I Love My Church!

Lately I’ve been contemplating all the great things I love about Shadycrest. As I began to make a list I was overwhelmed by the number of great ministries and great people we have here who serve the LORD so well. It literally made me exclaim, “I love my church!”

I LOVE:

Watching our kitchen crew serve our members with great love.

Hearing the stories of members like Alvin Rose and Gene Weaver who visit our homebound and nursing homebound. 

Listening to the testimonies of our youth (Blaine Israel) about what God is doing in their young lives.

Hearing the giggles and watching the smiles as the children played this past week at our AWANA kickoff carnival.

 Praying with our prayer warriors during our 40 Days of Prayer.

Singing with our Celebration Choir and awesome praise band. 

There is so much to love about Shadycrest! What a great place to serve the LORD!
What do you love about Shadycrest? I’d love to hear your story. If you have a story to tell, please contact me. I’m collecting stories and I truly want to hear yours. Call or write me ASAP, and tell me why you love your church! 

Discovering/Revealing God’s Will Through Fervent Prayer

God gets the glory. Always. You want to try and accomplish some incredible task in your own strength, go right ahead. I hope you live a long time because you are going to need lots of time to do it. On the other hand, even the impossible tasks for us are simple to the LORD. He is the Almighty.

As we began to pray together this past week, and specifically in our group prayer meetings on Wednesday, some themes emerged that I’d like to share with you. I pray these revelations will provoke you to join us daily in seeking the LORD together. Here they are:

1.       God is in control. He already has a plan to bless Shadycrest, provide for our needs, and expand our influence in His Kingdom. Will we join Him in His plans? (Ps. 24:1)

2.       We must seek Him. He is jealous for the glory for He deserves the glory and we do not. We must rid our hearts of selfish intent. We must pursue goals for the glory of God and none for us (2 Chronicles 7:14 & Jeremiah 29:13 are instructive here).

3.       We must not be afraid to ask. We have needs as a church and we often don’t see blessing because we don’t seek the LORD and ask together in unity. Asking for provision of real needs is faith in action. The LORD blesses people who are full of faith (James 4:2-3 is instructive here).

4.       We must have a missional vision for the blessing we receive. Will God bless us if He know we are going to spend that financial blessing on more stuff for us? We believe not. We are committing to make God’s mission our mission!

The Power of Prayer

Abraham Lincoln is not alone in rising to greatness through a life of prayer. In the Bible, from the very beginning, we see this pattern. In the book we are currently studying, Joshua, we see a man who learned the power of prayer during his time as an aide to Moses. Prayer set Joshua apart from the rest of Israel. When Moses climbed Mt. Sinai to receive the Commandments from God, Joshua remained nearby on the mountainside…praying!

The strength of man alone does not accomplish the purposes that God has in mind for His people. It is only when we humble ourselves before Him in confession, supplication, worship and thanksgiving that he moves in us and through us to accomplish His will.

Jesus tells us, “when you pray, go into your room…close the door…and pray to your Father…then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matt 6:6).

The public success of Lincoln and Joshua came not from their might, but from their private humility before Almighty God. They found victory when they fought on their knees.

Join me, in the month of August, in a greater commitment to a life under-girded by prayer. Let’s daily learn to fight on our knees for the lost and the needy in our community. Let’s daily learn to fight on our knees for the strength and the unity of our church. Let’s daily learn to fight on our knees against an enemy, the devil, who works tirelessly to thwart our plans, weaken our resolve, and break apart our relationships. Let’s break through together. Let’s see revival before this year is done! (more details forthcoming; expect great things)

Youth Ministry in 2015 and Beyond

Evangelist Rick Gage said this past year in an interview, "It breaks my heart that fewer than 10 percent of American young people are involved in a Bible-believing church." He continued saying, "So many churches have lost their passion for souls. The need to reach the lost has never been greater."

I wholeheartedly agree with Rick and I will, as long as I have breath in my body, continue to proclaim the foundational importance of staying focused on missions and outreach as individuals and as a church family. We can do that by:

1. Continually reminding ourselves of our mission to “make disciples”

2. Continually refine/reform our evangelism practices/processes

3. Continually be champions for personal evangelism, outreach events, mission trips, and the starting of new churches

4. Pray for opportunities to personally witness to the lost in our community

5. Passionately celebrate each conversion and each baptism

Now, not only do we want to see as many young people saved as we can, we also want to see them discipled. God has given us, the church, a job (the Great Commission), and that job is winning people to Jesus. As many evangelists of old have fervently repeated, “God has no hands but our hands; God has no feet but our feet; God has no tongue but our tongue to share the good news.”

Youth Ministry has always been a challenge, and it will continue to be challenging. 85% of conversions to the Christian faith occur before the age of 18. Let’s reach them together! Pray for our youth! Pray for our youth leaders!

YOUTH CAMP MEMORIES

I will be at the Power Plus Youth Camp this whole week with about 30 of our wonderful youth and courageous youth sponsors! I’m excited! I’m praying the LORD moves powerful upon us and sets all of our hearts on fire for His purposes, for His mission. I’m praying we all walk away fully realizing life isn’t about glory or pleasure for me, but instead glory and honor to Jesus! Pray with me! Pray for them! May the glory of the LORD fall on them all this week!

My experiences at Youth Camp as a teenager were tremendous and God changed my life each and every time. At camp I dedicated an entire week to seeking after Him earnestly. Youth Camp gives kids this opportunity, and if they take it seriously, they will never be the same. Why was it so powerful for me and life changing? Here is what I believe:

1. Teenagers are tired of playing religious games. They want it to be real or they want to walk away from it to find something that is real. They have an incredible need to be led, to be challenged, and to see for themselves the love and power of God. That was me years ago too, and it is the same for today’s teens as well.

2.  The principle of “seeking God earnestly” (Jeremiah 29:13) is never more intense for them than at Youth Camp. We live such busy lives that on an average day most Christians simply give God their leftover time…not quality time. There is no power there. But the power of God falls on us when we seek Him earnestly, and that takes time. Youth Camp provides that time. I still remember those moments when I heard from God and felt His presence at Youth Camp! It was just “wow!”

God & Country Day

It’s always tempting, for us all, to complain about the downward moral spiral we see in our American culture today. Instead, let’s take time to remember why America is still a fantastic nation to live:

We could have an oppressive government that denies religious freedom…but we are free.

We could have a state run church system where there is only one church and you are required to attend…but we are free.

We could have a system that forces us underground to worship as we desire…but we are free.

We could have a government that imprisons our pastors and outspoken leaders…but we are free.

We could have a system where our children are told lies about God and told He cannot answer prayers nor meet their needs…but we are free.

We could have a nation where being a Christian is a crime punishable by torture or prison…but we are free.

It is certainly by the grace of God that America, our great nation, is here today. It is by the grace of God that she will continue to be a beacon of hope and freedom in a world full of false and dangerous ideologies. Though many Americans do not exercise their right to assemble and worship freely as they should, we still have that right. We are free. Praise the Lord for His goodness!