1st Week of the 1st Serve Tennis Camp…
Huge Success!
Hi Everyone, In the history of Oklahoma City there has never been a First Serve Tennis Camp, not until now! Our first week was beyond anything I ever envisioned when we were talking about the possibilities. Jessica Reineke and her crew of coaches loved on kids, instructed kids, and by the end of the week [...]
Solitary Places
Luke 8:26-39
Where do you go when the storms of life beat upon your heart and mind? Where do you turn when life’s sorrows pile up on you? Do you retreat into isolation, turn to a trusted brother or sister in Christ, cry out to the Lord for strength and comfort, or do you suffer in isolation? [...]
God Pitched His Tent
John 1:14-18
While I was in college I spent two summers working at a camp in Branson, Missouri called Kanakuk. It’s been thirty years, but I still have so many wonderful memories of my time at camp. At K-2, the camp I worked at, we had the same kids for 26 days. During our 26 day terms [...]
Defending The Indefensible
Romans 2:1-4
This is our ninth study of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. In the first chapter of Romans we learned that we are “without excuse.” Paul says that God has revealed His eternal power and divine nature to us through what He has made. We can see the magnitude, beauty, and intricate design of [...]
Love God By Loving Others
Hebrews 6:10
10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (Hebrews 6:10 NIV) During the past two weeks there has been a spotlight shining continuously on the Oklahoma City area. The spotlight has been shining brightly [...]
Is God Asleep When Tragedy Comes?
Mark 4:35-41
There’s an interesting story in Mark’s Gospel that I’ve been spending time with this week following the tornadoes that came through our city. Jesus, at the beginning of Mark 4, is beside the Sea of Galilee, teaching the people who’ve huddled up around Him to listen to His parables. The sun was shining. There was [...]
Rejected or Accepted?
John 1:9-13
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who [...]
A Mother’s Hope and Heartache
Judges 13
There’s nobody like mom. Mothers have made an indelible impression on their children’s lives since the beginning of time. If you look back through the pages of history, seeking to find those men and women who have left their mark, you will find that there was a mother who first left her mark on that [...]
Running For Henry!
2013 Austism “PieceWalk and Run”
Good Morning, At the beginning of 2013 our pastor, Herman Stevenson, started a running club for those who hadn’t run. It was called the “Couch to 5K Club” and it has taken off like gangbusters! Their first race together was the “Beacon On The Bay 5K” at Lake Hefner. This past week some of Herman’s [...]
Can I Get a Witness?
John 1:6-8
In light of all that we have learned about Jesus, so far in our study of John’s Gospel, it is mind boggling that God has chosen to use broken vessels to carry His message of mercy, forgiveness, grace, redemption, and salvation to the world. Stop and think about it with me just for a moment. [...]
Empty Thoughts and Darkened Hearts
Romans 1:21-23
As we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome today we have to remember where we have been so far in our study. If you will remember, our last few studies have focused on our current situation, we are living life under the wrath of God. The wrath of God is [...]
No Excuses!
Romans 1:18-21
We actually began the study of this section of Scripture last week by taking a look at the wrath of God. If you will remember God’s anger, or His wrath, is not like our anger. Our anger is oftentimes impulsive and explosive. God’s wrath is purposeful. God’s wrath is an expression of His love. God’s [...]
The Life and The Light of Humanity
John 1:3-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all [...]
The Cross and The Crown
1 Corinthians 1:18-24
This morning there are followers of Jesus all over the world who are gathering to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Christians have been doing this since the first Easter morning, but there is one place on the planet where they’ve been doing it the longest—the place that we know as The Church [...]
The Power of God
Romans 1:16-17
When we began our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome I told you that this letter has been used by God to transform countless lives and spark revivals across the globe. One of the revivals, or maybe I should say, “reformations,” that came about because of the letter to the Romans is [...]
“In The Beginning…”
John 1:1-2
I was taught, somewhere along the way in English class, that when you write a paper or give a speech you should “tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.” I found out much later that it wasn’t my English teacher who dreamed up [...]
I’m Not Ashamed
Romans 1:16
I have a declaration to make this morning. A statement that I just can’t keep to myself. I have been pondering the possible repercussions my announcement could bring about. I have been considering the potential consequences of my disclosure. I’ve weighed the benefits of keeping it to myself against the cost of letting the cat [...]
The Good News of John
“So That You May Believe…”
If God was going to pick someone to tell His story, John wouldn’t have been a likely candidate. He wasn’t a theologian. He was a fisherman. He wasn’t even-tempered, kind, and loving. He was temperamental, harsh, and difficult to reason with at times. He didn’t meet Jesus at a church picnic. He met Jesus while [...]
We Have An Obligation To Fulfill
Romans 1:8-15
Paul had the heart of a missionary. He had a love for people that he did not know, he had a desire to go to places where he had never visited, and all of this was rooted in a deep sense of obligation that he felt towards all people. When we think of the word, [...]
Spiritual Warfare: Going on the Offensive
Ephesians 6:17-18
Last week we began studying the last section of Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus. Throughout Paul’s letter he has been encouraging the brothers and sisters in Ephesus by teaching them about the many, many, blessings that God has showered upon His people. Paul taught them that they have been blessed with every spiritual [...]
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Romans 1:1-7
This week, in our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, we are going to take a look at Romans 1:1-7. These seven verses, in large part, summarize the entire message that Paul wanted to communicate to the brothers and sisters in Rome. It is the “gospel of God,” the good news of [...]
Paul’s Letter To The Church in Rome
Today we are beginning a study of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. There are 66 books in the Bible and yet I would say that more revivals of the soul can be traced to the book of Romans than to any other single book in God’s Word. Throughout history people like St. Augustine, [...]
Spirit Filled Work
Ephesians 6:5-9
Several weeks ago we began to take a look at a section of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus that began back in Ephesians 5:18 where Paul encouraged the folks to be filled with the Spirit instead of being filled with wine. We learned that being filled with the Spirit of God leads to [...]
Draw Near
James 4:8
Our understanding of things oftentimes is based upon our relation to the event taking place, the information being shared, and our own perspective. We can watch the first quarter of a Thunder game and be thoroughly convinced who the winner will be, only to be proven wrong if we walk away before the final buzzer [...]