Oaks Parish

by Oaks Parish

Season 3

Sermon: Love of Neighbor (January 19, 2025)

Scripture Text: Luke 10:25-37 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection David Brooks, How to Know a Person You may find the whole idea of God ridiculous, but I ask you to believe in the concept of a soul. You may just be chatting with someone about the weather, but I ask you to assume that the person in front of you contains some piece of themselves that has no weight, size, color, or shape yet gives them infinite value and dignity. If you consider that each person has a soul, you will be aware that each person has some transcendent spark inside them. You will be aware that at the deepest level we are all equals. We’re not equal in might, intelligence, or wealth, but we are all equal on the level of our souls. If you see the people you meet as precious souls, you’ll probably wind up treating them well. If you can attend to people in this way, you won’t be merely observing them or scrutinizing them. You’ll be illuminating them with a gaze that is warm, respectful, and admiring. You’ll be offering a gaze that says, “I’m going to trust you, before you trust me.” N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone What is at stake, then and now, is the question of whether we will use the God-given revelation of love and grace as a way of boosting our own sense of isolated security and purity, or whether we will see it as a call and challenge to extend that love and grace to the whole world. No church, no Christian, can remain content with easy definitions which allow us to watch most of the world lying half-dead in the road. J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke The world would be a happier world if there was more practical Christianity. Application Questions 1. Why is the story of the Good Samaritan so radical? 2. What role does personal identity play in our ability to love others? 3. How might your life be enriched this week by loving your neighbor?

Sermon: Power & Provision (January 12, 2025

Scripture Text: Luke 9:1-36 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection Hartmut Rosa, Two Versions of the Good Life & Two Forms of Fear When something really touches us, we can never know or predict in advance what we will become as a result of this. J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Luke Thousands in every age of the church spend their lives in this way and never come to the point of drawing near to God. They satisfy themselves with a miserable round of gossip about this preacher’s sermons or that writer’s opinions. They think “this man goes too far” and “that man does not go far enough.” Some doctrines they approve and others they disapprove. Some teachers they call “sound” and others they call “unsound.” They cannot quite make up their own minds as to what is true or what is right. Year rolls on after year and finds them in the same state – talking, criticizing, fault-finding, speculating – but never getting any further. They are hovering like the moth around religion, but never settling down like the bee to feed on its treasures. They never boldly lay hold of Christ. They never set themselves heartily to the great business of serving God. They never take up the cross and become thorough Christians. And at last, after all their talking, they die in their sins, unprepared to meet God. N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone The more open we are to God, and to the different dimensions of God’s glory, the more we seem to be open to the pain of the world. We are right to be wary when we return from some great worship service, when we rise from a time of prayer in which God has seemed close and his love real and powerful. These things are never given for their own sake, but so that, as we are equipped by them, God can use us within his needy world. Application Questions 1. Consider a time when you experienced the power and presence of God in your life. How did this occasion impact your outlook on life? 2. How could ‘talking, criticizing, fault-finding, and speculating’ actually be getting in the way of ‘boldly laying hold of Christ’? 3. Why might faith in God be on the rise in our day?

Sermon: The Impact of Incarnation (December 29, 2024)

Scripture Text: Colossians 1:15-20 Andy Tobin Quotes for Reflection David Wells Paul’s Christology, therefore, also encompasses the language of the kingdom of God in the Gospels. To believe on Christ is to enter the kingdom and is to become a part of the age to come. Paul, however, expands this thought far beyond the personal and ecclesiastical. If Christ is the Lord whom every believer serves, the Head to whom the whole churchly body is responsive, he is also the Creator from whom everything derives its existence, the center without which there is no reality. Whether above in the starlit firmament or below within human consciousness, Jesus has “supremacy.” Hebrews 1:1-4 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. John Piper We admire Christ for his transcendence, but even more because the transcendence of his greatness is mixed with submission to God. We marvel at him because his uncompromising justice is tempered with mercy. His majesty is sweetened by meekness. In his equality with God he has a deep reverence for God. Though he is worthy of all good, he was patient to suffer evil. His sovereign dominion over the world was clothed with a spirit of obedience and submission. He baffled the proud scribes with his wisdom, but was simple enough to be loved by children. He could still the storm with a word, but would not strike the Samaritans with lightning or take himself down from the cross. Application Questions 1. What Christological truth from Colossians 1 will influence your worship of Jesus this Christmastide? 2. How is God calling you to live in light of the supremacy of Jesus? 3. What relationship in your life needs the reconciling power of God, and what is the first step you need to take?

Sermon: The Fulfillment of Incarnation (December 22, 2024)

Scripture Text: Matthew 1:18-25 Quincy Robinson

Sermon: The Humility of Incarnation (December 15, 2024)

Scripture Text: Philippians 2:1-11 Scripture Text: Philippians 2:1-11 Quotes for Reflection N.T. Wright, Philippians for Everyone The eternal son of God, the one who became human in and as Jesus of Nazareth, regarded his equality with God as committing him to the course he took: of becoming human, of becoming Israel’s anointed representative, of dying under the weight of the world’s evil. This is what it meant to be equal with God. As you look at the incarnate son of God dying on the cross the most powerful thought you should think is: this is the true meaning of who God is. He is the God of self-giving love. Athanasius, On the Incarnation The body of the Word, then, being a real human body, in spite of its having been uniquely formed from a virgin, was of itself mortal and, like other bodies, liable to death. But the indwelling of the Word loosed it from this natural liability, so that corruption could not touch it. Thus it happened that two opposite marvels took place at once: the death of all was consummated in the Lord’s body; yet, because the Word was in it, death and corruption were in the same act utterly abolished. Death there had to be, and death for all, so that the due of all might be paid. Wherefore, the Word, as I said, being Himself incapable of death, assumed a mortal body, that He might offer it as His own in place of all, and suffering for the sake of all through His union with it, “might bring to nought Him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver them who all their lifetime were enslaved by the fear of death.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity Now, the moment you realise ‘Here I am, dressing up as Christ,’ it is extremely likely that you will see at once some way in which at that very moment the pretence could be made less of a pretence and more of a reality. You will find several things going on in your mind which would not be going on there if you were really a son of God. Well, stop them. Or you may realise that, instead of saying your prayers, you ought to be downstairs writing a letter, or helping your wife to wash-up. Well, go and do it. You see what is happening. The Christ himself, the Son of God who is man (just like you) and God (just like the Father) is actually at your side and is already at that moment beginning to turn your pretence into a reality. Application Questions 1. How have you seen the impact of humility in your own life? 2. Why is Jesus’s physical body so important for our redemption? 3. How could you profit this week from ‘pretending’ to be Christ?

Sermon: The Purpose of Incarnation (December 8, 2024)

Scripture Text: Johan 1:1-21 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection N.T Wright, John for Everyone Whatever else John is going to tell us, he wants us to see his book as the story of God and the world, not just the story of one character in one place and time. This book is about the creator God acting in a new way within his much-loved creation. It is about the way in which the long story which began in Genesis reached the climax the creator had always intended. Gary Burge, John: The NIV Application Commentary The prologue to John is not about a message that offers hope, but about The Message that is the only hope. It is not about an idea, but a person. The Word became flesh tells us that God is intent on communicating with us not about mere concepts; he is intent on communicating about himself. The Word became flesh tells us that The Message is accessible and not hidden away for mystics and scholars but was lived in the world and was touched and heard by many. The Word became flesh tells us that the man Jesus was no mere mortal. He was not an inspired carpenter or a model human. Jesus was God himself—taking on the clothing of humanity, embracing it fully and eternally, walking in it, speaking through it, and delivering the reality of God to the world in a manner never done before. This prologue tells us that something definitive has happened in time, something objective and absolute. A marker has been placed in human history, and all humanity is now being called to mark time and progress by that post. Athanasius, On the Incarnation What, then, was God to do? What else could He possibly do, being God, but renew His Image in mankind, so that through it men might once more come to know Him? And how could this be done save by the coming of the very Image Himself, our Saviour Jesus Christ? Men could not have done it, for they are only made after the Image; nor could angels have done it, for they are not the images of God. The Word of God came in His own Person, because it was He alone, the Image of the Father, Who could recreate man made after the Image. In order to effect this re-creation, however, He had first to do away with death and corruption. Therefore He assumed a human body, in order that in it death might once for all be destroyed, and that men might be renewed according to the Image. The Image of the Father only was sufficient for this need. Application Questions 1. Why is John’s term “the Word” (logos) be helpful to anyone searching for spiritual answers? 2. Why does the incarnation of Jesus make so much sense? 3. John writes that we become the God’s children by his power. How does this reality help you meet a pressing concern right now and respond in a fresh way?

Sermon: The Promise of Incarnation (December 1, 2024)

Scripture Text: Isaiah 9:1-7 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth. Look up to these words, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed. Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears and who are heavy and who are crying over the fact that the earth has gracelessly torn us away. Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes. Look up, your redemption is drawing near. something different from what you see daily will happen. Just be aware, be watchful, wait just another short moment. Wait and something quite new will break over you: God will come. John Oswalt, Isaiah Have we allowed the Child-King to take over the government of our lives? Only then can we know the benefits of God with us. We cannot have the light, the honor, the joy, the abundance, the integration that he offers in any other way. Alec J. Moyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah The eye of faith looks at all this but affirms that, real though it is, it is not the ‘real’ reality. As always, the people of God must decide what reading of their experiences they will live by. Are they to look at the darkness, the hopelessness, the dreams shattered and conclude that God has forgotten them? Or are they to recall his past mercies, to remember his present promises and to make great affirmations of faith? Isaiah insists here that hope is a present reality, part of the constitution of the ‘now’. The darkness is true but it is not the whole truth and certainly not the fundamental truth. Application Questions 1. How do we see tangible evidence that the government of Isaiah’s child-king provides a stark contrast to the chaos of worldly kingdoms? 2. How does “the zeal of the Lord” transform the way we face the darkness of this world? 3. Reflect on the meaning of the four titles of the child-king in verse 6. How is Jesus the specific answer to a darkness you are facing right now?

Sermon: Hearing & Doing (November 24, 2024)

Scripture Text: Luke 8:1-21 Andy Tobin Quotes for Reflection J. C. Ryle The last caution contained in the parable of the sower, is to beware of being content with any religion which does not bear fruit in our lives. Our Lord tells us that the hearts of those who hear the Word aright, are like good ground. The seed of the gospel sinks down deeply into their wills, and produces practical results in their faith and practice. They not only hear with pleasure, but act with decision. They repent. They believe. They obey. James 1:19-25 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. N. T. Wright Look out of the window at the people walking by. What sort of soil is the seed being sown in today? What can we do to plough up the rough ground, to remove the stones, to weed out the thorns? What can we do to sow the word more successfully? The answers will vary from place to place and time to time. But perhaps the first and most important answer is to ask ourselves how much mature growth, how much fruit, the word is producing in our own lives. If we have ears, we must learn to hear. Application Questions 1. Which of the four soils represents your response to Jesus? 2. How is God calling you to “pay attention to how you listen”? 3. In what area of life does your doing need to catch up with your hearing?

Sermon: Faith & Healing (November 17, 2024)

*We apologize that a couple minutes are missing from the beginning of this replay, but jump right in for the majority of the sermon! Scripture Text: Luke 7 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods ‘where they get off,’ you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Joan Chittister and Rowan Williams, Uncommon Gratitude Doubt, on the other hand, is the mother of conviction. Once we have pursued our doubts to the dust, we forge a stronger, not a weaker, belief system. These truths are true, we know, because they are now true for us rather than simply for someone else. To suppress doubt, then, to discourage thinking, to try to stop a person from questioning the unquestionable is simply to make them more and more susceptible to the cynical, more unaccepting of naive belief. It is that doubt is the beginning of real faith. J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke All desire to see among Christians more good works, more self-denial, more practical obedience to Christ’s commands. But what will produce these things? Nothing – nothing but love. There never will be more done for Christ until there is more hearty love for Christ Himself. The fear of punishment, the desire of reward, the sense of duty are all useful arguments, in their way, to persuade men to holiness. But they are all weak and powerless until a man loves Christ. Once let that mighty principle get hold of a man and you will see his whole life changed. Application Questions 1. How does Jesus’s interaction with the centurion and widow serve as an encouragement to our faith? 2. What doubts do you need to bring to Jesus this week? 3. Why is ‘faith alone’ such a precious reality for our relationship with God?

Sermon: Love and Mercy (November 10, 2024)

Scripture Text: Luke 6 Bryan Buck Quotes for Reflection J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke The Christian must be altogether another style of man. His feelings of love and his deeds of kindness must be like his Master’s – free and gracious. He must let men see that he loves others from higher principles than the ungodly do, and that his charity is not confined to those from whom he hopes to get something in return. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says ‘Love your enemies,’ he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies—or else? The chain reaction of evil—hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars—must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation. Michael Card, Luke: The Gospel of Amazement You have a storeroom. It’s called your heart. If your heart is good, only good things will come out of the storeroom. If it is evil, then all you’ll have stored up is evil. Out of the overflow of the storeroom of your heart your mouth speaks. Whether it’s the image of the house or the storeroom or the good tree or the thorn bush, Jesus is painting images to recapture our imaginations. I don’t want my life to count for nothing, just as I wouldn’t want my house to be washed away by a storm. I don’t want to fall blindly into a deep pit, just as I don’t want my discipleship to be shallow and meaningless. If it is an unimaginable kingdom into which you and I are being called, then only the parables and the Spirit can enable us to imagine our way in. If it is an impossible command that Jesus demands that we follow, then only by his hesed will we be able to obey. Application Questions 1. How can scholar J.C. Ryle say that Christians are altogether ‘another style of man’? What does that actually mean? 2. How can gospel-centered love help you love someone in particular this week? 3. Of the five illustrations that Jesus uses in Luke 6:37-49 to paint a picture of the Christian life, which picture speaks to you the most right now and why?

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