"Man vs. Wild" Series: Part 2

We addressed the 2 temptation of Matthew 4:1-11 this week in FUEL. This temptation was to make God resuce Him. Jesus was asked to throw Himself off of the pinnacle of the temple and to make God save Him. Satan quoted that God would not allow Him to be harmed by sending His angels to protect Him from harm. Jesus then quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, "you shall not put the Lord your God to the test." This part of the series focused on not testing God but simply relying on Him through our faith to protect us and guide us in all of situations that come in life. We all come from different life circumstances but we all must rely on God because of what He has done for us and what He promises to do through us. He doesn't need us but we definitely need Him. He does want us because we are His children and He desires a deeper relationship with each of us. His sovereignty is what makes it possible for us to follow Him through each adn every situation because we know He is in charge and in control of all things that happen here on earth. He is our God whose authority is unquestionable and unchallengeable beause He is the Creator and Sustainer of the entire world.

Strength To Stand Conference in Pigeon Forge, TN

I am still tired from one of the best weekends yet in the life of our student minstry. We took 38 students, 2 children, and 10 adults to the Strength to Stand Conference in Pigeon Forge, TN on 1/16-1/18 which is organized by the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association. This was a great weekend filled with great worship led by Rush of Fools and preaching by Jay Strack, Jared Herd, Scott Dawson, and David Nasser. The theme this year was "STIR" based on 2 Timothy 1:6. We are called to stir the gift and stir the world as followers of Christ. The most exciting part of the weekend came when 3 of our students accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This came on Sunday night when Scott Dawson presented the Gospel to 7200+ students and adults. I had the privilege of leading our students in their decision during this time. There were tears and hugs and smile galore as these students made the greatest life-changing decision ever. We also had several students recommit their lives to Jesus Christ as they had fallen away from His authority in their lives recently. I will be praying for these students and their new-found faith in our Lord!

"Man vs. Wild" Series: Part 1

In FUEL this week, we began our new series called "Man vs. Wild". This is going to be a 3 part series detailing Jesus in the wilderness and will include "survival" games. We played a game of who could eat the raw fish (sushi) faster this week. In part 1, we addressed His forst temptation: Hunger. We looked at how Jesus did not give into Satan's temptation of turing stones into bread so that He would not be hungry anymore. We analyzed how Satan would have ruined God's plan for a sinless Savior and thereby eliminating our ability to gain access to heaven. This is an event where Jesus was able to demonstrate His trust in God's provision and ultimately God purpose for Jesus and all of mankind. Jesus also demonstrated waiting on God's timing for things to happen. We often struggle with this and we want to push the envelope ourselves and make things happen. God has a perfect timing for everything and we have to trust in that because He is God.

Where Do I Find Truth?

We had a great night at FUEL this week. We had 40 students show up for a normal Wednesday night service. The atmosphere was great with some great praise songs led by a student, Kelli Crawford, who did a wonderful job. The feeling in the room was awesome with the students watching and listening with great intent. I shared with the students about "Where Can You Find Absolute Truth?" We looked at several passages of Scripture regarding the Word of God. I used 2 Peter 1:12-15 as the main passage to show how Peter had such a great desire for people to read God's Word even up until his impending death. I shared my personal experiences with the Bible and how it is life-changing, transforming, and encouraging. I explained how the we, as believers, need to get alone and in silence with the Word of God. The Words will come to life and we should tremble at His Words (Isaiah 66:2). I pray that we all learned how we need to be alone with God so that He can transform our lives. I also pray that we have a passion for each other to grow in the Lord. We need to have an accountability to one another for us all to be like Christ.

New Year's Revolutions

The last night of FUEL for 2009 was a great night. We had a great time of worship and I spoke on spiritual disciplines as a means of change for 2010. These New Year's revolutions are vital to a believer and what better time to recommit your life to them than at the beginning of a new year. The revolutions consisted of 1. Read the Bible, 2. Pray to God, 3. Give to God, 4. Go to Church, and 5. Serve Others. These 5 spiritual disciplines are things we do but may not actually commit ourselves to. My challenge to our students was to make a commitment to doing these things more, more effectively, or even just to start doing them in general. The reasons behind these disciplines is because God commands us and expects us to do these things. God has done His part by revealing Himself through Scipture and we can follow that with praying returning favor to Him, meeting with a body of believers, and serving those in need. I pray I can make the same transformation for this coming year to improve my walk with Christ by doing these things better.

Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Wins #2000 And I Was There!

Monday night, December 21st at 7 pm the Kentucky Wildcats started a game against Drexel University at Rupp Arena. I was in attendance with my wife, Lori, and sitting in section 230 row FF seats 5 and 6. The game was a blowout with UK winning 88-44. Demarcuse Cousins and Patrick Patterson led the team in scoring with 18 points a piece and John Wall had 16 points along with 7 assists. Cousins also led the way with 13 rebounds in the rout. #3 ranked Kentucky improved to 12-0 on the season with historical win #2000. Immediately after the game, confetti and streamers filled the air of Rupp Arena and the crowd stayed standing in their places. No one was leaving early from this celebration. After the game Coach John Calipari and his team came to center court with a microphone. He addressed the crowd about how this team has only had a small part in the wins at Kentucky but that the fans have been here the entire time. Calipari said, "People have a pride in their Commonwealth's team and it means something to them." He also handed the microphone to Coach Adolph Rupp's son who told of how proud his father would have been. Former coach, Joe B. Hall, and former players (Jamal Mashburn, Kenny "Sky" Walker, etc.) were all in attendance for the momentous occasion. The evening was great and I look forward to #3000 but first a National Championship is in order - maybe the 2010 one? :)

Went to NYC to Watch the CATS Play UConn

I was in New York City last week from Wednesday 12/9 to Saturday 12/12. Lori and I went to Madison Square Garden to watch the Kentucky Wildcats beat the UConn Huskies 64-61! The game was great as it came down to the wire with the CATS pulling it out. I made a sign and took it with me... it read "The Great Wall of Kentucky Stretches from Lexington to NYC". It was so good that it got me on ESPN several times. I got texts throughout the game from friends and family saying they saw me on TV. It made the game that much more fun! We also toured Yankee Stadium and saw the restaurant used in Seinfeld. We went to a Broadway show called "Memphis" which was also very good. We had a great time in NYC with Lori's friend Tashena who lives there. It made for a great trip and some wonderful memories!