409 episodes

Weekly sermons from Oakridge Bible Chapel.

From the Pulpit Oakridge Bible Chapel

    • Religion & Spirituality

Weekly sermons from Oakridge Bible Chapel.

    A Resolution To Walk in God’s Way (Psalm 119:1–8)

    A Resolution To Walk in God’s Way (Psalm 119:1–8)

    Psalm 119 is a celebration of God’s word, its nature and purpose, its power and perfection, its necessity, sufficiency, reliability, and veracity. The Hebrew word for law, torah, is used thirty-six times in the Psalms, twenty-five of which are found in this particular Psalm. Add to that the many synonyms the author employs—God’s word, ways, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, and judgements—and God’s word is explicitly mentioned 178 times in its 176 verses.

    And while one might expect that a passage about God’s word would include a call to obey God’s word, there isn’t one. Instead, readers are given a model to obey not a command to obey. The psalmist, throughout this lengthy acrostic poem, presents himself, not as one in grim, slavish obligation to God’s law, but as one who loves and delights in God’s law, inviting all of God’s people to join him in his resolution to walk in God’s way.

    • 40 min
    A Poem Celebrating God's Foreverness (Psalm 111:1–10)

    A Poem Celebrating God's Foreverness (Psalm 111:1–10)

    Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a theologian who grew up during WWI. His older brother was killed in battle and his mother was irreparably shocked by the loss. Fear and morbidity filled their home. To cope with those years, Dietrich, along with his twin sister, Sabine, would put themselves to sleep each night thinking about heaven, repeating into the darkness a single word: eternity. They wanted to make it their only thought as they fell asleep. When he turned twelve and was given his own room, Dietrich would lie in his bed and tap the wall that separated the twins. It was his signal to his sister that meant, “Think of God. Lift your mind to heaven. Think of eternity.”

    We too face much in our present world that can break our hearts, cause us fear, and steal our sleep. But Psalm 111 knocks on the bedroom wall of our lives and reminds God’s people to think of God, to lift our minds to heaven, and to think of eternity.

    • 39 min
    A Prophecy About a Coming King-Priest (Psalm 110:1–7)

    A Prophecy About a Coming King-Priest (Psalm 110:1–7)

    Every good and effective government must provide both laws to govern its citizenry and courts to represent its citizenry. If laws are absent, unarticulated, or unenforced, there is anarchy. If courts are corrupt, powerless, or inaccessible, there is tyranny.

    God’s government promises both infallible regulation and unending representation for the good of its people. Foreshadowing this reality in the past, God gave ancient Israel kings from the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10; Ps 60:7) and priests from the tribe of Levi (Ex 29:9; Deut 18:1–8), the former bringing divine authority to earth and the latter bringing human frailty to heaven.

    But in Psalm 110, David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, predicts a coming time when these two necessary offices will reside eternally and perfectly in a single person. (Spoiler: he’s talking about Jesus!) God’s people need to be governed by God and represented before God and this psalm declares that that time is coming.

    • 38 min
    A Call To Worship Our God the King (Psalm 96:1–13)

    A Call To Worship Our God the King (Psalm 96:1–13)

    Worship is a central tenet, activity, posture, and goal for all believers. As one author has suggested, “Christian worship is the response of God’s redeemed people to his self-revelation that exalts God’s glory in Christ in our minds, affections, and wills, in the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

    However we define and articulate this important concept, one thing must be clear: ultimately, worship is not about us—it’s about our God the King. Worship starts with God and responds to revelation from God. It’s directed at God in ways appropriate for God. Worship is empowered by God, brags about God, and is offered by those who belong to God as they’re drawn toward God to be made more like God. Worship is not about us. It’s about him. It’s our response to his beauty and mercy, his integrity and activity, his transcendence and his nearness. And Psalm 96 calls us to that type of worship, reminding us who we’re to worship, why we’re to worship, and how we’re to worship.

    • 40 min
    A Corporate Prayer for Corporate Pardon (Psalm 85:1–13)

    A Corporate Prayer for Corporate Pardon (Psalm 85:1–13)

    It’s hard to grow, improve, or mature without first being honest about the need for growth, the room for improvement, and the areas of immaturity. 

    Being realistic is important for those who want to progress and, as a church family, that is exactly what we desire. We want to become a congregation that is used by God to lead more and more people from darkness into light. We want to be a people so being filled with the Holy Spirit that wounded, battered, discouraged, and questioning Christians can come and find healing care and restorative grace. We want to be an assembly that God increasingly uses to build up soldiers for Christ, strong, wise, and equipped for battle and to deploy those troops into the fray with surging effectiveness. Any church family that longs to grow in these tasks needs to be honest about ways they are failing, falling short, or being disobedient, and where they desperately need God to intervene, forgive, and restore.

    • 35 min
    A Psalm for Godly Habits (Psalm 34:1–22)

    A Psalm for Godly Habits (Psalm 34:1–22)

    The psalms are songs about life, sacred songs, but commentaries on life. The ups and downs, the good and the bad, the joys and sorrows. They afford so much wisdom about life as it was meant to be lived. They tug at our hearts, they challenge our ways, and they teach us good and godly things. Many of them were written by David, the king of Israel, as is Psalm 34. In it, he speaks of several godly habits. A habit is a repetitive behaviour, one that by its repetition requires less intention and planning. It thereby streamlines our day. 

    For instance, I have a breakfast habit, the same breakfast every day. So I don’t have to get up in the morning and ponder the question, What shall I eat this morning? Without much mental stressing, I make the toast, put peanut butter, honey, and banana slices on it and then eat it along with a cup of coffee to wash it down. If you want the recipe I will gladly share it with you! So, breakfast is done!  Now on to issues which may require more deliberate planning. 

    Habits can be good and habits can be bad. Perhaps at the outset of this year, you made a few resolutions, to get rid of some bad habits and to institute some good ones. How are you doing?    

    The Christian life goes better when I have several good and godly habits, and repetitive behaviours that form the structure of my day. This is what David learned and this is what he shares in this Psalm.

    • 40 min

Top Podcasts In Religion & Spirituality

Omar Suleiman
Muslim Central
Mufti Menk
Muslim Central
Yaqeen Podcast
Yaqeen Institute
Soul Survivors
Premier Christianity magazine
Haifaa Younis
Muslim Central
BibleProject
BibleProject Podcast

You Might Also Like