Four Oaks Midtown Podcast

Sermon | A Whole-Hearted Faith (Matthew 17:22-27)

Jesus uses an encounter with the temple tax collectors to teach Peter what it means to follow him.

Teaching | Understanding Hebrews: Do Not Fall Away (Hebrews 5:11-6-20)

Few things bring as much pain to our lives as seeing someone we care about “apostatize" or turn away from the faith. Perhaps that person served as a vital member of your local church leading Bible studies or evangelizing to the lost, but now he or she wants nothing to do with Christ or Christianity. Such moments rattle us with confusion and sadness. Yet Hebrews reminds us that apostasy existed in the first century just as it does now. The details may differ, but the core remains: repeated rejection of the word of God reveals an unchanged hardened heart. Hebrews addresses the complexity of apostasy with an honest and sober mind. We want to honor the words of Scripture by approaching this topic the same way. This is Understanding Hebrews.

Check out the rest of our Understanding Series: https://www.fouroaksmidtown.com/teachings

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@fouroakschurchmidtown1962

 

Sermon | Lessons in Faith (Matthew 17:14-21)

As Jesus heals a boy, his responses to the boy's father and to the disciples demonstrates the necessity of faith. 

Teaching | Understanding Hebrews: Tempted and Tried (Hebrews 4:14-5-10)

We all face anxieties and fears in life. Those fears and anxieties get amplified in a world of social media which exposes us instantaneously to every horrible event. We feel the pressure of a post-Christian world that sees our faith as dangerous and bigoted. We fear the well-being of our children and the pressures they face in a world hostile to Christ. We know we should turn to prayer, but so often we find ourselves so disoriented and confused that words fail us. It’s in those moments that we need to cling to the precious reality of Christ as our great High Priest who intercedes for us. Robert Murray M’Cheyne once said, “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies.” Our hope does not lie in the fact that we pray to Christ, but rather Christ prays for us. And that confidence actually opens the door for us to approach the throne of grace in the midst of our trials with confidence. This is Understanding Hebrews. 

Check out the rest of our Understanding Series: https://www.fouroaksmidtown.com/teachings

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@fouroakschurchmidtown1962

 

Sermon | One Sight, Three Sayings (Matthew 17:1-13)

Jesus takes three of his disciples up on a mountain and there, they see him transfigure.

Teaching | Understanding Hebrews: Finding Rest (Hebrews 3:1-4-13)

Every single person lives their life in pursuit of something they believe will grant them rest. Rest means more than just the cessation of activity or a temporary respite from work. No, rest means complete fulfillment, when a human being attains the end for which God created him or her. The great theologian Augustine in his famous work Confessions writes, “Because you have made us for Yourself… our hearts are restless till they find their rest in You.” Augustine’s recognizes one of the key themes of Hebrews 3:1-4-13 — that only in the pursuit of Christ do we find lasting rest. God made us to worship him which means all sin pulls us away from our ultimate purpose. Sin hardens us to the goodness of God and leaves us without rest. Repentance turns our mind and body away from the corrupt darkness and evil in the world and in our hearts that we might receive the only thing that brings eternal satisfaction — God himself. This is Understanding Hebrews.

Check out the rest of our Understanding Series: https://www.fouroaksmidtown.com/teachings

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@fouroakschurchmidtown1962

Sermon | Take Up Your Cross (Matthew 16:20-28)

As Jesus reveals to the disciples what will happen to him, he presses the point that both he, and his disciples, will be known through how they handle the cross.

Teaching | Understanding Hebrews: Greater Than Angels (Hebrews 1:5-2-18)

When we look into the night sky we feel a sense of insignificance. We’re just a pale blue dot in a sea of darkness speckled with light. This makes us comfortable so we distract ourselves with pleasure, entertainment, and consumption, but the feeling never leaves. The Bible, on the other hand, does not distract from, but rather embraces our smallness as a means of magnifying the grace of God. The infinite God of the universe bestows upon us his image. He gives us a destiny not of oblivion, but glory. Hebrews 1:5-2:18 unveils this glory through the lens of the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. The God of the universe not only cares for us, but he took on flesh and dwelt among us that he might pull us out of misery into eternal glory. This is Understanding Hebrews.

Check out the rest of our Understanding Series: https://www.fouroaksmidtown.com/teachings

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@fouroakschurchmidtown1962

Sermon | The Question Upon Which All Else Rests (Matthew 16:13-20)

Jesus questions his disciples regarding who the people are saying he is and then, who the disciples say he is. 

Teaching | Understanding Hebrews: The Heir of All Things (Hebrews 1:1-4)

Let’s do a quick orthodoxy test. What do you think about this statement: “The central doctrine of the gospel is the atonement of Jesus Christ.” Sounds great, right? Well this statement comes from the Church of Latter Day-Saints commonly referred to as the Mormons. They use the same words as Christians but mean entirely different things by those words. Specifically, they deny the deity of Jesus Christ. Our salvation depends upon getting Jesus right. Hebrews demonstrates for us that the early Christians held a “high Christology” — they understood Christ as God himself and worthy of all worship. Therefore to turn away from Christ is to turn away from the true and living God of the universe. It’s is to commit cosmic treason of the highest degree. The message of Hebrews is this: if you’re thinking about turning away from Christ don’t do it. This is Understanding Hebrews.

Check out the rest of our Understanding Series: https://www.fouroaksmidtown.com/teachings

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@fouroakschurchmidtown1962