Classes And Programs

If you want to get together with people to talk about spiritual growth or study religious ideas, then check out what we have to offer.

The Beatitudes

An 8-week Journey Series (January 19th - March 9th, 2025). This program will consist of weekly Sunday services, and small groups meeting throughout the week. Email here if you'd like to join a small group.

When Jesus stood before a crowd of people to deliver His most famous sermon–the Sermon on the Mount–He began by calling out blessings for eight different groups of people. These blessings, later called the Beatitudes, set the stage for some of Jesus’s most important teachings about life, heaven, and God. Over these eight weeks, we will look at each one of these beatitudes in its own light and hear a story from the Word that illustrates each one. How can we see ourselves in all eight of these groups, and what messages do they send us about how we can grow closer to the Lord? Let’s find out together.

This Sunday we will kick off our 8-week series on the Beatitudes with an offering of Holy Supper. The service will focus on the first beatitude: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of God." We will hear a story from the Gospel of Luke that compares two men and shows the value of being "poor in spirit." How does approaching the Lord with humility open us up to receiving life from Him?

Discussion Questions for Week 1: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Which of the beatitudes do you identify with the most?

They are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake
Have you identified with different of these groups at different times in your life?

What can we do if we find ourselves feeling “better” than others?

How can we catch ourselves and try to replace that feeling of pride with some humility?

What are ways that we can try to cultivate humility in our lives?

Humility doesn’t seem like a “skill” but it is something that takes practice! What are some things we can do to help us focus on humility?

Mourning is a difficult state that unfortunately is all too familiar for all of us. When we mourn, we feel grief and sadness over the loss of something or someone special in our lives. As we grow spiritually, there are lots of times when we have to "mourn" the loss of parts of ourselves that we have enjoyed, but just as we know that the death of our natural body is only the beginning of life for us in our spiritual body, the "death" of our natural, external self is only the beginning of life for our spiritual, internal self. How can we see the process of mourning as an opportunity for the Lord to show us something great and comforting in our time of need?

Discussion Questions for Week 2: Blessed are Those Who Mourn

In your life, what natural attachments have been the hardest to let go of? How have you experienced the Lord’s comfort or renewal through that process?

Natural attachments can be anything from habits to pleasures or even ways of thinking

Why do you think Jesus wept for Lazarus, even though He knew He was going to raise him again?

How does Jesus weeping for Lazarus affect your understanding of God and His ability to relate to us in our moments of grief?

If mourning is a natural part of the process of our spiritual growth, what do you think that means about the use of challenges and losses on our spiritual path?

Does the Lord want us to go through these states?
How can we seek comfort and renewal from the Lord in the face of some of life’s biggest difficulties?

Jesus tells us that the meek will inherit the earth, but we often confuse humility and gentleness for weakness. In the book of Numbers, when the Children of Israel are complaining to Moses about life in the wilderness, his own siblings question his leadership ability and think that they are better suited to lead and speak on behalf of the Lord. And yet, even in the face of these challenges, Moses stays the course and is praised by the Lord for His humility and meekness. So, why is it that being meek, humble, or gentle carries so much power? Let's talk about it on Sunday.

Discussion Questions for Week 3: Blessed Are the Meek

Where has certainty shown up in your life?

Are there any people who you have found yourself thinking you know better than them, or that they will never change?
This can be people you know, famous celebrities, church leaders, politicians

How is meekness a good quality in a leader?

We often think good leaders are strong and commanding, but the Lord said that Moses was the perfect leader for the Israelites because he was more meek than anyone else on earth
How does humility and gentleness make someone a good leader?

How is your own mental/emotional/spiritual state affected when you feel like you “know better” than someone else?

Does it feel good to think of others that way?
What would it do if you allowed yourself to keep thinking that way? How would your life be affected?
Do these thoughts about others do anything to help yourself or the other person?

Click here for readings for Week 4

Discussion Questions:

Why do you think this state of “hungering and thirsting for righteousness” is so important for our spiritual growth?

Why do we need to wander in the wilderness before we can see the well that the Lord has provided for us?

Have you ever “wandered in the wilderness” trying to figure out how to live, just to realize that the answer was sitting in front of you the whole time?

Has this ever happened with a teaching from the Word?

How can we strike the balance between forging our own path and acting as if of ourselves while still remaining open to the guidance of the Lord?

Or, alternately, how can we adjust the way we support other people, knowing that this is our natural human process that leads us forward spiritually?

The Beatitudes Week 5 - "Blessed Are the Merciful"

Joseph helped his brothers when they came to him in Egypt. Although he had every justifiable excuse to hate them and let them starve, he chose to be merciful and help them instead.

Have you ever been surprised by someone treating you with kindness after you treated them uncharitably?

How did you feel when it happened?
Have you ever done this with someone else?

How can we remind ourselves to look at other people with charity?

What are practical ways we can remind ourselves to see the good in other people?

Since God’s mercy is His love for the entire human race, how can that knowledge impact the way that we interact with other people?

God’s mercy is felt by others when we are willing to show them mercy ourselves
How can we remember that everyone is on their own spiritual walk with the Lord

In this beatitude, Jesus says that the pure in heart will "see God." What does it mean to see God, and why is this an important part of our spiritual journeys?

When David is anointed as king, the Lord gives Samuel a powerful message about how the Lord sees all of us differently than we see ourselves.

Discussion Questions

If the Lord looks to the heart, rather than judging by appearances, then how can we make sure that we are looking to our own heart rather than judging ourselves by appearances?

We often think of “judging by the appearance” when we are judging others, but how does this show up when we are judging ourselves? Do we have skewed ideas of who we really are (either good or bad)?

Can you think of a time when a change in your heart led to a new understanding or recognition of truth?

Another question that’s related could be what teachings in the church did you have a hard time understanding/accepting that later experiences helped you get?
Are there teachings in the church right now that you have a hard time accepting as true? How can we approach those ideas with discernment while keeping ourselves from closing ourselves off from potential truths?

What are some practical ways we can work toward a purer heart in our everyday lives? How can we cultivate love and motivation that align with the Lord's will?

What are some specific things we can do to work on aligning our hearts with what is right?

“Rise Above It” - Spiritual Development Through the Ten Commandments

This spiritual growth program, developed and refined over the years by a New Church minister and his wife, is a spiritual guidebook for modern daily life. This practical, inspiring program shows how each commandment occurs in all the major world religions and how we can apply it to our own modern daily lives. Fascinating, thoughtful comments and stories from years of participants in many walks of life are included.

The first part of this 6-week program ran in January & February of 2023, and the second half in Winter of 2024..

Participants can follow along on their own with daily readings and weekly Sunday services. The daily readings are from the book "Rise Above It" by Ray & Star Silverman. Available for $10 from the Oak Arbor front office.

New Church 101.

What is the purpose of life? Who is God? Is life eternal? If there is a heaven, how do we get there? Does life get better than this?

The core teachings of the New Church do provide some really wonderful and satisfying answers to these questions. Perhaps more important than the answers themselves, however, is the attitude we have in seeking them. In the New Church, we endeavor to seek truth for the sake of truth, and good for the sake of good, asking the Lord to help us maintain an "innocent" state of mind. True innocence is defined by our willingness to be led by the Lord.

Would you like to learn more about the New Church and its core teachings? hen consider signing up for the six-week introductory program! Whether you are brand new to Oak Arbor, or have been around for years and want a refresher, this program, and companion workbook provide for an engaging and satisfying exploration of the New Church system of theology.

These classes have ended for 2021-2022. Please contact Pastor Steven if interested in future classes.

“When You Pray”

A 4-week Small Group Journey Program.

This took place January 23rd - February 20th, 2022

If you'd like to work through this on your own, you can download the workbook and watch the services below.

Program Description

Jesus said: “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray your Father in Heaven who is in the secret place.” (Matthew 6:6)

There is an interesting assumption when Jesus said this just before teaching His disciples the words we call “The Lord’s Prayer”. By saying “when you pray” He assumes that we are praying. Do you pray? Regularly? Mornings and evenings, and at meal times? When you pray, what is your practice of prayer like? Does it help?

If you are like a lot of people, prayer is something that you know is useful, and you do it sometimes, when you remember or are reminded, but most likely the full purpose and use of prayer remains a bit mysterious. Prayer, however, is one of the most important things we can do for our spiritual life and emotional stability. Prayer is a very powerful and necessary part of our reformation and rebirth, and one of our greatest tools in caring for our neighbors.

“When You Pray” takes a deep dive into the Lord’s Prayer as Jesus taught it, and on what His Word teaches us about prayer and how to pray, and it seeks to help participants establish a meaningful practice and habit of prayer.

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