News
Where to begin?
All our lives have changed rapidly and dramatically since California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency on March 12th. As we enter the third week of self-isolation, I am happy to report that most of you are doing well, staying home, staying healthy, and handling the COVID-19 pandemic calmly.
1 Peter 4:10
Hello OSC family,
October is our volunteer-drive month at OSC! Please click here to sign-up for a team today: https://www.oceansidesanctuary.org/volunteer
You may have noticed our little downtown church is growing! We have more families, more children, and more guests and visitors showing up for all our programs and gatherings.
That means we need everyone to roll up their sleeves and pitch-in to make people feel welcomed, fill hungry bellies, teach children about God’s goodness, and help each other worship.
In the passage above, the Apostle Peter is writing 30 years after the death and resurrection of Christ to remind us that we have been called out of a life of self-service and into a Spirit-life of hospitality, serving others by God’s grace.
Peter refers to this kind of service as maintaining “constant love for one another” (1 Peter 4:9). We give out of what we have from our time and talents to help the needs of others.
In other words, we don’t just come to The Oceanside Sanctuary to hear good teaching or sing good songs, we come here to love each other by serving each other’s needs.
That is the life of Christianity; the life of constant love.
So this month, we are asking for you to commit to a team to provide the hospitality, assistance, and love for others that our church is known for across this City.
Please click below to sign up for a volunteer team. We will train you and put on you a monthly scheduled so it will be easy to remember.
https://www.oceansidesanctuary.org/volunteer
Blessings,
Rev. Jason Coker
Lead Pastor
Dear friends,
Last year we learned what it means to be on a journey. In the first-half of last year, we explored the journey of faith that Abram began thousands of years ago; an old story that is a deep source of nourishment for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. Then, at the end of last year, we studied what it means to follow Jesus on his journey, to live out his teachings through our everyday walk of faith.
We also spent time last year exploring our church’s values, hopes, and dreams, through a series of prayer meetings, brainstorming sessions, and visits to other churches, nonprofits, and businesses. Through these Mission Team travels, we explored what different forms of Christian mission could look like today.
Dear friends,
I’ve always loved road trips.
Early morning departures when the sky is still dark. Powdered Donettes, Nacho Doritos, and gas station coffee. Long stretches of the California desert, painted by the sunrise, scrolling past my window.
But the best part are the roadside attractions. Pop-up shops selling beads and moccasins. Burned-out husks of by-gone watering holes. Baker, California and the World’s Tallest Thermometer. Alien Beef Jerky.
Sometimes those stops-along-the-way are just what the doctor ordered. A chance to re-fuel, shake off the dust, and wake-up a bit from your road-slumber. Other times, especially at the end of a long trip, the compulsive stopping-and-starting become roadside distractions, a symptom of the weariness of travel that can actually drag out your trip far longer than necessary.
In December I wrote that with Advent we had begun the Christian New Year. Since then, we have experienced the power and drama of the gospel story through our celebrations of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and finally Pentecost – the birth of the church.
That is precisely what we are experiencing at First Christian Church: a kind of new birth.
I’ve officially been the Senior Pastor at First Christian Church for five months now and it has been a wonderful privilege!
So far, we have experienced Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter as a community of faith. Alongside these celebrations, we’ve journeyed together through a season of searching; asking God to reveal His plans for the future of FCC. That journey has followed the themes of the calendar: anticipation (Advent), joy (Christmas), seeking(Epiphany), preparation (Lent), and death and resurrection (Easter).
There’s only one more celebration left this year: Pentecost, the birth of the church. I believe the re-birth of FCC is where we are headed next….
At this time every year we all seem to be having our own private epiphanies about how we want our lives to be better. So we make resolutions; to eat better, to be more fit, to be more disciplined. To send our Christmas cards earlier next year.
It’s not hard to understand why. Thinking about the passing of another year, another season of life, naturally provokes the desire to be made new again.
