The Book of Psalms is sometimes called “The Little Bible.” It mirrors the five books of law, and Blake Adams tells us “We should read it not as an assortment of poems and songs but as a single rhapsody on God’s covenant promises.” This year’s Midwest Preachers’ Retreat was held this past week, led by Hebrew scholar and former Oakhaven member, Dr. Lance Hawley, focusing on the psalms as a deep, remarkable resource in our walk with God. In addition to an overview of the book, we examine more closely Psalm 103. The final sentence of Psalm 103 is the one upon which all else in heaven and earth turns: YHVH has established His throne in the heavens; His kingdom rules over all. If all these things are true then…”

Technical note: center third of sermon was without sound and so has been cut from podcast. You'll barely miss it.

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According to the standards of the world, Jesus assumes a very low profile in His ministry that launches the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God not by edict, governmental action, or human might, but by compassion that drives Him to recover the helpless sheep that need a shepherd. Through it all, though, Jesus is the glorious King revealed as the Son of Man to Daniel, not a wolf in sheep’s clothing but a king in shepherd’s clothing. He is the same to us, invoking His authority to assure us that His death is His choice, and then invokes His authority one last time to spur us to share the amazing news of what He has done.

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Recent sermon themes converge today as we see the arc of God’s interactions with humans adapting over time as He matures the human race to have the capacity to receive His greatest self-revelation: Jesus. We note again how Moses’ and the hebrews’ experience of Yahveh met them “where they were at” and moved on from there, spiritually and literally! Then God reveals Himself most fully in Jesus, who intones the inbreaking of the kingdom of God here and now. Peter joins the story as our representative, and Jesus calls him in a way tailored to Peter’s sensibilities in a huge catch of fish in impossibly hot water. Then as this fisherman turns into an ambassador of the kingdom fishing for people, our example is set to follow in his footsteps and fish for people ourselves. This is all the result of who Jesus has made us: His brothers and sisters, the sons and daughters of the king. Cultivating awareness of our identity and call are essential if we are going to walk them out in every day life, for “if we aim for nothing, we’ll hit it every time.”

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It’s a mighty special day at Oakhaven Church: our annual homecoming corn roast! Today’s message will be in a creative vein as we hear one of Jesus’ followers describe some of the highlights of their years of ministry together.

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Scripture says that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. However, humans are not. We are on a huge learning curve when it comes to understanding God and His ways, and we examine how He customizes his revelation and relationship with us on levels far beneath Him but right on our wheelhouse. Take, for instance, the story of the burning bush...

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God sets a pattern of revealing Himself in ways that are simple enough for His children to understand. These revelations are far from where He will eventually “arrive.” The sense of where God is begins with Him being distant and separate and VERY gradually grows toward a sense of His nearness, even though at the beginning He is thought to be in specific places. We also cannot understand everything about God. (!!!) Each one of us is on a similar journey of learning and maturing. HOW is He revealing Himself to you? Where is He leading you?

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We embark on a journey to discover how God "customizes" His presence (via our perception of where He dwells) to meet the needs and frame of reference of different people across time. We start with a spoiler alert and read the final chapter first. In Revelation 21 we are promised “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” This side by side, face to face reality is begun in Eden, wherein the great fall/schism occurs, the repair of which will occupy the rest of the bible. After quite a rough and tumble start to things, YHVH makes numerous promises to be with His people, even though what that "withness" looks like will change over time.

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Today we revisit the story of Jesus walking on water, this time in Matthew 14. As a template for our experience, we acknowledge that storms happen, often in the natural course of things. At other times they are caused by human influence, whether our own or others’. Regardless of storm type or strength, at some point Jesus shows up to “divinely intervene” in the moment. Jesus’ intervention is manifest when we engage and interact with Him with faith in HIS POWER TO SAVE US. Jesus’ intervention often does not end the storm. Instead, He empowers us to keep walking in spite of it until the storm is over (and beyond).

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