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A Word From Our Elders
Happy August! In the first Friday night Bible study of July, we completed lesson 8: Prayer and the believer. So, why is prayer one of the most difficult of the spiritual disciplines? An understanding of the nature, the everyday practice, and the struggle of prayer is something with which all believers wrestle. I hope we can all find some much needed encouragement in the Scriptures this hot summer month of August in our prayer lives! We saw in our Bible study that we should expect prayer to be a learning experience – Luke 11:1 – “Lord, teach us to pray” and Romans 8:26 – the Holy Spirit assists us in our prayers and when we don’t know what to pray for, “He intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Prayer is communication with God! Ps 34:15 says that God attentively watches and listens to (those counted as) the righteous! David brings his burdens and sorrows to God time and again. One example is Ps 142:2 – “I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.” Hebrews 4:16 clearly declares that believers are to approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, to receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. May we never forget how much He cares for us! He did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all. Maybe we sometimes wonder if prayer is truly effective? The Bible is clear that prayer offered with faith in God and Christ as the door, all by the power of His Spirit, is the key to this communication. One of many examples in the New Testament is when Peter was in jail for proclaiming the Gospel and the church prayed fervently for him? (Acts 12:5). The Lord sent an angel to free him from prison that night! This is not the only time an angel from the Lord was sent to minister to God’s children as others prayed! Prayer is as effective and vital to our spiritual life as water is to our physical life. So, when it comes to the practice of prayer- please do not lose heart – Luke 18:1.
The praying apostle Paul reminds us to pray without ceasing in 1 Thess 5:17. Again, in Eph 6:18 believers are to pray at all times with all kinds of prayers and requests. To encourage persistence, we remember the words of our Lord in John 15:7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Or in 1 John 5:14 – we can have complete confidence that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us! That’s the wonder and beauty of prayer – it’s not us transforming God’s mind but asking Him to transform ours along with carrying all our burdens to Him! It’s our flesh that needs beating into submission – every single day! It’s not us bending His will, but that He would bend our wills to be in line with His! If the perfect, sinless, Son of God prayed in Luke 22:42 – “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Then how could we ever presume to ask God for anything less than His perfect will to be done in all our lives as well, even if that involves great struggle as well? As Colossians 4:2 reminds us – Be devoted to prayer, being watchful and thankful. God’s promises are all yes in Jesus and His good purposes will stand for eternity and His power will never be overthrown. So let us humble ourselves, submit, and surrender before Him daily, praying at all times in the Spirit for our will and minds to be transformed so much as to be conformed to His will as revealed in His Word and then let us pray with confidence and thankfulness for all He has and is doing for His glory and our good every second of every day.
God bless and keep you – Bro Tony
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Statement of Faith
What We Teach
From the time of the Apostles to today, Christians have laid out doctrine (beliefs) in brief, definitive statements. As those who know God, we believe it necessary to set forth in a concise fashion the cornerstone truths that our church teaches as guided by Scripture. Our Doctrinal Statement summarizes essential Christian beliefs, shows unity in Christ, and affirms our belief in the Christian truths which have been held by the church throughout the ages and particularly since the Protestant reformation, including believer’s baptism, and congregational polity (government).
The Freeness of Salvation
We teach that the blessings of salvation are freely offered to all by the gospel, that it is the immediate duty of all to accept the gospel with a glad, obedient faith and Godly sorrow, and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth other than his own inherent depravity (sinfulness) by which he refuses to listen and suppresses the truth in unrighteousness thereby rejecting the gospel which makes him wholly responsible for his just condemnation.
Grace in Regeneration
We teach that in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or born again. This results in the mind being spiritually and savingly enlightened to understand the Word of God which is accomplished in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit and the divine truth of the Word of God. This is done in a way that brings about voluntary obedience and faith which is evidenced by fruits worthy of repentance as demonstrated in righteous attitudes and conduct.
Faith and Repentance
We teach that faith and repentance are required by Scripture and inseparably linked graces that are granted to us as a gift by the regenerating Spirit of God that deeply convince us of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ. We then turn to God with true repentance, confession of sin, and pleas for mercy while whole heartedly receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest and King, and relying on him alone as the only and all sufficient Savior.
Adam Fitzgerald
Primary Preaching and Teaching Elder
THE CHURCH
We are a church that believes in Jesus & loves God and His people
Adam joined the elders at Oak Grove Baptist Church in August of 2022. Prior to that, he served as the Associate Pastor at Sardis Baptist Church in Swansea, SC. Before entering full-time ministry, he taught social studies and coached football in both the Bismarck and Sheridan public school districts.
Adam grew up just outside of El Dorado, AR, graduated from Ouachita Baptist University with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, and eventually went on to complete both a Master of Arts in Theological Studies and a Master of Arts in Religion/Biblical Studies from Liberty University Online.
He and his wife Kelly have three children (AJ, Eddie, and Halle), and they all enjoy spending time doing anything outdoors, whether it be hunting, fishing, gardening, hiking, or working with the dogs or horses. They are always up for an adventure and see the greatest adventure of all as having their lives spent in service to the savior.