Author: Mark

Hubby to the greatest gal, Pastor of an amazing community, brother to a bunch of people called my family, lover of God, follower of Jesus.

Back at it!

On By MarkIn Flagstaff, GRACE, Laurie1 Comment

It has been pretty quiet in my blog world for the past couple of weeks. I got hit with the bug pretty good. As of today, Laurie and I are both feeling much better. It’s been good to be at the office most of the day to start catching up.

I’ve really missed being around the people of Grace these past couple of Sundays. Both weeks, I came in and preached and ducked out so as not to contaminate any of you nice people. Well, that’s done with for now. I can’t wait to see you on Sunday and catch up some.

This week I’ll be speaking from John 15. Go ahead and read up a little, that’ll help.

It’s a gorgeous day here in Flag, and we’re expecting a quick visit with Leonard and Susie. Hopefully tomorrow we can drive up the mountain and see some of the colors of fall!

I hope you’re able to enjoy this colorful season as well. Can’t wait to see you at Grace on Sunday.

The Oddness of Sickness

On By MarkIn church, Jesus!Leave a comment

Just a quick update:
I’ve been in bed ALL week since last Sunday afternoon. I was feeling a bit better on Friday, then today, it kinda hit like a second punch. I’m guessing it’s your basic cold stuff, but it’s miserable. Now Laurie is down with similar stuff.

I’m getting ready to come to Grace tomorrow and preach. I feel bad that I may have to simply come in and out the back like I did last week. I really am missing people.

Thanks for praying for us as we take care of each other and get through this crud. Aside from health stuff, I really am excited to talk about Jesus tomorrow and the amazing gift He gave us. Hope to at least wave to you from the stage. Blessings.

Speaking Opps

On By MarkIn church, GRACE1 Comment

I would love to invite you to pray for a couple of added opportunities for me this week. Tonight I get to speak to the amazing students at InterVarsity. I love encouraging these students as they live out their faith in Jesus on the NAU campus. We’ve been given something special from God to use to advance the gospel message, let’s find it, dust it off and work it for God’s use!

Tomorrow night I get to encourage about 100 leaders at the leadership banquet at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Phoenix. This is the church I served with for 10 years prior to coming to Flagstaff. It’s been awhile since I’ve been there to speak. Can’t wait to remind them of the love of Jesus for them and for their community.

My favorite opportunity will be Sunday morning @ 10am @ Grace Community. John 14:7-14

Teaching on Gifts of the Spirit

On By MarkIn GRACE, Holy Spirit, TeachingLeave a comment

Tonight at 6:30 I’m teaching week two of our 4 week class on “Gifted for Ministry”. If you missed the first week, you can still come and jump in tonight. The purpose of this class is to help you understand how the Lord has gifted each of us with what we call ‘spiritual gifts’ and how we can best serve the Lord through our church. There is a $5 charge for the class and an optional book fee for our theology text, Understanding Christian Theology, for $32. I’ll have copies of last weeks notes and handouts for any that can join us tonight.

The Monday Night Classes that Grace offers are intentional teachings of what we call our essential doctrines and themes. Look for upcoming classes to choose from. Each class is intentionally designed to better equip our body in theology and practical living. Most classes are about 4 weeks long, so that you can continue going to your Grace Group without having to miss any sessions.

Sunday Night Thoughts

On By MarkIn church, GRACE, Holy Spirit, Teaching, TheologyLeave a comment

Wow. What a day. I love Sunday’s at Grace. Tonight I want to highlight a few things that are on my mind.

First, thanks to the Hospitality Team for an amazing lunch today. The place was packed out! It was awesome. Food was great and I’m thankful Sinagua has added more tables. It looked to me like you guys were all having a great time. Thanks for staying after church and enjoying a meal with “One Another”. Great job everyone. I hope you were encouraged.

We just finished our first Grace Group tonight. I already love our new group. If you haven’t joined a Grace Group yet, we’ll have all the updated information available for you this next week. There are Grace Groups spread around town on several different nights of the week. It is an awesome experience to get around the table or the living room and talk about what God is teaching us.

Tomorrow night I start a new class. As you know we’ve started these Monday Night Classes for teaching more doctrine and essential truths of Grace. The Classes are designed to average about 4 weeks long, some will be a bit shorter or longer. They all start at 6:30 and finish by 8. One of the main reasons we keep the classes to just a few weeks is so that you can do both a class and your Grace Group. If you are in a Grace Group and see a class you’d like to take, the design allows you to do both with only a few weeks of having two nights out. So, please don’t miss out on the classes we’re offering. We’re being very intentional about the class topics and the schedules. We’ve already had one on the Deity of Christ, one on Spiritual Growth and one on Biblical Finances. Many of the classes will be offered again.

So, tomorrow I’m starting a 4 week study on “Gifted for Ministry”. We’ll examine the biblical teaching on the Holy Spirit as a gift and the gifts He gives us. We’ll look at why the church is dependent upon the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to individuals. By the end of the 4 week study, you’ll be able to identify how God has gifted you and how you can serve Him at Grace. I’m very excited about this and I just love the timing, especially how it fits with our recent study in John.

Most classes have fees and books. From here on out, any class that requires a theology text, we’ll be using one: Understanding Christian Theology. I have a few copies available tomorrow for $32. It’s a big book, and it’ll serve you well for years to come, especially in a variety of classes we’ll offer. For this class the book is NOT REQUIRED, but it is highly RECOMMENDED. I’ll have some handouts as well as some class notes. I believe the fee for the class is $5.

If you have any questions, let me know or call Bekah in the morning.

I really hope you’re finding your way to a Grace Group, or that you will this next week. I invite you to join me for class tomorrow night as well.

It’s been a great day. Thanks to all who serve Jesus at Grace in making it a welcoming place for some great ministry to be taking place. God bless you all, have a good night.

Lunch Tomorrow!

On By MarkIn church, PreachingLeave a comment

Tomorrow right after church we have a lunch for EVERYONE at Grace. So, come and plan on sticking around for a bit. It’s a GREAT way to meet others and have some chilaxing time! Bring someone with you to introduce around. Wouldn’t it be great if we ran out of food?!! Sorry hospitality team… what I mean is, wouldn’t it be great if so many more came and hung with us? Don’t just bring someone from another church, bring someone that doesn’t have a church home yet, is looking, is your guest, or even someone that may just be a bit curious. Let’s Eat!

If you wanna read ahead, tomorrow I’ll be teaching from John 13:18-38. Grace Groups have begun and it’s been a great first week. Let’s pray for our time together tomorrow and for God’s amazing grace to go forward to many others through Grace Community.

As we come prepared, rested, and seeking a time to worship, fellowship, serve and learn, we can come expecting God to do amazing things among us. I’ll see you in the morning.

If you’re reading this from another time zone, go to your church; prepared and expecting. God is going to do great stuff through His church.

Oh…one more thing, Happy Birthday, Pastor Bob!

Cancer Free!

On By MarkIn Cancer, Pray, Zac12 Comments

How about this for a ‘faith-check’. Did I really believe? Yes, I did. I believe God is amazingly and sovereignly gracious in all His acts. He is glorified through life and death. He is glorified even when we can’t understand and struggle accepting His actions. And sometimes He is glorified as He delivers what we call ‘really, really good news’.

Today, I received word that my nephew Zac is cancer free! The Friday before Mother’s Day he was diagnosed with stage 4 (worst possible) colon cancer with spots on his liver and spleen. Many of you have followed him on his blog (listed to the side of this one) and have prayed with him and for him. Many of us have believed the whole time that God is certainly able to heal, but we also know that God sometimes brings glory to Himself with the news that we don’t want to hear.

Today God has showered us with a huge blessing. Zac is healed of his cancer. Read his blog for his words on what’s next.

So, as we trust God for His plans for Zac and all of us, let’s also pause to celebrate and thank Him. The Jewish people would celebrate for days, with lots of food, dancing, musical instruments, etc as a response to God’s goodness and His favor. Somewhere, somehow, enjoy the celebration with us today on Zac’s behalf.

People of the towel

On By MarkIn church, GRACE, Teaching2 Comments

Yesterday was amazing @ Grace. At the end of a sermon from John 13 on the washing of the disciples feet by our Lord, we passed out towels to all who would commit to serving one another. I’d love to hear stories of how we’re actually serving the needs of one another. Can we pass on stories without boasting or drawing attention to ourselves? Jesus was simply teaching a lesson by ‘doing’. That’s all I’m looking for. Let’s teach one another by sharing our stories of how we serve the needs around us. Any takers?