Disneyland here we come!

If you have not heard by now Student Ministries will be absent from church this Sunday. No Middle School Students, no High School Students, no classes, nothing. Don’t be sad though it is a good thing, and not just for the parents who get a weekend of peace and quiet! On Friday night at about midnight, 50 staff and students will be loading a charter bus bound for Disneyland, CA.

The trip, as fun as it sounds, is not ONLY about our 12-hour day at Disneyland on Saturday. It is actually more about Sunday morning when we will attend an outreach service designed specifically for teens. “Mike, what does an outreach service for teens look like?" Well, I’m glad you asked, here is a brief description: LOUD music, including some hip-hop and rap, a really funny skit or two, a speaker with enough energy to make Pastor Tim look exhausted, and the amazing, wonderful, and clearly presented Gospel of Jesus. Yeah, it tends to be a bit on the wild side, but THANK GOD for trips like these!

I say ‘THANK GOD’ because out of the 50 people going with us this weekend about 14 of them presumably do not have a relationship with Jesus! AWWWWWEEEEE YEEEEAAAAAHHHH! I said ‘14!’ Can you believe that? If you can’t tell, I am pumped about it. I am pumped for two reasons: 1) the obvious one, because WE ARE TAKING 14 TEENS WHO NEED TO HEAR THE GOSPEL, AND THEY WILL!!!! 2) And because of our HS and MS students here at Compass who rose to the challenge by not looking at this as another fun trip to go on, but as an opportunity to reach their friends for Jesus! AMEN!

Speaking of ‘AMEN,’ would you commit to praying for us this weekend? Actually, if you are crazy enough I would even invite you to come to the church at about 11:45pm on Friday night to pray with us before we leave, but that is only if you are REALLY crazy, right? Anyway, pray for safety, pray for our staff as we attempt to build relationships with new students, and pray for our new students, pray that the Spirit of God would have his way with them!

Pastor Mike

Colossians 1:9-10

God's Love

In the last few days I have been challenged twice with this thought: “Maybe God gave me my children (Lexi and Isaac), so that I would understand his love for me as His child.”

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Isaiah 1:2&3

When I picked up by bible and began reading the book of Isaiah today I was immediately struck by these verses, because God spoke of the nation of Israel as his children! My heart began to break as I continued to read about the judgment and punishment Israel would face for turning it’s back on God, as he warned them it would if they did not become “willing and obedient.”

Words cannot express the love that I have for Lexi and Isaac. They are my children. I love playing with them, I love being able to watch them grow and continue to develop personalities, and I love being their dad! As a result of that, every day, I passionately pray that God would draw them to Himself, so that they may know Him the way I do. There is nothing on this earth that I want more than to see my children passionately love God. With that being said, I cannot imagine how God felt seeing his children walk so far away from him, and so deliberately. They were so easily swayed! 

This is all still very fresh on my mind. I am certain that God is not finished teaching me through this perspective. But, I tell you what I have learned. I have learned to understand God’s love for me on a whole new level. My mind cannot fathom having a deeper love than the love that I have for my kids. But, I am a finite and sinful human being, meaning that Gods love for me, as His child is infinitely greater than the love I have for my children; and that, ladies and gentlemen, blows me away!