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| Welcome |
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At the Oak Arbor Church our ministry is focused on fostering healthy relationships with God, His Word and each other. You may ask . . . who is called to this kind of work? Isaiah 6:8 says . . . "I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send...' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me'..." The Bible identifies a number of individuals who received a “call” from the
Lord—Moses, Gideon, Samuel, Isaiah, the 12 disciples, to name a few.
Some accepted the call with little hesitation, while others needed more coaxing,
I warmly invite you to get involved at Oak Arbor, and use your talents to help us make a positive difference in people's lives. Please don't hesitate to contact me by phone or e-mail. You are welcome here, and I hope to see you soon. Derek Elphick, Pastor
If you would like to know more about the 'New Church' views of Christianity, you can visit our Summary of Beliefs page. For each topic, there is an opportunity to explore more at the end of the paragraph. If you wish to contact us about anything you read, please visit the Contact Us page to find phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
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| A clear and uplifting message of hope |
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Life after Death is real! Everyone continues life's journey right away as a complete person. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is within you." This passage and many others show clearly that the Lord's kingdom cannot be found on the physical plane; it is a kingdom of spirit, existing within us. We are taught that the Lord created each one of us to become citizens of His kingdom. Death, then, is a natural conclusion to our life in this world, and it introduces us into spiritual life. The only reason it seems that our bodies live is because the spirit lives within them. Our spirit is what thinks and feels, the part of us that moves us to act. This spirit draws its life from the Lord, and because it does that, it can never die. Only the body which houses the spirit in this world dies, for our bodies are made of matter, with no life of their own. At the time of death, the body is left behind, and the spirit is resurrected into a new life. People awakening to their life in the spiritual world are amazed by what they see and experience. Newcomers are struck by the similarity between the spiritual world and the natural, this to such a degree that they imagine that they are still in the world, and still within their physical body. People still experience sensations, emotions and thoughts. The only difference between their spiritual and natural bodies is that the spiritual body is more alive, more in tune with them than before.
Dr. Mehmet Oz Finds His Teacher In Spirituality & Health, 'America's Doctor' describes how the Christian writings of theologian Emanuel Swedenborg has influenced his marriage and medical practice.
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| News - Information - Events |
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Food for Thought Let us "give to the Lord the glory due His name." - Psalm 96. Find this message of thanks from Rev. Elphick on the Tools for Life page. Happy Thanksgiving! Christmas Gifts for Neighborhood House Rochester Area Neighborhood House is asking for feedback from donating groups ahead of time, to help them plan. Most years, they end of short of gifts for middle school and high school ages. We will have copies of a list of gift suggestions for different age groups. If you are planning to donate a gift to the Neighborhood House shopping day (providing gifts for families going through a tough financial time), RANH asks if you would please commit ahead of time to what age group you'll be buying for. That way, they can have time to make plans to "beef up" the supply for age groups that may otherwise come up short. This is a great way to extend some Christmas cheer to those in need. The gifts should be brought to the church foyer by Sunday, December 7th. Oak Arbor LEGObots Go Green! And you can too!!! The First Lego League challenge this season for the LEGObots is to identify solutions to improve the climate. LEGObots have chosen to reduce the waste of our water resources and also reduce pollution from plastic water bottles by the use of aluminum water bottles. The Oak Arbor School LEGobots Team will be selling 20 oz. aluminum water bottles with the Oak Arbor logo. They will be available for purchase starting this Sunday in the social hall and also at the school. They are $10.00 each and proceeds will go toward the purchase of a tree for the Oak Arbor campus! The tree is being planted to off-set the effects of human pollution which contribution to Global Warming. The bottles will make great gifts and the LEGObots hope that by using them, we all will be reminded to preserve our precious water resources. Visit the Lego Robotics Team web page to learn more about this wonderful program. Christmas Craft Night – Sat. Dec. 13 The Annual Oak Arbor Christmas Craft Night will be held in the Social Hall on Saturday from 5-7 pm. Bring a craft to share for this fun family event. The more crafts, the more variety, the more fun we will have!! Pizza, snacks and drinks will be provided for sale. Moms & Tots Moms & Tots meet every Wednesday morning, from 9:30-11am in the social hall. Click here to visit our page in this website. |
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