The Pastor’s Corner

Hebrews 1:1-4  Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,  ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

This week we will focus in on the statement: He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature!  God is described as the most beautiful, gracious, loving and kind of all beings, yet He is self-existent and has by Himself spoken into existence all that exists!  He is amazing and glorious.  Think with me for a moment about glory.  Often times we equate glory with accomplishments.  If you win the World Series of Baseball, that is a glorious moment because you are the best in the world, but that glory fades because next year there is another winner.  With God, His glory is so great that it never fades because there is not another being like Him, and Jesus is the light of His glory.  Literally, the author of Hebrews here tells us that Jesus is also one of a kind because He is the one who shines forth the glory and majesty of God, and He is also the same in nature and character as God, since He is God.  What does all of this have to do with little old me on March 1^st, 2009?  Well, I’m glad you asked, because you were made to worship, and it’s very easy to worship things that are glorious, but we often replace the most glorious (God) with something much less glorious, and the glory of which will quickly fade!  I want to encourage you today to check your list of commitments today and see if something has a place in your heart reserved only for the glorious God and His perfect son.

Hebrews 1:1-4  Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,  ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Today we will look at the statement: “whom he appointed the heir of all things”.  Since Jesus’ nature is divine and His work is of such perfect character, Jesus is set to be the recipient of all of creation.  Jesus is set to inherit all of the created order, and it is important for us to recognize that He is infinitely worthy of this inheritance and rightly deserves our praise!  Paul, in writing to the believers in

“Colossians 1:17-18  ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”(Colossians 1:17-18) 

God’s plan was for Christ to make provision for all of creation to be returned to reflecting His image and Christ paid the ransom that we might be restored and be given new life.  Because of His sacrifice, he is now the rightful head over all things, and therefore deserves the preeminence, or first place.  Is anything distracting you from giving up all to run after Jesus?  He is the heir of all things, and the rightful owner of all things, and lest we “forsake all to follow Him, we cannot be His disciples.” 

There two more verses that come into this conversation: I Corinthians 6:19-20 and Romans 12:1-2

I Corinthians 6:19-20 - Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,  whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

Romans 12:1-2Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God – which is your reasonable service.  Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Hello Friends, sorry that we’ve been silent from Oak Grove.  We have been in the process of updating a number of things at OGBC, but now we are close to finishing our new website and its about time that I start sharing thoughts again.  So, onto the Word. 

 Here are a few of my more recent thoughts about the peron of Jesus Christ.  We are going through a sermon series titled: WHO IS JESUS.  The reason I believe this series is greatly needed is because of the deeply rooted misconceptions about the person of Jesus found rampant in American Christianity and more so outside of Christianity.  For (more…)