Ocean Lakes Church Service

What is the most important thing in your life? Is it your job, your house, your automobile, a special friend, your family, your clothes, your health, the money you have accumulated? Or maybe something else? If everything were to be taken from you except the one thing you cherish most, what would you want to keep? The answer to that would be what you call your "Top Priority." And that's the subject...

Last Sunday we concluded our series of messages on the subject of faith. However, today we are going to extend that subject by one more Sunday, as our topic this morning is "Faith That Faces Trouble." Last Sunday, we recalled the words of The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.." God's servant, David, from the Old Testament put it thi...

Today we conclude our series of messages on the subject of faith. Every person in the world, whatever our place may be, needs a firm faith in God to face trials that come to us. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might ... that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." How wonderful it is to know that our lov...

Last Sunday we continued our series of messages on the subject of faith, as we looked at some kinds of faith that are not good enough to save us, to put us in a right relationship with God. We mentioned things like blind, unreasonable faith, misplaced faith, and just "faith" - period as not being sufficient to save us. Admittedly, that sounded a bit negative. So let's come today to consider "Faith...

Last Sunday we began our series of messages on the general subject of faith. We will begin today's message with a quote from the poet, Edgar Guest, who says "And only he may stand serene/who has a faith on which to lean." That's true, and we all can probably agree with that idea. But did you know that there is a kind of faith which does NOT save us? What does the Bible have to say about this? God...

We welcome you to our worship service today from Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, S. C. Today we are beginning a short series of messages on the general subject of faith. This is a word which we have often heard and used, not only in church or religious settings, but it is a word which is common in many other ways. Some parents even give their infant daughters this beautiful name. Bu...

Today our podcast will be somewhat different from many others we have presented before. Since this Tuesday is July 4th, the day when we celebrate our nation's independence, I want to use this time to share with you some words of tribute to our nation and to its founders. As we approach this special day in our nation, our prayer is that we may all come to a greater appreciation and spirit of thanks...

Nine days from today our nation will be celebrating once again our independence - - the 4th of July - - Independence Day. Already we are hearing fireworks here at the beach; merchants are decorating their wares in red, white, and blue, and family gatherings are being planned - - all for the purpose of having a grand celebration. It is hoped to be a wonderful time of happiness for all. The question...

Suppose you bought a lottery ticket, and when the winning number was announced, you discover that it is your ticket. You won the lottery! But let's say that you are the ultimate procrastinator, and you never get around to claiming what you have won! To use another example, let's say that you have a rich uncle who dies and leaves you $50 million, but for some reason, you never claim your inheritanc...

Last Sunday we gave our attention in the sermon to the subject, "Ride the Wild Horses." Now today the title is "Drum-Major Desires." There is actually a connection between these two sermons, but it is not obvious just from hearing the titles. And so today we are building on the foundation of what we considered last Sunday. If you haven't heard the podcast from last week, you can still hear it. I j...

We welcome you this morning to our Sunday worship service from Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC. Here is it the month of June already. When I was a seminary student in Louisville, KY many years ago, we used to look forward to the first Saturday in May for the Kentucky Derby. I never actually got to see a Derby, but that didn't keep me from appreciating all those magnificent three-...

We welcome you this morning to our Sunday worship service from Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC. In just a few more days we will be in the month of June - - that month which is traditionally the month of brides, although people do get married in all the other months as well. The sermon today is entitled, "Finding Life's Highest Happiness." For those anticipating marriage, this may...

Here we are in the middle of May, and the crowds are already beginning to come to the beach for summer vacations. Locals express their feelings about this influx with mixed emotions - - happy to see friends they haven't seen for a while, merchants getting more revenue - - but also dislike of the number of cars everywhere. Road rage on the highways does happen although we hate to hear about it. Tod...

We welcome you this morning to our Sunday worship service from Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC. Last Sunday the title of the sermon from Ocean Lakes was "Pointers From a Prisoner." Today we have another rather strange title for a sermon. It is "A Girl Named Jochebed." Now who would give a precious little baby girl a name such as that! On this Mother's Day this year, we all should...

Young preachers who are in school, intending to make their life's work that of Christian ministry, are encouraged to take a course called "homiletics." This is a class on the preparation and delivery of sermons. One of the things taught is that a good sermon should have a "catchy" title - - one that will get the attention of the congregation immediately. Well, today's sermon has a rather strange a...

Christmas and birthdays are two days when we like to think about getting and giving gifts to others. Of course, there other special occasions when gifts are appropriate, such as graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and other such happy times. Today we are thinking about a very special gift which God has given to each of us. Certainly, the gift of salvation, of God's daily help in our lives, of Hi...

Most of us have either been to some athletic competition, or we have watched on TV, and we've seen a host of people, cheering on their favorite player or participant. One author referred to these as "balcony people," who are loud in their support of some athlete or team. Did you know that you have "balcony people" in your life? You may not know them by name, but they are there, just the same. Our...

We welcome you this morning to our Sunday worship service from Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC. There is a phrase from many years ago which reveals something of the inner thinking of most people we know today. The statement is this: "Every one of us plays out the drama of his life to some audience." The more we think about that, the more we realize that there is a lot of truth to...

We welcome you on this Easter Sunday morning to our worship service from Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC. And what a wonderful day it is! Easter is that one day in all the year when people around the world gather joyously to celebrate the fact that we have a risen Savior - - one whom the grave could not contain, but who is alive and well, even to this very day. On this day, many...

Today is Palm Sunday - - the day on which we remember Jesus as He rode into the city of Jerusalem on a lowly animal. The people who saw Him that day thought they knew who He was, but most of them were mistaken. They thought that they now had a new earthly king who would save them. But, really, who is this person called Jesus Christ? We are going to spend the next few minutes in answering that ques...

We welcome you this morning to our Sunday worship service from Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC. We are thinking today about a very important subject: how to get to heaven. People have all kinds of ideas about this. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but is it possible to have even "a little bit of heaven" on this earth? The Bible is very clear on these matters, and we invite you no...

Have you ever heard the expression, "What you don't know can't hurt you?" We sometimes say that to excuse our ignorance about some subject, admitting that nobody can be an expert in everything. But what about our Christian faith in this matter? Join us now as we take a closer look in thinking on the subject for today: "What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You." Thank you for worshiping with us today from...

If you've ever been around little children, you are familiar with what they sometimes say, "I'm bored!" Have you ever experienced that feeling? What about boredom in regards to your own spiritual experiences? That's what we are thinking about today, "Religious Boredom." Our prayer is that today's message will help us all to come to have a more vital, joyous faith. Thank you for worshipping with us...

When you begin each new day, do you have a habit of going to some place n your home, bowing down to some idol you've made, and praying to that idol to help you get through the day? Well, probably most of us don't do that: we are not idol worshippers. The title of todays message is "God's Made to Order." Does that have application to us today? For the next few minutes, we will be thinking on this s...

Today we have a special treat in store for us. We are blessed to have a guest minister to bring the sermon this morning. He is Rev. Rich McLawhorn, who, along with his wife, Jody, are regular attenders at our worship services each week. Rev. McLawhorn has been very active throughout his pastoral ministry, serving in various capacities, not only as pastor of churches, but also in many other places...