From the Pulpit

A message shared by Lew Worrad on November 5, 2023 at Oakridge Bible Chapel.

Satan had just brought his antichrist and false prophet into the world to deceive and destroy (13:1–18) when John sees the Lamb standing unfazed on the heavenly Mount Zion (14:1–7). Harps are being played, songs are being sung, and gospels are being preached when, seemingly out of nowhere, an angel flies overhead declaring, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great” (14:8). What immediately follows is...

Throughout human history, God has stayed his hand of retribution, being “patient toward us, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). But God’s patience  with  rebellion does not mean forgetfulness  of  rebellion. In fact, Paul teaches that the unrepentant are “storing up wrath for [themselves] in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God”...

A message shared by Nate Vellekoop on October 15, 2023 at Oakridge Bible Chapel

There’s nothing quite like a good comeback story. You know the type: when a person, group, or team seems so down-and-out, so defeated, and so oppressed and yet finds a way to climb back into contention, grab success, find safety, and even secure victory against all odds. These tales are surprising, satisfying, inspiring, and exciting.  While it may seem near-blasphemy to call the eventual-and-tota...

When the glorified Jesus appeared to the imprisoned John, he told him, “write down what I’m about to show you and pass it on to my people” (ch. 1). In this message, after some pointed words to the churches in the present age (chs. 2–3), Christ turns his attention to the future (chs. 4–22). He takes the apostle into the heavenly throne-room, giving him a glimpse of the Father’s awesomeness, the Son...

In the early 1900s, it was not uncommon for  over a million  people each year to lose their lives due to natural disasters like floods and droughts, earthquakes and fires, tornadoes and landslides. Fast forward one hundred years and, in this past decade, the average annual death toll was less than 10,000. Why this dramatic improvement? Is it because there are less natural disasters today? No. The...

Reading the fourth and fifth chapters of the Revelation of Jesus Christ can feel like stepping into the sun after hours in the dark. It takes time for our senses to process what it is we are being shown as our eyes, ears, and minds are treated to a glimpse heaven’s glory, joining the Apostle John in the witness of pure, untainted worship of the awesome Creator and Sustainer of the universe. At fir...

People want to know the future and are quite creative in how they attempt to do that, reading tea-leaves and palms, examining stars and crystals, and studying playing cards and weather patterns. And this desire to peek beyond the horizon of tomorrow isn’t unique to our times. God warned about these methods at Mount Sinai (Lev 19:31), Saul dabbled in the practice during his downward spiral from Isr...

How many here like gifts? How many of you enjoy Christmas when you receive those gifts? Most of you celebrate Christmas receiving gift for one day. I celebrate Chanukah where I receive gifts for 8 days,  with having a large family you can imagine how many gifts we get!! Its Wonderful!!  What is a gift if you don’t open it? A gift is no good still wrapped up. A gift is no good if you don't use...

God’s people have many needs and vulnerabilities but God’s Spirit has been given to help meet those needs and minister to our weaknesses. As rebels against God, we need saving, so the Holy Spirit regenerates, making believers new creatures who are born again from above. We need security  in  and assurance  of  that salvation, so the Spirit indwells us, seals us, and testifies to us that we belong...

Living in a fallen world, it’s not uncommon for people—even  God’s  people—to feel disoriented and isolated, overwhelmed by choices and trials, decisions and disappointments, insecurities and uncertainties, hurts, fears, and loses. Sometimes the cumulative fatigue of such experiences, the emotional taxation of helplessness, and the dramatic intensity of uncertainty rises to such a level that even...

If you have been with us in the past weeks, you’ll know that we have been doing a series on the Holy Spirit. Today we will continue that series with the topic of sanctification. Our word sanctification comes from the latin “sanctus”, which means holy. In other words, today we will talk about becoming holy, and the role the Holy Spirit plays in that. Holy can mean blameless or pure, and often we de...

The filling of the Holy Spirit could rightly be considered the centre of his work in the world today—the hub  to  which his other ministries connect and  by  which his other ministries are rightly experienced.  The Spirit has regenerated, indwelled, and sealed every believer. But it is the  filling  of the Spirit that helps us understand and celebrate those realities. The Spirit teaches. But it is...

Speaker: Jim Rennie Series: God In Us: A Study of the Holy Spirit

Speaker: Lew Worrad Text(s): Selected Scriptures Topic: The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit Series: God In Us: A Study of the Holy Spirit

There’s a sense in which home ownership has two corresponding realities. There’s the  objective  reality. When the funds are confirmed and the mortgage is signed the house  is  owned. It’s a done deal. But there’s also the  subjective  reality. This is the process by which the owner grows in their experience of their ownership by moving-in, unpacking and renovating, and sharing their home with oth...

If you’re a Christian, whether you can fully remember it or not, there was a moment when you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for everlasting life. You may have been seven, seventeen, or seventy. It might have arrived suddenly or after much consideration. Maybe you were praying with a parent, chatting with a friend, listening to a sermon, or reading a book. Maybe you were at an evangelistic event...

The Bible teaches that there is one God existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections, and worthy of the same worship, confidence, and obedience. Over the centuries, the Christian church has come to incapsulate this mind-bending, creature-humbling truth in a single word:  trinity . ...

Not long ago one of my sons was given a remote-control drone as a birthday present. While he had fun almost immediately, mastery of the device alluded him as he chose to ignore the instruction manual and, instead, was content to repeatedly crash it into walls, into the ceiling, and into his siblings. As soon as my son unwrapped that toy he became a boy who owned a drone and, while he enjoyed it to...

In baking a cake, there are some ingredients that are more essential than others. While sprinkles aid ascetics and nuts add texture, it’s the eggs, flour, and sugar that actually make it a cake.  The same is true of a healthy church family. There are many  potential  elements that can be added to the recipe but they’re not all of equal importance. While a building may add stability and significant...

God wants those who belong  to  him to experience intimacy  with  him. That’s why he calls believers to pursue holiness (1:5–2:2), obedience (2:3–6), and familial love (2:7–11; 3:10–23), not because that’s  how  we’re saved but because that’s how we draw near to him  once  we’re saved. God so desires that his children abide in him that he tells us to avoid worldliness (2:15–17) and sin (3:1–9), no...

Imagine I told you we were going to have a conversation about classic story structure, and invited you to finish the following sentence: “and they all lived…” Exactly. We all know it. In most cases, we probably expect it. And while it’s obviously not true of every story, the opposites are infrequent or undesirable enough that “and they all lived terribly ever after” just isn’t a thing we say.  Thi...

We’re into the final two sections of the book of Joel and we’re now in part of the book where it finally starts to take a turn for the positive, where God’s people have been challenged to repent, and we now get to see God’s response for when they do so. The last two weeks described judgement on God’s people in the southern kingdom of Judah, and called them to repentance for their disobedience, and...

Sometimes in times of struggle, difficulty, or suffering, we act as though all we need to do is apologize and everything will be okay. Sometimes we look at the suffering God allows in our life or the discipline he’s putting us through as a combination lock just waiting to be opened, a code to be cracked. “If I just ask forgiveness for this sin” or “if I just read my Bible this much” or “if I just...