As we come to the final chapter of the book of Jonah, we look back and remember to what we, as God’s people, have been called: To reflect God’s compassionate character to the world around us and to do so obediently (chapter 1), consistently (chapter 2), and indiscriminately (chapter 3). And, no doubt, we want to do those things! So, what stops us? Why do we still struggle from time-to-time like Jonah—with disobedience, with self-righteousness, and with biased love? Chapter 4 reveals what was at ...
Oct 04, 2020•23 min•Season 5Ep. 40
The Apostle James describes the Bible as a mirror into which God’s people are to look, see their ungodliness rightly reflected, and be motivated to change (James 1:22–25). In other words, Scripture is given, not for mere information but for application and life transformation. Having looked for a couple of weeks into the mirror of Jonah, we’ve been forced to ask ourselves some difficult questions. In chapter one, seeing a prodigal prophet running from God, we asked Do I reflect God’s compassiona...
Sep 27, 2020•23 min•Season 5Ep. 39
Just as a diary or journal can provide a “window into the soul” of its writer, so too prayers can reveal the heart of the pray-er. How we pray, when we pray, and what we pray for often showcases what we truly believe about God, ourselves, and life a pilgrims in a fallen world. The second chapter of Jonah gives us an inspired eavesdropping session on the prayers of the prophet. And by listening we learn a lot about him as we find a hypocritical prayer marked by self-preservation, self-exoneration...
Sep 20, 2020•21 min•Season 5Ep. 38
While obviously preferring obedience, there are times when parents allow their children to experience the consequences of their disobedience. So it is with God and his children. He has been clear in his parental instruction, inviting us to enjoy the abundant life he offers and warning us against activities that will rob us of it. And when we disobey—and we do disobey, don’t we?—there are times he wisely and lovingly allows us to experience the consequences of our disobedience. As we begin our st...
Sep 13, 2020•27 min•Season 5Ep. 37
Join us for a second week of Jude, part of the Biblical Postcard Series! Key Passage: Jude 17-25 Speaker: Dr. Jim Rennie
Sep 06, 2020•41 min•Season 5Ep. 36
Join speaker Jim Rennie as we take a look at the book of Jude, part of Oakridge's summer series, Biblical Postcards. Key Passage: Jude 1–16 Speaker: Dr. Jim Rennie
Aug 30, 2020•39 min•Season 5Ep. 35
As has always been the case, our culture today demands people be on “the right side of history” regarding any number of issues. The implication is, you don’t want to get left behind clinging to archaic, outdated ways of thinking. “The world is progressing,” they say. “Keep pace, keep quiet, and make sure you align yourself, your mind, and your actions with our demands.” Today we’re going to be reminded from the book of Obadiah that the only right side of any issue is God’s side and that any time...
Aug 23, 2020•27 min•Season 5Ep. 34
Welcome to our fourth and final week as Lew wraps up the book of Ruth Key Passage: Ruth 4 Speaker: Lew Worrad
Aug 16, 2020•35 min•Season 5Ep. 33
Week 3 of our Biblical Postcards series focusing on the book of Ruth! Key Passage: Ruth 3 Speaker: Lew Worrad
Aug 09, 2020•33 min•Season 5Ep. 32
Join Lew as his continues with the second week of the book of Ruth! Key Passage: Ruth 2 Speaker: Lew Worrad
Aug 02, 2020•31 min•Season 5Ep. 31
Continuing on with our summer series, join Lew as he takes on a new book of the bible - Ruth! Key Passage: Ruth 1 Speaker: Lew Worrad
Jul 26, 2020•31 min•Season 5Ep. 30
Many people today are engaged in the relentless DIY project of personal holiness, busily trying to construct lives that are good enough, worthy enough, and acceptable enough, often not knowing what “enough” actually is and not realizing that not a single one of us is equipped for the task. Instead, we need to call the Professional with a capital “P.” The people in Haggai’s time were wrestling with the same prideful issue—trying unsuccessfully to cultivate, manage, and distribute their own holine...
Jul 19, 2020•24 min•Season 5Ep. 29
Life in a fallen world includes obstacles, circumstances, and happenings that can threaten to deflate, frustrate, and exhaust God’s people. Even the most faithful Christian is not immune to these potentially discouraging and joy-stealing realities. How can we possibly endure? How does God equip us to make it through? Key Passage: Haggai 2 Speaker: Josiah Boyd
Jul 12, 2020•20 min•Season 5Ep. 28
As our world slowly emerges from its COVID-imposed isolationism, many wrestle with the changes they see and the rebuilding that needs to take place. Interestingly, God’s people faced a similar reality as they returned to the Promised Land from Babylonian exile. Life was different now and they had to work toward restoration. Perhaps, as God’s people today, we can learn something from their experience. Key Passage: Haggai Speaker: Josiah Boyd
Jul 05, 2020•25 min•Season 5Ep. 27
While in his second letter, the Apostle John warned the church against showing hospitality to the bad guys (vv. 10, 11), in his third letter he encourages hospitality for the good guys. In so doing, John describes four archetypal characters that exist in every work of the gospel—the professors, the providers, the prohibitors, and the preachers—and invites you and I to ask ourselves: Which one am I? Key Passage: 3 John Speaker: Dr. Jim Rennie
Jun 27, 2020•30 min•Season 5Ep. 26
Short doesn’t necessitate insignificance. Brevity doesn’t mean a lack of gravity. Today we begin our series, “Biblical Postcards,” in which we are studying some of the shortest—and, thus, oft overlooked—books of the Bible. First up is Second John, a brief note from the Apostle to a church family encouraging them to follow Christ’s commands to love according to the truth. Key Passage: 2 John Speaker: Andrew Longmire
Jun 21, 2020•30 min•Season 5Ep. 25
God’s people are blessed to be a blessing. That’s been the over-arching theme of the Joseph narrative and its a main thrust of Genesis as a whole. So, it comes as no surprise that, as we now arrive at the final three chapters of the book, the same message is highlighted in unmistakable fashion. Key Passage: Genesis 48-50 Speaker: Josiah Boyd
Jun 14, 2020•37 min•Season 5Ep. 24
The world in which we live is marred by hurt and fear, imperfection and injustice, brokenness and frustration. Some people don’t merely notice this, they experience it. So, the big question is, how does God invite us to change it? Key Passage: Genesis 46-47 Speaker: Josiah Boyd
Jun 07, 2020•39 min•Season 5Ep. 23
God’s people have been given a number of difficult tasks—assignments that, at times, appear overwhelming and nearly unachievable. However, as we study them in the pages of Scripture, without exception we see that, along with said charges, God provides resources to assist and promises rewards to incentivize. Key Passage: Genesis 44-45 Speaker: Josiah Boyd
May 31, 2020•35 min•Season 5Ep. 22
As the Joseph narrative arrives at one of its climactic moments, the spotlight lands on the brothers. While, back in chapter 37, these men had schemed and lied to get rid of Joseph, now, by God’s providence, they find themselves face to face with him who they betrayed. How will they respond when confronted and convicted by their past sins? And, what can you and I learn from their example? Key Passage: Genesis 42-43 Speaker: Josiah Boyd
May 24, 2020•41 min•Season 5Ep. 21
While the battle with fear and anxiety is not unique to the days in which we’re living, our current cultural reality has exposed and exacerbated these struggles in many. What does God say about a “spirit of fear” and how are we to, by His power, defeat such a foe? Key Passage: 2 Timothy 1:7 Speaker: Dr. Jim Rennie
May 17, 2020•23 min•Season 5Ep. 20
It’s a question that all of God’s people must ask and answer for themselves: Is the God we serve and worship worthy of our trust even when it seems he’s nowhere to be found? Key Passage: Genesis 40 & 41 Speaker: Josiah Boyd
May 10, 2020•38 min•Season 5Ep. 19
God’s people are agents of divine blessing when we demonstrate, share, and defend the life-giving, thirst-quenching water of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What happens, though, if our personal water reservoirs, our lives, becomes polluted? What happens to my ability to be a conduit of God’s blessing if I use my life as a waste disposal site for ungodly living, fleshly thought-patterns, and justified sin habits? Genesis 39 explains the importance of integrity to the call of God upon the lives of th...
May 03, 2020•30 min•Season 5Ep. 18
If a Christian remains exposed to the harsh elements of sin for an extended period of time, signs of the life we have in Christ can all but fade from detection. We become less pliable, less useful, and less sanctifiable. And yet, dealing with sin is an inevitability for us all. Is there hope for the believer caught in sin? Can God resuscitate and use a once-unrepentant heart for his glory? Key Passage: Genesis 38 Speaker: Josiah Boyd
Apr 25, 2020•33 min•Season 5Ep. 17
Key Passage: Genesis 37 Speaker: Josiah Boyd
Apr 19, 2020•29 min•Season 5Ep. 16
Speaker: Dr. Jim Rennie
Apr 12, 2020•28 min•Season 5Ep. 15
Key Passage: Selected passages from Daniel Speaker: Lew Worrad
Apr 05, 2020•35 min•Season 5Ep. 14
Hope is a powerful thing. It's the hope of getting a driver's license that motivates repetitive practice. It's the hope of graduation that promotes the diligence of tedious study – even when we don't feel like it. The hope of an approaching wedding day brings joyful anticipation. The hope of the arrival of a child, or the eventual independence of said child, prompts excitement. The hope of a promotion activates loyalty and long hours. The hope of retirement allows for peaceful endurance and opti...
Mar 28, 2020•29 min•Season 5Ep. 13
Peter's clear: False teachers are not only coming, they're here! How God’s people respond depends on how we identify the wolves, how seriously we take the threat, and what plan of action we have in place to deal with their knocking. Key Passage: 2 Peter 2:1-22 Speaker: Josiah Boyd
Mar 21, 2020•29 min•Season 5Ep. 12
In light of recent events, we wanted to take a few moments to talk about fear, anxiety and worry. For many, when those topics are mentioned, our minds immediately go to Philippians 4. Pastor Josiah walks through verses 6 to 9 of this chapter, discussing how we can prepare a Planned Biblical Response for fear, anxiety and worry. Want to go deeper? Listen to Pastor Josiah and Pastor Andrew Longmire discuss the sermon in the first episode of our Word Processing podcast: Five P's in a Peaceful Pod ....
Mar 14, 2020•27 min•Season 5Ep. 11
