Welcome to Oak Springs Community Church!
Thanks for visiting our website! Oak Springs Community Church is a group of believers dedicated to loving God and the people in our lives, for His glory. Our mission is to get the good news of Jesus Christ into the lives of the people we live with, work with, play with, and interact with. These relational connections we have are the ‘live wires’ God uses to transform lives! We hope that your visit here will be inspiring.
We meet together on Sunday mornings for worship and study of God’s Word. We welcome you to venture out to Grand Isle Senior Apartment Homes in Murrieta each Sunday at 10 AM to experience God in worship and to study God’s Word with us as we equip one another with the truth.
To say, “our doors are always open” would be a little misleading, for our “doors” belong to the Grand Isles. But it is an understanding of Oak Springs’ that we are ‘open doors’ to the love of God and His grace by the sheer fact of His open arms to us. We’ve been embraced by our Heavenly Father and we are just one of many of His open doors to the world He loves and gave His only begotten Son to rescue. So, we welcome you with open arms!
Good Monday morning...
… and I am often surprised by the simple but profound truths found in the Old Testament stories and revealed by biblical scholars. Much of the evil of history would have been changed if these laws were applied. One such law was the treatment of refugees found in Deuteronomy 23:15-16 (NIV), “if a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them.”
Apparently the small and insignificant nation of Israel was to be a safe people for the oppressed, no matter where they came from. Had the people of God through the ages taken this law more seriously, perhaps slavery and human trafficking would have never grown to the human crisis presently experienced in the world. Treating the oppressed with kindness is a biblical law that has been disregarded under the guise of proprietary laws.
To make this more personal, ask yourself, am I a person who is safe for another person to confide in? Do I give the impression to others that I care about their problems? It is very likely that you are a safe person, and that you do care about their needs or problems. Our availability to offer this kind of compassion is a valuable tool in the hands of the Almighty.
The laws of God are like guidelines for us to live by. Exercising confidentiality is a key element of making a safe place for people to share. In our availability to the people in our lives, being a person known to keep people’s stories safe with you will often lead to deeper sharing and perhaps the opportunity to be helpful whereas the reputation of being a gossip will eliminate many opportunities.
The practical application of kindness and compassion are biblical laws that Jesus carried over from the Old to the New Covenant. Let’s be safe people, known for kindness and compassion, and offer refuge for people who cross our paths, no matter where they come from or what or who they’re escaping… and trust God with the bigger picture.
For His glory,
Pastor Mike