Oak Pointe Church Podcast

A New Community, Message 3: Unity The Apostle Paul made a passionate appeal to the Corinthian church to live in harmony with one another, and "to let there be no divisions in the church." It's a couple thousand years later and, unfortunately, unity is still an issue. Is it even possible for the Church to "all be one" as Jesus prayed? It depends on what we believe about our savior and our enemy, the condition of our hearts, and the sharpness of our focus on God's purpose. Speaker: Rick Barry, The Rock Middle School Ministry Pastor

A New Community, Week 2: Humility Do you ever feel like holding on tightly to your rights? As we continue our series A New Community, this week we learn about humility and the impact it has on our life together. More importantly, we will fix our eyes on the one who displayed perfect humility, the Lord Jesus Christ, and follow Scripture’s admonition to imitate his humble mindset. He did not hold on to what was rightly his, but humbled himself in order to restore our humanity and ability to love. Guest Speaker: Pastor Jon Morales

A New Community, Week 1: Love What does it look like to live together as the family of God? In this new series, we'll dive into some of the fifty-nine “one another" commands found in Scripture to see how we are called to live together as the Church. This week we'll look at Jesus' command to love one another. Jesus reveals the way we love one another will show the world that we are His disciples. This is a marked character trait of Jesus’ followers and the community that gathers in His name. Speaker: Rick Barry, The Rock Middle School Ministry Pastor

All In Sunday It's All In weekend at Oak Pointe where we celebrate the faith commitments of individuals who are being baptized and families who are dedicating their children. During the service our Oak Pointe pastors explain more about why and how we practice these ordinances and traditions. Speaker: Charlie Koopman, Worship & Creative Arts Pastor

We Are The Church, Week 6: Mandate Although we have come to Christ singularly, we do not live in Him separately. Our mandate is to not only come to Jesus, but to be transformed by Him; to not only belong to Him, but to proclaim Him. “Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." 1 Peter 2:10 Guest Speaker: Pastor Sonny Smith, The Detroit Church

We Are The Church, Week 5: Members When it comes to the church of Jesus Christ, every member matters. God has given each of us gifts. He has a plan for those gifts, and He calls you to utilize yours. However, His goal for those gifts is not just to have individual members fulfilled, but to unify the body and to build His church. As a member of God's church, you are essential! So...where are you serving and giving? Speaker: Rick Barry, The Rock Middle School Ministry Pastor

We Are The Church, Week 4: Mission Everybody wants a mission in life. That makes sense because "mission" implies purpose and focus. But what about the mission Oak Pointe Church has to know Jesus and make Him known? This week Pastor Charlie explores the church's mission statement, and the results may not be exactly what you'd expect. However, should you choose to accept it, this mission will change your life and those of everyone around you. Speaker: Charlie Koopman, Worship & Creative Arts Pastor

We Are The Church, Week 3: Message Since the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and beginning with the apostles, the message of the Gospel has been passed down from generation to generation of believers. But to keep it moving on to future generations, three questions always need to be answered: What is the gospel? Why do I share it? How do I share it? Speaker: Rick Barry, The Rock Middle School Ministry Pastor

We Are The Church, Week 2: Method God works in and through the community of believers. In Acts 2:42-47, we see the early church gathering in community, teaching one another, regularly sharing meals together, and praying frequently and fervently. The result? God added to their numbers daily (v. 47). Our greatest personal growth happens in community. As we grow, the community of faith grows as well. This week Pastor Adam shares ways we can be a family of believers on mission much like the early church in Acts. Speaker: Adam Schultz, Grow and Restore Ministries Pastor

We Are The Church, Week 1: Movement It all started way back in the Old Testament when God made a promise to Abraham to build a holy and set apart people to bless the nations. In the New Testament, it was commissioned by the risen Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Today it continues as the most influential and world-shaping movement in history. Of course, we're talking about the church. So, what’s next for this movement of God? Why should we commit ourselves to be part of it? And just how do we take our next step? Speaker: Charlie Koopman, Worship & Creative Arts Pastor

In Step, Week 9: Self-Control Self-control literally means the ability to direct one’s will. This is also known as will power – keeping our emotions, impulses, or desires in check. The self in us is very strong, and that's what makes self-control difficult. But self-control is far more than exertion of sheer discipline to keep from doing certain things...like eating donuts. Self-control is really about submitting your will to Jesus, then allowing His Spirit to direct your life. Speaker: Adam Schultz, Grow and Restore Ministries Pastor

In Step, Week 8: Gentleness Gentleness was not an overly exciting character trait to possess in the first century. It was seen as the halfway point between excessive anger and complete ambivalence – a very meh place to be. Not much has changed in the take-charge culture of today where gentleness is seen as weakness. So why does Gentleness make it into the list of fruit that the Spirit develops in us? What was the Apostle Paul thinking when he included it? He was thinking of Jesus, and how this character trait was modeled first in his life and also in the lives of his disciples, paving the way for the church to embrace it as well. Speaker: Adam Mashni, 707 High School Ministry Pastor

In Step, Week 7: Faithfulness At the end of our life, we all want to hear the Lord say to us, "Well done good and faithful servant!" (Matthew 25:21) What is faithfulness? What does it look like for the Christian? Along with those questions, this week we'll also seek to uncover the ancient mystery of what a chainsaw has to do with being faithful. Speaker: Brent Buttermore, Missions Pastor

In Step, Week 6: Goodness God is the source of all goodness. Indeed, he defines what goodness is and he calls us to show it to others. Of course, this is easier said than done. In this message, Pastor Rick shares three steps we can take to consistently reflect God's goodness to a world that needs it. Speaker: Rick Barry, The Rock Middle School Ministry Pastor

In Step, Week 5: Patience Let's face it, we don’t like to wait. This makes having patience very difficult in our culture. First molded by God toward us, patience is the Spirit-generated ability to bear with, endure, and wait. This week, we'll examine what biblical patience looks like lived out? Speaker: Adam Schultz, Sozo Young Adult Ministry Pastor

In Step, Week 4: Kindness It seems that everywhere we look in culture, people are talking about kindness. Whether it's on a t-shirt, in a new book, or a way to pay it forward, kindness is everywhere. This tells us two things: that people respond to kindness and that the world is full of a lot of unkindness. Have we missed the mark on what kindness means? This week, we will take a look at the spiritual fruit of kindness and unpack what it looks like to exercise God's kindness through the powerful story of David and Mephibosheth. Speaker: Charlie Koopman, Worship & Creative Arts Pastor

In Step, Week 3: Peace The peace that Jesus provides surpasses understanding, as evidenced by the event in Luke 8 where we find Him in a boat with the disciples during a tumultuous storm. This week we'll seek to answer the following three questions. What is biblical peace? How do we get peace? How do we experience this peace daily? Speaker: Rick Barry, The Rock Middle School Ministry Pastor

In Step, Week 2: Joy Joy is something hard to define, but we know it when we feel it. If you look Joy up in the dictionary it just says “extreme happiness,” but I think we all know joy is more than happiness – it is deeper, broader, more enduring, more fulfilling, and is connected to core things, not circumstances. But here's the question: where do we get it? Speaker: Paul Jenkinson, Milford Campus Pastor

In Step, Week 1: Love Beginning this weekend, our summer series will explore what it means to keep in step with the Spirit. Each week we'll examine an aspect of the fruit the Spirit produces in our lives. This first week we'll talk about “LOVE” and ask ourselves, "What does it really mean to love my neighbor?" In his letter to the Galatians, as the Apostle Paul is addressing the basics of the Christian life, some questions arise. Are we to add a bunch of rules so that following Jesus becomes legalism? Are we to take advantage of the freedom we have in Christ and not care about how we live? Paul would say there’s a third way. Speaker: Adam Mashni, 707 High School Ministry Pastor

Made For More It is possible to do the right things and end up in the wrong place? That's the question Aaron Hicks asks in his message, Made for More. What we'll discover is that obedience involves a surrender of your plans in exchange for the plans God has for you. Guest Speaker: Aaron Hicks, Pastor at Rise Church in Romulus, Michigan