Posted on May 30th, 2009 by jasonsteckel
Filed under Kingdom stuff, Spiritual formation |
Peace.
People protest for it. It has it’s own symbol. There are songs written about it.
But why is peace so elusive? Why has generation after generation been seeking peace, but war and violence ruled the day?
I believe that peace cannot be forced. It cannot be legislated. There is no treaty that guarantees peace.
I believe that true [...]
Posted on May 26th, 2009 by jasonsteckel
Filed under Kingdom stuff, Spiritual formation |
We pursue so many things to find purpose in life. In the words of Solomon, “Everything is meaningless, completely meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) We chase after so many things that are unimportant in the grand scheme of life. We go after success and satisfaction, money and materials, and popularity and power. We invest so much of [...]
Posted on May 25th, 2009 by jasonsteckel
Filed under Arise ministry, Kingdom stuff, Life moments, Rochester Church |
Yesterday we held our fourth annual Backyard BBQ. (We have hosted 3 of the 4 BBQs. The second year it rained and we were relegated to the youth room.) This has become one of my favorite family events of the year. We invite all of the families in our LifeStage to our house for an [...]
Posted on May 23rd, 2009 by jasonsteckel
Filed under Arise ministry, Ministry, Rochester Church |
Yesterday afternoon, my intern for the summer arrived here. Amy McLaughlin, a student at Lipscomb University, will be working with me this summer in our ministry.
After she arrived, she jumped in the car with our family, we drove around the area a bit, gave her a quick tour of the church building, grabbed a bite [...]
Posted on May 17th, 2009 by jasonsteckel
Filed under Kingdom stuff, Spiritual formation |
Why do we often have a hard time accepting forgiveness? Is it because we have a hard time forgiving others? Is it because we can’t imagine that we could be forgiven?
I believe that forgiveness is at the core of faith in Jesus. Unless we can really accept the fact that we are forgiven, we can [...]
Posted on May 14th, 2009 by jasonsteckel
Filed under Kingdom stuff, Life moments |
Well, I woke up this morning to the fact that I am only one year from 40. Yes, today I turn 39. Well, technically, I am not 39 years old until 5:22pm EST today.
So what does 39 mean? Not much really. I came to the conclusion long ago that I am going to live my [...]
Posted on May 9th, 2009 by jasonsteckel
Filed under Kingdom stuff |
For many, the concept of unconditional love is hard to imagine. In a world where many adults place such a high value on grades, athletic feats, and other performance-based measurements, it can be hard for some teens to feel loved without conditions.
For many adults, we allow what we have done to define us, whether it’s [...]
Posted on May 5th, 2009 by jasonsteckel
Filed under Arise ministry, Kingdom stuff, Serving, Spiritual formation, Youth events/camps |
The weekend of May 1-2, twenty-six of our students and several adults participated in the 30 Hour Famine. This is an event created by World Vision to raise awareness and funds to battle world hunger.
Starting after lunch on Friday, May 1, these students dedicated themselves to go without food until 6:00pm on Saturday. Around 6:30pm [...]