Oakhaven Church Podcast

We continue to look at Jesus' teaching on prayer in Luke 11. After He teaches His disciples “The Lord's Prayer,” Jesus goes on to use humans in everyday situations to illustrate God's care and attention to our prayers. A human in bed will get up in the middle of the night to help his neighbor. A human father will not give his child a snake instead of bread. If humans can act so well - in spite of their motivation - surely God will act even more kindly. He then tells us to ask and thus receive, to knock and thus have the door opened. We examine more closely these promises that seem to guarantee our desires, but find they have a greater purpose and context.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Luke 11:1-13. Today we look at two different episodes in Jesus' life with His disciples. First is His teaching them “His” prayer in Luke 11, with a key focus on the prayer that God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Then in Luke 8, we look at the disciples' fear of the storm and find ourselves with them. Also with them, though, is Jesus. If we focus on Him instead of the storm, our hearts and minds will be as calm as theirs.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Shepherd Brenda Wilusz discusses the many ways God shows His love.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Oakhaven Church founding member Deb Cleveland shares a special Mother's Day message featuring the women of the bible. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We complete today our year long journey through the Gospel of Mark with a summary of his masterful storytelling. We focus on two of his primary themes: identity and expectation. Our identity is built upon that of Jesus' the King of kings come to bring His kingdom on earth. We are the beloved sons and daughters of the Father, and the younger brothers and sisters of the King. We also check our expectations of Jesus, as His followers in Mark have a skewed view of Who He Is or should be.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We continue to explore life in the Age of Resurrection along with the unique ending of Mark's Gospel. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

After the grueling pain of Good Friday and the silent waiting of a dark and quiet Saturday, Sunday comes in power, light, and victory. Sometimes our Saturdays last a long time, but Sunday is coming! Mark 16:1-8To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Jesus asks for a different path in the Garden of Gethsemane. God says no. Jesus stays on the path anyway, because the only way out is through this time. His followers desert Him right and left, before and after. But Jesus stays true to The Plan despite what it will cost Him. When everyone else around Him gives in to fear, He alone faithfully stays the course. For you. Mark 14:26-52To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Our journey in the Gospel of Mark brings us to a poignant, difficult final meal of Jesus with the twelve. The resonance of the past that is celebrated in the Passover meal carries forward not only to the cross and empty tomb but to our lives as well. Mark 14:12-26To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Longtime Oakhaven member Duane Canon shares his testimony of God's faithfulness in his life over the years. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We are firmly in Act III of the Gospel of Mark today as Jesus is anointed for burial by a woman at the home of Simon the Leper. This anointing points to Jesus' Kingship, Messiahship, and pending sacrifice. The woman's total commitment to Him is shown in this “no going back” breaking of this extremely expensive vessel in order to bring Jesus honor to the greatest extreme of which she is capable. There are moments in our lives when we receive the same nudge, including the daily call of Jesus to follow Him with total commitment. This woman's devotion is seen in stark contrast to Judas' betrayal, which ends this “sandwich” episode that begins and ends with men who have no clue (religious leaders, then Judas) with the “meat” of the sandwich being this heroic, insightful, Sprit-led, nameless woman who surpasses them all and thus is set in our memories by none other than Jesus Himself.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We look today at Jesus' longest discourse in the Gospel of Mark. Mark 13 contains some of the most dramatic language and images in the gospel. As Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem, we take away five lessons: God's Promises and Plan are CERTAIN but Surprising. Expect Challenging Times. You're Not Alone - Rely on the Holy Spirit. Don't Be Taken In or Led Away - No One Knows the Time or Hour. Persevere with Vigilance - Live in the Promise!To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We return today to the Gospel of Mark (12:35-44) and find again that Jesus/Mark have packaged 3 stories together that seem unrelated at first but in fact interpret each other. Jesus first quizzes the people about the Messiah, a descendent of David, somehow also be David's Lord. Then Jesus warns against desiring attention and influence like the religious teachers, many of whom prey on naive widows for income. Then the stories pivot on the character of widows, as the most famous widow of all time drops her two small copper coins in the offering box. She is all in. Jesus is all in. Are we?To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Duey shares a message on Jesus' command in John 13:34. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Stories of a lost sheep and a lost coin in Luke 15 point to how much Jesus wants us to be found, and the great lengths to which He will go to do so.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In our journey with Jesus through the Gospel of Mark we have recently arrived in Jerusalem after Jesus' triumphal entry on a donkey. (Mark 11:11-25) As Mark's structure passes from Act II to Act III, the joyful pilgrims who'd shouted Hosanna! to Jesus have gone their separate ways and He is now concerned with the Jewish leaders and with how the worship of the entire nation has been structured so as to be as unwelcoming as possible to outsiders. Jesus renders judgment by overturning the tables of commerce, aiming His ire not only at transactional worship but at their disregard of those to whom they were called to witness. To make sure we understand, Mark and Jesus structure this story as the meat of a sandwich, with Jesus' judgment of a fig tree before and after to make clear the meaning at the temple. We are faced with our own ease and convenience in worship, tailored to our preferences and our frame of reference, in ways that can be quite inaccessible to someone from "outside" coming in for a visit. Just as Israel's prime directive was to "be a light to the Gentiles," so we are called to be ambassadors for Christ whether we are out in the world or comfortably snuggled at home.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We return to our survey of the Gospel of Mark today and find ourselves at a key structural point in Mark's storytelling. Mark's gospel can be divided into three “acts.” Act I takes place in Galilee, Act III takes place in Jerusalem, and Act is the bridge “on the road” between those two locations. Today's brief story occurs at the end of Act II (10:46-52), and is the last story before Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem and all the events of Holy Week, to which Mark devotes a huge percentage of his gospel. Blind Bartimaeus is a template for all of us, teaching us to cry out to Jesus when He is near, be transformed by His power, and cast our pasts behind to follow Jesus “on the way.”To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

As a result of the grace that Jesus has showered on us, we are moved to share His story with others. Jesus is the King who comes with His kingdom to break into the present while ensuring its eternal future. in 2 Corinthians 5 (and elsewhere), we are called to be ambassadors of this King and Kingdom, first leading lives that represent well the One we serve. Those lives will be markedly different from those steeped in the culture around us, so we can expect to be questioned about our hope and must be ready. God empowers our ambassadorship with His Spirit as we carry His amazing treasure in our broken/mended clay lives. The final words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew contain His command for us to GO make disciples. Sometimes that includes geographic travel. It always includes our leaving our comfort zone and seeking out new relationships no matter where we are. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Because God has lavished His grace upon us through His Son, our lives reflect that grace in how we live with one another. Today we look at how His grace moves us to live lives of forgiveness, patience, and kindness. We love because He first loved us, and He makes our forgiving others a requirement for receiving forgiveness ourselves, starting with “forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus tells a striking parable about forgiving one another in Matthew 18:21-35. We are moved by the Spirit to consider the depths of a person's life, knowing that we are all dealing with more things than those around us know about, with the exception of the Holy Spirit, of course. We are empowered to live gracious lives by His presence within us and within the Body of Christ.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We've begun 2025 with a brief series on “The Four G's of Grace,” examining how the grace God has lavished on us impacts our attitude and behavior. This week we focus on how grace gives us a grateful orientation, aware that God is providing all the good in our lives, striving to not take the blessings (especially the people around us) for granted. The Apostle Paul starts us off with his opening statements in his letter to the Ephesians, reminding them and us of the grace God has lavished on us in Christ, establishing a new identity in us and adopting us into His family. We are challenged to cultivate a grateful mindfulness, an “attitude of gratitude,” and to EXPRESS that gratitude as much and often as possible.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We complete the Christmas Season together as we examine the story of the Magi, the first humans to know of the coming King, and the furthest from Him both geographically and demographically. As the Abraplan reaches its climax to bless all nations, these astrologers from the east herald a new age in God's dealing with humanity. They set so many precedents, and also examples for us all. Their generous gifts given in worship of the newborn king teach us how to go about our lives in the year ahead, recognizing that everything already belongs to Him and we are merely caretakers and stewards of it all. Just as the magi planned ahead and had all the resources they had decided upon with which to worship the king, so we are called to more than checking our saddle bags for what's leftover to give to Him ourselves.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Welcome to Oakhaven Church! The Christmas Season is well under way, Advent having finished on Christmas, we are now in the “12 Days of Christmas,” celebrating with joy the coming of the Messiah. This season ends with marking the journey and arrival of the magi on January 6 and the Feast of Epiphany, so there is yet a bit more of the story to tell. Today at The Barn, however, is the fifth Sunday of the month, and we follow our tradition of hearing one of our family member's testimony (in place of a traditional sermon). Today one of our more recent members, Sophia, shares her story of God's faithfulness in her life.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

On this final Sunday of Advent, we celebrate the love of God, shown most clearly in the gift of His Son to us. “For unto us a child is born… and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Even those four titles given by Isaiah point to human and divine joined together in One Person: Jesus. We visit the shepherds and angels today in Lesson Seven, noting that the “multitude of the heavenly host” that sing “Glory to God” is a countless myriad of special forces troops - the armies of heaven - that are singing what amounts to “Hail to the Chief,” only this time the “chief” is the Lord of heaven and earth, bringing new creation in His wake, bringing the Abraplan to its climax, and bringing us all back home. Come home for Christmas.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We look at two passages from the Gospel of Luke today: Gabriel's visit with Mary in Luke 1:26-38, and Luke's sparse account of Jesus' birth in Luke 2:1-7. The angel's statements to Mary are incredible, as is Mary's reaction and acceptance. Then when Dr. Luke describes the Messiah's birth, he could not be more plain in his verbiage, and neither could the birth of the Creator of Heaven and Earth. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Two passages by Isaiah are highlighted in today's, both prophecies describing the coming Messiah and His far-reaching impact. Isaiah 9 and Isaiah 11 both make clear that the fabric of the universe shifts when He comes to dwell among us. Jesus walks beside us, casting His light into our darkness, showing us the way as our Wonderful Counselor and Our Prince of Peace. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

As we cross into December today, we step into an ancient season, Advent, set to focus our minds and spirits on the great gift given us by God in the form of His incarnate Son. Working toward our special service on Christmas Eve of lessons and carols, we will reflect on the scripture passages upon which that evening will be based. Today we look at Lessons One and Two. The first reminds us of the problem of sin born in Adam and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. We are reminded of the presence of an enemy who seeks to distract and accuse us falsely, and of Jesus' ultimate victory over the serpent. The second lesson reminds us that God immediately began working on repairing the problem of sin with His call upon Abraham, and Abraham's faith becomes a model for us, moving us to trust in God's call even when there is little else to trust in.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

The Gospel of Mark has turned a corner and Jesus has left Galilee on His way to Jerusalem to fulfill His destiny. Twice before today's passage He has told the disciples that he will suffer and die there. Somehow, though, the disciples manage to think this language must be metaphoric, and they continue to believe and look for Jesus' victorious ascendance to an earthly throne in spite of Jesus' repeated and more detailed prediction of His death in today's reading. James and John are so convinced of this that in today's passage they ask Jesus for cabinet posts in the new kingdom, manifesting in their requested throne room seating being on either side of Him. No room for Pete this time. Jesus responds with a climax to Mark's 3 episode crescendo of Jesus' describing His passion, with the universe changing summary that He has come to give His life as a ransom for many.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In Luke 18 and Mark 10, Jesus makes a point of focusing on children, touching them, and blessing them - this in a culture in which children were seen more of a nuisance than anything else, as evidenced by the disciples' shooing the children away. In today's message, Cynthia Mudd connects stories of mission work in Haiti with Jesus' attention and care for children in the gospel, and in a moving gesture assembles all Oakhaven families together to pray blessings up them all. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Luke 15 contains 3 parables with a similar, powerful message: God delights in the salvation of His children. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Let's put things in a larger perspective and look at politics, money, and religion through the lens of Jesus' wise "bipartisanship" in Mark 12:13-17. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Mark 10:17-31 holds the story of Jesus' exchange with the rich young ruler who had lived a devoted life to that point but balked at Jesus' rigorous request that the man sell his possessions, give to the poor, and then follow Jesus. Our discussion reminds us that all we have is a gift from God, that we are blessed in order to bless, and we are merely temporary caretakers of it all. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Jesus tries to shift the disciples' fundamental orientation on multiple fronts in today's passage from the Gospel of Mark. Twice He uses children and their frame of reference (as the quintessential have-nots at the bottom of the day's foodchain) to convince the 12 that life is not a contest unless it be to see who serves most. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Mark 9:14-29 may raise more questions than it answers when the issue of having "enough" faith is raised when a man's son has got a tough to budge demon. One of Jesus' comments seems to point to "devil levels," over which He easily holds sway. Not so the disciples, though, who for some reason can't cure the kid. The ONE in Whom we have faith has got the power, but something in this instance is required of dad - and of us. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Jesus' transfiguration (Mark 8:34-9:13) is a multi-layered moment in which Jesus is ministered to and strengthened, his disciples are schooled in glory, and we are reminded that Jesus is always present, with the imperative command from God: This is my beloved Son. LISTEN TO HIM.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In months with five Sundays, we forego a formal sermon in favor of hearing testimony from one of our members of how God has worked in their lives. We are blessed this week to hear from Carolyn McPherson, a longtime member of Oakhaven. Carolyn uses the story of Lazarus in the Gospel of John as part of her story. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

As we return to the Gospel of Mark (8:22-33), we come upon the climax of the gospel so far in a double story that once again provides lenses for greater understanding past the nuts and bolts of “just” another healing. A blind man is healed in stages, from a primitive level of sight to full clarity. This process is a symbol of our own journey and that of the disciples, whose clarity of sight is evidenced in the companion story in which Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah. We are also works in progress, with the truth of Jesus' identity (and ours) ever evolving at His hands.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Stepping off from Ephesians 2:8-10, Vic encourages us to remember our identity and our call, and the One Who has made His home in us. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Oakhaven Church kicks off a new season with our annual homecoming worship service and corn roast potluck feast! We're blessed today with an augmented worship team as well as a special “character sermon” embodying a hero from the new testament who puts life with Jesus in colorful perspective!To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In today's episode of the Gospel of Mark (7:24-30), Jesus attempts an anonymous getaway in nearby territory (the region of Tyre and Sidon). It turns out He's a rock star up there too, and as soon as He unpacks, a local woman immediately finds Him, throws herself at His feet, and asks Him to cast the unclean spirit out of her daughter. This comes directly after Jesus' spat with the Pharisees down in Capernaum over their botched thinking about what impurity/uncleanness really is and where it comes from. This Syrophoenician woman is as Gentile as they get (thus unclean by definition). At first Jesus makes a case that His first responsibility is to the Jews - in faithful adherence to God's covenant with Israel - but she asserts a plucky faith by meeting Jesus head on in His (hopefully) playful dog parable banter. She clearly moves Him to CHANGE HIS MIND ABOUT HIS PLANNED COURSE OF ACTION (or rather, non-action). Our takeaways are pretty big. First, we are part of God's massive master plan. The Abraplan is still in force and rolling on to eternity. We walk in the grace and presence of Jesus the Christ as well as the God of history: of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has added us to His family and we are now just as much heirs as the physical progeny of Abraham. And Jesus makes clear in this exchange that what we say to Him MAKES A DIFFERENCE (see Luke 18's importunate widow) and the possibility exists of His changing His mind in response. So in addition to just asking in prayer: reason, argue, plead your case, give Him an earful. He's listening.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

It's practically impossible to live life without establishing traditions. They add richness, connection, and meaning to our lives. When, however, they become more important to us than the deep ways of God, or more important to us than the welfare of our fellow humans, we've crossed a line. In today's passage in Mark 7, Jesus addresses some of His harshest words at those who value tradition more than anything else, and ini doing so, He reminds us of the need for a new heart that only He can give us.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In today's episode of Mark's Gospel (Mark 6:45-56), a crescendo of displays of power on Jesus' part - healings, exorcisms, raising from the dead, multiplying loaves & fishes - climaxes with His walking on water. The 12 are straining at the oars in the boat - a symbol of our doing life in our own strength - when Jesus surprises them, to say the least. Because of their hard hearts, they have focused on the “what” of Jesus' actions instead of the WHO they point to. We are in the same boat, called past our fears to trust in the One Who is Lord of Heaven and Earth: and the wind, waves, and worries.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

As we continue our journey through the Gospel of Mark (Mark 6:30-44), the 12 apostles are just returning from their own journeys on mission from Jesus, sent two by two with no resources but His provision. In their efforts to get away and get some rest, Jesus has become so popular in the area that a crowd of over 5,000 beats feet around the lake and meets Jesus' entourage at their arrival on the opposite shore. A well-known story - the only in all four gospels excepting Jesus' baptism and passion - ensues as Jesus sees them as “sheep without a shepherd” and “teaches them many things.” By the time He wraps things up, the sun is low in the sky and it's suppertime. As Jesus takes the meager supplies offered by a boy (a humble resource on both levels) and multiplies them to meet the needs of 5,000 men (plus their families as Matthew tells us), we are schooled in Jesus' provision for our multiple hungers: physical and spiritual. He satisfies both. He shows that if we put whatever He's given us into His hands, He can work wonders that bless those among us and empower their being fed on every level too.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In today's stories from the Gospel of Mark (Mar 6:1-13, 30-32), we see how Jesus' hometown, Nazareth, doesn't appreciate their “local boy done good” at all. So unimpressed are they by the son of Joseph and Mary that Jesus does very few miracles among them, as all the stories we've seen thus far are of people asking Jesus - even literally reaching out to Him - while seeking healing. This cold reception is contrasted with the next story where the 12 are sent out to preach, cast out demons, and heal while relying on the hospitality of (UNKNOWN) strangers. We are called to trust in the same faith that Jesus will supply our needs as we step into our new identities as heralds of the Kingdom of God.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

In our journey through the Gospel of Mark (5:21-43) we today come upon a “sandwich” story in which we first encounter Jairus requesting Jesus' presence in his home in order to heal his sick daughter. On the way, though, another story is begun by a woman who's suffered a bleeding illness for 12 years (the age of Jairus' daughter BTW). In spite of being interrupted in the midst of a very important mission, Jesus stops to engage the woman whose been healed just by touching the hem of his outer robe. He calls her “daughter,” the only time he uses this term in Mark. In the arc of this series of stories, including 2 previous, we find that there is NOTHING Jesus can't handle: storms, demons, illness, even death itself. Whatever you've got, He can handle it. Reach out to Jesus, and He will send you forth as He does the woman: “Go in peace!”To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

We continue our journey through the Gospel of Mark and today come upon one of the most dramatic stories in Jesus' ministry in Mark 5:1-20. A man possessed by a “legion” of demons is freed from his bondage, cleansed and made whole, and then commissioned by Jesus to tell the news of “what the Lord has done for you.” We find in this man a pattern for our own lives, as Jesus' kingdom (on earth as it is in heaven) overcomes that of darkness; as we are made new by His steadfast love with a fresh start; and as we are commissioned to bear witness to others of what the Lord has done for us.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Using Job 38 as her text, Elder Brenda Wilusz shares a sermon entitled "Questions God Asks."To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Elder Max Banaszynski shares a message centered on 2 Peter 1:1-11 entitled "The Work of God."To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

After teaching in parables in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus takes His disciples into a living parable as they cross the Sea of Galilee in Mark 4:35-41. In the midst all the symbolism of leaving the known and striking out into the unknown, a storm arises that tests these seasoned fishermen's faith. Jesus is very human and very tired and sleeps through it, until their fear moves them to cry out to Him (and wake Him up)! Jesus is fearless because of His trust in God; the disciples are fearful because of their lack of faith. We are in the boats beside them going through storms as well, often not remembering Who is in the boat with us. The wind and the waves of the storms of our life still obey His command. To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

You have been entrusted with light and life. Listen closely to Jesus and His life-giving news of His kingdom, then share it: the news itself and the mercy you've been shown. God will do His part when you do yours, and together (you and the Spirit) will have an amazing impact that far outweighs the sum of your efforts. Mark 4:21-34To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

Since today is Father's Day, we are paid a visit by Abraham, the most important human father of all time, who tells us his story. (Hebrews 10:36 - 11:19)  “The father of many nations” has many lessons from which to learn, the chief one being one of faith. God's call to Abram is incomplete, to be generous. In spite of having very limited information, Abram trusts God's promise and answers His call. As Abram's journey continues, his faith (and obedience) increases in the face of circumstances that are less than promising. We are called to a similar trusting faith in God, even when we don't fully understand our circumstances or His present call. Like Abram - now Abraham - shows us, we are to do what we do know God is calling us to, and to be faithful as He reveals Himself and His will to us further along the way. Happy Father's Day!To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.

As we resume our journey through the Gospel of Mark (3:20-35), we come upon two intertwined stories that seem unrelated: the account of Jesus' family's concern for his sanity, and Jesus' refutation of the scribes' hypothesis that Jesus is casting out demons because He has demonic power itself. At the core of both stories, though, is Jesus' identity: Who Jesus is. In the course of His brief exchange with the scribes and the crowd, he shares three very brief parables that speak against division but also point to His power that instead of coming from the dark side, binds and overcomes it. His power is ours. His identity is ours. His call to be agents of reconciliation, healing and deliverance - to follow Him in His footsteps - make us full brothers and sisters of the King.To investigate this most important of stories further, go here.