Ocean Lakes Church Service

Today our worship service is quite different from the normal. We are celebrating today “Christmas in July.” Perhaps you have heard it said that the Christmas carols are so beautiful, it is sad that we sing them only once a year. Well, today we are having a Christmas celebration, with music and the sermon all on a Christmas theme. The title of today’s sermon is “In Defense of An Innkeeper." For mor...

Even though Independence Day is now past, we are continuing to celebrate today with another patriotic service. I want to use our time together this morning to reflect on some aspects of what America celebrated two days ago. Many who are sharing this service by podcast are not Americans, nor do you live in America. However, we pray that the thoughts you hear today may be applied to any nation, as w...

Since Independence Day, July 4th, falls on a Friday this year, we here at Ocean Lakes are going to be celebrating America’s freedom on TWO  Sundays this year - the Sunday before and the Sunday after. Our gathered congregation will sing “God Bless America” on both of these Sundays. But the question for us today is, “When Can God Bless America?” For more information on the Campground, insider tips a...

Twice each year most states in our nation go through an ordeal of remembering to change our clocks – either forward or backward. “Spring forward – Fall backward” we say. Getting the right time is very important to most people. In the 90th Psalm, verse 12, there is a reminder from God that we are to “number our days.” We’re thinking about that this morning, as we look at “Just a Tiny Little Minute....

On this Father’s Day this year we are thinking about gifts - not gifts that we might give to our earthly fathers, but rather the gifts that we have all received from our heavenly Father. What are some of these gifts? We could never name them all, but let’s look today at just a few. Thank you for worshiping with us today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground. For more information on the Campground, in...

Have you ever had the unfortunate experience of standing outside a door and constantly ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door - all to no effect? Nobody is answering. Did you know that there is just such a situation in the Bible? We will be reading this story from Acts 12, the first 19 verses. If you are where you can get your Bible, follow along as we explore this story today! For more info...

The title of today’s message is one which may be confusing to some people: “Half-Way Christians.” One might say that a person is a Christian or not, but you can’t be just “half-way.” Actually this title is what is called an “oxymoron.” This is a figure of speech in which two or more words are put together which are actually opposites; they contradict each other. Some examples are: “minor surgery”...

If you look at the title of today’s message, you may get the wrong impression that we’re thinking today about some musical subject - “Blowing the Trumpet.” Actually, Jesus was talking about some people of His day who did good deeds, but wanted everybody to take notice. It is a very interesting analogy that Jesus used, and there is a real important lesson for us all in His words from Matthew, chapt...

The title of today’s sermon is one which many people may think that they would never hear from a preacher. We’ve all heard critics of the organized church say, “All they talk about at church is money.” Jesus did not do that, and in fact, there were times when He told people that they could just leave their money at home. That’s the subject of today’s sermon, so stay with us and let’s see what Jesu...

During the years when Jesus was on this earth in person, there were many who heard His words, but could not understand what He was talking about. One of His sayings which was so hard for people to take in is recorded in Luke’s gospel, chapter 9, verse 24. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Save your life and lose it; lose your life for My sake, and you will save it.” That’s our subject for today, “Fin...

Every time a preacher steps to the pulpit to bring a message to the people, there surely must be an awareness that someone out there in the congregation is in great need of a message from God which will give strength for the facing of the next days, weeks, months, and even years ahead. The question is not, do you have any burdens, but rather, the main question is “How Do You Face Life’s Trials?” T...

Have you ever heard God call you by your name? Maybe you haven’t heard him with your ears, but have you sensed him calling you in your heart? Today we are thinking on the subject, “When God Calls Your Name.” However God may call you, it can be a wonderful experience, not something to dread or to cause you to be frightened. What is it really like when God calls your name? For more information on th...

Happy Easter to you! The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! For Christians all around the world, today is a day of celebration of the fact that “we serve a living Savior, who’s in the world today.” Our Bible tells us that when Mary came and found an empty tomb on that Easter morning, that made a big difference in her life. But what about each of us? Does Easter make a difference in our lives...

On this Palm Sunday we are thinking together about a strong, meaningful symbol which reminds us of what our Lord Jesus went through for us all. This is the symbol of the cross. Each Sunday we provide small metal crosses for our worshippers to take and place in their pocket or purse.  Although you as a podcast listener are not personally present with us here at Ocean Lakes, perhaps you have access...

For the past two Sundays we have been looking together at the subject of how God works in our lives. First, we saw how God works in miraculous ways - sometimes. Last Sunday we considered a second way in which God sometimes works - through collaboration with us. Today we are going to move forward and look at yet another way in which God works. We all need to be reminded that our God is a great God,...

Last Sunday we looked together at the subject of miracles, and we all concluded (I hope) that this is truly one way in which God works in our lives. The day of miracles is not over. But is this the only way in which He works? Probably not. So today we are going to move forward and look at yet another way in which God works. This is through a big word called “collaboration.” If you’ll stay with us,...

Last Sunday we examined the idea of trying to explain what we mean when we say that something is “The Will of God.” This statement is usually an attempt to give God credit for all that happens. Yes, God does work in many ways in our lives, and today we are going to make a beginning at looking at several ways in which God works. We trust that this will help us to understand better “How God Works in...

When tragic events happen and we hear about them in the news, how do we respond? Sometimes people, even devoted Christians, respond by saying, “It was God’s will.” When we hear of a senseless murder, a horrible plane crash which takes the lives of many people, or events in nature, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or wildfires, is it right to say, “It was God’s will.” This is a difficult...

Have you ever, as a loving parent, said to a child, “Hurry up; we’re going to be late!” Perhaps that was said to your spouse, or even to someone else who is joining you in going somewhere. Without meaning to be disrespectful, have you ever felt like saying to God, “Hurry up, Lord; I need an answer to my prayer right now.” This is our subject for today. How do we respond “When God Takes His Time?”...

Last Sunday we concluded a series of messages, all on the subject, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” Today we are going to follow up, in a sense, of what we have been thinking about during these past few weeks. So, as an introduction to today’s message, how do you answer this question: “Do you believe in miracles?” If you say “Yes,” then what about those times when you do NOT receive a mira...

We conclude this morning a series of messages, all on the general subject, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” All around us today we can hear stories in the news about terrible happenings around the globe - wars, hunger, poverty, destructive acts in nature (such as fires, hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes), events wherein people carelessly take the lives of other - and on and on it goes. Hav...

We continue this morning a series of messages, all on the general subject, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." Last Sunday we made a beginning at trying to look at some answers which God has for us when life seems to tumble in on top of us. That we only a beginning, so today we will pick up where we left off a week ago. Our question for today is "How Does God Help Us?" Yes, God not only HAS t...

During the past four Sundays we have been taking a close look at this problem which we all seem to encounter at some time in our lives. We have looked at the subject of pain, and we’ve asked who is to blame when trouble comes our way. Last Sunday we even put the spotlight of blame on Satan himself, who is always trying to separate us from God’s love. Today we are going to begin coming up with some...

We continue this morning a series of messages, all on the general subject, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” Can you imagine a scene where two little children are playing – a brother and a sister - when something bad happens and immediately Momma comes in. The guilty child may acknowledge the wrong-doing, but tries to shift the blame by saying, “Johnny (or Susie) made me do it.” Who makes u...

We continue this morning a series of messages, all on the general subject, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” Today the sermon title asks a question, “Who’s to Blame?” This may not seem to be a very important question on the surface, but it is a question which is asked so often when bad things happen to us. “Lord, what have I done to deserve this?” “Why did this happen to me?” “What is the o...