Justice and Mercy

This past Sunday I was given the humble privilege and joy of preaching at Emergence due to the commissioning of Emergence this weekend across the street at Jacksonville Chapel.  Emergence officially planted as an independent church January 1, 2012.  Our move into the new building is tentatively scheduled for December 18th (please pray for this!).  They are currently preaching through the book of Malachi, so as it landed, I picked up in Malachi 2:17-3:5.  I preached on the Justice and Mercy of God.  I must say, as when I prepare any sermon, I'm preaching to myself, and this particular message was convicting to my heart.  Do I believe our God is a God of justice? Even when I see the wicked prospering and the righteous man suffering?   Do I trust in divine revelation over my own observation? Am I blind to any personal sin?  Have I treasured in my heart today, the deep reality of the indescribable mercy displayed through Christ in the gospel?

Oh, God was gracious to me this past Sunday, and it was a joy to be back in the pulpit!  It was a gift to serve the body in this way.  I was humbled in and through the ways in which the Spirit stirred this local expression of Christ's Church through His Word.

Kristin and I are still learning to trust God daily, with our future, finances, and wisdom during this season.  But it has been a sweet time, through the ups and downs, we remember that we serve a God who is perfectly just in all that He does, He is faithful to His promises, and His mercy has met our deepest need in absolving our sin that held us at odds with the Lord of glory. We are at peace with Him, what a cause to rejoice!  Our God is a God of justice and mercy.

Jehovah Jireh

We have a huge praise to report.  As of this past week, we have reached our monthly recurring financial goal! This is a tremendous provision from the Lord.  We are beyond thankful for each of you who have given sacrificially to see His Kingdom advanced in the NorthEast, and even more grateful to our great God.  He truly is Jehovah Jireh, our God who provides.  He has shown His hand of provision in many ways since our departure from NOVA, and this is another reminder of His character and His continued faithfulness.

One other exciting update is that I have been asked to preach in two weeks at Emergence.  I'm humbled by the opportunity and grateful. Please be praying for me as I prepare that God would receive the maximum glory.

Love and miss each of you dearly. We pray you enjoy the riches of the gospel this week!

10:34pm

It's 10:34pm and I thought it would be nice for you all to see the church we are currently worshipping at each week, so I've attached a picture I took last week during the service. I know visuals always help me get a better frame of reference, so I hope it does that for you as you try and picture where we are each week and the people we are serving with. Simple yet profound what God has chosen to do inside and more importantly outside of this "small" room.  As you see the people in this picture pray for boldness and courage as we replant Emergence in the new location Lord willing in 4 weeks.  

On a side, I (mike) read this passage tonight.  "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek." Hebrews 5:7-10.

Jesus was heard because of his "reverence and submission." It caused me to raise the level of reverence in my prayers and acknowledge that I am completely submitted to Him and His perfect authority and will every time that I pray. I hope it does the same for you.

Steps of Obedience

Sorry for the long break from our last update! The Plant NE conference in Boston was an encouraging time for us.  We went to the conference with another couple who will be church planting in the Northern NJ area through CMA (Christian Missionary Alliance) and who is currently interning at Emergence.  We were greatly encouraged by our time at the conference as it provided the opportunity to grow a friendship, to be encouraged by other church planters, and to receive wisdom from men and women who have gone before us to be missionaries in the NE area.  We were greatly encouraged by Mark Dever (the keynote speaker) who taught about the 9 Marks of a Gospel-Centered Church.  At the core of the conference was an emphasis on building a church that is built upon an unwavering devotion to the gospel.  We left refreshed and inspired to continue the race forward.  A true blessing.

The adjustment to NJ has become easier day by day.  As we continue to walk in obedience, God continues to provide for us in incredible ways.  Mike's discipleship group and service at Emergence has been challenging him, cultivating humility in him in beautiful ways.  He has been a wonderful support to me, as the transition to NJ was much more difficult for me than I had anticipated.  I have been encouraged by his spiritual maturity in the last month, specifically in the ways in which he has been embracing the opportunity to lead me spiritually with more vigor.

Thank you for your prayers for God's provision of a rental home.  After prayer and searching the rental market God clearly provided wisdom in answer to our prayers.  We decided to continue to live with my family until the spring.  Staying with family will allow us the time we need to prayerfully consider the location of the church plant and to have more clarity as to where we should live to invest in that specific community.  We feel great peace with this decision and know God has a great plan for us living with my family for an extended period of time.

This week has been full of spiritual encouragement for me personally.  I had the opportunity to begin meeting with a college student for discipleship this week.  I feel incredibly humbled to be pouring into and building up such a new and devoted follower of Christ.  I also began my Bible Reading Plan to read the bible in 1 year with the intensive discipleship group I will be part of.  Reading the word this week has been like drinking a refreshing glass of water.  It has been truly amazing to read the OT and NT each day and to be awakened to truths that increase my faith in the God we love and serve.  Mike and I also had the opportunity to spend the morning yesterday doing our devotions in a coffee shop where we were able to meet a woman named Rebekah and her young son.  I gave her my information and am hoping to begin a friendship with her.

Also, thank you for your prayers for friendships for us! God has continued to place couple's in our lives to build new friendship with.

We would love your prayers for the following: 

• Pray for the transition for Emergence as they replant their church in their new location this month
• Pray for our marriage that Christ will continue to be the center and that we, and our family, will be protected from the evil one 
• Pray for God to show us each day how to live obediently to his word that those around us will clearly see a correct representation of Christ and his church and the gospel 
• Pray for my time with Georgeanne who I will be meeting with for discipleship 2x a month
• Pray for a Rebekah and an opportunity to share the love of Christ with her through friendship 

Updates, Boston & Prayer

The past two weeks of transition have been an emotional roller coaster of ups and downs, but God has revealed His love and affection for us in faithful ways.  We are beyond grateful for your prayers and encouragement over the past 2 weeks.  Kristin applied for a job at the New York Sports Club as a great avenue to meet people, have gospel opportunities and another avenue of income in-between her substitute teaching, all the while being a great encourager to me.  The past two weeks have been extremely busy jumping into the internship, and it's been a growing process.  It's a strange reality when you move from teaching each week, leading a ministry and knowing most of the people in the congregation to a role of listening and serving and helping assist in whatever ways are needed. No one cares about your credentials, or what sermons you've preached, you are a simply a sinner saved by grace.  A humbling process but so good for me and God has used it to prune and shape me in many ways.  He is teaching me what it truly means to be found in Him and secure in His rich love and affection.

Last week Kristin and I spent an entire day driving around to many different towns and cities in Northeast NJ up to Southeast NY, praying, looking, talking and dreaming over where God would desires us to build His church.  It was an exciting day thinking about He is going to do in some of these potential areas!

This past weekend we were able to share our story of how God has brought us north at each of the 4 services, and the response from the people was beyond encouraging. Many were greatly encouraged and approached us with encouraging comments and a desire to know us deeper.  A few even mentioned how timely our testimony was in their own walk with the Lord and a reminder of God's desire to use His people and speak to them even today through His Spirit. We felt an incredible love from the body of Christ. One couple invited us to their home for lunch Sunday afternoon and it was a sweet time of fellowship that was deeply needed.

Sunday afternoon Kristin and I will head up to Boston for a church planting conference with another church planting couple we met who have been a rich blessing. We are excited for a few days away and time to learn, grow and meet other people who have a heart to see gospel centered churches birthed in the NorthEast and New England areas.

We love and miss you all so much, but Christ is fixing our eyes on the future ahead with the mission God has called us to. A few prayer requests we would treasure from you as you think of us:

1) That God would bring in the remaining 7% needed to meet our monthly financial support goal
2) Kristin would be offered the job at NYSC
3) That God would provide a home to rent that is affordable and in a good location

With deep affection in Christ,
Mike & Kristin

We've Arrived!

We've arrived! After a long week of packing and saying goodbye's it's hard to believe that we are in the place where our new journey begins.  A huge thank you to all of you who helped us move our belongings out Friday.  As we drove up Saturday morning I (Mike) felt as though I was in the cockpit of a plane with all of the stuff surrounding me in my car.  Surreal to actually believe what had been prayed and talked about for so long was actually coming true.  By God's grace we were able to get ourselves completely moved into the upstairs bedroom of Kristin's Dad's house for the temporary, yet grateful provision from the Lord while we search for a more permanent home.

I began my internship at Emergence Church yesterday and Kristin is gearing up for substitute teaching, brainstorming ways to get her tutoring business going, and has been an incredible help mate to me and loving me so wonderfully through this process. I must admit that I did not think the transition up here would be as challenging as it has been internally, but God is so faithful.  I guess nothing can really prepare you for uprooting your life and moving to a new area and meeting new people and jumping into a new ministry.  I am beyond excited to worship Jesus this Sunday at Emergence as Ryan, the Lead Pastor, has been walking through their vision series to gear up the congregation for the future of church planting in the Northeast. He has also asked me to share our story from the stage next weekend October 2! What a privilege.  I began an Intensive Discipleship group that meets every other week with 12 other godly men to grow in our theology, love for Jesus and His mission, and as men of God, and Lord willing Kristin will begin another I.D. group with some of the women in the next couple of weeks.  

Monday I will be traveling with some of the men up to Troy, NY for an Acts29 conference for the day. There is much to think about with the future wide open and much uncertainty, but we are taking it one day at a time.  We are beyond blessed by God's faithful provisions for us in every way throughout this process.  Please pray that God would give us rich new friendships, courage, peace, and clear direction from Him as we begin to move forward and pray about where specifically in the Northeast He desires us to be used for the Kingdom.  A verse that has been a treasure for us is Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you or forsake you." We miss you all very much, but are excited for this new season of life.  Enjoy the riches of the gospel today!