Bent Oak Church

Is marriage a higher calling than singleness? Does following Christ look different depending on our relationships? In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul challenges the assumptions of the Corinthian church, offering a surprising vision of marriage built on mutual authority, love, and submission. He also presents singleness as a meaningful expression of devotion to Christ. In this sermon, we explore how both mar...

What does Paul really mean when he tells wives to submit to their husbands and husbands to be the head of their wives? In Ephesians 5, Paul addresses marriage within the social structures of the Roman world, but his instructions offer a radical vision of love, service, and unity. By looking closely at the historical context, Paul's language, and the example of Christ, we discover how the gosp...

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on men and women, young and old, transforming the early church and its mission. In this sermon, we explore Acts 2 and Galatians 3 to consider how the Spirit reshapes our understanding of men and women, gives us equal standing in Christ, and calls every believer to participate in the work of the gospel. We discover that our freedom in Christ is not simpl...

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus brings men and women together as disciples, servants, and witnesses to his kingdom. From the women named in his genealogy to the first witnesses of his resurrection, we discover how Jesus begins restoring the partnership between men and women that sin fractured in the garden. In this sermon, we explore what the Gospels reveal about men, women, and Jesus’ radical redef...

Continuing our series on men and women through the biblical story, Chase closes out the Old Testament with the prophets. The law could expose Israel's brokenness but not heal it, and by Judges 19, one of Scripture's darkest stories, a husband has become a violent master. Hosea reverses that language, promising a day when God's people will call him "my husband" instead of &...

Why does the Old Testament law say what it says about men and women? In this message from our series on men and women, we look at the hard passages honestly and ask what a law is for. Laws exist because of wrongs; they're floors, not ceilings, meant to check the spread of evil rather than inspire what's possible. The law of Israel was given in the middle of a story, to a people still liv...

As we continue our look at the Biblical relationship between men and women, we come to the call of Abraham and the promise God makes to him and to Sarah. We will see that the promise required their partnership, and yet each of them found a plan to secure it alone and at the other's expense. Genesis records their failures side by side, and then shows us the one God goes out to find.

As we continue our look at the Biblical relationship between men and women, we come to the first sin, often called the fall of man. We will see that as God created men and women in cooperation with one another, they shared not only in their calling but also in their disobedience. But their shared disobedience drove a wedge between what God had created.

We begin our new series by examining the two creation accounts and the countercultural narrative of God's creation of male and female. God made men and women in his image and tasked them, as partners, with fruitfulness and dominion. 

From Jesus' prayers in the gospels to the church gathered to pray in homes and the temple, God's people are a people of prayer. As we wrap up our series on Acts, we're looking at one last theme: prayer. Jesus taught his disciples to pray, and as they took the gospel ot the world, they taught us to pray as well. 

We are continuing to look at the major themes of Acts. This week we look at Christ's calling to bear witness. The church sent missionaries to the world, but each also took responsibility for bearing witness wherever they were. We look at what it means to be participants in that work today.  

We are concluding our Acts study by looking back at the major themes of the book. This week, we are looking at the prominence of food and meals. The church ate together, and it was at the table that the church grew in unexpected ways. Why do meals together still matter for the church today?

As we wrap up our study of Acts, we are taking a few weeks to look back at the major themes of the book. This week, we look at the prominent work of the Spirit, and why it is significant that the Spirit is not just poured out on leaders or apostles, but on all flesh: young and old, male and female, influential and common people.

Paul finally arrives in Rome. But for all the difficulty in arriving, the final image is humble. Paul does what he has done in nearly every city before. Instead of a dramatic ending, Acts concludes with an image of faithfulness and the promise that nothing can hinder the gospel from going forward.

Shippwrecked on the island of Malta, Paul still faced danger. Bitten by a snake, Paul was again saved by God's power and used it as an opportunity to bear witness to those on the island. Pastor Barry Kinzer walks us through the passage. 

Paul finally set sail for Rome, but it did not take long for him to run into more trouble. This time it was a major storm at sea. Though experienced, the crew was overwhelmed and hopeless, believing there was no chance of survival. But Paul had heard from the. He and all who stayed with the ship would be saved. 

Before Festus and Agrippa, Paul made another defense. But this time, Paul spent the majority of his speech explaining once again how he had encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and how Jesus had called him to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul offers us two ways of looking at life: our own attempts to build the life we want and a submission to the leading and calling of God to follow his p...

Paul had been told that he would bear witness before kings and rulers. As Felix was removed from power, Paul found himself transferred to the control of Festus, who was soon joined by Herod Agrippa II. Luke takes a whole chapter to set up the scene, complete with royal robes, processionals, and palaces. We see why that setting mattered to Luke and why it still matters today. 

Held before Governor Felix, Paul once again offered a defense against the Jewish charges. But Felix made no decision. For two years, he held Paul, continuing the conversation. Felix even felt the conviction of Paul's preaching, but he would not decide. By contrast, Paul gives us an image of courage and faithfulness, motivated by his own clear conscience. We look at how courage and conscience...

A plot was discovered to assassinate Paul. But overnight, Paul was moved to Caesarea. His case would be heard by the Judean Governor. Paul must have wondered what God was doing as he found himself locked up in a Roman cell. But his suffering became a path to greater witness. While it's easy to draw conclusions in our own lives, faith teaches us to recognize more of what God might be doing. Wh...

Paul carried two callings. He felt called to preach the gospel in Rome, but he also sensed the Spirit calling him back to Jerusalem, where he would face suffering. Imprisoned by the Romans, it must have felt like Rome was further and further away. But Jesus appeared to Paul to give him courage and remind him that even in loss and injustice, God was still fulfilling his call. 

Paul's plan failed. He was spotted in the temple by his opponents and quickly seized. I riot formed, and Paul was dragged out of the temple. But after the Romans intervened, Paul was given a chance to offer a defense. He did not defend himself but instead told the truth. God was extending salvation to the Gentiles. We look at Paul's courage and his willingness to risk his own safety for...

Paul finally arrived in Jerusalem. While the believers there celebrated his work, there was danger. Rumors were spreading that Paul was teaching people to abandon the Jewish law. Paul decided to go to the temple in an act of piety to prove them wrong. We look at Paul's arrival, the plan, and why it doesn't ultimately work. 

On his return to Jerusalem, Paul stopped in to say goodbye to the church in Ephesus. He explained that they would not see him again, as the Spirit had confirmed that he would face suffering and arrest in Jerusalem. Luke records Paul's goodbye speech, and by it, some of Paul's most moving and impassioned words for the leaders of that local church. 

On his return to Jerusalem, Paul stopped in for a brief visit at Troas. There he preached long into the night. But there was an ancient and a young man who died. Paul paused his service, raised the boy to life, and went back to ministering. We take a closer look at why Luke included this story and the unique way he narrates it.