Category Archives: In A Nutshell

Gazing into the Eyes of a Shepherd On Sunday, we will light the third candle of Advent. This candle is unlike theothers. It is pink in color, representing joy instead of repentance, which is symbolized inthe other three candles — typically purple, or, as is the case at Oak Chapel, blue. Thepink candle is alsoContinue reading “In A Nutshell | December 11, 2020”

Oak Chapel Intends to be ‘Open’ on Christmas Eve What will Christmas Eve look like this year at Oak Chapel? Hard to say for sure,but right now, we are committed to being “open” that evening so that you and yourfamily can worship with us in a safe and secure environment. Because of the spike inContinue reading “In A Nutshell | December 4, 2020”

Join Us As We Journey ‘Back to the Future’         In the early days of television, everything was live. No video tape, no digital editing. Oak Chapel is preparing to go “back to the future” in the coming weeks when we begin streaming our worship services live and also archiving them for future viewing.             This,Continue reading “In A Nutshell | November 27, 2020”

Christ the King Sunday ‘Sets the Table’ for Thanksgiving Celebration             As we prepare for next week’s traditional Thanksgiving celebration, albeit in a much more restricted way because of the Covid crises, let us be reminded that there is another celebration that precedes Thanksgiving and sets the tone for the Christmas season. I had forgotten,Continue reading “In A Nutshell | November 20, 2020”

The More Things Change…             The month of November is not yet two weeks old, but in that short period of time, we have experienced at least two significant developments: the record-breaking ascent of COVID-19 cases and the changing of the guard in our nation’s highest office.             Each of us has been affected inContinue reading “In A Nutshell | November 13, 2020”

Let Youth Be Served (and Serve) If I were to tell you that I had discovered the key to the fountain of youth, would you believe me? Probably not! If I were to tell you that I had discovered the key to the future of the church, would I be any more believable? Maybe? Well,Continue reading “In A Nutshell | November 6, 2020”

Falling Back is Fine; Just be Sure Who’s Behind You             Don’t forget to “fall back” this weekend. Not literally, of course, but rather as a friendly reminder to turn your clocks back one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night. The good news is that we get an extra hour of sleepContinue reading “In A Nutshell | October 30, 2020”

Building a Saintly Legacy All Saints Day is a longstanding Christian tradition through which we rememberand reflect on the lives of those who came before us — those who helped us to build afoundation for our faith. It is a bittersweet occasion as we reflect on their passing with sadness, while alsorejoicing in the lifeContinue reading “In A Nutshell | October 23, 2020”

The Responsibility of the ‘Elect’ Election Day is just a few weeks away, and what a relief it will be when theincessant political ads, nasty campaign rhetoric, and vitriolic debates finally come to anend. It almost makes you want to crawl under the couch and hide until Nov. 4, but weknow we can’t do that.Continue reading “In A Nutshell | October 16, 2020”

The Frightening Reality of Spiritual Warfare Is it possible for a church to be haunted? I pose this question because lastSaturday, as I was preparing for Sunday’s service in the Sanctuary, I heard a series ofloud bangs that startled me. The unexpected and unsettling noises seemed to be coming from Fellowship Hallor possibly as farContinue reading “In A Nutshell | October 9, 2020”