WE'VE MOVED!!

Due to some problems with Blogger lately, we've been planning a new and better blog for all of our community. So where is our new blog?? You can find us very easily at http://blog.gracecampus.net. So please come there to continue checking in with what God is doing in and through our ministry. Thank you, gcm

grace.

Tonight, Matt talked about grace. He painted a beautiful picture of how amazing it really is. Every breath is God's grace. Below is the story that he read at encounter. It's very powerful and speaks for itself.

My mom turned 41 last week. i am 23. what this means is that she gave birth to me when she was 17, and in high school. she wasn't married, and as a matter of fact, when her long-term boyfriend found out she was pregnant, he deserted her altogether (it was hard for him too, he was a 17 year old kid, and had a pretty tough home). when i was born, my mom gave me his last name, hoping that would make him stick around and want me (it didn't work). but all of my baby things - my blankets, little cross-stitched pictures, etc - just say Courtney Lynn. no last name. i think everyone around my mom and i was confident that i would not keep the last name i was given at birth. on your birth certificate there is a section that reads "Father present at birth: __________". seeing as he was nowhere to be found, that section of my birth certificate was left blank. i can't help but think of how we are all born into sin, to a father who abandoned us long before we were born. he abandoned us when he ate the apple, and even though we were given his name at birth, we only bore it with the hope that it would one day change. life without a dad was really tough. my mom and i struggled just to live - i'm talking poor. welfare poor. but when i was 4 years old, my mom met and married the man i call dad. and not only did he marry my mom, but he adopted me, which meant that his last name became my last name, and i no longer had to bear the name of the man who ate the apple and left me hungry. instead i was given the name of a man who chose me, who wanted me, tainted past and all. and what's more amazing - upon adoption, my birth certificate was re-written. long after my actual, physical birth, a new law was written. one that said that my father, who chose me at 4 years old, was actually present in that hospital room on the day i entered this world. my birth certificate now reads - Father present at birth: William Hurst. do you see? i lived for YEARS apart from my father. i had a long history by the time he even met me. but he CHOSE me, and that decision not only changed my future, but it changed my past! i was given an identity, i was no longer illegitimate... with the adoption fees, i was purchased out of my own sinful past. he PAID to give me his name, and to give me HIS history! "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade..." I Peter 1:3-4 Our Father purchased us with the greatest price - He knew that our last name would not be Adam forever. He CHOSE us before the foundations of the earth. although our history was one of sin, when He adopted us with the price of His Son, not only did our future change, but our history did as well! He became the Father that was present at our birth. we are no longer sons and daughters of Adam, but of our Father God, who "in His great mercy has given us new birth".
WOW!!! That's truth. That's a real-world example and testimony the grace and faithfulness of Jesus.

Stay tuned for our next post to come in the next couple of days to read about what else happened at encounter!!!

the renovations begin.

Today was a long hard day for a few staff members at the new gcm office. There are many renovations to be done before our new office can be the inspiring work environment that we all need and desire. Many things happened today, the painting began, the trim work began around the ceiling and floors and light fixtures were bought and prepared to be hung. All-in-all, the renovations are running smoothly and things are looking good. The beauty of it all is that it would be impossible without the help of our community at encounter. Everyone responded in a big way as we asked for help financially to make our office a reality. There is a major need for an office for those that are currently full-time on staff and those that are currently working to come on staff in the fall. Our hope is that this office will be an environment where we can be creative and generate inspiration for new and effective ways to reach our campus for the name of Jesus. It will also be a place for us as a staff to be together as a family and grow in our love for one another. Thank you for your continued support as we continue to work hard to create a place that the staff of grace campus can call home.

fighting for joy

In our small community we are continuing to learn what it means to fight for joy. We're coming to grips with what it looks like acknowledge the truths of God and fight for our own joy when our emotions say otherwise. We're also learning to embrace what Christ did for us on the cross for our joy and in remembrance of that we're fighting for the joy of others. And to dive deeper into fighting for the joy of others, this week will be more outwardly focused. What does it mean to fight for the joy of others outside of your friendly circles? In other words, because of the cross and the joy we experience as christians, how do we fight for the joy of others by sharing the gospel?

This should be an amazing week at encounter as we look outward into a world of salvation hungry people. If you would like to catch up with what's been going on with this series called, "The fight for joy" then go to www.gracecampus.net and look under the Media section for the message series and you can listen to both talks from the past two weeks.

salvation came.

This week Matt started a new series called "The fight for Joy." And we had a joyous night last night for sure! We clapped, sang, shouted and danced for our joy and for the joy of God.

As fun as all of that was, the story is even bigger. The buzz going around afterward was that Jesus had brought salvation. What happened through our little offering of worship was amazing. One guy who walked in off the street because he heard music came to know Jesus last night. Another guy heard Matt talk about joy that never goes away and he experienced a whole new freedom. Another girl was speechless after the Lord set her free from what was holding her back from a life of joy.

Last night seemed to be a night of setting the captives free to experience a new joy in the presence of their King.

"Now to HIM who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of HIS glory blameless with GREAT JOY, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Jude 1:24

We are praying for our community this week as we all fight for joy.

presence or presents?

Tonight, I rested in His presence. That's all that was needed. Just the Spirit of God breathing life into my weary soul. It's good to just rest. Sometimes I get caught up in thinking about what I can get from God instead of just being with God. Matt brought amazing truth and light to a subject that is seldom discussed, the gifts of God. The things that God does for us. Whether it's tongues or encouragement or prophesy or leadership or administration or whatever gift that God has given you is first of all, from God. And I believe what we can all walk away with tonight is that all gifts are first and foremost for exalting the name of Jesus. no other Name. One Name matters. And secondly, the gifts are rooted in love. As we live our lives and use the gifts that God has uniquely give all of us, it's most important that people walk away from us not talking about what great gifts we have, but talking about how great God is. Jesus is THE gift. If you didn't make it to encounter tonight for whatever reason, then I have a bit of bad news for you. Because of a minor technical error, Matt's message didn't get recorded. I am terribly sorry. So, if you're trying to go to the website and play the message from tonight, I'm sorry, but it's not there. I wish there was something we could do because I know there are many of you that don't live in Auburn and like to listen to the talks online. Sorry for any disappointment.

Living for what matters.

As a ministry we're getting into the heart of community groups and pushing through the mid-semester as students strive to survive midterms. I'm confident that God's name is made great in all of the community groups. As I've spent time with several of the leaders, it's becoming more obvious that the King is leading these groups. The leaders are vessels, and very effective vessels I must add. As for Encounter, Matt's finishing his series called, "Presence" this Thursday night. Come join us as we capture what it means to live life in the joy of His presence. But here's what I really wanted to bring to the table in this short post. If you have 2 extra minutes, go read this article. It's about an olympic snowboarder living for the glory of God everywhere she goes. This is a really cool encouragement. See you Thursday!