Dr. John Oakes is  now leading a church planting in Merced, California.  Please join us 11:00 Sundays at 500 Buena Vista Ave., Merced or on zoom at 342-225-5971 pw 857096.  Also, join us for midweek devotional Wed. 7:30 at UC Merced Rm GLCR 120 or the same zoom. Also, visit our website at www.mercedchurch.com. 6/15  […]

Dr. John Oakes is teaching a two-part lesson on the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians for the Iglesia de Cristo in Guadalajara, Mexico.   He is also teaching a series of sermons from the Book of Hebrews.  The classes will be in English, and translated into Spanish.  Materials are posted here:  […]

Dr. John Oakes is teaching a short series of classes on the Church for the Merced Christian Church and the Alpha Omega Club April – June, 2025.  Notes, PPTs and audio will be posted here.    The Church Notes    The Church PPT     The Church Audio I     The Church Audio II  […]

[Editor’s Note: This Q & A is about matters internal to the Christian group known as the International Churches of Christ (ICOC).  I normally do not post such in-house articles, but think that it might be relevant to others as well, so take it for what it is worth!] Question: I have been going through […]

Question: Martin Luther said that Virgin Mary was a perpetual virgin.  Do you agree or disagree? Answer: No.  Certainly not.  Luther did teach the perpetual virginity of Mary earlier in his career, when he was reflecting his Roman Catholic heritage.  Earlier in his career he had a very high view of Mary, but later he […]

Question: Christians only have the written record of a few prophets in their Bible. It seems Jews did not have a complete record of prophetic speeches, otherwise Jesus would not be rejected. What’s your say? Answer: The Old Testament includes the words of at least 16 prophets.  That is quite a few prophets!  What would […]

Dr. John Oakes gave a lecture titled “The Bible and Evolution” at UC Merced 2/28/2025.  He presented the idea that evolution is a viable scientific theory, but that the evidence points very strongly to the conclusion that the process is not a fully natural, random one, but that God has intervened at various times and […]

Dr. John Oakes is teaching a class on Church History for the West Coast School of Ministry this Spring.  All notes, PPT and audio will be posted here: Church History Notes Notes     Church History PPT    Church History I Audio    Church History II    Church History III    Church History IV    Genesis […]

Dr. John Oakes is teaching a seven-week class on Christian Theology at UC Merced, Wednesday nights at 7:30 in Rm GLCR 120, beginning on 2/5/2025.  For those not in the Merced area (most of you!), I will be posting the notes, power point and audio here: Christian Theology Notes     Christian-Theology Merced     Christian Theology […]