Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Feeling It Doesn't Mean To Do It!

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God." - 1 Peter 4:1-2; ESV

Just because I feel like doing something doesn't mean that I should do it.  And yet, this seems to be the gauge by which we judge what we do or plan to do.  There is a higher standard, and that standard is found in the call for Christians to be holy - to be set apart for Jesus.  It means that we are not victims to every desire that may come our way, looking to fill our appetites with pleasures for moment, but don't truly satisfy us, only to leave us empty in the long run.  And then when we fall into a pattern of pleasing our appetites, we look to justify our actions rather than repent of our mistakes.

I'm encouraged, though, when I read this verse.  And here's why: God is telling us, through his word, that he knows and understands that we will have appetites that will seem strong at times.  He knows that our flesh desires immediate gratification.  However, God wants to provide eternal satisfaction.  It's not about just getting it now, it's about enjoying the parts that God blesses us with now as he leads toward the ultimate blessing — himself and his glory.  We are free to obey Jesus.  We are free to run from sin and strive to live lives that are pleasing to Jesus.  We have been liberated to do the will of God instead of aimlessly follow the appetites that will truly never be fulfilled.  "The devil made me do it" is a phrase that shows the true character of the individual saying it rather than the power of the enemy.

Christians: Expect temptation.  Expect opposition from the enemy.  If you're not experiencing any opposition from the enemy, it's probably because you're not much of a threat as a Christian anyway.  And if you're never tempted, maybe it's because you're not striving for the will of God but rather only to fill the appetite.  And if you experience no conviction when you sin, it may be that you haven't surrendered to Jesus in the first place.  First things first: surrender to Jesus.  After that happens, you'll see the change that he promised.  Just make sure that you gear up for it.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Key to Overcoming is Simple

...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy... — 1 Peter 3:15a (ESV)

Here's the key: when things are difficult (and please know that Scripture never teaches that you will not face difficult times), the key to overcoming the difficult is simple: HONOR JESUS.  But notice the instruction:

Honor Jesus the LORD - Jesus is master.  Jesus is the one who is in charge and we are the ones who obey his leading and instruction.  He is Lord.  He has all of the authority.  He has all power.  He has all control.  We can try to justify our sin, to make ourselves feel better about the lifestyle we choose  or the "freedoms" that we proclaim to possess all the while ignoring this main concept: Jesus is Lord.

AS HOLY - Jesus Christ is different.  He is not our buddy.  He is not our homeboy.  Jesus is Almighty God.  He doesn't think like we do.  He doesn't act like we do.  He is about his glory while we so very often are about ours.  But praise Jesus that within his glorifying himself above all, our being completely satisfied in him is what brings him most glory.

When you face temptations or difficult times, set Jesus THE LORD apart in your heart.  That means this: be all about him.  When I am all about him, everyone will be affected the way that Jesus wants them to be.  When it's out of order, everything gets messed up by my lack of prioritizing.  Remember: it's about exalting Jesus as the greatest.  Anything less is to miss the greatest calling that we have received.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Please Be Praying...

It's that time of week again.  Here's an update on how you can be praying for me this week:

1).  Tomorrow evening I get the honor or officiating a vow renewal service for a couple from PFB.  I am so excited to get to be part of this special occasion.

2).  Continue praying for Wednesday nights.  Still so excited about what God did last week.  Pray that he continues what he's been doing.  He gets every bit of glory for what is going on.

3).  Please pray as I prepare and as I teach this Sunday morning at the high school worship.

4).  Please pray as I prepare and as I teach this Sunday morning at the 11:11 service at PFB Church.

5).  I'm getting ready for our high school camp with the high schoolers from PFB Church (Bass Lake 2010).  Please pray that I discern God's voice and understand his direction for the messages for the week.

I think that's about it.  Thank you so much again for all that you do for me through prayer.  Take care.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Doesn't Heaven Get Tired?

Heaven is throwing another party.  Last night at Wednesday Nights @ PFB, we had 4 people come forward to make decisions for Jesus.  A couple of them surrendered to Jesus for the first, while someone "came back" to Jesus.  It was OUTSTANDING!!!!! As I watched them walk forward to pray with our prayer team, I lost it and screamed out, "BOOOYAAAAAH!" I think that's a Hebrew word for Hallelujah but I'm not sure yet. :)

I also got the chance to pray with a high school girl named Amber about tough things that she is going through right now.  She is such an amazing young lady who loves Jesus, and she comes from a great family who loves Jesus.  It was so good to see her.

There were a ton of people there praising Jesus.  I don't have a clue how many but I know that it was more than 10. :)

Thank you for praying.  God is on the move and we are trying to keep up.  What a ride it truly is.  This never gets old.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Please Be Praying...

My schedule for this week is absolutely CRAZY!!! Please be praying for the following:

  • We have activities for our high school students Monday — Wednesday this week.  I am SOOOOO thankful for my volunteer staff who are overseeing and running these events.  I was able to go to the beach with the students yesterday, but I'm at home today with my family as my staff runs the car rally tonight (being away from the family for 8 days and then not stopping after I get home necessitates me being home tonight).  Tomorrow is a BBQ/pool party before we go to Wednesday Night at PFB.

  • Please pray for Wednesday Night at PFB as we start a new series called, "GRACE."  This is going to be a powerful series.  God is on the move in the ministry and I want to make sure that we are keeping up with him.

  • Senior Getaway - This Thursday, we are taking our seniors away for a relaxing getaway.  It starts on Thursday when we go up to Big Bear until Friday.  Then we will be driving out to Havasu to join the college retreat.  I'll be teaching at the college retreat both on Friday and Saturday nights.

  • Please pray as I travel back late Saturday night to teach for ELEVATE (the high school worship service at 9:45) and the 11:11 service at PFB.  There's a lot of driving and teaching involved.


It's a crazy-busy week as we also continue getting ready for Bass Lake.  Your prayers are so needed and appreciated.  Thank you for all that you do for me.  Take care.

Friday, June 18, 2010

STINKIN' BONKERS RIGHT NOW

It's the last night at Gilead.  Last message at Gilead.  And OH MY GOODNESS did Jesus have something to say.  As I was preaching I was freaking out with what he was bringing to the people.  But here's the coolest part:

On Thursday after lunch, I met with this group of girls for a question and answer session.  It was me with 8 girls, one adult girl's counselor, and Jesus.  :)

This girl named Jade was sitting at the table.  I asked if she was a Christian and she said no.  But she was asking some great questions.  As I was explaining some things about Jesus, I could tell that she was interested.  And then I said it.  I don't know why I did but I said it.  I looked at her straight in the face and said, "You're gonna get saved before you leave camp this week, because God is wooing you into a relationship with himself."  I then said, "Just make me a promise: come up and tell me when you get saved."

As I finished the message and gave students a chance to surrender to Jesus.  160 students just sat there, but I kept glancing at Jade (who sat right in the front row, right in front of me when I was teaching).  As I looked around I saw her start to stand and then sat down.  I was praying but not staring at her while I was praying so that she didn't feel pressure from me to stand up.  And THEN IT HAPPENED!!!!! She stood up in front of 150 people to surrender to Jesus.  I started jumping and screaming.  I ran up and high-fived her counselor.  The place went nuts.  As she stood there, I looked at her and said, "Jade, is Jesus your Lord."  She responded, "Yes."  I said, "Do you believe that he died and rose again for you?" She said, "Yes."  I said, "Welcome to the family. You're saved."  And everyone went crazy again.

VICTORY!!!! It's been a week of battling for Jesus.  Oh my, I'm still celebrating with the angels for what Jesus did in Jade.  And believe me: it was all worth it.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

He's Still Working...

It's Thursday night at Mt. Gilead.  The students are doing pretty well but some apathy has sunk back in.  However, God is still at work.  Tonight we looked at Psalm 73 and being broken before God so that we can experience his healing.  After the message, I gave the counselors and staff of the camp a chance to come forward to deal with what is breaking them.  About 18 people came forward and knelt before Jesus asking for his healing.  I then opened it up to students to come forward to surrender to Christ, recommit their lives to him, or come down to deal with what is breaking them.  One student came forward.  Then a couple more came down to pray with one of the counselors who needed encouragement.  After that, I opened it up for the other students to go up and pray FOR their counselors.  Over half the camp went up to pray with their counselors.  Such a powerful night.

Thank you for praying.  Keep it up.  We've got one more day with these kids.  I'm looking forward to the unexplainable that Jesus is planning for tomorrow.

Are We Missing the Point?

I was thinking about it this morning: how much of a Christian's life is focused on the why and how rather than on the who, what, where, and when.  Here's what I mean:

It seems like Christians are spending a predominant amount of time fighting about the why's and the how's of the faith, and many of those questions will never truly be answered because of the fact that God has not revealed the information needed for those questions.  Example: If God is sovereign then why did he let my friend die? How can a loving God allow bad things to happen? Some may say that they have the answers to these and the millions more that go with those questions.  What Scripture teaches reveals God's expressed will.  If it's not in there, maybe God isn't wanting us to spend so much time on the topic.  It just seems like questions in the realm of why and how are in the realm of the philosophical.  Again, please don't get me wrong, I'm all about thinking through stuff like this, but not at the expense of the mission that we have been called to.

Here's what comes with the other ones:

WHO: Who am I doing this for (and of course the why am I doing this is always good to answer - so some why questions are great)? Who am I supposed to reach? Who am I supposed to minister to?

WHAT: What do you want me to do, Jesus?

WHERE: Where do you want me to go, Jesus?

WHEN: When do you want me to..., Jesus?

So I'm not saying that we never talk or think about the how or why of stuff.  But maybe I'm talking more about changing the priority: let's focus on the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, and WHEN questions, with the answer to why am I doing this at the forefront, and leave the other why's and how's to the left-over time when we're taking a break from the mission.  Just a thought.  Just thinking out loud.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

HEAVEN IS GOING STINKIN' BONKERS!

UPDATE FROM MT. GILEAD CHRISTIAN CAMP: Are you kidding me? I am absolutely stunned at what I just witnessed.  To go from a spirit of apathy overwhelming the camp last night to what I saw this morning, and tonight is blowing me away.  The difference: PRAYER!

This morning I preached on the grace of God and we saw 5 students stand to surrender to Jesus.  Tonight I preached on the cross of Christ, exactly what Jesus went through to buy us back.  I invited students to come forward to confess one of two things:

1.  To surrender to Jesus for the first time as Lord of their lives.
2.  To confess that they had wandered away from Jesus and were coming home.

After I explained those two things I simply got out of the way.  By the end of this decision time, there were between 30-40 students who came forward to confess one of those two things.  ABSOLUTELY UN-STINKIN-BELIEVABLE!!!! I don't have the words to describe what I'm feeling right now.  Students went up and then others followed.  Camp staff went up to pray with them and still more kids came up.  To put it into perspective, there are about 150 campers here this week; between 30-40 came forward.

Jesus broke through barriers last night and this morning.  Tonight he demolished all of the leftovers.  But please keep praying.  There are a number of students that my heart is still hurting for to surrender to Jesus.  But I'm convinced and comforted by this truth: the "HOUND OF HEAVEN" is still going after them.

Update from Gilead (Tuesday)...

THANK YOU for praying.  There was a spirit of apathy that seemed to be plaguing the students at the camp since Sunday.  It was really disheartening.  To combat that, I sent out an email to my prayer team last night and BOOOOOM!!!! Jesus had something to say today.  That spirit of apathy is gone.  One of the things that I believe that God put on my heart to do was to K.I.S.S. - keep it simple stupid.  These students needed to hear the basics and have the basics explained to them in a way that made sense to them.  So, we looked at Ephesians 2:8-9 today, explaining what grace, saved, and faith were.  Then Jesus kept leading the morning to bring 5 STUDENTS TO SALVATION!!!! Awesome!

Keep praying.  God is on the move.  He has broken through the barrier that seems to have been here since Sunday.  It's a whole new camp!!! Get ready! The best is yet to come.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Update from Mt. Gilead

Hello prayer team,

Thank you for praying for me while I'm up here at Gilead.  Please keep it up.  It's a tough crew of high schoolers, not because they are tough but because of what seems like a lot of apathy.  That's tough to break through but I trust that the Holy Spirit has something up his sleeve.  Here's an update so far:

  • Started off teaching at camp last night.  Honestly, it was tough.  I had a lot of discouragement during and after the message.  Even though 2 people raised their hands to surrender to Jesus, I found myself skeptical and questioning whether or not I was up for this challenge.  I don't like teaching without the "favor of God" on me and I just did not feel it.  The enemy likes to mess with my mind while I'm at camp.  I know that feelings are not always trustworthy.  I just needed to be reminded of it.  :)

  • Spoke this morning on the hugeness of God.  Message went well but most of the kid seemed really tired from staying up too late their first night of camp.  So we are still looking forward to seeing the Holy Spirit break through.  I believe it's coming.  Keep praying.


More updates to come.  Thank you for your faithfulness.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Christians and Flight Attendants

As I watched and listened to the flight attendant give us instructions about what to do in case our plane crashes today, it hit me: flight attendants are one of the groups of people who can relate with Christians who are trying to tell a hurting world about their need for Jesus. The realization came with this phrase I heard the flight attendant say over the intercom: "Pretend like you're giving us your attention as we go through the safety features of this Boeing 737 today." One lady next to me looked up for a moment and then went right back into her book. No one else around me seemed to pay attention.

The flight attendants were informing us of what to do should an emergency occur. Christians are called to share the truth about Jesus' cross and the world's need for a Savior. Some may raise their heads to hear what we are saying, but many neglect to listen and go right back to what they were doing.

As I continued thinking about it, it hit me how much the passengers on the plane are like Christians as well. I would imagine that almost everyone on this flight has flown before. If some haven't, they've known people who have which makes them feel like an expert flyer. As the flight attendant gave her safety speech, most people, having already heard that message before, ignore the warning to focus on what they were already doing. Since they had already heard it before, why listen? And that is what many Chrisiand do when they listen to a message. They show up to church, open the bulletin and check out the message for that morning. If they have already heard a message on that passage or topic, attention is withdrawn and he/she slips into cruise control.

To the pastor teaching: keep bringing it. Realize that our primary job as teachers is to remind the people of what God has already said. It does not mean that we get lazy in how we say it, but rather just the opposite. Because people have "heard it" before, we need to get creative so that they will want to hear it again. However, that starts with us being willing hear it again as well.

Christians listening in the pews: we can never be reminded enough of the things of God. Even if you've heard it before, listen and learn. Think about it: how often did Jesus say, "You've heard that it was said..." Jesus repeated things already written in the Old Testament and yet he still taught those things. And the people: they were blown away with what he said. There's just something mezmorizing about what Jesus says.

Don't get discouraged, Christian. Whether people give us their full attention or not, we must still share the truth, first with our actions and then with our words. It's a rescue mission. Gear up and bring it!

And by the way: I did pay attention to the flight attendant. I even looked at her while she shared the safety instructions. I guess I too know what it feels like to have an "audience" who has "been there, done that."

Update from Wednesday Night

To My Faithful Prayer Team,

Thank you for praying for Wednesday night at PFB. I'm so sorry that this is getting out to you all so late. I just wanted to give you a quick update.

We looked at Song of Solomon 5, uncovering the principles that God has for fighting fair. Far too often most of us jump into a "fight" with someone else with the desire to win and make sure that they know how right we are. The problem with that is that only God is right, and his call to us is to be reconciled. Within every relationship there are perspectives and expectations. Even though I may not purposefully try to hurt someone, I will at times because I can be a jerk, and/or they were hurt accordig to their own perspective and outlook on the situation.

It was a great night. So much fun to be real and honest with this topic.

Please be praying as we finish up the Song of Solomon this Wednesday night. Jesus has used this amazing series for real life hange to happen. We have seen people surrender to Jesus for the first time. We have seen people surrender their sexual purity to Jesus. We have seen people freed from condemnation in the area of sexual purity, experiencing God's true and real forgiveness.

Thank you again for all that you do. Love you all.

Friday, June 11, 2010

FREEDOM!!!!

"Behold, we are slaves this day, in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold we are slaves." - Nehemiah 9:36, ESV

We have been set free by Jesus.  We are free to not sin.  We are free to live for Jesus.  We are free, and yet how often do we live in bondage? This should not be so.  Christians: we need to stop feeding our sinful desires and continuously heed to the Spirit's leading.  I wonder how much of the bondage that we experience is directly connected to the "entertainment" that we flirt with or the creature comforts that we proclaim to be needs, claiming that we are free in Christ while only plunging ourselves further and further into bondage.  Free in Christ does not mean that we are free to do whatever we want.  Rather, it means that we are free to live for Christ.

We have been given new life.  We are in this new land of grace—grace to be lived out every day by the Spirit of God.  Jesus wants us free.  He wants us to experience that freedom first-hand.  Remaining in a prison cell when the gates have been left open seems so stupid.  Let's be free and enjoy the freedom that Jesus paid to bring us.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

A Lesson from Ping Pong

And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies.  But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies. so that they had dominion over them.  yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies... Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets.  yet they would not give ear.  Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.  Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did you make an end of them of forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. — Nehemiah 9:27-28, 30-31; ESV

Back and forth.  Back and forth.  I've played ping pong, and I am a stud (so long as we keep it fun and not get competitive — I can beat my 6 and 3-year-old boys).  But if you've ever watched ping pong during the Olympics, oh my goodness.  I can't even see the ball.  They are just going crazy.  But there's not a lot of movement away from that table.  The ball goes back and forth, back and forth.

That's us with God.  Back and forth.  When things are difficult, we are crying out to God and seeing him come through to save us once again.  But then we hit a time of rest and relaxation and we take off again.  The Israelites did it.  We do it.  Complacency so easily creeps in during times of comfort.  When complacency is waking up in the heart of a believer, Jesus will do what is necessary to wake us up again.

I'm convinced that it doesn't have to be this way.  Let's be a people who are truly after the heart of Jesus.  I don't want to have to come back because I don't ever want to stray.  In fact, I wrote this prayer in my Bible after I read this passage:  "Jesus, please keep me on a choker-chain of grace so that I stay right next to you."

Monday, June 7, 2010

A Welcomed & Needed Reminder

"They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt.  But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious & merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them." — Nehemiah 9:17; ESV

Boy, did I need this reminder this morning.  Seriously.  I honestly feel that for the past month or so I have been in a battle to be true to Jesus.  I understand that every day is a battle, but this season of the battle seems to be pretty fierce.  And in that battle there are times of retreat and times of discouragement, and even times when it feels like defeat has become the reality.  But I press on.  I keep going.  I want so much to bring honor and glory to my Jesus that I keep going.  But after the times of failure hit, it is so natural for me to imagine God's judgment and frustration with me as a result of my mistakes.  It is so easy for me to see him as irritated with me, always wondering if I will ever get it together.  And when those thoughts and feelings flood my mind, defeat leads to despair.

This morning I was going to get right into studying for the different teaching opportunities I have coming up this week.  As I pulled out my preaching Bible, all that I heard in my mind was, "What about hanging with God first?" Seriously.  Over and over and over again.  There was no rest from hearing those words.  So, I reluctantly (because I am so busy and important - or something like that) grabbed my Bible and my journal.  And what God said to me through his word brought peace to my heart.

The people of Israel had become stiff-necked and rebellious.  They knew the commands of God but didn't want to obey them.  God's response: quick to forgive. Steadfast love. Grace and mercy.  And it made me stop and think: I really do want to bring honor and glory to Jesus.  Why would he be irritated with me in my efforts when he remembers that we are but dust (Psalm 103:14) and sympathizes with us in our weaknesses because of being tempted in every way yet being without sin (Hebrews 4:15-16)?

I needed this reminder.  God is not against me.  He's not angry with me.  He's never had a second-thought about redeeming me.  I needed to hear Jesus say to me this morning: "Brian, I know what you're dealing with.  I know you're struggling.  But remember this: I am your God who is ready to forgive you, gracious and merciful toward you, slow to anger and abounding in love for you.  And when I told you that I would never leave you nor forsake you, I meant it.  Nothing can keep me away from you.  Not even you."

Be encouraged today.  I know that I have been.  I welcome this very much needed reminder.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Did You Hear Heaven Last Night?

"Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." - Luke 15:7, ESV

Last night at Wednesday Night @ PFB, the party in heaven lasted 5 times as long because we saw 5 people surrender their lives to Jesus.  After that, we saw four people profess their love for and commitment to Christ by being baptized.  What was even more exciting about the baptisms was that 1 person planned to get baptized that night and three jumped in in their clothes.  AWESOME!!!

I'm telling you: I will never get used to this.  I will never get used to people surrendering to Jesus.  I will never get used to people getting baptized.  I will never get used to more people showing up to worship Jesus.  And I'm convinced that this should be  the exact same thing for every single Christian on the planet.  If there is ever a point when Christians no longer go after those who do not know Jesus, we no longer are living as Jesus did.  His whole reason for coming to earth was to seek and to save the lost.  Jesus' call to us is the exact same thing.  I've said it before: when Christians are content with the size of their churches, it is then that they've become content with the idea of people going to hell.  This can never be.

So we celebrate.  We rejoice with heaven.  Now, let's get back to work so that the party in heaven never stops.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

GET ACCOUNTABILITY...

This article angered me and reminded me that we as leaders and ministers to youth better be above reproach and have people speaking into our lives in order to stay away from this.  If you're a youth pastor and do not have a mentor and/or accountability, you're a fool.

Article: http://bit.ly/d69ViG

Error On The Side Of Charity

Today I was driving through the parking lot at our church.  As I turned the corner I saw a homeless woman lying on the ground using her luggage as a pillow.  Here's the sad thing: I kept driving.  As I made it to the office to get on with my day, the parable of the Good Samaritan came to my mind and conviction smacked me upside my head.  So I got back in my car and went back to check on her.  As I walked up I checked to make sure she was okay.  She told me that she was just resting her legs.  So I got back in my car to go and get ready for my day.  But Jesus had other plans.  I couldn't get her out of my mind.  So I went back and asked if I could buy her lunch.  She gave me her detailed order from Subway and I was off to go and get it.  I came back and gave it to her.  I then turned the car off and chatted with her while she ate her lunch.  I found out her name was Lisa and that she was originally from Dallas, Texas.  She was in California looking for her grown children but didn't know where they were or if they were even alive.  I talked to her about God and answered some questions that she had.  I invited her to Wednesday Night @ PFB.  After listening to her, I went my way and she stayed and finished her lunch.

As I drove off, this thought came to my mind: "Whatever you do for one of the least of these my brothers, you do to me." But instead of a heart of satisfaction I began to wonder what I had really done.  Did I treat Lisa exactly the way that I would have treated Jesus if he were there instead of her? Some would say that that is not a fair example because the woman was homeless.  So was Jesus.  He's the one who said that he had nowhere to lay his head.  So did I treat her the exact same way that I would have treated Jesus if I ran into him in this same scenario today? And I know that that there are some who say, "I never give money to the homeless because they're just going to go and buy alcohol."  That's crazy, because that's exactly what they accused Jesus of being - a drunkard and a glutton.

Lisa changed my plans today.  She changed my mindset because I started thinking about things that I normally wouldn't be thinking about today.  She confronted me with what I really think about Jesus.  She confronted me with what others think about Jesus.  She never accused Christians of anything.  She never slammed anyone.  She just sat there, ate lunch and asked questions.  My response: I sat there, watched her eat, and asked myself questions as I listened to her.  Lisa, thanks for changing my plans today.  It was definitely a needed break from the monotonous.

How's your day been? How have you loved Jesus today?

Please be praying...

TO: My amazing prayer team

I'm so sorry that this is getting out so late this week.  Here are some updates and requests:

1.  Rainbow Acres was an absolutely amazing trip.  I am blown away every year about what Jesus does through this trip to Rainbow.  Community is built in 4 days there that would never happen back here at home.  There's something about serving together that creates a family community in a ministry.  If you're interested you can check out what we did on the trip by clicking here.

2.  Please pray for Wednesday night tonight.  We are continuing through our study of Song of Solomon called, "Love, Sex, and the Bible."  Tonight is a very graphic passage of Scripture as we look at Song of Solomon 4 - a look inside the honeymoon suite of the newly married couple.  This is such a necessary topic to look at as a church so that this next generation understands what God truly says about sex and relationships.

3.  I'm speaking tomorrow morning at Upland Christian Junior High School for their chapel.  Please pray that God says exactly what he needs to say (as if he won't) and that it will create a connection between the graduating 8th graders and our ministry here at PFB.

4.  I'm teaching this Sunday morning at ELEVATE at PFB.  We are continuing through our study of the book of Philippians.

5.  I'm speaking at the Baccalaureate services for Bonita High School this Sunday afternoon at 3:00pm.  I'm so excited for this opportunity.  I am still praying about the passage to share to this graduating class, but I do have a little glimpse of what God is wanting to say.  Please pray that people will come to know Jesus through this service.  Please also pray that this time spent on Sunday will connect people that attend the service to visit PFB in the future if they don't already have a church home.

Thanks again for always lifting me up in prayer.  It does not go unnoticed.  Love you guys.