May Update

It's almost the end of May, but it's time for an update as I have some exciting news to share with everyone.  First, we have broken ground at our location for what we hope to be the new and permanent location of Harvest Christian Fellowship.  For years we've been renting/leasing space from schools, businesses, and even other churches, but it looks like God is opening doors and making a way for us to have our own property and building that we can use throughout the week which will allow us to do things that we've not been able to do "on campus" before.  I'll include some pictures of the new property from our Easter Egg Hunt event.

As for the discipleship ministry that I have, we are continuing to make our way through the Bible.  We recently finished the book of Revelation, and the members of the ZOOM Bible study asked to study the book of Exodus (probably because they heard how much I referenced it in the book of Revelation and how the LORD's salvation and redemption of Israel shows us how He has always planned to save and redeem a people unto Himself, how the day of salvation of His people will be the day of His wrath and judgment for those who are not His people, and how He has prepared a place for us that He will secure for us to be our eternal inheritance).  They recently studied the story of Passover, and that study was led by one of the Elders at Harvest Christian Fellowship, Barry Taylor.  The members present all said they had never so clearly seen Christ in Passover before and didn't' realize how many times Passover is mentioned in the New Testament, and how important it is to not just Jews, but Christians also because Christ is our Passover Lamb.  We've talked about the crossing of the Red Sea and the LORD making the bitter water sweet and will soon be studying the living water that was provided from the rock (that is Christ) and the kind of people that LORD wanted the people called by His Name to be.  At that point it was the nation of Israel, but we too are His people called by His Name, and He also desires us to be a royal priesthood (just see 1 Peter 2 where Peter uses the same words of Exodus 19 to describe God's desire for us as Christians if you have never seen this connection).  It is an exciting journey for these men as they see how the Old Testament is not just the story of the Jews, but it is the story of Christ at work in His people that He chose by election, just like He is at work in His people today, though we understand that what God "began" in the Old Testament has its completion and fulfillment in Christ.  We await the ultimate fulfillment that we studied together in the book of Revelation where we will all be saved from the presence of sin and will live in the Promised Land of the New Jerusalem in the midst of God the Father and God the Son forever and ever.

God is also bringing new people to me on a regular basis whether that is through tutoring, the roller coaster enthusiast group I manage on Discord, or running into other Christians as I'm watching people play video games on Twitch and having conversations with them about how we can encourage one another in an environment that is fairly hostile to biblical Christianity (Is there really any other kind?  It's a shame I feel the need to put that qualifier on it, but there are many that are "Christians" in name only that preach a false gospel that are more than comfortable in the culture created on Twitch).  I look forward to cultivating these new relationships and for God to bring more people to me this summer as summer classes just started on Monday.  Please pray for me as I act as an ambassador or the King and His Kingdom wherever I am--at work, at home, at church, and, yes, even online.

My family situation has not changed much.  Continue to pray for those that I have mentioned before.  There are many in my family and others close to our family though not related by blood who need salvation.  Others who are friends of mine are looking for churches to join.  Pray for them as, for some, this is their first time making such a commitment to come under the authority of a local congregation.  Some are desiring Christ to be glorified and at the center of new relationships that are forming.  Others are struggling with the loss of family members.  Still others are in need of physical healing.  If you can think of a way to pray for someone, there is probably someone directly connected to our discipleship group that needs that kind of prayer.  I don't know every need that everyone has, but the Holy Spirit does, and He knows all of the members and those that their hearts are burdened for by name.  Thank you for joining with us in lifting up these requests even in this manner that is "unspoken."  If you don't know any other way to pray for me and the members of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Mechanicsville, Virginia, here is a model given by the Apostle Paul to the Colossians:


Colossians 1:3-14
New International Version

Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people-- 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

​9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.