On Sunday, June 29, 2025, Teaching Pastor Bruce Hess’ message is “Message 3” from our BLESSED! series. Below are some questions for your personal or group reflection.

1. There are times we have all struggled in our prayer life. We’ve faced a truly difficult situation and found ourselves thinking: I don’t know what God is doing AND I don’t really know what to pray, or how to pray about it. Share with others some of the details of such a time in your life.
2. Bruce listed some common reasons why believers don’t pray as they should: being overconfident, sin in one’s life, and busyness. Which reason stands out to you as most common? How should one respond to avoid that issue?
3. The Blessing of focus this week is the Spirit’s ministry of prayer intercession from Romans 8:26-27.  Bruce said this ministry/blessing is hardly known, rarely taught, and largely unappreciated. Why do you think that is?
4. One key verb in this passage states that the Spirit HELPS us in our weakness. The verb pictures one person helping another carry a load. Should would we just go “passive” and let the Holy Spirit do the praying for us? Why not?
5. The other key verb in this passage is that the Spirit INTERCEDES for us, according to the will of God. Explain more of what that means.
6. Romans 8:26 says the Spirit intercedes for us with ‘groanings too deep for words.’ Some in the church at large claim this is a description of speaking in tongues.  How would you counter that assertion?
7. Corrie Ten Boom asked, Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?  Share in your own words what she was emphasizing.
8. What stood out most to you from this message?
9. A good prayer practice is to use NT prayers as a guideline for our prayers for ourselves and others.  Here’s some examples:  Ephesians 1:15-23, 3:14-21; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-12.  Choose one to practice with right now.

Hey Wildwood Family!

Two streams of thought have been running through my mind this week.  One, with all the events unfolding in the middle east these past days, I am so glad we have a God who is always on the throne, always sovereign.  He rules from on high (Psalm 2).

Second, what a wonderful treat for our capital city (and state) to have our NBA team be world champions!  And we have an outstanding group of men representing us on the Thunder.  I’ve never lived in an NBA championship city before (of course, Norman is part of OKC extended).  I like it.  No, I love it!  Let’s do that again.

Please remember to pray for our Wildwood students as they are at camp (around 152 students, middle and high school, and some 31 leaders).  May there be open ears to hear, teachable and reachable hearts, and a renewed desire to honor the Lord in all that’s said and done.  Exciting!

This Sunday will be part 3 of our 4-part series entitled, Blessed!;We will be mining for a special blessing nugget in Romans 8:26-27.  This is a blessing that many are unaware of, but one that is so wonderfully encouraging.  We will be looking at the blessing of the Spirit’s ministry of prayer intercession for us.  It’s a mysterious, but meaty passage.  I can’t wait.

See you Sunday!

Bruce

On Sunday, June 22, 2025, Teaching Pastor Bruce Hess’ message is “Message 2” from our BLESSED! series. Below are some questions for your personal or group reflection.

1. Why is it we can be so prone to feel at times like our Christian life has lost its “pizzazz,” like we are just coasting along? What contributes to this? Discuss.

2. Ray Stedman said that people can still be “babes in Christ” no matter how long they have been Christians. Why does that happen?

3. Note some of the biblical evidence Bruce cited that underscores the Holy Spirit is indeed a person, not some force.

4. Share some ways in your life that the Holy Spirit has been guiding you into the Truth over time.

5. It is a startling reality that while the Holy Spirit is omnipresent (like the rest of the Godhead) his special place of residence is in the believer…in you and me. Reflect on what that means.

6. Discuss the ramifications of Ephesians 1:14.

7. Charles Spurgeon made this observation:
If I am not walking in obedience to God, I am breaking the law of the house, and that house is the house of the Living God. Should we not take heed lest we insult the King in His own palace?

Are there any doors you need to open to Him? Any shift in perspective or life choices you should make? Ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you.

Hey Wildwood Family!

I don’t know about you, but I have to admit—while I have loved having the great blessing of rain for our state (all the lakes and ponds are full, and there is currently no county in the entire state considered under any type of drought status, which by the way, I don’t ever recall happening before in my 46 years in Oklahoma)—I am SO ready for 5-6-7 days in a row of sunshine.  How about you?

This is an exciting week for Janet and me as Jennifer and Zac (and family) are coming back from Mexico for several weeks largely for medical checkups and tests.  We love how they serve so faithfully in Mexico, but we also love being able to see them and Summer and Max. Grandkids are wonderful!

Just a reminder, we will have Baptism Classes this Sunday (in anticipation of an upcoming Baptism Sunday).  If you’ve considered honoring the Lord through baptism, why not catch a baptism class in the 11:00 hour Sunday.  Children’s class will be in the Lodge (downstairs children’s theater) and the student/adult class will be just off the worship center near the offices in Room 227 (a conference room and Mark’s office).

Also, it’s not too late to join in on men’s and women’s summer bible studies.  The men meet on Wednesday and the women on Thursday, both at 7pm.  You can sign up at wildwoodchurch.org/adult.

This Sunday we will continue our study entitled Blessed! with message #2.  Our plan has been to mine 4 nuggets of the blessings God has provided for each of us from Romans chapter 8.  The first was No Condemnation.  The second one has something to do with the Holy Spirit.  Ya gotta come to find out more!

See you Sunday!

Bruce

On Sunday, June 15, 2025, Teaching Pastor Bruce Hess’ message is “Message 1” from our BLESSED! series. Below are some questions for your personal or group reflection.

1. We all experience life’s ‘twists and turns,’ its ‘ups and downs.’ Briefly share a recent struggle you have faced. How did God encourage you “in the midst” of it?
2. Bruce stated that it is easy for us to fall victim to what he called “the 4 Ds.” List the 4 Ds in order. Note how one “D” can often lead to the next. Share how you—or someone you may know—experienced the downward flow of the 4 Ds.
3. Ephesians 1:3 states that as believers, God has blessed (past tense) us with every spiritual blessing. Since Ephesians 1:3-14 is one long sentence, identify a blessing from those verses that encourages you as a follower of Jesus.
4. Romans 8:1 states an amazing blessing!  What is the basis/cause of this blessing, and when does it take effect?
5. How should this great blessing impact us when we are ‘in the midst’ of life’s ups and downs?
6. Take some time in prayer to delight in and rejoice in the great blessing of Romans 8:1.

Hey Wildwood Family!

The last six months or so has been a testing time for many of us.  Some of us have experienced financial issues, relational issues or medical issues (if not recently, you likely will have some of those issues coming your way soon). 😉

The later category (medical) has been the adventure that I’ve experienced the last 6-7 months.  As many of you know, I had a serious side effect from my radiation treatment from 2016.  After several surgeries and 58 hyperbaric treatments I’ve come out better this June.

When we are “in the midst,” what perspective helps see us through those times?  Where should our focus be? What should we remind ourselves about our great God?

We will be launching a short series this Sunday that I have entitled “Blessed”.  The overall series theme verse is taken from Ephesians 1:3, He has Blessed us with Every Spiritual Blessing.  This first message will zoom in on one of the plethora of blessings we’ve received by examining Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

I haven’t spoken on Sunday morning for many months so I hope I remember what to do.  That aside, we encourage you to come Sunday with reachable, teachable hearts as we seek to share some important biblical perspective that we all need.

See you Sunday!

Bruce

On Sunday, November 3, 2024, Teaching Pastor Bruce Hess’ message is “Message 3 – How to Cultivate a Clear Conscience” from our The Bible and Your Conscience series. Below are some questions for your personal or group reflection.

1. Bruce stated that Satan’s strategy is to keep us from the blessing of living with a clear conscience.  Why does he employ that strategy?
2. One step in cultivating a clear conscience is to proactively flee from sin.  How can we accomplish that most effectively?
3. Have your personal convictions ever been altered by Scripture?  Elaborate on how that transpired.
4. What are some productive ways we can calibrate our conscience to God’s Word?
5. When it comes to consistently monitoring our conscience, how did David choose to do that in Psalm 139:23-24?
6. What kind of things get in the way of us regularly confessing our sin?
7. Bruce said it is possible to go passive spiritually.  Why do you think that happens and how can we avoid it?
8. Bruce mentioned three motivations for cultivating a clear conscience.  Can you list the three?  Which one is most motivational to you?
9. Have you ever found it profitable to confess a sin in the presence of another believer, or believers? [see James 5:16]   If so, explain why you found it helpful.

Some personal questions:

• Are there any dark corners or “hidden rooms” in your life that you have refused to open to the Lord?
• Are you postponing doing something that your conscience has been telling that you should do?

An old Monday night football saying went like this:  Are you ready for some football?  We could mimic that by saying:  Are you ready for some rain?  It looks like we’ll have soaking rains over this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  We need it!

Well, Christmas continues to march toward us.  On Sunday we are beginning the toy collection for the annual Mission Christmas Shoppe.  We hope to once again bless some 600 disadvantaged children (and their families). Please drop by the main lobby, or the children’s lobby, and select some gift suggestion cards to purchase a gift or gifts.  You can select a Boy or Girl, plus select from different ages.  We are also seeking to collect new (or nearly new) coats; along with new socks, underwear and gloves for kids. What a privilege to serve our community in this way!

Please be in prayer for two groups who are “getting away” this weekend.  Some 160 men and sons are at the Father-Son campout…pray for refreshed connections. Note:  Due to the threat of severe weather on Saturday evening, the campout “officially” will end at 8pm Saturday, although brave dads and sons are free to stay longer.

The other group we’d encourage you to pray for is our college group’s retreat.  This also is a time of connection and instruction.  We love college students!  Pray for a great retreat.

This Sunday we will be concluding the series, The Bible and Your Conscience. In this final message we will be examining How to Cultivate a Clear Conscience, a very worthy goal for all of us (see Acts 24:16 and Hebrews 13:18). I’m excited about exploring this together!

See you Sunday!

Bruce

On Sunday, October 27, 2024, Teaching Pastor Bruce Hess’ message is “Message 3 – Your Conscience and Other Believers” from our The Bible and Your Conscience series. Below are some questions for your personal or group reflection.

1. Bruce listed a number of examples of perceived right/wrong issues today that Scripture does not directly address. In your experience, what are some of the most prominent areas where believers often view things differently?

2. Has there been a time in your spiritual walk when you considered something as wrong, but other believers considered it as OK? Explain.
How about the reverse, where you considered some behavior as OK and others considered it to be wrong?  Explain again.

3. Have your convictions of right and wrong altered in some way after studying Scripture more fully? Elaborate.

4. Have you ever felt pressure from someone else to violate your conscience?
How did you respond in that situation?

5. Why is it that people in the believing family can so easily view someone who’s conscience may differ from theirs as being spiritually flawed in some way?

6. What does it mean to “never put a stumbling block in the way of a brother”? (see Romans 14:13, 21; 1 Corinthians 8:9, 13)

7. Bruce mentioned five ‘principles of grace’ that can help us develop convictions about issues today that Scripture does not directly address.  List them out.

Personal reflection for later:
Is there anything you may be doing or saying that could encourage another believer to potentially violate their conscience?

Hey Wildwood Family!

What happened??

Well, we all blinked and now we are staring down the end of the month of October with Halloween happening next Thursday.  All that, and yet we haven’t had any fall weather to speak of. Hmmm…is that some sort of indicator about the upcoming winter season?  What do you think?

As we continue with this fall/early summer weather, much is happening around Wildwood.  The Samaritan Purse Christmas child shoe boxes are due back on Sunday. We so appreciate all who have filled those boxes!  In addition, toy collection for The Mission Christmas Shoppe is just ahead.

It’s not too late to register for the Dallas Theological Seminary one day class happening a week from Saturday on November 2.  Email info@wildwoodchurch.org for the registration link.

If you’ve never been through Wildwood’s Starting Point class (information on our mission and beliefs…and the first step toward church membership) it begins a week from Sunday (Nov. 3) at 9:45am in Room 4.

This Sunday we will be teaching the third message in our series, The Bible and Your Conscience. You won’t want to miss this one. No two believers have consciences that are exactly the same. How are we to relate to one another when we have different perspectives on issues that the Scripture doesn’t directly address? Sometimes that situation can lead to conflict within the body, and even to judgmentalism towards others.  There’s a lot of great biblical perspective this week!  I’m looking forward to it.

See you Sunday!

Bruce