Pray for Manfrid

Everyone, I just got done with talking with our neighbor Manfrid for about an hour or so. I started off just talking with him about whatever to continue to building a friendship with him. The whole idea is to be able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him. Well, guess what, within 10 minutes of our conversation I asked him IN GERMAN, "Wer ist Jesus für dich?" ("Who is Jesus for you?") And there I began to share with him in German and in English about the Love of my Savior Jesus Christ! It was absolutely amazing! For many reasons. 1) I have been wanting to share with him for quite a while now and we finally had enough time to talk with one another. 2) he was completely open to talk about it. 3) I was able to share with him about the Love of Christ in German! That is huge. Now I will be honest, I did a lot in English too, but alot of it was in German! I know that all of my German was not gramatically correct but at least this was a start! 4) Most important, I know that the Lord was really working in his heart in a radical way. So he did not accept the Lord right there in our hallway, but I was able to pull out my German Bible and show him many verses, which I had him read. He also said that he had a Bible in his apartment in Frankfurt (he is a truck driver, so he lives there during the week), and I challenged him to start reading it.
There is so much more that I could share about, but please begin to pray for him this week. Here is what I ask that you pray for him:
- Pray that the Holy Spirit will work in his heart and that he would surrender his life to Jesus
- Pray that he would begin to read his Bible this week
- Pray for next weekend, as I will follow up with him
- Pray that the Lord would overwehlm him with His love this week.

Thank You

We're Back!

Hello Everyone! We are back from our 12 day trip in Switzerland (Schweiz)! It was absolutely amazing! The Lord truly blessed our time. We will definitely post up some pics and stories soon, but it is late and I need to get some rest for tomorrow! Stay Tuned!!! You won't want to miss out!

Family Time

We will not be updating our blog the next couple of weeks as we will be on vacation!!!! YEAH! The place where we will be going does not have internet, so it will be really good to be able to just spend time as a family! Please pray for good health, good weather, safe traveling, and that we would have a BLAST!!
If you don't know where we are going, I will have to tell you when we get back. It is a secret. Not really, I just want to keep you in suspense! haha
Tschüß

Worship Conference

Hallo Zusammen! Hello Everyone! I want to take this opportunity to share with all of you how the worship conference went this past weekend. First of all, I want to share how completely blessed I was to be able to have sweet fellowship with my brothers and sisters who came with me. Jürgen, Martina, Merivan, Dominc, and Sina it was a great opportunity to be able to hang out with all of you during the conference. It was definitely a sweet time of fellowship.
Now regarding the conference, I have been to a few worship conferences in the past in California, but this was my first one here in Germany! And this was my first one as being the worship leader for the church. It was such a blessing. As you can see on the flyer, the guest speakers were Duane Clark, from California and Jonathan Allen, from Tennesse. Both of these men have different backgrounds with different worship experiences, and yet the Lord used the both of them to radically minister to me and to all of the rest of those who were there.

Jonathan Allen teaching a main session

The first session started off with Duane Clark teaching out of John chapter one in regards to the life of John the Baptist. The job of John the Baptist was simple. He just pointed others to Jesus. He didn't seek to take any recognition or adoration, he just pointed other to Jesus. Duane went on to share that this is the job of the worship leader and the worship team, to point the church to Jesus!
Some of the workshops that I went to were entitled, Prophetic Dynamics in Worship, Arranging a Band, and Building a Team. The Lord definitely used each of these workshops to not only answer and confirm some of my personal prayer requests in regards to the worship ministry here at Calvary Chapel Herborn, but He also used one in particular to speak to me personally.

Sina, Merivan, Jürgen, Joey, Dominic, and Martina - enjoying the fellowship

Now I will not go into detail how the Lord spoke to me because sometimes somethings in our Christian walk are just for us and the Lord, but I will share with you that the Lord used Jonathan Allen to speak a prophetic word to me in a particular workshop that was exactly what I needed to hear. I praise the Lord for the word that was spoken. Like I said, it was exactly what I needed to hear from the Lord! Amen! Hallelujah!

Q & A with Duane Clark and Jonathan Allen

As I close, I do want to ask all of you who do read this blog to please be praying for the worship ministry at CC Herborn. There is a lot on my heart that I belive that the Lord is starting to speak, confirm, and challenge me in and I just want to be led of the Lord in all of it. So for all of you back home in California, please be praying, and for all of you here in Deutschland, please be praying for the Lord to do a mighty work of His Spirit in the worship team! I am excited!!!!
God Bless

Jesus is Alive

Today, I was on my way home from a worship conference in Siegen and my bro Benni played me a song in his car from Lacrae. It is titled JESUS IS ALIVE. Read the lyrics. Awesome!!!

Elvis is dead, Picasso is dead
Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin are dead
Marilyn Monroe is dead- however...
Jesus is Alive
Brando is dead, James Brown is dead
Princess Di and John Lennon are dead
Biggie and Pac are dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Give praise to King Jesus, the blessed Son
Victorious, glorious resurrected One
To Him belongs the power, glory and honor
Ascended where He sits at the right hand of the Father
At the cross He made atonement- His people He saved
After three days He was raised in defeat of the grave
By faith the elect behold Him, His scepter is golden
He must have been hot or slippery because death couldn't hold Him
The spotlight is on today's icons
In a thousand years, nobody will care- their light's gone
But at that time, Christ will still shine bright
He's not in the limelight- He IS the limelight
Criminal minded, you've been blinded
Looking for the body of Jesus? You won't find it
We never lack spirit, letting you cats hear it
Because His tomb is empty like most secular rap lyrics

Plato is dead, Socrates is dead
Aristotle and Immanuel Kant are dead
Neitzsche and Darwin are dead- however
Jesus is Alive
Buddha is dead, Mohammed is dead
Ghandi and Haile Selassie are dead
Elijah Mohammed is dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Throughout history there's been mad religious leaders
Prophets, preachers, scholars, teachers
But when it came to the grave, no one could climb out
That's where Jesus stands alone like taking a 'timeout'
And don't be mislead- I got a level head
No resurrection, Christianity would have never spread
The disciples weren't stupid guys who would ruin their lives
And then choose to die for what they knew was a lie
That would be beyond ridiculous- Nah, the issue is
The risen Christ seen by 500 eye-witnesses
Imagine 500 people in a court of law
Each of them taking the stand reporting what they saw
If their stories lined up and made sense
The evidence would have to leave you convinced
But still it's by faith that we trust and praise the Son
Who was raised for our justification

Nero is dead, Constantine is dead
Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun are dead
Alexander the Great is dead- however
Jesus is Alive
Napoleon is dead, Lao Tzu is dead
Che Guevara and Henry VIII are dead
Saddam Hussein is dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Through faith in Christ, we've been saved from hell
Because He's risen, it means we'll be raised as well
In glorified bodies fit for the new earth
For now, we participate in the new birth
The universal reality of the true church
With resurrection power, watch the Spirit do work!
United with Christ, we reside in His light
Abide in His might, keep in stride as we fight
The pride in our life, the lies and the spite
We strive to be wise as He guides through the night
He'll chide and He'll slice- recognize that He's right
His brightness inside lights our eyes and it's tight
(He) decided to die to wash white all our strife
His life was the price to delight in His wife
He told death "sike" just to rise like a kite
All eyes on the Christ- let's prize Him tonight

Pharaoh is dead, Cyrus is dead
Darius and Sennacharib are dead
Nebuchadnezzar is dead- however
Jesus is Alive
Caesar is dead, Herod is dead
Annas, Caiaphas and Judas are dead
Pontius Pilate is dead- however
Jesus is Alive

Erste Hilfe

This past Tuesday and Wednesday evening Rebecca and I took our Erste Hilfe Kurs (First Aid Class). This is something that you have to do to get your German Drivers license. Something that is completely different here in Germany, is the process in getting your drivers license. There are a lot of things that you must do to get your drivers license. We are in the middle of the whole process, so if you could please pray for us in all of this, that would be great!
Before we went into the class on Tuesday evening I told Rebecca, "We are probably going to be in a room full of teenagers." And sure enough, we were. Now you might be thinking, "oh that's good for them, to take a First Aid Class." But there is one major difference in taking a First Aid Class here in Germany. It was all in German! We knew that it would be so, and for me, being in my German classes everyday, I thought that it wouldn't be too bad. I knew for Rebecca it would be very difficult for her to understand, but I thought, maybe I will be able to help her. Well.... our teacher spoke so fast, it was so hard to keep up with her and to fully understand. But, what matters is... that we passed the class and are one step closer to getting our German Drivers License.

My Life is His

Hello Everyone, I just wanted to share with you some things that I shared recently at Calvary Chapel Freiergrund. This church is about 40 minutes away from us. The pastor was going to be out of town and he had asked if I could teach for him while he was gone. So here you go...

In Joshua 24:14-15, it says, "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua is at the end of his life and he radically challenges the people to choose whom they would serve. As we think upon these verses, I want to share with you a very powerful verse that I believe that many of you are aware of in the book of Galatians.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

When I look at this verse I cannot help but think of how Paul the apostle boldly declared this. I think that if Paul was living in the days of Joshua, that this would have been his response to Joshua's challenge. There are 5 things that I want to point out about this verse... As you read over these points and these verses, allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you the truth of the Word to your heart...

1. The Daily Choice - Die tägliche Entscheidung - vs.20 “I have been crucified with Christ;”

Galatians 5:24 “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Galatians 6:14 “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Romans 6:3-6 “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

By the death of Christ upon the cross I have become utterly estranged from (dead to) my former habit of feeling and action

Luke 9:23 “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

2. Yielding all of me - Ich gebe mich ganz hin - vs.20 “…it is no longer I who live…”

I have chosen to reckon my old man dead...
Romans 6:11 “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

I have chosen to no longer let sin reign in me any more…
Romans 6:12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

I have chosen to no longer present my members as instruments of unrighteousness…
Romans 6:13 “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin,”

I have chosen to no longer live for the old man…
Colossians 3:5-9 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,”

• No Longer: My Ways... My Will ... My Wants ... My Desires ... My Dreams


3. Christ lives in Me! - Christus lebt in mir! - vs.20 “…but Christ lives in me…”

What does this mean? It sounds exciting! It sounds like a good “Christian” thing to say! But, when you consider it, I believe it brings with it many possibilities. For this, we have to consider the way Jesus lived His life. Let us look at a few….

A. Christ Lives in Me – A Life of Victory!

John 19:30 “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

Luke 24:5-6a “Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen!”

1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

B. Christ Lives in Me – A Life Empowered by the Holy Spirit!

Mark 1:8 (John the Baptist declared) “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 2:1-4 “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

C. Christ Lives in Me – A Life of Mission!

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

So now He has called us to live a life of MISSION…
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
• Now: His Ways ... His Will ... His Wants ... His Desires

4. How I will live my life - Wie ich mein Leben lebe - vs.20 “…and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God…”

First, we must recognize…
A. We live in the flesh
Psalm 103:14 “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

Romans 7:19 “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

B. I live it by FAITH in the Son of God

Romans 1:17 “…the just shall live by faith.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

FAITH is a New Testament word – in the Old Testament the word that we see is TRUST…

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Psalm 37:3-7a “Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.4Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;”

• It is a placing ALL of who YOU ARE in His hands
• And know this!
• He will be COMPLETELY FAITHFUL

2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”


5. Why I chose Christ - Warum ich mich für Christus entscheide - vs.20 “…who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

A. He Loved Me
1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”

1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”

B. He Gave Himself for Me

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,”

& So I Join in with the Apostle Paul and say…

My Life is His!

A visit with Stephanie

We want to thank all of you who prayed for my sister Stephanie. Shortly after her surgery, she gave me a call and let me know that she was interested in coming out to Germany. So, she checked with her doctor to make sure that it would be okay and then booked her tickets to come out. She came out and stayed with us for 10 days. It was such a blessing for her and us to have her come out and stay with us.
One of the blessings was that she was able to come with me as I went to go teach at Calvary Chapel Freiergrund and afterwards we went to Köln (Cologne) to spend time with each other. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera with me that day in Cologne to be able to show you pics of our time together.
But here is a picture of Stephanie in Limburg, Germany. So praise the Lord for the opportunity for her to be able to come and and be refreshed in the Lord! I know that the Lord used this trip to work in her heart in a great way! We love you Steph and are so thankful that you came out to hang out with us!

Abendmahl @ the Coronels

This past Wednesday, June 3rd, we had Abendmahl (Communion Service) at the Coronel's house. We made a decision to no longer be in our temporary building. And so this past Wednesday night we met for a sweet time of worship, communion, prayer, testimony, and fellowship. The Lord truly did an amazing work of His Spirit within the hearts of those who attended that evening. Here are just a few pics of the night! We do praise the Lord for the work that He did on this evening!

Pastor Edmund and Dirk bringing the Word

Martin (a bro in the fellowship) sharing testimony about his recent trip to China

Worship

Martha and Elke enjoying the fellowship

Parkplatz

Here are a few pics of the work that was being done for our neighbor and us to have a new parkplatz (parking place). To be completely honest, I didn't do any of the work, the owners just told me to get in and took a couple of pics of me. Part of the process that needed to take place for this parkplatz to be done was that they needed to completely cut down and rip out the roots on a tree. It was amazing to see how strong these roots of this tree were. This machine was completely being lifted off of its wheels while trying to take out the roots.

Holiness

A brother in the Lord shared these two excerpts with me and so I wanted to share them with you. If it is too small for you to read - just double click on it and it should pop up in another window in a bigger size.

Think upon this