Oakhurst Baptist Church

The fourth Sunday of Advent and Lessons & Carols. The World Is about to Turn – God Is with Us!

The third Sunday of Advent. The World Is about to Turn – Rejoice!

The second Sunday of Advent. The World Is about to Turn – Don’t Be Afraid!

The first Sunday of Advent. The World Is about to Turn – Keep Awake!

We often think we have the right answer, follow the right path, and know exactly where we’re going. Even when we don’t really know, we convince ourselves that we do. Listen as Pastor Melanie Vaughn-West looks at a conversation between Jesus and a religious leader, one very sure, the other in tune with the spirit.

If we cry out of the depths, we must have first journeyed in. What do we need to know before we embark? What do we need to take with us? Listen as Pastor Lauren Colwell takes a look at Jesus’ sojourn in the desert and ponders some questions before we journey into Lent together.

We walk around every day and make choices about who we see, who we engage, and who we ignore. With each choice, we decide how to construct the world around us, we decide who is in and who is out. Listen as Oakhurst member Billy Hall challenges us to see more and consider what we can create if we choose to do so.

As a community, we often wrestle with many things. And as a community we do so together. The writer of Genesis tells the story of Jacob wrestling all night with a being, demanding a blessing. Listen as Pastor Melanie Vaughn-West reflects on our call to wrestle for our own blessing, and our responsibility toward one another in the struggle.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed doing all the things, all the time. Listen as Oakhurst member and minister Tere Tyner Canzoneri reflects on how allowing God to truly do new things among us might mean letting go of some of the former things we hold near and dear.

God promises to fill us with God’s spirit, to uphold us, to take us by the hand and keep us. Listen as Pastor Melanie Vaughn-West reminds us that, ultimately, we are called to serve not out of our own strength, but out of God’s.