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Greetings Oak Hill Church,
It is good to be a part of God’s family as His Church. It is a humbling reminder to both recognize and realize that each of us have a place to believe and belong together. We are united in the reality that we are sinful, messy people who have been redeemed and cleansed by the radical love of God shown to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. We live in the present of this ongoing and renewing work that the Holy Spirit is performing everyday in each of our lives. We connect and share our lives together in ways that demonstrate humility, gratitude, and community and we live out of the hope that we have because of God’s love and faithfulness to each of us. When we really sit back and think about it, God is extremely generous to us. He is exorbitant in His desire to give us more than we deserve and bless us in ways beyond our imagination. Even when our lives seem to be falling apart or we feel like we are barely hanging on. Even when challenging and difficult circumstances are thrown our way, His promises hold true and His commitment to us remains firm. How good is that!?! It is out of God’s gifts to us that we give. It is out of His generosity that we are invited to be generous. If you were with us this past Sunday, we shared about some exciting updates regarding Overflowing Hope. Overflowing Hope is one of the ministry branches of Oak Hill that seeks to reach out beyond our walls to share the love of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is connecting with our broader community both right in our own neighborhoods and around the world as we connect our lives with others. This year, Oak Hill has committed to allocate four quarterly gifts from our Overflowing Hope fund to support various projects, groups, and organizations that embody this sense of “Going” with the Gospel. Our Going Team has spent time praying about and processing how these gifts can best be used to further and build God’s Kingdom during these unique days and our attention focused on our own immediate context in the Twin Cities for this quarterly gift. For this 2nd Quarter Allocation, we have committed to the following partners:
Connecting Lives in Grace and Truth In-Person Worship
In Christ, Pastor Ben and the Oak Hill Elder Board
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Greetings Oak Hill Church,
What are some things that you are thankful for? This might seem like an odd question as November and Thanksgiving Day are still months away, but what sorts of things come to your mind? I know I have been in a reflective mood this past week and the Lord has really given me eyes to see, notice, and appreciate things in my life that I am extremely thankful for. I think of my wife and kids and the joy that they bring to my life. I am thankful for the close relationships with family and friends that have been renewed or strengthened even during these past months of quarantine and social distancing. I am thankful for the many ways that God has provided and cared for me. I am thankful for you as my brothers and sisters in Christ. I am thankful for the opportunity and ability we have to gather together both in-person and online as the Church. On Sunday, June 28, we will be continuing in our series on the Psalms and we will be looking into the Psalms of Thanksgiving. Our very own Josiah Militzer will be bringing God’s Word to us and I am super excited for you to get to hear his passionate and genuine spirit as he shares the message this Sunday. We will each have the opportunity to be reminded of God’s great and mighty deeds that He does for us each and every day. It is out of His care and provision for us that we respond in thanks to Him. Many of you know that this past Sunday, we were able to host our first in-person worship service since COVID made its presence known this past March. It was such a joy to share in this experience together and I hope and pray for more days like this in the weeks ahead as we continue to navigate this time together. We will continue to need to be patient, gracious, and flexible as the landscape changes week-to-week with the pulse and recommendations that are being encouraged. Please know that we are doing our best to create a situation that is appropriately safe for those of you joining us in-person. Please also know that we are doing our best to provide our worship service in an effective way online for those that will be continuing to worship with us in this way. Even though we may have a different viewing platform for our worship services, we are all united in Christ. In Him and because of His Spirit living inside of us, we are one. Connecting Lives in Grace and Truth In-Person Worship
In Christ, Pastor Ben and the Oak Hill Elder Board Greetings Oak Hill Church,
I am excited to be writing this update to you with the news that we will be given the opportunity to resume our in-person worship services this Sunday, June 21. It is kind of hard to believe that it was three months ago that we last met together face-to-face as the unknown and uncertainty of the coronavirus began to impact our normal rhythms and routines. Even though we have not been able to meet in-person these past weeks, the Lord has still continued to work and move in ministry within and beyond our church. I am extremely thankful for the team of staff, volunteers, and leaders within our church family that have stepped up in some amazing ways to help lead and serve us as a congregation in these past months. I am humbled and thankful to be a part of this church and this team that joyfully gives of their time, energy, and gifts to serve the Lord, love His people, and help build His Kingdom. A special note of thanks also goes to you as our congregation for all of your grace, patience, and understanding as we have continued to navigate these times as well. This has not been a perfect process nor a flawless season, but God is greater than our imperfections and faults. His grace and power go well beyond where we are lacking. We are so grateful for the ways that you have continued to support the mission of God and the mission of Oak Hill Church both financially and with your time, presence, and encouragement in various ways. According to the survey that we sent out a couple of weeks ago, our church leadership feels that we are at a place where we can resume coming back together in small groups for our worship services. We recognize that not everyone is at a place where they feel comfortable being in a group setting at this time and that is both understandable and appropriate. This is why we will continue to offer video recordings of our worship services on both our website and our YouTube channel. We will be doing our best to create a space and an experience that follows appropriate guidelines and safety measures to help ensure safety and precaution as we gather in-person. Many of the steps we are taking have been adopted and a part of many of the places that we have been living and operating in for the past months (stores, businesses, churches, etc.) There is a Congregational Protections and Protocols Plan that is attached to this email which will provide further information and clarity on some of these safety measures and details. Also, please take a look at the Resuming In-Person Gatherings section that is a part of this update as well. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul writes these words to the believers: Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:2-6 NIV) As a body of believers, we are encouraged to live in the reality of these words as well. As we have navigated our lives through the past three months each of us have no doubt had to rely on the grace, strength, and hope found only in Christ. The reality is that our gentleness, patience, and faith have been tested in various ways over the past weeks, but these words in Ephesians 4 still ring true. Paul writes that we are one; we are unified by the Spirit of God that is alive and living inside the heart of each believer and we are called to place our hope, trust, and confidence in this “oneness” that God creates in and through His church. There is a unifying power that is at work and it is a power that brings peace. As we look to resume our in-person worship services this Sunday, June 21 there will no doubt be a wealth of opportunity for us to live and rejoice in the power of this unity as brothers and sisters in Christ. We must also take care to notice that there will also be a wealth of opportunity for us to become divided and frustrated as well. Paul’s reminder and encouragement to us is that we would allow God’s Spirit to work in our hearts and lives to build unity. Our hope and prayer as a church is that we would each humbly and gently enter into this next phase together, as one, with an immeasurable amount of grace, patience, and love for each other as we strive to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Connecting Lives in Grace and Truth Resuming In-Person Gatherings
Going at Oak Hill
Online Services
Media Team Volunteers
Oak Hill Spring Clean Up
RightNow Media
Giving
Connection Groups
Prayer Chain
CLBA Convention
In Christ, Pastor Ben and the Oak Hill Elder Board Greetings Oak Hill Church,
There is immense benefit to repetition. Think about anything you have done or tried before for the first time. Perhaps many of you cannot remember some of these early times, but at some point you learned how to walk, to tie your shoelaces, to ride a bike, to drive a car, to write your name, to make a meal. How? Probably through repetition. The sheer number of attempts, tries, and experiences all paved a way to familiarity, comfort, and confidence in those tasks that you were learning to do. Now, as true as this can be, the opposite is also true. As a former basketball player and coach, I know that repetition is key to developing a consistent jump shot. A basketball player must shoot hundreds upon thousands of shots to build the muscle memory necessary to help give them success in any game or contest. For those of you who have been away from the game for a while, there should be no surprise that when you pick up a basketball after not shooting one for several years, the results won’t necessarily be pretty. We benefit from doing things that are good for us often. All of us have felt the reality of this during these past months. So many of the activities we used to do, be involved in, and have a part of our repetitive routine have really changed and been altered. The things that we used to do more often maybe now happen less often and we feel the effects of it. Whether it is getting a haircut, going to the gym to work out, or even going to dinner with a friend, we feel the gap and the hole that exists when we don’t do those things relatively often or in the way we are used to having them done. Much of these same feelings can be shared as the Church; as a body of believers. So much of our faith journey has been tied into attending a worship service with fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. Many people attend weekly Bible studies or small groups, we socialize with one another, we collectively gather to build relationships and encourage one another. We repeatedly come together to connect our lives with one another and with our Savior. We do this often because it is both good and beneficial for us. All of us have felt this time apart in various ways. Many of you have shared about the isolation and loneliness that can creep in or think about the close friends and our collective church family that you are missing dearly. And it is in this that we are met with this reminder once again: God never intended us to live this life on our own. He never designed the Christian walk or faith journey to be done by ourselves. It is out of this reality that we live and share life together as best we can during these unique times. On Sunday, June 14, from 6:00-7:00 pm, we will have the opportunity to share in something that we are invited to partake in often: The Lord’s Supper. Jesus instructed His followers to partake in this meal often. And as often as they did this, they were to remember Him; they were to remember His love for them, His sacrifice for them, and the hope that is found only in Him. We get that opportunity to share and remember that as well. Each of you are invited to a Drive-up Communion service this Sunday evening from 6:00-7:00 pm. Some of our elders and I will be hanging out in the church parking lot and we will be ready and available to serve you this special and significant meal. The idea would be to drive your vehicle into the church parking lot where we will have several designated spots for you to park. Once you park, we ask that you remain in your vehicle and one of us will come and share in communion with you. This will be a great opportunity for us to connect a bit with you, encourage you, pray with you, and share in this Sacrament as fellow believers in the Lord. A few things to note:
Connecting Lives in Grace and Truth Drive-Up Communion
Resuming In-Person Gatherings
Online Services
Media Team Volunteers
Oak Hill Spring Clean Up
RightNow Media
Giving
Connection Groups
Prayer Chain
In Christ, Pastor Ben and the Oak Hill Elder Board Greetings Oak Hill Church,
To say that this past week has been a whirlwind might win an award for “Understatement of the Year.” I’m sure that many of you are both aware and familiar with the eye-opening events that have taken place around our country and right here in our own Twin Cities. The circumstances surrounding the tragic death of George Floyd began a string of activity that has captivated our state and our country in unprecedented ways. But these circumstances that we are witnessing go well beyond a singular event or a specific situation. The scenes that are playing out before our very eyes have immense depth and perspective to them that many of us simply cannot imagine or truly know. I know that many of you have been experiencing a tsunami of feelings and emotions that are connected with what has been going on in recent days. Fear, anxiety, anger, frustration, confusion, guilt, empathy, remorse, and sadness are just the beginning of a wide list that I know many of you are dealing with and that I have felt myself. It is simply heartbreaking to see the devastation, hurt, pain, and destruction that is on full display around us. In my previous emailed response from a few days ago, I talked about this brokenness that we are seeing unfold. This brokenness of humanity shows up in many ways. It shows up in the divisive ways that we treat each other. It shows up in the rebellious attitudes that we each have against God due to our sinful nature. It shows up in our disobedience and the innate destructiveness that is in each of us as human beings who need a Savior. Broken people cannot fix broken situations. Thankfully, God does not leave us broken. He gives us grace. He gives us mercy. He fixes us up in His righteousness and perfection. Only He can mend our lives. Only He can remedy this hurt and pain. Only He can fix what is broken. This brings us to another word that I am often hearing in the ongoing dialogue of these events: “justice.” People are wanting justice for George Floyd. People are wanting justice against those who are burning and looting buildings. We all want justice to be served in some form or fashion as it fits our personal description and understanding. Usually, this cry for justice comes after an act of what we would consider to be injustice. Often times, our definition and understanding of justice involves some form of punishment or restitution. Someone must pay for the wrongs. Someone must answer for the injustice that they have caused or created. God’s Word also gives us a lens and a renewed perspective on justice for us to take notice of and consider. The reality of this whole injustice vs. justice argument first begins in your life and in mine. Because of our wickedness, brokenness, and sin, each of us have committed an incalculable amount of injustices against God. In His perfect nature and character, God, who is holy, demands justice. The debt is heavy, and the punishment is death. Let that sink in for a moment. We stand as guilty with no possible reason or excuse to avoid what we have coming for the wrong that we have done. And yet, God does something to address our injustice against Him. A good pastor friend of mine wrote this in reference to this amazing act of grace: “From a Christian perspective, justice is not about restitution but restoration; it is about the cross. It is about the brutal death of an innocent [person] to atone for the guilty. Jesus ends the cycle of destruction by offering forgiveness when punishment is deserved.” God sent His Son to take our punishment. God sent Jesus to bring us restoration. God sent Jesus so that we could be reconciled to Him. God sent Jesus so that we could be forgiven. The cross is where God’s perfect justice was carried out for us. Jesus reverses our punishment and gives us grace. In these times we are living in, there is no shortage of frustration, anger, conflict, and bitterness. As believers, we must look to God’s Word and trust Him to act in the best way. God’s Word is clear: Jesus has dealt with our injustice. He has paid for it. Justice was served at the cross for you, me, and everyone. We can be thankful that we have a God who operates on a whole other level of what is just, right, and true and He will bring about this restoration. May our prayer be for this restoration to come to bring peace to this situation. May our prayers, actions, and attitudes be motivated to see reconciliation spring up. May this violence and divisiveness that we see around us be meet with grace and forgiveness, the kind that can only be found through the cross and through our Savior. May He do a mighty work to bring this reconciliation in our lives and in our communities. Connecting Lives in Grace and Truth Oak Hill Staff Update
In Christ, Pastor Ben and the Oak Hill Elder Board |
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