Come Empty

"Christians often complain that private prayer is not what it should be.  They feel weak and sinful, the heart is cold and dark; it is as if they have so little to pray, and in that little no faith or joy.  They are discouraged and kept from prayer by the thought that they cannot come to the Father as they ought or as they wish.  Child of God! listen to your Teacher.  He tells you that when you go to private prayer your first thought must be: The Father is in secret, the Father waits me there.  Just because your heart is cold and prayerless, get you into the presence of the loving Father.  As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth you.  Do not be thinking of how little you have to bring to God, but of how much He wants to give you.  Just place yourself before, and look up into, His face; think of His love, His wonderful, tender, pitying love.  Just tell Him how sinful and cold and dark all is: it is the Father's loving heart will give light and warmth to yours."

-Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer, p. 24.

Answers Within the Precious Pages

The following is a sneak peak at what I wrote for the newsletter that will soon be coming out.  If you'd like to receive these newsletters (about 5 per year) by email or snail mail, let me know.

Since my involvement with Living Hope’s 6^th-12^th graders began about four years ago, a certain thought has kept me persevering.  It is always in the back of my mind, but I remember two specific instances when this idea came with an overwhelming force, leaving a lasting impact.  The first time was two years ago at a girls slumber party.  As I listened to the girls share about their lives, I heard a lot of pain, hurt, and anger.  I could read between the lines that they did not believe they would be able to keep themselves pure for the marriage bed.  Perceiving that they did not understand their incredible value and did not yet grasp who their God really was and the massive impact that could have on their lives, I inwardly grieved.  As I looked down at my treasured Bible, the realization came so suddenly and strongly: These girls are suffering and struggling, and the answer to all of it lies within these precious pages.

Last weekend we took 13 of our students on a retreat to a beautiful camp in northern Wisconsin.  Having a lot of time with the kids, I was impacted again by the places of pain and brokenness many of them come from.  There were stories of absent fathers, family strife, divorce, violence, anger, and deep depression.  I had heard much of it before in isolated tidbits, but to have so much pain all in one place brought a heaviness that kept me awake at night.  The first night by about 1 a.m. I realized that sleep was not coming; it was time to have a talk with my Father.  I climbed out of bed and sat in the cabin’s hallway, fingering my Bible and feeling the weight of that thought from two years before.  The answers to the anger, guilt, pain, and despair that weigh down on these kids are found in this Book—and in its Subject, Jesus Christ.

Our theme for the retreat was “The Cross”, and we were camping out on Isaiah 53 all weekend.  I read it again: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows…He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (vv. 4a, 5, NIV).  Thankfulness washed over me--Jesus came to carry the weight of all our sorrow and every sin—not only our own, but sins that have been committed against us!  It was a comfort that I could roll the burden of these kids’ sorrows onto the strong back of my Savior and trust His healing power in their lives.

Many beautiful things happened that weekend, but there is still a long journey ahead.  As we meet each Wednesday night, our 20+ participants are being challenged to encounter God as they hear and read the precious pages of God’s Word.  It is a privilege to work with these students, and I am blessed to see God at work in their lives.  Pray that each one will come to Jesus for cleansing, healing, and the filling of the Spirit.  He is more than able to make them whole, joyful, united, and obedient disciples of Christ.

School Year 2010-11 at Living Hope

After 2 months without regular children's programs (1 month without youth group), we are finally starting up again!  This time off has been necessary, giving us a bit of rest and allowing us to recruit and train a fabulous crew of the Lord's servants for this year or ministry.  However, I speak for many of the children, parents, and volunteers when I say, "We're excited!  It's finally time!"

Let me share with you the programs we are offering this school year:

Tuesdays and Thursdays:

One by One Tutoring and Mentoring  (6:30-8:00 p.m.)  Students in Kindergarten through 5th grade are paired up with one tutor for the whole school year.  Once a week (on either Tuesday or Thursday) they come for tutoring.  Tutors pick up their students so that they have opportunities to get into the homes and develop relationships with the students' whole family.  Then they spend about an hour with the child, working on reading, writing, and math.  The evening ends with all the children coming together for Bible Club, a half hour which includes songs and a Bible lesson.

• Praise God for this program, which steps in to fill a gigantic need in the lives of these families (academic help), but--even more--makes children aware of their deeper need for Jesus Christ.
• Please pray for more tutors to come forward.  We have well over 30 kids who are waiting for a tutor.
• Pray that the tutors will work with excellence and truly help these children academically.  Pray that God will give each tutor a deep love for their student and will bring about many opportunities to share the love of Christ

Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m.

Dinner (6-6:25): After picking up a majority of the kids and parents involved in our Wednesday programs, we enjoy a meal together.  This is a blessing for those families who are struggling to make ends meet, and it is also a wonderful time for relationships to be built and truth to be spoken.

Transformers:  This is a Bible club for kids in preschool (starting at age 2) through 5th grade.  Children worship together and enjoy a puppet show or skit as an introduction to their Bible lesson.  Then, in separate age groups, they have an interactive Bible lesson, memory verse, crafts, games, etc.  Teachers are strongly encouraged to develop relationships with the kids in their class and stay in touch with them beyond the Wednesday night program.  

Youth Group: The older kids (6th-12th grade) join me and my fellow leaders for a time of fun games (always for the purpose of building community and teamwork), worship, prayer, and Bible study.  A huge focus for us this year is to set high standards for the kids and help them to make their faith their own.  We will be doing service projects throughout the year, and next summer (God willing) we will take them on their first mission trip!

Adult Bible Study: This year we are able to have all the age groups at the church at once.  We are seeking to encourage parental involvement in a couple of ways. First, because the kids in Transformers and Youth Group will be learning the same topics each Wednesday, we hope to give parents ways that they can supplement these lessons with their whole family at home.  Secondly, we also want to feed the parents as much as we can.  This year, Steve will be taking adults through the Truth Project video series and the Experiencing God Bible Study.  

• Praise God for raising up wonderful leaders and volunteers and developing these Wednesday programs.  We are thankful and count it a privilege to work in God's harvest field.
• Pray that every person who comes to our programs will hear the gospel in a way they can understand and that God will open their eyes to see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
• Pray that each volunteer will love and serve passionately, with strong commitment.  Pray that they will remain faithful to God's word, dependent on His Spirit, and do all things for His glory
• Please join us in praying for strong parental involvement.  May God raise up several adults and teens from this community to be strong Christian leaders in Northeast Minneapolis.

Sunday Nights:

Prayer and Praise: A couple of years ago, God gave me a very simple conviction: pray corporately for Living Hope.  These prayer meetings started out small, but God has been faithful to answer our prayers for more prayer warriors. Each week we meet together to worship and to pray however the Lord leads.  These nights are open to people in the community, volunteers/staff, and anyone else who wants to come to the throne with us.  This year it has been a blessing to have several guys from Northwestern College come consistently--guys who had never once been to one of our ministry programs, but who had heard about what God is doing and just love to pray.

• Pray that God will continue to stir in people's hearts to pray and seek His face
• Please pray that God will honor the prayers of His people--not only those of us who pray on Sunday nights, but also the prayers of our volunteers, our 350+ prayer partners scattered throughout the world, and other believers who are praying on behalf of Northeast Minneapolis
• Pray that God would develop a strong community through this
• Pray that parents, youth, and even children from Northeast will be excited to participate