Great Oaks Community Church

You might not see it coming, but it is hard to miss the trail of destruction it leaves in its wake-- broken relationships, damaged lives, shattered dreams. If ignored, this deadliest of habits will only grow in power, lashing out at those who least expect it. And the only way to get rid of anger is to follow some radical advice.

Lingering just out of sight, this master of disguise capitalizes on deception. With many different faces his masquerade is often difficult to see through. He sneaks up on his victims, and without them even realizing it ignites within them desires that cannot be quenched. In this session, we'll take a closer look at this thing called greed and find the antidote for his attempts to lead your heart astray.

Carrying it with you wherever you go, guilt soon becomes a heavy burden. But what can you do? How can you break its power over you? There is a way to gain freedom from the power of guilt, and the method may surprise you.

Carrying it with you wherever you go, guilt soon becomes a heavy burden. But what can you do? How can you break its power over you? There is a way to gain freedom from the power of guilt, and the method may surprise you.

The Bible tells us that what comes out of our mouths is a reflection of our hearts. What is the state of your heart?

What do we do when our biblical world view collides with our world view?

God took 1500 years and 40+ people to write the Bible. Everything we need to know about life can be found within its pages.

God doesn’t want us to waste our pain. Most people don’t know that God wants to take advantage of our pain to move us toward his goals for our lives by using it to draw us closer to him, to draw us closer to others, to become more like Jesus, to help others, and to witness to the world. Sadly, many people don’t gain from their pain. Have you learned from your pain and grown? Here we’ll discuss how to cooperate with God to use our pain to help fulfill his purposes for our lives “Have you gone through all of this for nothing? Is it all really for nothing?” Galatians 3:4

God’s #1 purpose in your life is to help you become more like Christ. Everything in life makes more sense when you understand this purpose. Becoming a Christian does not mean we will not experience problems. While God hates evil and suffering, he can take the bad things in life and bring good out of them. Every problem has a purpose – to conform our character into one more like Christ. This process is called sanctification. Let’s look at how God uses our troubles for good: to make us more Christ-like.

How do you let go of the pain in your life? When it comes down to it, you have three choices: you can (1) let it destroy you; (2) let it define you; or (3) let it develop you. In order for pain to develop you, in order to find hope again, you must learn to walk the pathway of peace with Jesus. It begins when we surrender. “Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope...” Rom.15:4 (TEV)

We have struggles with others and with ourselves, but our real struggle is with God. In struggling with our problems, we sometimes run from God and doubt his wisdom, unwilling to give him control. Seeing and acknowledging God in the midst of our life situations in faith is an act of worship.

The most influential events of your life, you didn’t see coming. You can’t go around them- you just have to go through them.

The most influential events of your life, you didn’t see coming. You can’t go around them- you just have to go through them.

The church does not exist for us. If you are a Christian, YOU are the church.

Pastor Bill outlines four ways to gain confidence through Christ.

God decided not to give us exactly what we deserve but He gives us exactly what we need.

Do you believe that dry, dead, lifeless bones can become living people again? Jesus brings to life the dead. Has there ever been a time in your life when you thought or felt that God had forgotten you?

Do you worship at God's altar or at the altar of Baal?

A message of hope after the devastating Washington, IL, tornado.

Learning to approach God with an "attitude of gratitude" and not with a list of things we want Him to do.