by OakAdmin | Jan 18, 2018 | Darin's Blog, Message Series
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” To enter the kingdom Jesus says, “you must be born again” (John 3:7). Both of these verses describe conversion in terms of the start of a new life. God must do this work...
by OakAdmin | Jan 11, 2018 | Darin's Blog, Message Series, Spiritual Growth, The Gospel, Theology
Pastor Scott Lothery of The Orchard Church (Chicago, IL) has developed helpful material called The Gospel-Nourished Life. In it he presents the 13 virtues of Jesus and then shows how far we all fall short of those perfections. Jesus is the perfection of love, but we...
by OakAdmin | Jan 11, 2018 | Darin's Blog, Life Stories
This painting by Chicago artist, Joseph DeVelasco, was inspired by Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! Who will free me from this body of death?” What follows is an analysis of this painting by Cheyenne DeVelasco, Joseph’s granddaughter, who went...
by OakAdmin | Jan 6, 2018 | Darin's Blog, Message Series
Throughout the fall we walked through the book of Philippians, lifting our eyes from the challenges in our lives to fix our joy in the Lord. As we begin 2018 we will be studying Romans 8 on Sunday mornings while we discuss an eight week Bible study called Momentum in...
by OakAdmin | Dec 29, 2017 | Darin's Blog
This coming Sunday (12/31/17) I will preach a message with this title, Finishing the Task, based on Acts 20:24 – “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the...
by OakAdmin | Dec 11, 2017 | Darin's Blog, Video Messages
As we work to articulate an updated statement of our mission, vision and values as a church, it’s important to remember that our ultimate purpose and our marching orders are clear. Every Biblical church shares the ultimate purpose of glorifying God above all...
by OakAdmin | Dec 1, 2017 | Darin's Blog
Four streams flowed together to create our movement. The first was home-based Bible studies and communion celebrations “for all believers but believers only,” at a time when attendance in the Lutheran state churches of Sweden and Norway was required by law. When these...
by OakAdmin | Nov 16, 2017 | Darin's Blog
C.S. Lewis first preached this message in Oxford on June 8, 1942, yet it remains insightful and relevant today both as a corrective to misplaced loves among believers and as a winsome appeal to those who don’t yet know Jesus in the full wonder of His glory....
by OakAdmin | Nov 13, 2017 | Darin's Blog
The most commonly stated command in Scripture is not “worship the Lord,” “serve the Lord” or “love the Lord.” Five times more often stated than any of these commands and more than double all three of them combined is the command,...
by OakAdmin | Nov 6, 2017 | Darin's Blog, The Gospel, Theology
Whatever your struggle or temptation, the way to move forward is to “apply the gospel to your heart and then live in the power of the Holy Spirit” (from Jonathan Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship). Consider this chart by Dr. Scott Lothery, the Executive...
