marshallochs.com

More babies being born to unwed couples...

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:49:35 -0400

More babies being born to unwed couples...:

Cohabitation is on the rise with the under 30 generation. They respect marriage, and are treating “living together” as a way to make sure marriage will work. The result is more babies being born to unwed parents.

shaunbwilson: This has literally change my life.

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:47:49 -0400

shaunbwilson:

This has literally change my life.

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and..."

Sun, 06 May 2012 16:20:02 -0400

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

- C.S. Lewis

I'm really excited about this

Fri, 04 May 2012 23:18:32 -0400

I'm really excited about this:

Mars Hill Church is starting a record label…

We Can’t Pit Truth against Love

Thu, 03 May 2012 15:54:55 -0400

We Can’t Pit Truth against Love

Forgiveness

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:27:29 -0400

Forgiveness:

Without a doubt, one of the hardest things in the world to do is forgive. We spend a lot of time in church talking about Christ’s work of sanctification in us. The Holy Spirit highlights sin and areas of correction and we crucify it. God digs deep into our heart and exposes selfish motives and personal sin, but where is all the talk about how to handle life when the sin wasn’t yours?

You may know how to repent of sin and turn towards God when there is wretchedness in your own heart, but what if your struggle is something that was done to you instead of by you. What do you do if the wretchedness was in someone else’s heart? What if that person who has wronged you doesn’t even know it, or worse, even care. How do we walk in forgiveness when it feels like life just keeps happening to you?

Bottom line…it isn’t easy. However, we do have an example to follow. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” That last part is our hope in Christ. Whether we realize it or not we are guilty of offending God. Sometimes we offend Him with willful sin and sometimes we sin without even realizing it, but we still offend Him. So how does God handle forgiveness? God chose to walk out forgiveness to us by Christ dying on a cross and being the stand in for us. He can forgive us because He doesn’t see the sin, He sees Christ’s payment for it.

We have a God who chose to forgive us for not just what we have done, but what we will do to offend Him. That should be our example as well. We should “forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Was the offense against you great? I’m positive that it was, but take the example of our God and choose to walk in forgiveness anyway. Don’t look at the offense to you, look at Jesus and His perfect payment for that offense.

Child-like Faith vs. Child-ish Faith

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:59:51 -0400

Child-like Faith vs. Child-ish Faith:

Mark 10:13-15

¹³ And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ”Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁵Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it“ ¹⁶ And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

Have you ever thought about what kind of impact this statement made on the disciples? Here they are, sitting around listening to Jesus teach. People start bringing children close to Jesus, and the disciples rebuke the people. Jesus looks at them and basically says, “You have got it way off. You think the children aren’t ready for Me, but in reality they are the only ones ready!”

This text has always challenged me to really think about what it is that sets the children apart. Why do I have to be like a child to enter the Kingdom? I believe it has to do with their faith. I have three children, and they have the most unbelievable ability to trust anything I say. I could tell them that the sky is red and it is red. Their confidence doesn’t rest in what they know, it’s in what I know. What I say always trumps what they think. I can settle an argument between my two children with just my opinion. My words carry weight with them because I’m their father. (I am aware that this will change when they become teenagers…indulge me for now.)

That is where we miss it so often as Christians. We are so convinced that because we think or experienced something one way, that is the only way. We form opinions and call it theology. We look down on others because they don’t think, act or “hear Jesus” the way we do. All the time completely convinced that we have some lock on seeing God’s Kingdom when in fact Jesus is saying “You are missing it!” That is the difference between having “child-like” faith and “child-ish” faith.

“Child-like” faith says that God’s opinion is the only opinion. It says that He settles all arguments and His way of thinking is best. When you have child-like faith you believe Jesus’ words on any situation and you have no room for argument. Child-like faith is mature faith.

“Child-ish” faith is when God’s opinion is always filtered through what you think. It says that God surely wouldn’t send anyone to hell because you couldn’t see Him do that. It says that God wants you to have the biggest and best even if it has to go on credit, because He loves you. Child-ish faith is immature faith.

So let me ask you a question today, do you have child-like faith or child-ish faith?

-Pastor Marshall Ochs

Kissing Metaphors in Church Songs

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:08:26 -0500

Kissing Metaphors in Church Songs

submission is not a dirty word

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:21:41 -0500

submission is not a dirty word

"Recovery Road" by Andy Stanley

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:41:20 -0500

My sister attends Andy Stanley’s church in Atlanta, Ga. and she told me about a series that her pastor just finished. It is called “Recovery Road.” Its a series that revolves around the idea that change in our nation should start with the House of God…the Christians.

This is a REALLY good series and I wanted to share the link so that you can listen too. The first link is the video of the sermon and the second link is the podcast, so you can download them to your phone. Enjoy.

Recovery Road - Video

Recovery Road - Podcast

"A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading."

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 10:46:55 -0500

“A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.”

- C.S. Lewis

Ministry Marriages by Mark Driscoll What were the families of...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:44:00 -0500

Ministry Marriages by Mark Driscoll

What were the families of famous missionaries like? How did some of the most well known missionaries treat their wives and children?

This was the most unsettling sermon I think I’ve ever heard.

leadership is helping someone else be better

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:54:31 -0400

leadership is helping someone else be better

Discovering Podcasts

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:13:51 -0400

I love listening to other pastors, who are gifted speakers, teach God’s Word. In the good old days, when someone liked a sermon and waned to share it with someone else they would buy the tape. The tape would get passed around to dozens of other people until the tape wore out. Then came CD’s. You could purchase a CD of a great sermon at a church’s resource desk, or the whole series if it was really good, and then pass those around to friends and family. With the progression of the internet it became even easier to listen to and share sermons from great speakers.

This brings me to Podcasting. A podcast is where someone releases digital content (like a sermon or video) to the web and you can subscribe to it, download it, and enjoy it. Once someone posts their audio or video online you can subscribe to it and have it downloaded to your device of choice to watch or hear. It works like this: The podcast is like a newspaper, you can subscribe to it using a podcasting program which is like your home address to deliver the newspaper, and the device you listen to the podcast on is like the room in your house where you read the newspaper.

My favorite podcasts are sermons, but you can catch podcasts about nature, food, or even technology. I used to use iTunes to subscribe to podcasts and listen to them on my computer. However, recently I stumbled upon this sweet little application for the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. It’s called Downcast (download here). It makes finding and downloading podcasts really easy. The app is $1.99 from the App Store and you can search all kinds of content. You can then download the content to your device and listen to it anywhere you want. The best part is that when your favorite pastor uploads a new sermon to their site you don’t have to go find it. Downcast will download it automatically and be ready for you.

Please keep in mind that you can download iTunes and subscribe to podcasts from your computer. You can then sync your phone to your computer and download the podcasts to your device, but I prefer Downcast since I’m treating my phone and iPad like standalone devices now. I try to never plug them into my computer…since I really don’t need to anymore.

Never underestimate the importance of thinking for yourself.

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:46:02 -0400

Never underestimate the importance of thinking for yourself.

“Bloodlines” with John Piper This is an amazing...

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:30:33 -0400

“Bloodlines” with John Piper

This is an amazing video about racism, forgiveness, adoption, and the heart of the Gospel.

A disciples identity

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:18:06 -0400

A disciples identity

The vision of Steve Jobs

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:56:56 -0400

I heard the news that Steve Jobs passed away yesterday and I started to think. I thought about the impact that one human can have on the world. Chances are, the phone in your pocket, your computer at home, how you got the music you are listening to, and the movies that your children watch or will watch have all been affected by how Steve Jobs saw things. What does that say about vision and leadership?

The Bible is clear in Proverbs 29:18 that “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” But what if the people have vision? I’m aware that Steve was not a Christian, however his vision in the field that he was an expert in was unsurpassed. What he saw as “possible” in the world of technology pushed everyone forward. If we perish without vision, then we certainly prosper with it.

In the world of technology, Steve had vision and leadership. Except it didn’t end there. Because of the way he cast vision in technology we all benefitted. Just last night I video chatted from my phone to my parents. I can’t remember the last time I read my printed Bible, because I have over 40 different translations in my pocket. I’m able to study material, take notes, cross reference, and teach from one small device (without paper). I have the ability to take my Bible, an entire library of study material, and an open connection to my students, anywhere I go. The vision and leadership that Steve had in his sphere of influence is making me a better pastor.

While I never met Steve, I have the utmost respect for what he could see that the rest of us could not…which poses an interesting question.

If a non-believer can influence so much change through personal vision, what kind of change can I influence through Godly vision?

Doctrine by Mark Driscoll

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:34:31 -0400

Over the past few weeks I’ve been doing a personal study on the influence of “Calvinists” and “Reformers” in the modern day church. It led me to a guy named Mark Driscoll and his book Doctrine. I’d like to preface this by saying that I am not a Calvinist, but this book is one of the best I’ve ever read. He is very simple and straightforward in his approach to scripture and I love the way he explains topics like The Trinity and church government. The book is quite long, but very comprehensive and I’d recommend it to any believer looking to study what they believe and why.

Don’t use email to correct others.

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:27:02 -0400

Don’t use email to correct others.