Oaks Parish

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Christmas Eve Homily: Abiding Forever (December 24, 2025)

Scripture Text: Ezekiel 37:24-28 and Matthew 1:22-23 Bryan Buck

Sermon: Sovereignty in the Journey (December 21, 2025)

Scripture Text: Micah 5:2-5 and Matthew 2:13–23 Bryan Buck Application Questions 1. From his early days, Jesus was subject to the harsh and cruel powers of the world. How does that change the way you go to him in prayer? 2. Matthew is careful to note how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures. How does that emphasis lead you to adore Jesus? 3. How can the sovereignty of God make a difference in how you view uncertainty in your life?

Sermon: Joy Along the Way (December 14, 2025)

Scripture Text: Isaiah 35:1-10 and Luke 2:1-20 Bryan Buck Application Questions 1. As we see with the shepherds, God is concerned for the “least of these” in society. How does God’s heart change your own heart? 2. Reflect on a time when you felt poor in spirit and God entered in. How did you grow in Christ through this experience? 3. How does the gospel sustain joy no matter the circumstance?

Sermon: Strength for the Journey (December 7, 2025)

Scripture Text: Philippians 1:3-11 and Matthew 2:1-12 Bryan Buck Application Questions 1. Dignitaries from afar traveled to worship Jesus while those who were near failed to acknowledge him as King. What do you take away from this paradox? 2. Jesus is King for all peoples. How does this shape your life with him? 3. How can the story of the Magi give you perspective where you feel weary?

Sermon: The Long Road of Faith (November 30, 2025)

Scripture Text: Jeremiah 33:14-16 and Matthew 1:18–25 Bryan Buck

Sermon: Bearing One Another's Burdens (November 23, 2025)

Scripture Text: Galatians 6:1-10 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection Oaks Parish Vision Oaks Parish pursues gospel-centered renewal through parish ministry, walking alongside our city, region, and world. This renewal is embodied in the beauty of liturgical worship, mission rooted in people and place among the least and lost, and relational discipleship that forms us into the image of Christ. C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves To love at all is to be vulnerable. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together The Christian, however, must bear the burden of a brother. He must suffer and endure the brother. It is only when he is a burden that another person is really a brother and not merely an object to be manipulated. The burden of men was so heavy for God himself that he had to endure the Cross. God verily bore the burden of men in the body of Jesus Christ. But he bore them as a mother carries her child, as a shepherd enfolds a lost lamb that has been found. God took men upon himself and they weighted him to the ground, but God remained with them and they with God. In bearing with men God maintained fellowship with them. It is the law of Christ that was fulfilled in the Cross. And Christians must share in this law. They must suffer their brethren, but, what is more important, now that the law of Christ has been fulfilled, they can bear with their brethren. Phillip Graham Ryken, The Reformed Expository Commentary The Holy Spirit does not produce this fruit for our private enjoyment. True spirituality is not an individualistic quest for self-fulfillment—the kind of thing one has to climb to the top of a pillar to discover. The life of the Spirit flourishes for the sake of others. It is not experienced in private, primarily, but exercised in public. Therefore, it does not grow in isolation, but within the community of faith. Spiritual life is meant to be shared. It is less like a fruit tree hidden away somewhere in a secret garden, and more like one that grows in a public park. Application Questions 1. Recall the central issue facing the Christians in Galatia. What can we learn from this letter for our own time? 2. What part of this text feels most challenging to a self-centered faith? 3. How can Paul’s admonition to bear both “one another’s burdens” and “one’s own load” help you navigate a current situation?

Sermon: Accept Other Christians (November 16, 2025)

Sermon Text: Romans 15:1-7 Dr Alan Carter Click here to download the 35 references for "one another-ing" in Scripture that Dr Carter mentions in his sermon.

Sermon: The Aim of Discipleship (November 9, 2025)

Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 3:17-4:18 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection Oaks Parish Vision Oaks Parish pursues gospel-centered renewal through parish ministry, walking alongside our city, region, and world. This renewal is embodied in the beauty of liturgical worship, mission rooted in people and place among the least and lost, and relational discipleship that forms us into the image of Christ. Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation He became what we are that he might make us what he is. C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire. For glory means good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgement, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last. N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: 2 Corinthians The gospel isn’t about a different god, someone other than the world’s original creator, but about the same creator God bringing new life and light to his world, the world where death and darkness have made their home and usurped his role. Paul summarizes God’s command in Genesis 1, in order to say: what happened to me that day, what happened to you when you believed, and what happens whenever anyone ‘turns to the Lord’, is a moment of new creation. Application Questions 1. If the aim of discipleship is to become like Jesus, how does this change your personal aspirations and outlook on life? 2. How is the Holy Spirit is working in your soul right now to restore your image unto God? 3. What is one practice this week that can help you more readily join Christ in the unseen and eternal?

Sermon: Prayer as the Foundation (November 2, 2025)

*We apologize that the first couple minutes are missing from the beginning of this replay, but jump right in for the majority of the sermon! Scripture Text: Luke 11:1-13 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection Oaks Parish Vision Oaks Parish pursues gospel-centered renewal through parish ministry, walking alongside our city, region, and world. This renewal is embodied in the beauty of liturgical worship, mission rooted in people and place among the least and lost, and relational discipleship that forms us into the image of Christ. John Onwuchekwa, Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church The first two words of the Lord’s Prayer—’Our Father’—reminds us that prayer also involves others. We are not just individuals relating to God, but part of a community with the same Father. This makes prayer a collective exercise. N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone What counts is persistence. There are all sorts of ways in which God isn’t like a sleepy friend, but Jesus is focusing on one point of comparison only: he is encouraging a kind of holy boldness, a sharp knocking on the door, an insistent asking, a search that refuses to give up. That’s what our prayer should be like. This isn’t just a routine or formal praying, going through the motions as a daily or weekly task. There is a battle on, a fight with the powers of darkness, and those who have glimpsed the light are called to struggle in prayer – for peace, for reconciliation, for wisdom, for a thousand things for the world and the church, perhaps a hundred or two for one’s own family, friends and neighbours, and perhaps a dozen or two for oneself. J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Luke The time and way in which our prayers shall be answered are matters which we must leave entirely to God. But we need not doubt that every petition which we offer in faith shall certainly be answered. Let us lay our matters before God again and again, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. The answer may be long in coming, as it was in the cases of Hannah and Zacharias (1 Samuel 1:27; Luke 1:13). But though it tarries, let us pray on and wait for it. At the right time, it will surely come and not tarry. Quotes for Reflection 1. Why does prayer seem so difficult at times? How do the parables in verse 5-13 reveal the gospel’s influence for prayer? 2. How does your view of prayer change when you see it as a communal rather than merely an individual exercise? 3. How have you seen Jesus shape your heart because of prayer?

Sermon: The Integrity of Faith & the Credibility of the Gospel (October 26, 2025)

Scripture Text: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-20 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor We are not dealing with abstractions. The gospel is lived before it is preached. People are not changed by ideas but by persons who embody the truth of those ideas. B.B. Warfield, Selected Shorter Writings, vol 2 The great test of every ministry is love: not eloquence, nor zeal, nor orthodoxy, but that Christlike affection which seeks not its own but the good of others. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brother’s is sure. That also clarifies the goal of all Christian community: they meet one another as bringers of the message of salvation. Henri Nouwen, Gracias! A Latin American Journal, 1983 More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Application Questions 1. Recall someone who has been influential for your relationship with Jesus, what did you appreciate about this person? 2. How does American Christianity compare with the ministry that Paul and others shared with the believers in Thessalonica? 3. What can you change about your life so that God can use you more fully in the lives of others? How will you begin making that change?

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