Being the Adults in the Room It goes without saying, perhaps, that 2020 and the start of 2021 have left many of us disoriented and discouraged, for a host of reasons. A big one that touches every area of life is the sharpening division in not only the culture but Read more…
Happy Holy Week! As we celebrate Easter this week and look around at creation continuing to ‘spring’ back to life after the cold death of winter, it’s a powerful reminder of the new life Christ won for us that morning 2000 years ago when he walked out of that tomb. Read more…
Off to a Great Start Greetings youth and parents! I hope 2021 is going well so far for each of your families. Looking over the first half of the semester as we come into spring break this week, it has been a great year so far for student ministry at Read more…
Happy March! As the official beginning of spring nears and we see plants bursting back into life, it feels like we are starting to come out of a long winter ourselves. It has been wonderful to see everyone making their way back to church and meeting some new friends recently Read more…
East Asia Micah and Blair (and their family) serve as overseas church-planting missionaries in a prominent city in East Asia, where they have lived for nearly a decade. Micah serves as assistant pastor in a Presbyterian church that is led by an indigenous team. He assists with regular pastoral duties Read more…
Kicking off the New Year We are so thankful for our Children’s Ministry team that has made everything possible since relaunching, including stepping up during the busyness of the holidays to make our Advent series possible. We recently had a team meeting to reconnect and recharge as we move into Read more…
New Sunday School Series Paul writes, “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction” (Rom 15:4). Contrary to some modern efforts to unhitch the church from the Old Testament, Paul says quite the opposite: the OT was for us. It’s hard to make it very far in Read more…
New Year, New You(th Happenings) I hope you’re all still basking in the afterglow of a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and starting to get excited for a fresh start in 2021. Read on for a preview of some of what we have planned so you can even more Read more…
Want to Understand the Full Bible? With the start of a new year comes the opportunity to start afresh with reading Scripture. The pastors at River Oaks would like to offer you some suggested plans to help you read more Scripture in the new year! 1. Learn the Bible Storyline Read more…
Finishing 2020 As tough as this year has been, it has been great to be back together since September and start to rebuild momentum. We’ve learned a lot from the book of Proverbs about how to live wisely in the fear of the LORD. We’ve also had some great times Read more…
Holiday Update Are you feeling festive yet, River Oaks family? Somehow, even though it feels like 2020 has dragged on for ages, it is still a little surprising that the holidays are upon us. Maybe life feels a bit like in The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, where it Read more…
1. It’s biblical – Deuteronomy 6 We really need to grow our children’s ministry team as we relaunch our Sunday programs, so I’ve been thinking about all the reasons to be involved in children’s ministry. I came up with 10 off the top of my head and wanted to share Read more…
Staying Connected The leadership of ROC will post regular updates and notes of encouragement in light of the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. The entries will appear in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent. Please note: given that the news is changing daily, more recent church-related updates will surpass previous Read more…
Is Jesus Truly God? Every Christian knows that the answer to that question is “yes.” The full deity of Jesus is firmly established in the earliest creeds of the Church, such as the Nicene Creed (AD 325). But can you say why you believe the answer is “yes”? Do you Read more…
The Doctrine of Salvation Join our Pastoral Intern, Zach McIntosh, for a 8-part online study of the Ordo Salutis. Wait…what does that fancy term mean? It’s simply the Latin for “order of salvation,” and it captures how Scripture teaches the components of personal salvation. It runs from God’s sovereign election Read more…
Up Close and Personal! Pastors David Camera and Greg Lanier have launched a mini-series on YouTube called “One-on-One.” In these short episodes, they interview each other as a way to get to know each other better and, more importantly, to help YOU get to know them better. We miss seeing Read more…
Reading the Minor Prophets Afresh Micah is not a book of the Bible that many people spend a lot of time reading. In fact…you may be wondering, “Is that even in the Bible?” It is sandwiched between Jonah (which most everyone knows something about) and Nahum (even less famous than Read more…
Anticipating the Extraordinary Jump to today’s reading Holy Week—running from Palm Sunday to Easter—is a cherished time of year for the Christian church. In this final week of Jesus’s life, things quickly spiral downward as he goes from entering Jerusalem hailed as king to dying on a Roman cross outside Read more…
“Should we cancel church?” How should the church respond to a crisis such as this? That is a question I continue to turn over in my mind and filter through a biblical framework. In the face of the present epidemic, there have been a variety of answers offered by Christians on this question. These answers Read more…
The Shelter of the Most High Greetings, River Oaks! As you know, the leadership of ROC, following guidance from local officials, has made the decision to suspend weekly services due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This is not a decision made lightly, but it is a decision made in love for Read more…