In his final letter, the Apostle Paul summarized his exhortation to his young protégé, Timothy, with three very powerful words. He simply told him to "Preach the Word" (2 Timothy 4:2). Paul wasn't thinking centuries down the road to Seminary classes on Homiletics (the art and science of preaching) and Hermeneutics (the art and science of biblical interpretation), he was communicating a sense of urgency. He said, "A time will come when [people] will not endure sound doctrine, but will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth." Paul concluded his thought by telling Timothy to "Fulfill your Ministry!" To fulfill the ministry of preaching doesn't just mean to preach; it means to "Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching." Paul said that "Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead at His appearing", which should provide all the motivation needed for preachers and pastors to pour their lives into every word they speak when standing in the pulpit. 

       We believe that sermons should be skillfully constructed, prayerfully guided, rightly divided and eternally focused, and we believe that a sermon should never be referred to as "a talk"! A sermon is not a handful of great stories strung together with Bible verses. 

       At River Oaks Church, we believe that the privilege of standing in the pulpit is not something to be taken for granted. We believe the responsibility of conveying the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth is the undeniable calling of God on every preacher's life. We believe it is our duty to communicate the power of God, the love of God, the wrath of God, and most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ! When God's Holy Word is treated with the same reverence and awe that we hold for God Himself, the sermons will always be powerful, impactful, and ultimately life-changing! The amazing thing is that we don't have to try extra hard to "make God's Word relevant", because, when it comes to every aspect of human life, God's Word is completely and perfectly relevant.