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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Today we look closely at Psalm 42, a beautiful psalm of lament that we often don’t get past the first verse on: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you.” As we track with the psalmist, we learn that the seasons of life shift at times. There will be chapters in our life in which it feels like God is far away, and we will thirst for His presence. (We should thus be deeply grateful for times of smooth abundance.) Being honest with God about our frustrations helps us sense His presence and reassures us He sees us. The things we tell ourselves are extremely important and can connect us to God’s truth (or do the opposite). When we are walking through a difficult chapter we must remember God’s faithfulness in the past. God has been faithful. He will be again. This is always true.

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Today we look at Jesus’ call on Saul on Acts 9. God appeals to the next apostle through an experience that reaches all Saul’s senses, capturing his attention and heart. At times Jesus places a dramatic call on each of us through sensory experiences that may be physical, spiritual, emotional, or relational. How we respond to that call determines our next steps on the road to our own Damascus.

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Oakhaven Church has the tradition of setting aside "regular sermons" on fifth Sundays to instead hear members and their testimonies of how God has worked in their lives, especially how He has drawn them into life with Him. Today, Josh Patterson shares his story with us. Dust off your disco ball.

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As we continue to examine Paul’s wide-ranging message in Romans 8, we come away with several insights. First, following Jesus will include moments of pain and suffering that are sometimes overwhelming. In those hardest moments when we don’t know what to say, the Spirit is there with us in the heart of our anguish to translate it all to God as a cry for His intervention and healing. God knows every aspect of the journey He has called us to and He will bless us along the way by using every circumstance for our good and the good of His kingdom. In the face of temporary trouble, hardship, and persecution, God reminds us of His ultimate perspective and ultimate outcome of endless glory for His entire family. We are His children, and nothing can separate us from Him or His love. Not now. Not ever.

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On this day celebrating fathers we look at the amazing access God grants us to Himself using Romans 8:9-19 (NLT).

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We are in a complex and mysterious, adventurous and powerful, permanent relationship with the Spirit who lives within us to anoint and nudge and save and remind and inspire and empower and equip and comfort and counsel and reform and transform and reshape and renew and ultimately resurrect us just as He raised our Older Brother from the dead.

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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.

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