Oak Pointe Church Podcast

God With Us: Early Letters, Week 15 Growing as a Child of God (Sanctification) Forgiveness of all my sins, past, present and future and being made right with God by an act of His love and mercy – that’s amazing grace! That’s how a person becomes a child of God. That's what we covered in last week's message on Revisiting Romans 1-5. But what about growing as a child of God? What about change? What about becoming more like Christ? Romans 6-8 is the most comprehensive discussion of the doctrine of sanctification found anywhere in the Bible's New Testament. Sanctification is the process by which God “cleanses us” and “grows us” as His forgiven children. “Justification” deals with our release from sin’s penalty (Romans 1-5). “Sanctification” deals with our release from sin’s power (Romans 6-8). Thus, this is an important section for every child of God on the journey toward spiritual maturity, and what we'll be covering this week. This message is part of our God With Us series where Pastor Bob walks us through the

God With Us: Early Letters, Week 14 In Romans 1-5 we see that our real problem is the rejection of the one, true Creator-God. All other problems are offshoots of that. The religious person may “believe in God,” but their life still reveals a heart that strays from God’s ways. In the final evaluation, no one lives up to God’s standards. But God has a solution, and it's way less complicated than many think it to be. This message is part of our God With Us series where Pastor Bob walks us through the entire Bible.

Facing Uncertainty: How to Prepare for What You Can’t See Coming We are facing some very uncertain times. With the crazy year we're having in 2020 it's hard to know what lies ahead. But the Bible doesn't leave us without hope! What practices do we need to master so that our spiritual life will not just survive, but thrive during times of extreme difficulty? This week Pastor John shares insights from 1 Peter 4:7-11. Speaker: John Weidman, East Community Pastor

Upside Down: The Sermon on the Mount - Week 9 As he ends the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus seems to give us an A vs. B choice: Would you rather experience life, connection with Jesus, peace and power? Or would you rather face destruction in life and spiritual death? The right choice seems fairly obvious, and yet so many miss the truth of it. This week we wrap up the Upside Down series by studying Matthew 7:13-29. Speaker: Adam Schultz, Sozo Young Adult Ministry Pastor

Upside Down: The Sermon on the Mount - Week 8 Have you ever wondered if your prayers are making a difference? Have you ever felt you're not praying the right way? This weekend in our Upside Down series we look at what Jesus has to say about prayer. We'll discover Jesus' desire for our prayers and the heart behind our prayers. If we are willing to pray in this Upside Down way, then we'll begin to realize the power that comes through prayer! Speaker: Rick Barry, The Rock Middle School Ministry Pastor

Upside Down: The Sermon on the Mount - Week 7 If we are honest, we all have made a judgement about someone based on their appearance, weight, handshakes, teeth, laughter, eye contact, punctuality, work ethic, income, speech, age, profession, education… we are a people who love to judge! When we examine the faults of others while blindly ignoring our own, Jesus has a word for that: hypocrite! Speaker: Brent Buttermore, Missions Pastor

Upside Down: The Sermon on the Mount - Week 6 As we continue through the Sermon on the Mount, we're seeing that the teachings of Jesus are not easy and that they go against the very culture we live in. But they also lead to freedom, and the best life possible. Today, Jesus has a warning about the dark side of ambition, which goes against the way we were designed to live. Speaker: Adam Mashni, 707 High School Ministry Pastor

Upside Down: The Sermon on the Mount - Week 5 In the sermon on the mount, Jesus begins to lay out a new way to live that is upside down to how the world operated then and still operates today. And in Matthew chapter 6, he addresses the hypocritical way in which religious people approached acts of righteous (giving, fasting, and prayer) and challenges his followers to not make a public performance of their private disciplines. Speaker: Adam Schultz, Sozo Young Adult Ministry Pastor

Upside Down: The Sermon on the Mount - Week 4 We live in a world where there is conflict. Thankfully Jesus has a plan for His followers who want to know how to deal with it. If you look closely at what He calls us to do, you’ll see that it looks a lot like what He has done for us. Yes, Jesus showed us how to love our enemies. Speaker: Kurt Alber, Outreach Pastor

Upside Down: The Sermon on the Mount - Week 3 Speaking regarding sin and the heart, Jesus calls his followers to own the values, not simply obey the rules. In Matthew 5:21-37, he challenges us to avoid anger, lose lust, dismiss divorce, and talk truthfully. Speaker: Rick Barry, The Rock Middle School Ministry Pastor

Upside Down: The Sermon on the Mount - Week 2 To live the upside down life, we must live from the inside out. What does that mean? Simply put, living inside out means being daily transformed by Christ so I am not conformed to the world. We cultivate this life by loving obedience and daily surrender to God’s Word and Spirit, and by lovingly serving others. Speaker: Charlie Koopman, Worship & Creative Arts Pastor

Upside Down: The Sermon on the Mount - Week 1 In the Sermon on the Mount, especially the first twelve verses that make up the Beatitudes, Jesus lays out what it looks like to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God. God desires His people to be different: to live differently, speak differently, love differently, deal with conflict differently. What Jesus taught in these chapters was completely counter cultural and, like the early disciples, our choice is between following God in radical obedience or flowing with the culture to fit in. Speaker: Adam Mashni, 707 High School Ministry Pastor

Conversations: Responding to Racial Injustice - Week 5 Guests: Dominique Campbell (a.k.a. Nique Love Rhodes) and Luke Shirock This week Pastor Bob concludes our Conversations series by interviewing two young activists about their perspective on the civil unrest in our country and the role of the church. While these are difficult conversations about race and responsibility, it is important that we hear from the next generation.

In week 4 of our Conversations series, Pastor Bob shares a very poignant conversation with Donna Harris, a respected long-term community worker in the Cody-Rouge area and at Grace Community Church of Detroit. They discuss her personal life story and how the moments of greatest pain can lead to the seasons of greatest victory.

Conversations: Responding to Racial Injustice - Week 3 Guests:  Bishop Edgar Vann, Pastor of Second Ebenezer Church, Detroit Wendell Browning, Elder at Oak Pointe Church Bob’s video interview with Bishop Vann is enhanced by the presence of Wendell Browning on stage. They discuss how the white, evangelical church must first begin to speak up about racial injustice. However, it isn’t enough join the black church in voice alone, but words needs to be backed up with tangible action. They also discuss what that action could look like.

Conversations: Responding to Racial Injustice - Week 2 Guest: Norflette Shumake, Pastor of Life Changers International, Detroit In this week's wide-ranging conversation, Norflette opens with an emotional poem he wrote to encapsulate the experience people of color often have with their white brethren. He emphasizes how vital it is to build authentic relationships so this experience can really be heard and understood and systematic change can take hold.

Conversations: Responding to Racial Injustice - Week 1 The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 has launched a civil rights movement that is encompassing our nation and world. In response, Pastor Bob has been immersed in conversations with black leaders in the city of Detroit, asking questions and seeking to better understand how the church can and should act at this time. Because of those conversations, we are pivoting to a new four-week series about responding to racial injustice. This week, Bob shares his conversation with Sonny Smith, pastor of Detroit Church, where they discuss this time of civil unrest, the feeling of oppression, and what it means to be a dual citizen of earth and heaven.

Psalms Mix, Week 6 Psalm 145 - A Song of Praise The beauty of the Psalms is that they call us back to worship the one true God…who, unlike the false gods, is ultimately worthy of praise. David and the other writers of the Psalms knew this – and by writing the Psalms they were leaving bread crumbs for us to follow so that we could find where the true source of life comes from. We see clearly in Psalm 145 that there is only one worthy of our praise and worship. Speaker: Adam Mashni, 707 High School Ministry Pastor

Psalms Mix, Week 5 Psalm 107 Have you ever received something that, over time, turns out to be way better than you initially expected? How great is that?! What if, when it comes to God, there’s more to His love than we realize? In Psalm 107, King David implores us to be thankful for this love. Starting today, may we begin thanking God for being even better than we knew Him to be. Speaker: Joe Seestadt, Pastor in Residence

Psalms Mix, Week 4 Psalm 62 The Hebrew word “only” (AK!) starts six different lines of this psalm and that’s why it really is “the only psalm.” It’s a song of confident trust in ONLY the Lord and it really forces us to ask the question: In whom, or what, do we trust for our security in life?