How Great Thou Art

Heard this song this morning on Pandora radio and wanted to let everyone know that no matter what God is GREAT!!!!

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God,
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all
The works Thy Hand hath made,
I see the stars,
I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy pow'r throughout
The universe displayed;

When through the woods
And forest glades I wander
I hear the birds
Sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down
From lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook
And feel the gentle breeze;

Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come,
With shouts of acclamation,
And take me home,
What joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim,
"My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!

Take some time today and thank God for his GREATNESS!!!!

Spirit Of Thanksgiving

As we approach one of my favorite times of year I wanted to take a moment and thank God for what He has done for me.

First of all I am so thankful for the family that He has allowed me to father. Last night I asked Paige what she was thankful for. She thought for a moment and said "my mommy, my daddy and my Bubby." I had tears in my eyes because even at 4 she is thankful for something that ALOT of people take for granted.

Secondly I am thankful for Pastor Jerry Laudermilk and Abundant Life Tabernacle. Pastor Jerry has made me a better person, minister and pastor.

Thirdly I am thankful for the group of teens Jesus has allowed me to pastor. We had our "biggest crowd" yet for a Sunday morning on Sunday. I know it is not about the numbers but it was encouraging to see the amount of teens that were in the class. Of the 28 teens that were in the class over 1/2 raised their hand for salvation or rededication.

Fourthly I am thankful for the heritage of my parents and my in-laws and what each set of families have taught me.

Lastly I am thankful for the men and women of God that have spoken into my life in times past
and what they have en stilled into me.

I found this pic below this was on November 21st 2010; a total of 28 in class 14 of which either rededicated their lives or made first time decisions. 

What are you thankful for today? Take the time and evaluate your life I am SURE you can find at least one thing to stop and THANK GOD for.

More Updates For The Lifebook

I have been so encouraged by the response for The Lifebooks from our teens. I received the following update from a teen in my youth ministry that by all accounts should not even be serving God. She comes from a broken home, has a verbally & alcoholic father, has dealt with self injury but yet she wants so much of HIM.

This wonderful teen sent me a text yesterday and let me know that she had given away 3 books. She gave one to a fellow student that IMMEDIATELY told her she wanted one. The second one she gave out was to a young man that has had a lot of the same problems that she has experienced. Apparently he saw the book in her hand and said "Is that the book you were talking to me about?" She said "yes" he then said "Can I have one?" she said "Of Course" and he took it. The last book she gave out was placed in the girls bathroom with a simple note on it that said "Having Problems...?" This book will help and it is free! She went back into the bathroom after her last period and it was gone.

I also had 3 more teens that came to me and told me that they needed more books and she took 20 Lifebooks with her!!!

I am so excited for what this outreach is doing in the lives of the teens God has so graciously given to my care.

Who Is He To you

The other night in youth I taught on "Who Is He To You". The scripture reference was in Matthew 16 when Jesus asked the loaded question "Who Do Men Say That I Am?". I am sure you remember that story; it is one of the most, in my opinion, moving stories in the New Testament. The thing I love about this story was the fact it was the "dysfunctional and most emotional" disciple that saw Jesus for who He really was. The thing I love about Peter was his "passion" for God, although sometimes the passion was misguided he was "passionate" none the less.

As I was teaching this lesson I could see that it was starting to take root. The important thing about this story was this: Jesus wanted His disciples to have a revelation of who He was. After travelling with Him for three and a half years the only one that "saw" HIM was Peter. In today's terms Peter would be dysfunctional but yet Peter was the one that walked on the water because of the word. It was Peter that, now, at a pivotal and crucial time in every one's life saw HIM for who He was.

We all have times in our lives when we see Jesus for who He really is. I like to call it the moment when Jesus comes down from the "felt board" and takes residence in our hearts. I do not know when "that moment" happened with Peter. Was it when Jesus was feeding 5k+ with some fish and loaves, or was it when He was performing numerous miracles. We could sit here and speculate all day.

In closing my question to you is this: Who Is He To You? He is my Savior, Strong Tower and Peace In The Midst Of The Storm.

First Bible Purchased

Let me say how EXCITED I am as a youth pastor. I received an email from one of the teens God has blessed me to pastor and she let me know that last night she went to Barnes & Noble and purchased her FIRST BIBLE EVER. I am so proud of her and she is also bringing a friend with her to the youth ministry tonight for our weekly Bible Study. God is getting ready to send revival to Mansfield and Richland county!!!!

The Lifebook

Hello Everyone:
I forgot to mention this update and it is probably the most amazing one. About 2 months ago I had two teens come to me worried about a friend of there's that claimed to be an "atheist" and they were worried about her. They asked me for my advice and what I could do for this friend. My first thought was "The Lifebook" so I went to my office on Sunday morning and gave these two teens a copy of the Lifebook that I printed from the website. The next day they gave it to their friend and that same friend came to church with them that following Wednesday and she gave her heart to God!!!!

More Updates For The Lifebook

I received a final text last evening from another teen in my youth ministry. She had only handed out one Lifebook yesterday but she advised that in the few hours the recipient had the book there were some AMAZING results. She let me know that she is going to more than likely be coming with her to church on Wednesday night or Sunday morning.

** More Details Will Follow As We Continue With Our Saturation Week**

The Lifebook

Hey Everyone:
Day one is almost in the books and I am hearing some INCREDIBLE testimonies about The Lifebook.

One teen stated she gave out four and some of those teens said: they needed that and they needed to become closer to God and that the book would help them get there.

Another teend told me that God had placed three people on her heart and she had the opportunity to give all three of them the books.

* Apparently of the three, only one OPENLY accepted it; the other two have been talking to her about it and she told them to read it; there may be something in there that would help them, which is inevitably true.

I am awaiting a reply from the other teens, check back frequently!