Camp Tekoa, etc.
The Weekend Update:
In one word: Fulfilling and God-honoring! We had a great weekend as we traversed from one side of the state of NC to the other in just 3 short days. Friday we loaded up our Trooper and headed for Hendersonville, NC just shy of Ashville where we led worship for Parkwood Baptist Church’s high school fall retreat. Andy Cherry and Skylar Mcnabb came along with us and did an amazing job as usual. Parkwood students are a rare and dying breed. These kids know the Word of God. They love the Word of God. They are passionate for Jesus. And they worship from their hearts unlike any student ministry I’ve ever been a part of. No doubt their maturity level in regard to spiritual things is due wholly or at least in part to the incredible leadership and biblical teaching they sit under every week.
Brian Lowe, the youth pastor there for the last 8 years taught them God’s Word expositorally and unapologetically. He resigned this summer feeling the call of God on his life to plant Exodus Church in Belmont, NC which will be launching a few short months from now. All of that to say, these kids have been fed deeply from the Word, and continue to do so on their own as they grow in maturity in the Gospel.
Saturday night, following the last session, Tasha and I packed up our things and our kids and headed across the state to Henderson, NC, 45 minutes northeast of Raleigh/Durham. I was asked to preach for the Homecoming service Sunday morning at New Sandy Creek Baptist Church where I served on staff for 4 years from ’02 – ’06. It was awesome to be back there and see the awesome things that God is doing there. There is a definite sense of God’s presence in that place, and a sense of the Spirit of God moving and working in the hearts of people.
I preached 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, Paul’s prayer for the church of Thessalonica. I made it my prayer for New Sandy Creek and encouraged them to:
1. Let Christ increase your love for one another (v. 12),
2. Let Christ establish you blameless (v. 13), and
3. Let Christ establish you in holiness (v. 13).
Thank you for your prayers for us over the weekend.