resolve in our faith.  So far I have called upon us as a church family to do two things:  Be expectant and savor God in worship.  Now to that we must add vigilance.  It requires diligence to pray each day.  It requires discipline to savor God in worship each day of our lives.  It takes a great maturity of faith to be expectant for the Lord.  

Today we need several things to continue.  We need continued prayers that God would send us a harvest this weekend.  We need continued prayers that God would provide us with the help that we need to coordinate all the varying aspects of this event.  We need continued prayers that God would reveal to us the best ways that we can bring great glory to His name.  We just need to pray, and pray, and pray, and pray.  This will require you to be vigilant.  

To close this thought out let's heed the words of James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."  Be vigilant in your expectancy, in your worship, and in your prayer.  I'll be back with you tomorrow.
 

He Reigns: Thought #2

"For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.  Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."  (Hebrews 13:14-16)

A great question for us to consider today is this:  Do we believe that Oasis is a vision of God?  In other words, we are who we are, where we are, and joined as we are because God has made it so.  For me the answer to this question is a firm yes...I do believe that Oasis is a vision of God.  I believe we as a church family exist for a very specific reason, namely, to declare the glory of Christ and the sovereignty of God in the theater of our world.  John Piper once said of Bethlehem Baptist Church, "We exist as a church because we have caught a glimpse of the infinite greatness and majesty and holiness and justice and wisdom and power and truth and goodness and mercy and love of God."  I believe the same to be true of Oasis.  

If Oasis is a vision of God then we exist for several purposes.  Let me share one of them with you tonight. 

Savor God in Worship

In preparing for the work that God has for us this weekend in He Reigns we must spend each day this week savoring God in the act of worship.  I'm not talking about merely having God on your mind.  I'm talking about being completely engulfed in God's undeniable presence.  Savor God's presence.  Savor how He moves your heart.  Savor his sovereignty.  Savor His majesty.  Savor His perfection.  And then...RESPOND!  It is difficult to be engrossed in God and not respond.  Let us be as the Hebrews passage above reads.  Let us be in continual praise.  This is a sacrifice before God.  May the fruit of our lips acknowledge God's vast greatness.  May songs pour forth from mouths.   May prayers roll from our tongues.  May we each do more than simply take time to do "this" or "that" in regards to God.  May all we do this week be done with great expectancy in our hearts and a profound desire to enjoy giving God the center of our focus and praise.  Let our highest joy be found in God's highest praise.

My prayer for us in this is that God would strip us of anything that makes us prideful, boastful, or fearful of responding to Him in the fullness of the praise that we should give the one and only living God.  Let us be expectant and savor the full measure of God's greatness as he makes it known to us.  Worship Him in spirit and truth with a sacrifice of praise.  That is our challenge today, as well as always.         

 

He Reigns: Thought #1

It's 11:19 on Sunday night. I have two things running in the background. Radiohead is hammering out an acoustic version of "Creep" while the sounds of Aiden laughing fill in the empty spaces in the song. But way above those two sounds is a hum of excitement that I can barely describe. We are six days away from going to the heart of our county to proclaim God's glory in the most public forum we have in all of the community of Meigs .

As a group of us sat down today after church to hammer out the final details of He Reigns I could feel the collective excitement in the room churning, growing, and slowly brewing to a nice simmer. I expect that come Saturday that excitment will have reached a boil to bursting point. In the days ahead there will be many more things to coordinate, nail down, and set in stone but for the time being I want to challenge us collectively as a church family. You might be wondering what you can do right now as a member of our church family to assist with He Reigns. Don't worry...there will be many service opportunities on Saturday and you will be contacted or notified about those things. But more than anything we as a church family have a responsibility to fulfill in the days ahead. So tonight's brief thought centers around this:

BE EXPECTANT

We either believe that God has greater things to do in this community or we don't. This weekend we will be singing "God of This City" and I believe that song could be a great anthem for us this week as well as throughout Saturday. So much of our prayer this week should center around God's presence being felt in a powerful way this Saturday. I will personally be praying that God sends us people that we can minister to, people that we can pray for, and people that we can strengthen or encourage. This is a task that we must desire. We must be expectant for such opportunities. He Reigns has little to do with "music" and certainly nothing to do with "entertainment". It has everything to do with spreading God's glory and renown. This is why God has called Oasis together as a church family. What we do on Sunday's and small groups is, in one respect, a preparation for moments like He Reigns. Moments where we have an opportunity to take the gospel to the streets, to the lost, to the confused, to the hurting, to the believer, to the non-believer, to the skeptic, to the atheist, to the drug addicted, to the porn addicted, to the alcohol addicted.

He Reigns helps us say that the time for being passive is over.  Oasis has never been a passive people so I think we're well suited to the task. My hope and prayer is that each one of us wakes up each morning this week and sets our hearts on fire for God. I pray that God would make you ready to minister to those who we will meet this coming weekend. I pray that God would daily stir our affections for Him this week in a powerful way and that we would respond to Him in all the ways he calls us to. In doing this we prepare in perhaps the most important way for He Reigns. Ultimately only God knows what he will achieve this weekend but we who have been called according to God's purpose will steady and prepare ourselves to wait in expectancy for whatever God desires to do this weekend. That is the responsibility of each of us, not just a few.

Church...this is an opportunity for us to pull together in an unprecedented way to stand tall and proud for the sake of God's kingdom. So let us take full advantage of that opportunity. Let us be good and steadfast servants together. I will be back tomorrow night with further challenge and encouragement. For now please pray over this endeavor in whatever way you feel led.

Remember...BE EXPECTANT....just keep saying that to yourself all week...be expectant...be expectant...be expectant.......................................................

Testing, Testing, 1-2-3...

Just curious to see how many people are actually viewing the website within a 3-to-5 day period. If you don't mind, click "comment" below this post and let us know you were here. You don't have to type anything, just say "hello" or something. Of course, if you feel like writing more go right ahead.

Thanks!

Good Music

Lately there has been an outpouring of quality new music that I want to make you aware of. Also provided in this post are the links to iTunes in case you want to listen to samples or download the music right away.

"Church Music" by David Crowder Band

On this CD is a great mix of sounds you may have heard on other DCB projects, plus some new ideas. Right now my favorite song is "Shadows", but it is sure to change as the more I listen to the album the more each song grows on me.

"Love Is On The Move" by Leeland

So far (in my opinion) Leeland has not produced an album that is below the level of excellent. In fact, I might even go as far saying they have not recorded a song that I wouldn't consider to be excellent. I have a feeling we are going to continually become more and more familiar with Leeland's music, as you hear it being played in Oasis gatherings already.

"We Shall Not Be Shaken" by Matt Redman

I have always loved Matt Redman's worship leading ability. I find him to be a humble lead worshiper who has a great passion for Jesus and for connecting people with Jesus. Matt's new CD is full of wonderful encouragement for adverse times. If you are struggling with the current state of the world's affairs, then you will find this CD to be a great reminder of God's sovereignty.

"Welcome To The Masquerade" by Thousand Foot Krutch

I don't know about you, but every now and then at our house (and in our vehicles) we like to turn it up a notch (to eleven) and really rock 'n roll. Thousand Foot Krutch is a band I am hearing more and more on Octane, Sirius/XM's new metal rock station. They easily fit right in with Breaking Benjamin, Seether, Five FInger Death Punch, etc. If you like it loud, check this one out.

New Fall Small Groups

This week begins our first round of small groups for the new season. Below you will find all of the information for the three groups we will be offering during the first two months (through the end of October). If would, please take some time to look over the short descriptions of each group, pray about it, and reply to let us know which one(s) you will be attending. That way we can pass a number on to the host homes to help them prepare for how many to accommodate. You are certainly welcome to attend more than one, and you are welcome to change your mind. We just like to have an idea of what to expect, since we are utilizing people's homes for the group meeting.

Thank you very much! We are excited about this year's small group meetings, and believe it will be a great blessing to the people of the Oasis fellowship.

Parenting With Godly Wisdom

Tuesdays, 6pm to 8pm

Chris & April Stewart's house

60 Nurad Road Athens, OH

Directions: Take 33 north to the Richland Ave exit. Then take 50/32 west. Turn right onto County Road 19 (Radford Road). Approximately 1/2 mile you will turn left onto Nurad Road. Stay on Nurad all the way to the back of the neighborhood. You will go down a dip and around a sharp corner (to the left). Stewart's house is a cedar house at the corner of Nurad and Louise (you will see Louise twice, stay on Nurad the first time you pass Louise).

Description: This group will focus heavily on the Scriptures, seeking God's instruction to parents about His desire for how young men and women are raised in the family. It will be a challenging study, and will include much discussion and helping of one another through personal testimony and experience. Children are welcome to attend. Each meeting will begin with a brief meal (shared, participants are encouraged to bring something of their choice). The meal will be for the purpose of fellowship and getting to know one another better. At 6:45pm the study and discussion will begin, and it will conclude promptly at 8:00pm in order to respect the fact that it is a school night.

The Gospel & Oasis 101

Wednesdays, 6pm to 8pm

Mike & Sharon Stewart's house

553 South 4th Ave Middleport, OH

Directions: From Route 7, take Bradbury Road over Middleport hill into town. Turn right onto South 4th Ave. Go almost all the way to the end (to the old Jr. High). Stewart's house is on the right, 3 houses from the end of the road.

Description: This group will focus a lot of attention on group discussion and prayer, as it centers around the essential beliefs and core values of the church. Whether you have taken The Gospel & Oasis 101 class or not, this will be a great opportunity for you to grow in your understanding of the basic fundamental values of Christianity and of the church. The discussion will be open and flexible, allowing for questions and answers on a variety of topics. Children are welcome to attend. Each meeting will begin with a meal for the purpose of fellowship and getting to know one another better ("potluck" style, participants are encouraged to bring something to share).

Worship: Study & Practice

Thursdays, 6pm to 8pm

Jim & Julie Durst's house

31359 Noble Summit Road Middleport, OH

Description: This group will be a primer on worship, seeking the Scriptures for instruction on worship, and putting the knowledge into practice through song and prayer. Children are welcome to attend. Each meeting will begin with a meal for the purpose of fellowship and getting to know one another better ("potluck" style, participants are encouraged to bring something to share).

Reminder: please reply to oasis@bethechurch.com and let us know which of the Oasis small groups you will be attending. You are welcome to attend more than one, or all if you'd like. Have a great week!!!

Concert of Prayer

Yesterday's worship gathering was a refreshing experience, as we focused all of our time on communication with God and edification of one another through a concerted effort of prayer. It is always interesting to see the changes that take place on the faces of people gathered in the room throughout an experience like yesterday. When I first explained that during the morning we will be moving around and praying with one another and for one another, the looks I saw were, "Oh great, I am not gifted to do this," and "Oh no, I knew I should have said I could come in to work today," and "Man, its not really my thing to pray out loud," and a whole host of other looks. But once that initial ice is broken, and everyone steps outside of their comfort zones, the looks on faces begin to change. What I saw was fear became compassion; looks of uncertainty became looks of faith and assurance; stones became waters of grace; disdain and apathy turned to love and mercy.

That's what prayer does. That's what worship does. And that is why concerts of prayer are going to become a regular part of our Sunday worship gatherings. You can expect to experience one every three to four weeks for a while.