Standing in Awe

The sermon at New Life on Sunday was about Joseph, the son of Jacob (not the father of Jesus).  Kyle talked about pain and what we use to defend ourselves and ultimately our limited perspective.  As I re-listened to the sermon I was forced to think and reflect upon my own tendencies.  One of the questions Kyle posed was "What is your go to for self protection and self promotion?"  Like many others, as I thought about this questions, I realized that my primary go to is to just shut down.  Don't let anyone in, don't talk about what is going on, just act happy.  I will say that I have grown a lot in this in the last year, but it is definitely still my go to.  How often are we told to do that?  Just be normal, don't disturb anyone, whatever is going on is YOUR problem so deal with it yourself.  Then when we do hear these messages, rather than actually deal with it, it often seems easier to just stuff it down. For Joseph this looked like him fo...

Announcement:  Baptism Service THIS Sunday, November 3rd at 1:30pm at New Life Church I want to really encourage you to consider coming to this, even if you don't live in Ann Arbor.  It is such a beautiful display of God's redemptive power and love for His children. Reflection: Alright I'm going to be really honest: the last few weeks have been pretty hard.  Between going through some of my own emotional turmoil as well as a lot of conflict with a lot of different people lets just say my anxiety levels were running a bit high.  I had gotten to the point where I was sick to my stomach, not really eating, not really sleeping and had a headache for almost 5 days.  Yup.  Anxiety.  Much of it has since subsided, but today I was thinking about anxiety and how it is not of God.  I looked up some versus and read a devotional about anxiety.  In James 1: 5-6 it says "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting , for he who doubts is like a w...

Announcements: This Friday is Campus United: A good friend of mine organizes this event which is a worship concert on the University of Michigan Diag that unites all the Christian groups on campus to come together and worship God! This Saturday is the New Life Church homecoming tailgate: I would love for you to join us in cheering on the Wolverines and for a great fun way to see ministry in action! November 3rd New Life Church will be having a baptism service.  If you have wanted to visit NLC and have not had the motivation to do so, I would highly encourage you to make a point to make it to this.  I cry every time at the testimonies people give of how God has redeemed their lives. In other news, I don't have a ton to share this week or anything super deep, but do have a lot to be thankful for.  Today I gained my 30th supporter!  It is amazing to see how God has led me to people I never imagined I would talk to let alone would join my ministry support tea...

Alright people get ready, this is rich.   I had the best quiet time I have had in probably months the other morning and I am about to share it with you.   So as I have mentioned I am doing a bible reading plan to read the entire bible in a year.   I started on January first so I’m getting close!   You may not think if Chronicles as a book of great revelation, but on this particular morning it was for me. So to give you a bit of back-story basically the Israelites go through a seemingly endless cycle of having God’s favor, turning away from him and worshipping other gods, God smiting them so they will turn back to Him, repeat.   It is in 2 Chronicles 20 where we pick up.   Jehoshaphat is the current king ruling over Israel and he has turned the nation back to God.   All is going well until the Moabites Ammonites and Meunites decide that they want to attack the Isrealites.   Jehoshaphat receives the message that a vast army i...

Firstly I have an announcement: We will be hosting a New Life Tailgate for UM's Homecoming weekend on Saturday, October 5th (tailgate starts at 11:30am ) .  I want to invite you to come and see our ministry in action!  Football game days can be a time of great fun but also great temptation for students.  Please come join me at the Tailgate for some food and a chance to meet some of the students I minister to.  There will be a $5 suggested donation for the food that will go toward helping me and my co-workers stay fully funded and working on campus this school year.  Secondly, what I have been thinking about lately how God really can use every situation for good.  I was talking with a friend last night and we were discussing how we have had a lot of friends go through rough situations in the last year.  Being in a season of support raising is not something a lot of people see as a blessing at first glance.  However, I have been thinkin...

"I love everything about the way I look."  How many times have you said that to yourself in the last week? Year? Ever??  To be completely honest I don't know if I have ever said to myself.  Body image is something I have struggled with most of my life like a lot of other men and women.  I could always lose a few pounds here or be firmer there, or if I could just look like her I would be happy.  Lies. A few weeks ago I had the privileged to go on the New Life staff bonding trip to Cleveland with 43 of my co-laborers in Christ.  We didn't do much of anything besides relax, get to know each other, and worship the Lord.  One particular night however has stuck with me.  I was sitting out by the fire with some guys on the staff team and we were discussing how truly awesome (in the real sense of the word) God's is.  As we saw the power of the waves on the lake crashing onto the rocks we remarked how mighty and strong God is and then we looked up...

Confession: I have a reading problem.  I cannot just read one book.  For a while I was reading two books while listening to a third on audio all in addition to my Bible reading plan.  I finished one book and the audio book and thought I had become a rational human being again, but I have since started reading three more!  However, God has strangely used this madness to speak to me.  In one book about prayer, there are questions at the end of each chapter and this last set really made me think.  One question in particular struck me: " What seems 'off limits' in your prayer life? "  In one of the other books that I am reading, Radical Together by David Platt, he challenges the reader to consider what good things we have in our lives that are preventing great things from happening. In both of these questions I think it all boils down to how much we trust God.  In my life I have had a lot of flaky friends and often felt abandoned and alone....