River Oaks Community Church

Sunday we worshiped at River Oaks Community Church, 1855 Lewisville-Clemmons Road, Clemmons, NC 27012, 336.766.0033, www.riveroakschurch.org, David Beaty, Pastor.

Scripture – NIV

Luke 1:26-38 –

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Ephesians 2:10 –

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Acts 1:8 –

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Bob’s thoughts:

We drove to North Carolina to see our southern granddaughters in a Christmas program and were blessed to be there for worship also. I really appreciated the wide aisle spacing where we were as I needed to stretch a bit to ease the pain in my legs.

I was pleased to hear the voice of the female lead during worship and later we got to hear our granddaughters sing in the program.

The pastor’s message wove around our supporting role in God’s plan. It is most humbling to realize God plans to use us, requiring our obedience.

A favorite thing to me about worshiping here, besides being with family, is the lead pastor’s style. He doesn’t have to get loud to emphasize his points. Worship is always joyful with this group of believers.

Jan’s thoughts:

We were in North Carolina visiting our daughter and granddaughters, so it was ironic that the pastor was just returning from two weeks away following the birth of a grandchild. Yes, grandchildren bring almost as much change as children do.

This is a large church with two services (three on Christmas Eve). They are very well organized with an abundance of volunteers and countless outreach programs. I’m thrilled our family members are part of this church family.

As I search for my new role in life, the message, Fulfilling Your Role in God’s Plan, was of particular interest to me. The pastor spoke of God’s sovereignty and our supporting roles in His plan to make known the name of Jesus everywhere (Luke 1:31-33). The Holy Spirit equips us for our roles and our part is to respond to God’s Word with humility, faith, and obedience. In this respect, our role model should be Mary, who responded to the news that she would give birth to the Christ Child with, “I believe; I am the Lord’s servant; I submit to Your Word.” This is a worthy heart-attitude and I hope I can live up to it.

We returned to the church at 4:30 for the Christmas play entitled “Back to the Manger” in which both granddaughters had singing parts. I was overjoyed to see this outstanding production! The storyline was imaginative (based on “Back to the Future”) and all the students were just marvelous.

By the time we left, the 11.5 inches of snow that caused the week-long school cancellation was mostly melted and the rain had stopped, but what an amazing day it had been.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we pray You will protect Your church from the demonic warfare that comes with obedience. Strengthen them, we pray. Amen.

River Oaks Community Church

Sunday past, we worshiped at River Oaks Community Church, 1855 Lewisville-Clemmons Road, Clemmons, NC 27012, 336.766.0033, www.riveroakschurch.org, Pastor David Beaty.

Scripture – ESV

Matthew 6:16-18 –

"And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Matthew 9:14-17 –

Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."

Bob’s thoughts:

If I believed in coincidences, I would find it odd that our daughter chose to join the only church we had visited in this area almost a year ago. I do know God has brought her and her children to a healthy church that is on track with God’s purpose for them. She has found the stability and support she needs, and we are thankful.

I was pleased to note the church has sprinkler protection…an expensive safeguard.

The parking directors were helpful. When I saw the large cross on the outside and found smaller versions in the sanctuary, a lot of my questions were answered.

After only a brief exchange, I later went back for a refill of coffee and was greeted by name.

There is diversity and a wide mix of ages among the worshipers.

Three large screens made it easy to read the music and Scripture. I appreciated the reflection of the colored lighting on the suspended ceiling gridwork. The harmony of the praise team was agreeable and I enjoyed the solo by the female lead. I relished hearing the Scripture read with inflection.

We were pleased to be here to witness baptisms, and appreciated hearing their statements of faith and being able to see the baptisms on the projection screens.

It was most impressive to learn the building campaign will include mission giving. I was overjoyed to see some of their mission contributions; that is the best sign of a healthy church. You cannot out-give God. This church is blessed indeed.

The message was about fasting and I believe it brought a lot of understanding. Was well developed with supporting Scripture and current relevancy focusing on right motives.

Jan’s thoughts:

As our daughter will soon join this church, we were grateful for a chance to visit again and worship with her.

This is only our second visit here, but we’ve only seen a small portion of this vast campus. We caught up with our daughter and she directed us toward the coffee and restrooms, which was enough that morning.

Several people greeted us and many smiled as people of all ages either hung out following the education hour or waited for the second service to begin.

The service began with the baptism of three youths all under the age of 10. Each began with a video of the child telling about their faith walk followed by baptism by immersion and prayer. I was heartened by the sincerity of the faith expressed and felt honored to be present.

This church will soon begin a capital campaign for the purpose of enlarging and enhancing the building to accommodate the expanding congregation. Recent weeks have been dedicated to developing the spiritual thinking of the members. I was seriously impressed when the leadership stated that 10% of the funds given toward the capital campaign would be applied toward mission.

The message was entitled Beyond Our Comfort: Prayer and Fasting for a Closer Walk with God. I cannot recall the last time I heard a sermon on fasting, and the message was clear and convincing. He defined biblical fasting, listed reasons, types, and motives for fasting, and provided practical suggestions.

I am delighted to know our daughter and granddaughters are being fed from this theological table.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we are thankful as always for Your Presence in worship and grateful for Your guidance and reassurance in growing Your church. Amen.

River Oaks Community Church

This past Sunday we worshiped at River Oaks Community Church, 1855 Lewisville Clemmons Road, Clemmons, NC 27012, 336.766.0033, www.riveroakschurch.org, Pastor David Beaty.

Scripture – ESV

Matthew 2:1-18 –

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

"'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."

Jeremiah 29:13 –

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Matthew 7:7-8 –

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Hebrews 11:6 –

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Bob’s thoughts:

We were late getting to a church that had four services, so greeting was limited to the ushers at the door. I was impressed that the usher in the sanctuary went out of his way to find us seats.

The praise team sounded excellent and I appreciated the accompaniment of the flute. I enjoyed the color changes in the back-lit stained glass-looking panels in the suspended wood frames framing the stage.

The message used plenty of Scripture explaining the symbolism of the Gifts of the Magi and, always special for me, the prophecies of the Old Testament.

There was a time for self-confession before Communion and I was delighted that the congregation was instructed to offer the elements verbally as they were passed in the pew.

We appreciated the time the pastor and a member gave us after the service. Hopefully we can visit again when we are in North Carolina.

Jan’s thoughts:

In the course of a Christmas visit with family, we visited River Oaks’ 9:15 service Christmas Eve morning. We arrived later than we wished so had no opportunity to tour this large campus. A kind usher showed us to two of the few remaining empty seats.

The music dominated the first half of the service, but they were beautiful songs telling the true meaning of the season. I especially appreciated the flute during “Joy to the World.”

The message began with a quiz about details of the Christmas story that have been passed from generation to generation, details that are actually tradition, such as who saw the “star in the East” and where did the Wise Men find the Baby Jesus.

The pastor indicated the meaning behind the gifts of the Magi: gold being the metal of kings, frankincense used in worship, and myrrh used in Jewish burials. All gifts that pointed to significant traits in Jesus’ life.

Communion was celebrated with worshipers instructed to speak to the person to whom they hand the elements (i.e., the Body of Christ and the Blood of Christ). Not many near us seemed to say anything, but it’s likely some did besides us.

Considering the busy-ness of the day, we very much appreciated the time the pastor took to speak with us after worship.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we pray Your continued blessing on this Your church as they continue to seek Your direction for them. Amen.