We are in the second week of Advent which traditionally focuses on the word, peace.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
-Isaiah 9:6
The ancient prophets wrote of a coming Messiah. He would be a just and righteous King. He would set all things right and bring with him peace. Shalom. The Hebrew word for peace denotes something more than just the absence of chaos, strife, or pain. The word signifies a making of all things right. It was said that the Messiah would usher in an age where God would begin to reset all that sin had broken. Peace would bring God’s people back into a relationship with him. Peace would set our hearts and face toward God, his grace, his Kingdom, and his purposes.
As followers of Jesus, we are ambassadors of that peace. Christians live in peace and show others the peace they can only find through Jesus.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. -2 Corinthians 5:20
I am so excited for this season and the coming season at White Oak. At the beginning of this Christmas season our church family has taken a giant leap of trust in our Heavenly Father. This past year, we’ve been asking God to shake us with the power of his Spirit; To stir in us and move us to bold steps of faith. The Spirit worked in boldness in the lives of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and others. He moved and shook up the lives of the believers in the book of Acts. Here at White Oak, we’re asking and anticipating God to do the same in our hearts and lives.
We are asking God to take what he’s doing in our hearts and to do something through us that radiates out into our community. On December 4 we celebrated what God has been up to throughout our Shaken initiative. We also revealed the total number of committed and expected gifts toward White Oak’s ministry over the next two years. Take a look!
We are so excited for the ways in which God is moving and changing lives at and through White Oak! He gets all the glory! We are ambassadors of his peace. That’s why this December we are celebrating our FIRST BIG GIVE. We want to come forward with our first and best gifts this holiday season. This is the starting line for our Shaken initiative. We want to start off this season bringing our first and best to offer back to God. In doing this, we will radiate his peace through ministry throughout greater Cincinnati and with our ministry partners around the world!
To participate in the FIRST BIG GIVE click here.
Thank you for your generosity and for being agents of peace in the name of Jesus. His peace changes everything!
Peace to you,
Nathan
Nathan Hinkle
Lead Pastor
White Oak Christian Church