12,841 Feet

We accomplished one of Mary’s bucket list items last week.  To understand why it’s on her bucket list you need to know a little more about my wife.  Young Life was a huge part of Mary’s faith journey.  Through her Young Life leaders, she experienced what it’s like to be pursued by God, to trust Him, and to have a relationship with Him.  When she was a teenager she went to Frontier Ranch Young Life Camp near Buena Vista, Colorado 3 times - twice as a camper and once as summer staff.  Young Life loves to help teens accomplish difficult things, like facing their fear of heights, or pushing them past what they think they can do.  At Frontier Ranch they would take the campers on a hike to the summit of Mount Chrysolite.  It’s a difficult hike, with lots of boulders and rocks to climb up, but the views at the top are great.  Mary remembers completing that hike when she was at Frontier Ranch, and for years it’s been on her bucket list to climb that mountain again.

So last week we stayed at Frontier Ranch Camp and climbed Mount Chrysolite. The hike has a 2,214 foot elevation gain, is 5.5 miles round trip, and the view at the top is at 12,841 feet.  Most of the hiking websites describe it as a “hard” or “difficult” hike.  And it was.  We took lots of breaks to make it to the top.  As we were nearing the top, I felt an adrenaline rush of excitement, and when we got to the top the feeling of accomplishment was great, and the view was even better!  Now we can cross “hiking Mount Chrysolite” off of Mary’s bucket list.  We still have to cross off “swimming with sharks” from her bucket list!

I’m so thankful for the Young Life ministry.  I’m thankful for the Young Life leaders that pursued Mary with a Christ-like love when she was a rebellious teenager.  Her life (and mine) would be way different without those leaders driving to her house and dragging her to Bible Study or to Club.  It was fun to text those leaders and send them pictures of us at the camp and climbing Mount Chrysolite.

The challenge I’m reminded of and want to pass on to you is, who is God asking you to relentlessly pursue, and stubbornly get them to youth group, or church, or Bible study.  Who is there in your workplace, or neighborhood, or school that God wants to use you to reach?  Christ pursued us when we were his enemies, he kept coming after us.  Now we can be the hands and feet of Jesus and pursue others to show them Christ!  Don’t underestimate your influence, and don’t give up on them.  You can a part of changing a life just like Mary’s young life leaders were.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Kyle

Abide

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”

John 15:9 ESV

Jesus tells us to “abide in my love”.  Other versions say remain in my love or continue in my love. 

God has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He has promised that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). In Psalm 139, which I will be teaching from this Sunday, we are reminded that there’s no where we can go from God’s presence.  But abiding in Him is more than simply knowing that He is always with us.  Abiding in Him implies some sort of action on our part.

In John 15, a passage about abiding in Christ, we see the picture of Jesus being the vine, and us being branches.  This picture of abiding reminds me that Jesus is my source of life, of strength, and of joy.  I am dependent on Him for everything.  Abiding is meditating on His words (1 John 2:24).  Abiding is being obedient (1 John 3:24, John 15:10).  Abiding is loving people (1 John 4:16).  And if I abide in Him, I will be fruitful and my life will bring Him glory (John 15:5)!  Apart from Him I can do nothing, I am fully dependent upon Him, and I need His help to abide in Him.

In our newest song we ask God to “Draw me close, and teach me to abide”.  We pray that this song will help us to abide in Christ.  We pray that it will remind us that we are desperately dependent upon Him for everything.  Thank you for singing along with us on Sundays!

Here’s a link to the song for you to be worshipping at home and declaring your dependence upon Him and asking Him to help you abide in Him.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Kyle

He's Been with Jesus

   The other week I was out to eat with some brothers and a man stopped by our table to tell us about Jesus.  This guy wasn’t dressed up like a preacher, or a white-collar businessman.  Nothing about his presence said that he was a distinguished person or well-educated man that everyone should listen to, but immediately you could tell that this guy had been with Jesus.  He was bold, and his presence was full of joy and gentleness and love.  He radiated Jesus with every word spoken, and we were greatly encouraged by his boldness to share Jesus with us!

            I love what the Scripture says about Peter and John in Acts 4:13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”  No matter how impressive or unimpressive we may think we are, when we spend time with Jesus through prayer and the Scriptures, people can see it.  When we spend time enjoying Jesus, it comes out in the way we interact with the world.

            Can people recognize that we are spending time with Jesus?  Would someone say that about you?  Of course, if we are not spending regular time with Him, that won’t be said of us.  When we spend more time with Him, our boldness to share Him with others will increase, we will find ourselves loving the people around us in a more powerful way.  It doesn’t matter how ordinary we might be, if we spend time with Jesus, really enjoying him, then people will know that there is something different about us.

            I’m praying that we will spend time daily enjoying Jesus, and it will be said of us that we have “been with Jesus”!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Kyle

Kyle’s Rightnow Media pick of the month: click Faith Foundations with David Platt

I Was A Child of the Devil, A Child of Darkness, A Child of Wrath!

Not that long ago Pastor Jack reminded us of a truth that sometimes gets confused.  Not everyone is a child of God.  To be clear, God is everyone’s creator and all of humanity is created in God’s image and therefore has value. But the Bible is very clear about who we were and who we are in Christ.

Ephesians 2:3 reminds us that at one time all of us were children of wrath, living according to the desires of the flesh, and deserving of God’s wrath against our sin.  John 8:44 shows us that for anyone who is not in Christ, as religious as he or she may be, they are a child of the devil.  1 Thessalonians 5:4-10 makes it clear that we are either children of light or children of darkness.

Even while I was growing up in the church, until I turned to Jesus in faith, I was a child of the devil, a child of darkness, and a child of wrath.  Had God not intervened, I never would have become his child.

One of my newest memory verses is John 1:12, “But to all who did receive him (Jesus), who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”.  1 John 3:1 says “See what kind of love the Father has lavished upon us, that we might be called children of God”.  Ephesians 1:5 and Romans 8:15-17 remind me that I have been adopted and am now a child of God.

I’m so thankful that at the core of who I am, I am a child of God saved by grace through faith in Jesus!  My core identity isn’t as a husband, or a father, or a pastor, but as a child of God. I want to live out of that identity everyday, and I want to share with others that they too, can be God’s child.

Pastor Kyle

I Have Beautiful Feet!

   We have a little inside joke in our home. Back in college some girl told me I have beautiful feet. I must have believed her at the time, because it stuck with me.  And now my whole family jokes about it. Every opportunity I get, I will passively comment about my feet being used to model for flip flops, or that my feet have the optimal toe arrangement where the big toe is the longest on down to the pinky toe. The second toe shouldn’t be longer than the big toe, that doesn’t make for beautiful feet.  Okay, enough about my feet…

            This morning I came across this verse in Nahum 1:15, “Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace!” This prophecy concerns the fall of Nineveh. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire, the people that God used to punish Israel and defeat them in 721BC.  Through Nahum, Israel was told that God would punish Nineveh as well and that Israel would rejoice in their punishment. The feet that bring good news were the feet that would eventually come announcing Nineveh’s fall.

            Many of you probably recognize this prophecy that is later used in Romans 10:13-15, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”

            So I guess, it turns out, I really do have beautiful feet! And you too, can have beautiful feet! We are called to proclaim the good news to the people around us. It’s why we end our service with “We are the church, now let’s go be the church. Grace, we are sent.” If you see yourself as ‘sent’ to proclaim the gospel in your neighborhood, or at your work, or at your school, or to your family, then you have beautiful feet! (even if they are truly repulsive LOL)

-       Pastor Kyle

This is Our God

We recently introduced a new song to our repertoire.  “This is our God” is a declaration that we proclaim together about our God. He loves us and He saves us through the death and resurrection of Jesus our King!  Jesus paid for our sin, He rescued us, and He deserves the glory and praise!

I think this song captures what 1 John 4:9-10 says, “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love - not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

In this song we remember that death and the grave used to be our enemies, but Jesus destroyed them.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, fear and the other giants and prisons we face have lost their power.

I look forward to singing this song together and giving Jesus the glory and praise that only He deserves!

Here’s a link for you to learn the song and praise the Lord in your homes.  This is our God

For His glory,

Kyle Schanbacher

Send Us Out

Some of you may recognize this title and some of you may not.  On Sunday December 25th I introduced the song I wrote for our church to sing.  I wrote most of it while on sabbatical this past summer.  I’ve had a desire to write a song that is basically a corporate prayer that God would send us out to the world around us to be His witnesses and we could be a part of his plan to reconcile people to Himself.  It has a similar feel to our “sending” that we say together sometimes at the end of our worship services.  I will have a recording available eventually so you can learn it and sing it in your homes.  Until then, here’s the lyrics and the scripture references where they came from.  Much of the song comes from my reading and deep studying of 2 Corinthians 2:14 through 2 Corinthians 6:12 over and over.  I’m excited to sing it with you in the months to come.

Send Us Out

Verse 1

Go before us, open doors (2 Cor 2:14, Col 4:3)

Soften hearts remove the veil (John 12:40, 2 Cor 3:13-18)

Holy Spirit, we need your power (2 Cor 3:4-6, 1 Cor 2:1-5)

Without you our efforts fail (2 Cor 2:4-6)

Turn Your eyes, and hear our prayer

Let our lives and words declare (Col 4:5-6)

Your gospel clear may truth prevail (Col 4:5-6)

Prechorus 1

Because we believe, so we will speak (2 Cor 4:13)

Because of your love, the lost we will seek (2 Cor 5:14)

Chorus

Send us out to the world we will go (Isaiah 6:8, Matthew 9:38, Luke 10:2)

We’ll proclaim everywhere so they know (1 Cor 1:23, 2 Cor 4:5)

Jesus died that we could be

Reconciled to the Lord, set free (2 Cor 5:20, 2 Cor 3:17)

Send us out

Verse 2

God please lead us to be the fragrance

of Jesus Christ among the lost (2 Cor 2:14)

In affliction, and persecution (2 Cor 4:8-9, 2 Cor 6:4-5)

we’ll press on no matter the cost

Our only aim to run this race

and testify of Your grace (Acts 20:24)

Unashamed, we’ll carry the cross. (Romans 1:16, Matthew 16:24)

Prechorus 2

Because of our hope, we will be bold (2 Cor 3:12)

Because of your mercy our hearts won’t grow cold (2 Cor 4:1)

Pastor Kyle

Don't Fight Alone

We just finished up a sermon series about hard things like sexuality and gender.  For some of us we are figuring out how to love and interact with our child or grandchild without endorsing the sin of a homosexual lifestyle.  Some of us are wrestling with whether to use the name of a loved one who changed their name to reflect their desired change of gender.  Some of us are personally fighting the temptations of sexual immorality.  Some of us are giving in to the temptations of sexual immorality.  And the sad thing is, some of us are doing it alone.  For some of us the sin or temptation is secret and we are doing everything we can to manage perceptions and protect ourselves from being found out.  This is exhausting; I know that from experience.

          We were not meant to be alone in our struggles and temptations.  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!”  When my sin was still in secret, I was alone.  I had no brother to help pull me up when I fell.  I had no brother that could reach out to me or ask me hard questions, because no one knew I was struggling.

          If you are trying to fight a temptation alone, then I beg of you to find someone to confess to.  Find someone who is close to you and ask them to help you.  If you can’t think of the right person to talk to, then reach out to one of the pastors or try coming to Celebrate Recovery on Monday nights.  Fighting a secret temptation or struggle is exhausting, defeating, and lonely.  Don’t try to fight alone.  Let’s “Bear one another’s burdens” as Galatians 6 says.  Let’s “pray for one another, that we may be healed” as James 5 says.  Let’s “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’, that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” as Hebrews 3 says.  Let’s pursue authentic community together because “a man might prevail against one who is alone, but two will withstand him” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

 See you Sunday!

My Rightnow Media Pick of the month is “Sexuality” which includes several sessions from Christopher Yuan an author that Pastor Jack referred to several times.

-  Pastor Kyle

Behold

Behold: verb – to see or observe (a thing or person, especially a remarkable or impressive one).

This Sunday some youth and kids will be sharing special music with us.  The song is called “Behold Him” and we will be adding it to our repertoire at Grace.

  The first verse of the song takes its cues from John chapter 1 and Philippians chapter 2.  Jesus is eternal, all things were created through Him, and he left His throne in heaven to become a man.  The second verse reminds us of the 4 gospels.  Jesus ate with sinners, he gave sight to the blind, healed the lame, and pursued the lost.  He was willing to go to the cross, taking the death of a criminal, so that he could pay for our sin with His blood.  He rose to life, conquering death in the process.  

  What is our response to Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, the sacrificial lamb, the beginning and the end, our risen Savior?  Our response is to behold Him, for He is remarkable and impressive! We desire to see Him, and to wonder at His glory and holiness!  I’ve been using this song in my private worship for a few months and I’m excited for it to be part of our song repertoire at Grace.   May this song be a beautiful addition to your private worship and to our corporate worship on Sunday mornings.  May this song remind us who Jesus is, what he has done, and may it help us to be still and behold Him.

You can preview the song here.

 See you Sunday!

-       Pastor Kyle 

Firm Foundation

A few weeks ago, Pastor Jack finished preaching through the sermon on the mount, which concludes with a parable comparing a wise man who built his house on a rock, and a foolish man who built his house on sand.  Jesus said, “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock”.  When we listen to Jesus and live according to His word, we can face the storms of life and stand strong, knowing that He is our firm foundation!  Though everything else around us might be falling apart, we can remain unshaken.  In chaos we can have peace, because God is faithful.  This doesn’t mean that God will keep the storms from coming our way, but that He will carry us through the storms of life. We can’t, after all, rely on our own strength.

Our newest song “Firm Foundation” finds its inspiration in this passage of Scripture.  In this song we declare that God has been faithful through every season and through all generations.  He has always been faithful, so why would he fail us now?  He won’t!  God won’t fail us!  If we are trusting in Him, He will be faithful!  He holds us up by His strength, He gives us peace and joy in circumstances where peace and joy make no sense.  I am so glad that I put my faith in Jesus, because He has been my rock through all the storms that I’ve faced.

So, let’s use this song to declare our trust in Jesus, and to declare His unfailing faithfulness to us. Let’s use it to declare individually that we put our faith in Jesus, and let’s use it to declare together that we are trusting in Him!  Here’s a version that you can sing at home!

This coming Sunday Jack will be preaching again, and the kids will be joining us in big church for worship through song.  I can’t wait for Sunday!  See you then!

-       Pastor Kyle

Idol worship… surely not me.

I’ve been reading through Isaiah lately.  I’m going slowly through the Prophet’s writing, pausing and rereading sections, searching for key themes.  Through chapters 42 to 46 I noticed a statement that kept coming up.  “I am God, and there is no other”.  This statement, phrased a few different ways, comes up 12 times within these chapters.  Isaiah is definitively communicating that there is only one God.  There are no other gods besides the Lord. He alone saves Israel.  He alone is creator.  His purposes won’t be thwarted.  He alone holds the future.  He alone is to be trusted and worshipped.  Isaiah speaks for God saying, “To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?”

I know that there is only one God, and that all other gods are created and are not truly gods. When I read in Isaiah that people carved and forged images and proclaimed them to be their gods and to be their saviors, I think, “Wow, how stupid is it that people create something and then worship it?!”  It would be like me carving a piece of wood into something (mind you, I’m terrible at this kind of art) and then declaring it to be god, and then singing to it, adoring it, and crying out to it to save me when I’m threatened by an enemy. This just seems ridiculous.  Surely none of us do anything like this.

We know Satan is crafty (Genesis 3:1, 2 Corinthians 2:11, 2 Corinthians 11:14), and I believe Satan wants us to read these verses and think, “Thank God I’m not like the people in the Bible that created an idol and worshipped it, and cried it to it for salvation, because I know that the Lord alone is God.” That’s my first inclination, to laugh at the fools who create something and then trust it, proclaiming it to be their God.  I see myself as above their foolish idolatry, but when I stop and pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show me how this applies to our lives today, I’m reminded that we still create gods that we adore, that we run to, and that we trust to save us from loneliness or depression or fear.  I believe that we are prone to run to entertainment, to alcohol, to pornography, or to food to save us from our fears, insecurities, and loneliness.  I believe that we are prone to trust in our bank accounts, or our accomplishments, or our popularity, or our guns, or our own strength to secure our future, to bring about our own plans, and to provide us joy and security.

While I might laugh at people in the Bible who create idols out of wood, gold, or other precious metals and put their trust in them, I’m sure there are others that could look at me and laugh at the way I trust in my job security, my retirement plan (okay maybe not this one), my accomplishments, my possessions, or even my family to provide me security, peace, purpose, joy, or self-worth.

John Calvin said, “The human heart is an idol factory”.  What are we unintentionally creating idols out of?  What are we trusting in?  Are we living like God is God alone and there is no other god?  What do we adore more than we adore God?  What do we need to repent of? 

Holy Spirit, don’t let us be fooled by the devil’s schemes.  Don’t let us think we are beyond idol worship.  Show us the idols in our lives and bring us to repentance.  Forgive us for worshipping the created rather than the creator.  Help us to trust in You alone!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.  See you Sunday!

-       Pastor Kyle

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

For seven Sundays in a row this summer, I visited different churches. It was part of my goals.  As a pastor, visiting other churches can get the creative juices flowing.  I was inspired at some of the churches, and I’m working on some little things to make our worship services more meaningful and impactful.  But most of all, I was missing my church family, as were my wife and kids.  Some Sundays we were out of town so we couldn’t have attended Grace, while other Sundays we were around Newton and visited other churches in the area.  On the Sundays that we were at home, the kids would let out a big sigh when I told them we were not going to Grace.  And no, it wasn’t a sigh of relief, but a sigh of discontent.  “Why would we go anywhere else? We love our church. How about you go somewhere else, and we will go to Grace?”  Many of those times I was able to get some of my family to go with me (sometimes it took a bribe in the way of a slushie or dessert).  Through all of those Sundays a longing to be at our home church was growing.  As they say, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” 

You see, we love our church family!  We love the preaching that is committed to upholding biblical integrity.  (While we were visiting other churches, we experienced some good teaching, but also some fluff.) We love the fellowship we experience as we pursue authentic community together. (There’s a difference worshipping with people you don’t know and worshipping with people that you’ve rejoiced and cried with.) We love how our church is growing in owning the mission and being a sent people. (God continues to grow my love for Newton and the surrounding communities and my passion to see a revival start here.) We love the quality youth and kid’s ministry that is reaching the next generations.

Absence from our church only made my heart grow fonder.  I love our church, I love the team I serve with, and most of all, I love our God!  I can hardly wait for Sunday!  I hope to see you then.

Pastor Kyle

Last Sunday for a While

This is it; my last Sunday to be with my church family until July 31st! I will be on Sabbatical June 6th through July 24th.  Thank you for expressing your appreciation for me! I love our church!  I’ve been pastoring at Grace Community Church for almost 8 years, and I hope to serve here for many years to come!

Many of you have been asking questions about my Sabbatical.  Here are some of the questions I’ve been getting.

Will you be traveling?

Yes. I have 3 different trips scheduled with my whole family.  

1.     In the middle of June, we are going to make a big loop, visiting Branson, my best man in Alabama, and Florida.

2.     Around July 4th we will be taking a short trip to Nebraska to visit my family and my mother-in-law.

3.     Towards the end of July, we will be taking a trip to Wyoming and Colorado, including the FEC conference in Denver (our Denomination’s conference).

 Will you be attending Grace?

No. We are going to take the opportunity to visit other churches to see how they do things.  This should help me think creatively about what our Sunday gatherings look like.

What will you be doing?        

1.     Working on a few sermons

2.     Reading some books

3.     Spending some time songwriting for our church.

4.     Resting and enjoying Jesus

5.     Spending quality time with my family

6.     Working on a few projects around the house.

I’m so thankful that our church encourages our Pastors to take Sabbaticals every 7 years to stay healthy!  I feel like I’m healthy headed into this Sabbatical, and I’m sure I’ll be even healthier when I return! Thank you for your prayers.  I’m specifically asking God to use me to write a song or songs for our church family.  I love you church, and I’ll see you this Sunday! I’m looking forward to Summer Fest where we’ll celebrate what God has done this week at Summer Quest!

Pastor Kyle

Resensitize

I love song writing!  I haven’t written any songs that are well suited for corporate worship. No, my songs are more like sermons.  I love creatively expressing my experiences, my convictions, and my passions through songs!  It’s cathartic and it’s fulfilling.  I’ve only shared my songs a few times since moving to Newton 7 years ago, but I’m looking forward to sharing them again on Friday night, August 13th in the worship center.  We’re calling it “Songs and Stories” as I’ll be sharing about each song before playing it.  To whet your appetite a little, I want to share a little about a song I wrote called “Resensitize”.

This song largely came about as I reflected on my own heart, and how I was growing used to hearing people use the Lord’s name without actually talking about Him.  I used to cringe when I heard people say “Jesus” or “God” in frustration or anger.  I didn’t like that I was used to it, and asked God to work in my heart to bring me back to a place where I once again was disturbed by the misuse of God’s name.  While I wasn’t tempted to misuse the Lord’s name myself, I still felt like I was losing something.  The world bombards us consistently with propaganda telling us how we should think and act, but I want to be shaped by the Holy Spirit and by God’s word.  I don’t want to be desensitized; I want to be resensitized by the Holy Spirit.  This song is somewhat of a prayer when I see that I’m getting comfortable with the world around me, and finding that my heart is becoming calloused.

Resensitize

When did I get so desensitized to all around me

How do I get back to where I once was before

Cause I used to be offended by the things I’d see

But now nothing seems to phase this calloused heart

And I know, I need You now, to resensitize me

I’m surrounded by a culture that is slowly fading

Trying not to be sucked in, but it keeps pulling

All this propaganda telling me to tolerate

It keeps numbing my conscience

And I know, I need You now to resensitize me

Desensitized by all these lies

Open my eyes and make me wise

And now I see, and realize

That I need to be resensitized

I love you church!  I’ll be out of town this Sunday and Andy Friesen will be leading worship.  I’m looking forward to being back next Sunday!

-Pastor Kyle

The Art of Neighboring

“In whatever neighborhood God has placed you, love people sacrificially.”  You’ve heard this many times.  It’s easy to say, but it’s hard to do.  It takes intentionality and sacrifice.   

At Grace, we believe that God has given each of us unique circles of influence where we can be the hands and feet of Jesus!  We believe that God has us in our neighborhoods for a reason.  People all around us need to hear the gospel and see it lived out in us through the way we love and serve them. 

My youngest daughter, Adelyn, and I were taking a walk in our neighborhood about a month ago when we met some new neighbors that had just moved into a house on our cul-de-sac.  We had a lovely conversation with them for about half an hour.  I was able to ask her when she was due.  Yes, she was pregnant enough that it was safe to ask that question!  Later that evening at bedtime Adelyn asked if she could pray for our neighbors and their baby.  Most evenings since then, Adelyn and I have prayed for our new neighbors.  We were able to take over some baby gifts last weekend to love on them!  Adelyn whispered to me “tell them we are praying for them”.  I was able to talk to her later and let her know that we need to develop a friendship with them before we tell them we are praying for them or before we invite them to church.  (I’m quite sure they don’t have a church home and probably are not looking for one.)  So, we’ve been praying that God would give us favor with them and help us to develop a friendship.   

Last night while I was at worship team rehearsal, they came over to our house to visit.  I was excited to hear that when I came home.  This feels like God answering our prayer, especially since they know I’m a Pastor!  I’m hoping to be able to invite them over for BBQ sometime in the next month or so.  This couple and their new baby boy moved into our neighborhood.  They are not a project.  They are people to love sacrificially, to share our lives with, and share Jesus with! 

I hope and pray that all of you will see your neighborhood as a mission field.  It starts with relationships.  God wants to grow His Kingdom, and He wants to use you in your neighborhood.  Won’t you join my family and others who are praying for our neighbors and looking for ways to develop friendships with them, and ultimately lead them to Jesus? 

My Rightnow Media pick of the month is “The Art of Neighboring”.  This should be a great resource to help you think about loving people sacrificially in the neighborhood God has placed you.

https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/Series/392825 

I can’t wait for Sunday!  I love you Church!

-       Pastor Kyle

A Challenge to Get Behind

It’s not uncommon to see my kids trying to outdo each other in something.  Whether it’s who can jump higher, who can run faster, or who can get a longer streak on Bop It, much of the competition simply ends up with someone getting upset.  I know some of this competition can be good for our kids to grow, but so often it seems like the challenge to outdo one another causes more unhealthy competition than anything else.  Mary and I still find ourselves trying to comfort one of our kids or getting upset at another kid for always having to outdo their sibling at something. 

I’ve been working to memorize new verses this year, and one of my most recent verses includes a great challenge to outdo one another.  Romans 12:10 says, “Love one another with brotherly affection.  Outdo one another in showing honor.”  Now this is a challenge I can get behind!  

What would it look like if we were always trying to outdo one another in showing honor?  I know that our home would look different.  There would be more building up with our words.  There would be more joy, and less fighting.

What would it look like for us as a church to outdo one another in showing honor?  What would it look like in your Community Life Group, in your Bible Study, or at youth group?  I see a church that puts people before preferences. I see a church that is selfless and always looking to the needs of others.  I see a church that opens wide its arms to people that are different, to people that are spiritually seeking, to the people that society rejects, and to the people who are struggling to make ends meet.  I see a church that loves people sacrificially.  Let’s seek to outdo one another in showing honor!

My Rightnow Media pick of the month is for younger kids.  Think Mr. Rogers meets Rend Collective.  

See you Sunday!

For His Glory,

Pastor Kyle

Graves Into Gardens

I absolutely love being able to record video testimonies for our baptisms. I love hearing how God is changing lives, and this Easter there will be some powerful videos sharing how God is moving in our midst!

Some people find Jesus while growing up in a Christ-centered family environment. Some people come to Jesus after chasing the pleasures of the world. Sometimes people don’t hear about Jesus until they are in the deepest valley, which is often brought about by their own sin.

Regardless of the story of coming to know and trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, God truly turns graves into gardens. He turns the shame of our sin into the glory of boasting in Jesus.

While we were all once spiritually dead, He has made us alive in Christ!

Our newest song—“Graves Into Gardens”—is a declaration that nothing is better than God.

No one can turn seas into highways (Exodus 14) but God.

No one can turn bones into armies (Ezekiel 37) but our God.

Our God turns mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11), gives beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3), and can satisfy our every desire (Psalm 34:10).

May we be a people that find our worth, our satisfaction, and our joy in Him! May the fading treasures of this world lose their appeal. May we never be afraid to confess our weaknesses, failures, and flaws to Jesus.

And may He continue to change our hearts for His glory!

I'm excited for some 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to share some special music this Sunday! I’m also anticipating our Good Friday Service. And I can hardly wait to celebrate our risen Savior with you on April 4!

See you Sunday!

For His Glory,

Pastor Kyle

 https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/Series/396209

Join a Prayer Movement

Some of you may remember a staff journal I wrote in 2020. My car radio was randomly not working and eventually quit altogether. I believed that God was prompting me to pray more.

Well, I’m stubborn and eventually my radio started working again. I started praying less and listening to music and Bott Radio again. 

Apparently, God still wanted me to pray more, and I simply didn’t get the hint the first time.

While my car radio started working again, it started randomly turning on and off, even without the key in the ignition. This was causing my battery to drain overnight and I had to jump start my car several times. Eventually, I decided to remove the fuse for my radio.

Now I don’t have any radio or clock, but my battery doesn’t drain overnight… and I’m back to praying more in my car!

To add to that, in my current seminary class—Spiritual Formation—I recently read a chapter on prayer. In that chapter, there was a very specific challenge to turn off the radio in your car and pray more.

Okay God, I get it!

So, if you pull up next to me at a stop light and I’m the only one in the car, but I’m talking… no, I don’t have a fancy car where I can use my phone through the radio, I’m simply praying out loud.

God is deepening my habit of prayer, and I’m excited about many prayer movements that God is stirring in our church body. In fact, I’d love to invite you to join us in some of these prayer movements.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve added a couple people to our Sunday morning prayer teams. We have a wonderful prayer room in our church facility and I’d love to have more and more people praying during either our 9am or 1045am service on Sunday mornings!

I’m part of a group of guys that gets together most Saturday mornings for about an hour to drive around Newton and pray over our city. We would love to eventually have 5 or 6 vehicles headed out on Saturday mornings to battle for our community in prayer!

On Thursday mornings the Elders have been praying in the fireside room at 6:45, and while we’d like to keep that just an Elder thing, I’ve been showing up at 6am to pray with a friend until about 6:40 or so. I would love to have others join me at 6am in the fireside room on Thursday mornings!

Becky Wheeler is heading up the “Keep Watch” Prayer movement for our schools. She leads a team of prayer warriors in prayer walks around Chisholm, Santa Fe, and the high school once a week. Eventually, they hope to be in these schools before or after school hours to pray. We would love to have more people join this prayer movement!

I’d personally love to connect you with any one of these prayer movements! Just let me know that you are interested and we’ll get you connected!

I believe God is stirring and preparing our church, our city, and other churches in our city for something incredible! Let’s continue developing this habit of prayer in our lives!

For His Glory,
Pastor Kyle

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In Case You Missed It

Here’s a quick recap of our The Heart of Grace “state of the church” conversation with the elders from last Sunday:

• Extend is now Reach. Our missions council has been restructured toward a goal of more focused support with higher church engagement with the missionaries and ministries we support. The Reach Local team focuses on ministries and initiatives in Newton and the immediately surrounding community. The Reach Global team focuses on missionaries, ministries, and initiatives anywhere outside our immediate community.

• Touchpoint Initiative. The elders and staff are launching an effort to personally reach out and make contact with the members of our church family.

• New Young Marrieds class. We are creating a space for young married couples to connect with one another and plug into the life and ministry of our church.

• Pastor of Connection & Care. We have a couple exciting candidates to fill this role of connecting people with God, one another, and the church.

• Student Ministry Pastor. It has been a challenge to find experienced candidates, but we are hopeful that God will provide the right candidate in his good timing.

• Financial Update. By God’s grace—and your generosity!—we are beginning 2021 in a strong financial position.

• Question & Response. Do we have any plans for a singles and young adult ministry? What is our plan for discipling high school-aged youth? Could we update our church sign to a digital one? Will the Pastor of Connection & Care help with funeral arrangements? Are there any plans to update the church directory?

We encourage you to take some time to watch the video below for all the details.

Thank you for owning the mission and joining us as we love God, love people, and lead others to do the same!

Restore

Earlier this week I gave my testimony at the Elder meeting.

I don’t consider my testimony to be the most exciting thing. I can’t put a finger on a date when I became a Christian. As far back as I can remember, I remember knowing that Jesus was my Savior and that He died for me. I’ve been a Christian for as long as I can remember, and God has graciously spared me from a lot of hurt.

I don’t have some amazing story of being saved from a life of drugs, alcohol, or promiscuity, but when I share my story, I’ve come to love sharing the low point in my past when I was addicted to pornography. It reminds me of how great God’s love and grace are. It has also allowed me to receive confessions from brothers who are entangled in porn, and to walk with them in steps to recovery.

After sharing that part of my story at the Elder meeting, one of the Elders asked me how I found freedom from that battle.

For me, it was a number of things.

Memorizing Scripture was a huge part of my road to recovery. Prayer was vital! Accountability from my brothers in Christ was essential. And the road to freedom felt like it started with my confession to my brothers in Christ. For about a year it was a secret sin. No one knew that I was struggling with it. I hid it, and I was ashamed.

My experience has shown me that there are men and women all around me with hidden struggles with things like pornography, alcoholism, or depression.

Maybe that’s someone you know.

Maybe that’s you.

Shame and guilt are heavy, and the sin remains hidden. You feel alone in your struggles, and you feel hopeless and stuck.

Like me, without a community of believers holding you accountable, encouraging you, pointing you to truth, and praying for you, you will probably remain stuck. 

If this is you or someone you know, I want to share some encouragement with you.

We are starting a new small group called Restore that is focused on recovery. We’ve got a good team forming, we’ve got great curriculum lined up, we are praying hard, and we are planning to kick off on Friday night, February 5th in the Fireside Room at 6:30pm.

If you know someone that could use this group, please let them know. If this is you, I beg you to come and participate in this group. There is freedom in Christ. There are others that are struggling, and there is strength in walking together through these struggles.

If God has brought you through a struggle like this, or you have a passion for working with a recovery ministry, we’d love to have you join the Restore team.

Our prayer is that this would grow from a small group for our own church family into a ministry that opens up to our community, but we still need more volunteers before we reach that point.

I’m so excited for how this will reach and serve our community. Thank you for prayerfully considering being involved with this group!

I love you church, and I’m looking forward to Sunday!
–Pastor Kyle

This Is Jesus

Rejoice He is with us!  Rejoice Hope is here!

These are lyrics from a new Christmas song called “This Is Jesus” that we introduced this past Sunday. It’s sung to the tune of “Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing,” but with Christmas lyrics.  

This is Jesus King of Glory, come to rescue from the fall.
Son of God who comes to save us, Prince of Peace and Lord of All.

Jesus left His holy throne for us. He humbled Himself and took on flesh. He came to rescue us, that we might be called His own. He brought light to our darkness and hope when we were hopeless!

What a beautiful mystery, that the God of creation would become man to save sinners like us. Who could fathom it?  

This Christmas season we rejoice because God is with us! We rejoice because Hope came to humanity some 2000 years ago!

Even in the Christmas season, our hearts are prone to wander and get caught up in the things of this world. But God is here, and His love continues to pursue us!

I pray this song will encourage you this Christmas season with its truth. May our hearts be filled with wander at the birth of our Savior! May our worship through song be pleasing to Jesus, our King of Glory!

I’m looking forward to singing with you this Sunday, and excited to continue in our “Dressed for the Season” sermon series.

For His Glory,
Pastor Kyle

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My RightNow Media pick is an Advent series from J.D. Greear: