Oaks Community Church, Dronfield

09/09/2026

Last week, there seemed to be a lot of bad news: the tragedy at the Big Church Festival, alongside some other awful things happening in Sheffield, right on our doorstep. It’s easy, when faced with difficult things, to find ourselves asking:

What is God like?

✍ Midweek Musing ✍

In the midst of the bad news, we received some wonderful news in our church family: two children have officially been adopted into their forever family💛

As we celebrated, we were reminded of how this is a picture of heaven. The Bible describes God as a Father who welcomes us into His family. Not because we’ve earned it, but because He loves us.

Jesus told a story to illustrate what God is like: He told of a woman who lost a precious coin. She searched carefully until she found it, then called her friends and neighbours to celebrate.

God seeks us when we feel lost. And when we turn towards Him, He doesn’t reluctantly welcome us home, He celebrates.

If you’ve ever wondered what God is like, Jesus is a good place to start.

And if you’re feeling lost, uncertain or just curious about faith, we'd love to hear from you and support you on this journey.

Read the full article here: https://www.oakscc.org.uk/whatisgodlike/

07/09/2026

🎵 Song of the Week🎵 | Simple Gospel by United Pursuit

Simple Gospel is a song about wanting to know God, not just know about Him.

“I want to know you, Lord / Like I know a friend.”

This is an invitation open to everyone. Not to have all the answers, but to discover what it means to know Jesus.

The song also reminds us that we don’t have to hide the things we struggle with:

“Lord, I’ve been told I’m not good enough / But you’re here with me.”

If you’ve ever felt like you’re not enough, or wondered whether God could really love you, this song is a reminder that you don’t have to have everything figured out before you come to Him and that nothing can separate you from His love.

Whether faith is familiar to you or you’re still exploring, the truth we believe is that God loves you.

🎧 Listen to our Song of the Week: Simple Gospel: https://youtu.be/DcJV7j5D3PU?si=3dpFUctKnsDpMwrr

What line from the song speaks to you most?

04/09/2026

👋 See You Sunday? **this week we're meeting at the Lighthouse in Eckington for our joint Celebration gathering**

As the week winds down, just a little reminder that you’re always invited to join us on a Sunday

🕥 This Sunday at 10.30am

Whether you come every week, haven’t been for a while, or are just curious, you’re very welcome. Hope to see you 😊

📍Find us at the Lighthouse, Berry Avenue, S21 4AR
🎵There will be music, a time of sharing and reflection
☕️Refreshments will be served at the beginning
🍛A free, simple lunch will be served afterwards
👠👔👗👖👕There is no dress code, come in what you're most comfortable in

02/09/2026

Are you still learning?

✍ Midweek Musing ✍

At Sunday’s Churches Together in Dronfield & District Celebration, we explored how education is about far more than what happens in a classroom. We keep learning throughout our whole lives - from our families, our experiences, other people and the world around us.

And the same is true of faith.

Following Jesus isn’t about having all the right answers or simply knowing lots about God. It’s about getting to know God, learning from Jesus and allowing him to shape the way we live.

Proverbs says:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
- Proverbs 1:7

“Fear of the Lord” doesn’t mean being terrified of God. It’s about awe, wonder and reverence - recognising who God is and responding to him with humility.

It’s coming to God with the attitude that there is more for me to discover; I don’t have it all figured out.

At the Oaks, we want to know Jesus, become like Jesus and make Jesus known. And that’s a lifelong journey. None of us ever graduate from learning what it means to follow Jesus.

So...

What might God be teaching you right now?
Where might you need to stay curious and open to him?

And how can we help the next generation discover that they are loved by God and have so much to learn, explore and become?

👉 Read the full Midweek Musing here: https://www.oakscc.org.uk/neverstoplearningctaug26/

This week’s musing was written by Muriel Stonehewer and shared with her kind permission. Thank you, Muriel! ❤️

31/08/2026

🎵 SONG OF THE WEEK: Be Thou My Vision🎵

Yesterday, churches from across our community came together at the Dronfield Parish Church for our Churches Together in Dronfield & District service and we sang this beautiful song together.

Be Thou My Vision has a story that reaches back centuries with words based on an ancient Irish poem. Centuries later, the poem was translated into English and became the hymn we know today.

At its heart, it’s a prayer:

God, be my vision. No matter what we're going through, let me keep a heavenly perspective.

And perhaps that prayer feels particularly relevant today.

After the tragedy at the Big Church Festival last week, many of us are left feeling shocked, saddened and uncertain. There are questions we don’t have easy answers to. Sometimes faith doesn’t mean having all the answers, sometimes it means knowing where to turn when we don’t.

"Be Thou My Vision" gives us words for those moments.

When the future feels uncertain: be my vision.
When we don’t understand: be my wisdom.
When we feel overwhelmed: be my soul's shelter.
When the world feels dark: thy presence my light.

And as we sang it together yesterday, there was something powerful about hearing those words shared by people from different churches and traditions. Different communities, one shared hope - Jesus.

🎧 Be Thou My Vision: https://youtu.be/Optrm7lF16s?si=ST7Q8SFnQB5_p9H_

Photo from: https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/be-thou-my-vision

28/08/2026

Little Haven will be starting another cohort in September!
If you have a baby 0-12months, you'd be very welcome to join a small, safe, supportive group of other parents, faciliated by Claire Birch.
The group will meet alternate weeks on Tuesdays, 10:30am at Lenthall School.
If you're interested in joining or have any questions, please email [email protected]

28/08/2026

We are taking part in the Global Week of Prayer 🙏

Let us know if there's anything you would like us to pray for 🥰

The world feels more divided than ever before. So what do we do at a time like this?

We pray.

In just TEN days, communities in over 105 nations (and counting) begin a whole week of unbroken prayer. Because as we kneel, united together at Jesus' feet, calling out that his name would be glorified, we pray to see the end of wars, to see droughts cease and to see peace prevail on our lands.

👉 Find out more and sign up: https://www.24-7prayer.com/weekofprayer/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=gwp

📆 Global Week of 24-7 Prayer, 6–13 September 2026.

28/08/2026

🙏🙏🙏

28/08/2026

See you Sunday? 👋

This week we're joining with other churches in our town at St John's from 10.30am

Hope to see you there ☺️

26/08/2026

Have you ever noticed how often worship songs start with the word “I”?

✍Midweek Musing✍

This week’s article reflects on something noticed while preparing for worship: a surprisingly large number of songs focus on what I feel, what I need or what I want to say. And while there is nothing wrong with that, it raises an interesting question…

What happens when we shift the focus from “I” to Jesus?

On Sunday, we did exactly that. We sang songs that simply celebrated who Jesus is: our friend, our Saviour and the one who loves us enough to give his life for us.

In John 15, Jesus says something remarkable: “I have called you friends.”

For anyone exploring faith, perhaps that’s worth pausing over. Christianity isn't simply about following rules or trying to be a better person. At its heart is an invitation to know Jesus — and to discover that he already knows and loves you.

What a friend we've found. ❤️

Read the full article below, including the passage from John and one of the songs we sang on Sunday: https://www.oakscc.org.uk/nameofjesussanctuaryaug26/