What You Missed....

Here's some pics from the concert from Sunday night. It was awesome! Enjoy the pics. (If you didn't make it to the concert, look for another one coming up in late spring!)

Yes, that's Chris Sligh jumping off the platform. He's got ups!

From Concert to FOL

The concert was great Sunday night! Everyone I've talked to was blessed and had a good time. Pretty cool deal to host. The artists were genuine and really have a heart for ministry. Thanks to everyone who came out to support the concert. It's sometimes hard to get the BIG acts to come to Enid, OK so we appreciate everyone who came out to support the concert. We're looking at another one in late spring with Steve Fee, Matt Maher, and some others. So, stay tuned into the church website for further details.

Now it's on to to getting this Children's Remodel finished as well as Festival of Light. On Sunday we reached and even went over our goal on candy! That's amazing! We appreciate all of the donations from everyone for candy. Now we are sure to have enough for Saturday night and then some.

It's a buy week if you are on staff at Oakwood. Almost every day there's something going on in the evening or a special project that needs you attention. Plus, we have all of our regular week in and week out duties to fulfill. It's fun, fast, furious, and a full schedule, but the benefits for the Kingdom are out of this world! (Literally!) We're just praying for a successful outreach this Saturday night and for everyone to have a great time. If even one is brought to the Lord, or the seeds are planted for the future, we have done what the Lord has called us to do. I'm just glad to be a part of it.

If you are not involved, get involved. Just call the church office and we'll hook you up with a place to serve. If you are planning on attending FOL, we'll see you there. Be blessed this week!

Aaron Shust in our service on Sunday!

It looks like Aaron Shust will share with us in our morning worship service this Sunday. That's pretty exciting. So, don't miss Sunday's worship time at 10:30AM. Good worship, good message, sweet communion, and Aaron Shust sharing with us, and ultimately, another encounter with the Savior of the world. Does it get much better than that?

Big Concert Update!!!!

The big concert this weekend will be awesome! It's great to see Christian artists of this quality make a stop in Enid, America. This Sunday night at 7:00PM we're hosting the Aaron Shust concert right here at Oakwood Christian Church with artists Chris Sligh, Lanae Hale, and Andrew Witt. That's 4 acts for $10! And it includes a free t-shirt for the first 500 tickets purchased. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't miss it! It's some quality music that we don't see too often in these parts. There are also $30 VIP tickets available that get you a tour t-shirt, CD, early entry to the concert, a private acoustic set, and a meet and greet with all the artists. There are only 100 of those tickets available and their sold first come first serve (we have only a few left). If you want tickets, you can buy them here at the church or at Ruth's Christian Bookstore in Oakwood Mall. VIP tickets are only available here at Oakwood.

Here are some links to the artists so you can hear some of their music: (Awesome!!!)

Chris Sligh "Empty Me" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olDS-QlwpDw

Aaron Shust "My Savior, My God" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNeOmrq37MI

Aaron Shust "To God Alone" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT-QWSxV0Hs

Aaron Shust "Give It All Away" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy1QxvKZjbY

Lanae Hale "Alive Again" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTxl0K3OJY0&feature=related

Lanae Hale "Start Over" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDdmtBSEgu8&feature=related

Lanae Hale "Burning Heartbeats" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCnBN5A1iiw&feature=related

Andrew Witt "Here" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJYeZDdX4VA

Hope to see everyone here at the concert this Sunday night. If you are on the fence...go! You won't regret it!

Hasn't Happened...Yet....

Too funny. Had to share this one. Just glad Derek hasn't gone there and hopefully never will. Though he does have a lot of youth pastor in him....

Causing a Disturbance

Sorry I've been away from the blog for a few days. It's been pretty slammed and I had a really LONG week last week. That happens in life. I think that it's God's way of reminding us that we are strangers in this world and are just passing through. We would not want to stay here. Perhaps if you are suffering or going through some type of pain this thought will give you some perspective. Long for heaven, not for this world.

I wanted to share this thought from Greg Laurie that I received this morning:

"The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.— Acts 9:31

Acts 9 tells us that after Saul's conversion, the church had peace. Why could they heave a sigh of relief? Because Saul had stopped hunting them down, arresting them, and throwing them into prison. But for as long as he lived, the world never had peace again, because he took the same zeal that had driven him to hunt down Christians and applied it to preaching the gospel.

I wish that Christians would serve God with as much zeal as they once served the devil. Many of us did whatever the devil wanted us to do. He would tell us to jump, and we would ask how high. But once we became Christians, we suddenly became timid. Instead of being bold men and women of God who are making a difference, we think, "Well, I don't want to offend anyone. . . . Well, I don't want to say that. . . . Well, I am not sure if people would like that." The world didn't have rest because Saul was the kind of guy who got things done. And when he was filled with the Holy Spirit and led by God, he was out preaching the gospel and causing what could be described as a holy disturbance.

Are you causing a disturbance in a good way? Or are you just fitting in—blending in with the woodwork? Instead, may God help you to be the man or woman He has called you to be. I thank God for heroes like Paul. But I thank God for unsung heroes too. So whether you're a hero or an unsung hero, make your life count. Because you don't decide when your life starts, and you don't decide when it ends. But you can decide what you will do with the days in between.

We're Just Not That Good

Almost every week I receive phone calls, e-mails, and written notes about how God is changing someone's life. Every Monday the staff and elders receive a printout of the decisions made from the service. I see and hear many stories about how God is changing the hearts of people and is radically saving them from the destruction of sin. I know that two weeks ago a decision was made to be baptized that had been put off for years. I know that a recovering meth addict gave her life to Christ. I've seen a married couple who were in denial about their problems come and deal with them and see their marriage renewed and their commitment restored. I've seen teens that were headed down a path of darkness be totally turned around and given new life.

Almost every week I see people whose lives are radically changed by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God can do anything He wants to do and is still moving and saving people today as He has throughout history. So many times I get thanked for the work that God's been doing. I'm sure it happens to the other staff too. Perhaps the elders receive some affirmation or even some of our small group leaders or Sunday School teachers. The bottom line is...I haven't saved anyone, restored anyone's marriage, helped turn anyone's kids around. God does all of that. He should get ALL the credit.

Let's face it. Though our church staff is wonderful. Though our elders are Godly men of integrity. Though we have many great people living out the "one anothers" as lay servants in our church, we're just not that good. We can't do anything without Christ.

So, though we may sing well, speak well, testify well, teach well, and serve well, we need to remind ourselves that even our best is shambles compared to the work that God does. We can plant the seed. We can water the seed. (And we should!) But God is the One that makes it grow.

Candy Collection

It's tradition every year for me and my girls to collect and count the candy for Festival of Light (http://www.oakwoodchristianchurch.org/445033.ihtml). The girls have a good time coming up with me on Sunday afternoons and evenings to "collect" the candy and donations for the event. It builds the excitement and anticipation toward Festival of Light. After we collect enough, we come up here for 3 or 4 hours a week and "mix the candy", filling the candy cans and getting them ready to distribute. It's fun for the girls and helps me get it done all while having a lot of fun doing it!

What church traditions are you doing with your family? What church traditions are you creating for yourself and some friends? One of my earliest memories of family ministry was coming up to prepare communion on Saturday nights. The way that they did it back in the 1980's was to have a family sign up for one month a year. When it was your month, your family came up and prepared the communion on Saturday night for Sunday morning. I remember all of the process and procedures that we had to follow to keep it sanitary. I also remember using the little push button cup filler. I remember counting the trays and the cups, making sure the break doilies were in place. Good memories. These are things that will grow up and old with you and that will bring even more fondness as you remember your church.

Oakwood is a special place. Special memories are made here each and every day. Make and memory with you and your family and friends and get involved. You'll be glad you did because you'll have some fond memories down the road.