Crossing the Divide Without Surrendering the Truth

OCCA Summer School, Oxford
July 15, 2026
Presenter: Andrew Sampson

One of the most striking examples of how Jesus engages another person is his conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4. It is much more than a story about evangelism. It is a...

Why Following Christ Means More Than Believing in Him

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
1 Corinthians 11:1

Who do you admire, and more importantly, who are you becoming because of it?

Human beings are natural imitators. From childhood onward, we learn by watching others—how t...

Why Christ-Centered Love Changes Everything

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13

Success has many measurements—income, influence, recognition, achievement, and titles. We spend enormous energy pursuing these things, often assumin...

Why Spiritual Growth Is the One Investment That Never Loses Value

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."
John 15:4

We spend enormous amounts of time feeding nearly every part of our lives.

We fe...

Jesus can do Anything!

It’s a measure of our fallibility and imperfection that we have to be reminded of this. So often, we devolve into a way of thinking that “I’ve got this.” But then we are slapped with the realization, that “I” don’t, that he always does. 

This realization is almost always sub...

During my daily Bible study, I found myself in Joshua 8—the story of Israel’s second attempt to conquer Ai. I’m not suggesting we treat this passage as a prophetic roadmap for our time, but I couldn’t help noticing a striking parallel.

On one hand, we have Ai, an ancient city whose downfall came on...

Many weeks ago, I took to germinating an acorn. The goal was to observe its growth into a small sapling using a special glass vase expressly designed for this purpose. Then, to plant this new oak tree in the spring. I didn’t really consider this to mean anything other than to offer me a glimpse into...

Some say that the greatest of all human achievements is thought. Maybe not. 

Last night, I was out for a bike ride and paused to sit by the railing of a 20-foot-high seawall. Sadly, I had my nose in my phone. I was thinking about all the bad news that exists in our world today. I marginally noti...

If that headline didn’t get you, then you must be dead. 

Can I even come close to thinking I have the answer to this ultimate question of life? The hubris of it all. Let me start with the fact that this is not original work. I am simply sharing my epiphanies after reading the likes of Tolle, Dis...

Voltaire, the witty and prolific 17th-century writer who espoused the familiar concepts of Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Expression, and Separation of Church and State, once said: “Common Sense is not so Common.” What did he mean by this? I suppose that because of what we are, physical beings with...