Tomorrow I am off to Florida to speak at the annual High School Bible Conference. I solicit your prayers for my health as I have been battling a cold and sinus virus for over 10 days and just started antibiotics yesterday. But more important than prayers for me are the prayers for those who will be attending. Here is a message sent out by the organizer of the event:
Hello My Friends,
In one way or another you have helped shaped and will help shape this year’s retreat. For the past 8 years
I’ve had the privilege to lead an outstanding group of volunteers. This year is no exception. I consider
you guys the greatest. I trust that God will use you in a mighty way this weekend.
There are almost 500 youth coming and over 600 in total with sponsors, guests, and staff. This is our
biggest High School Student Bible Retreat ever. I expected less because of the economy and I’ve turned
away over a hundred more.
I believe God will do great things...last year over 30 young people were baptized. That may not happen
this year. It all depends in what journey each young person is in...however, pray that God’s Spirit will
fall upon us in such away that hearts are reformed in turned to Jesus this weekend.
I’ve attached a schedule for your convenience...Thank you so much
for your ministry and work with our youth this weekend.
May God bless you and your family and keep you close to His Heart…
Impassioned by God’s Grace,
Juan M. Rodriguez
High School Student Bible Retreat Team Leader
Are you registered to vote in ‘08? Susan and I just moved so we need to re-register in the state of Connecticut. If you are interested in finding out where to register in your neighborhood you can CLICK HERE.
Also I would be interested in hearing from you on who you are voting for this year and why.
Romans 13:1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (ESV)
May God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
This past Sabbath marked the conclusion of one of the most spiritually uplifting weeks of my life. The setting: Brisbane Campmeeting’s Young Adult Tent.
On Saturday afternoon I was asked to share a few closing remarks and then have a word of prayer. For my closing remarks I shared a video that I have seen several times before and found it quite funny. I was debating on whether or not to show the video as the mood was relatively solemn throughout the service but then one of the tent leaders asked me, “If Jesus were sitting here would he enjoy it?” After a moment of serious consideration, my response was a resounding YES! The Jesus that I’ve come to deeply love and admire strikes me as the type of guy who loves to laugh and have a good time, while at the same time He is deeply concerned about the internal pain of everyone He comes into contact with.
Before showing the video I stated that this video depicts how many people both in and outside of the church view Jesus. After the video was played I challenged the audience to get to know the Jesus of the Bible and not what everyone else says about him.
If the Jesus that I’ve come to know were to have been sitting there that afternoon just outside of downtown Brisbane, Australia I believe that He would have laughed hard. Then He would have gotten up and set the record straight! What do you think?
I arrived this week in Sydney on Tuesday and had a couple of meetings with some folks over breakfast. Exciting things are on the horizon for a possible tour next year in and through south-east Australia! What a blast it would be.
Then I flew up to the Gold Coast and spent a couple days in solid Bible study and prayer with three legendary men. It is safe to say that throughout the past twelve years, there has rarely, if ever, been a time where I was surrounded by three other men of God who came together for the purpose of meeting with God and growing together in His grace. It was a powerful two day experience.
Then today I jumped in the car with my buddy Kim (yes, he’s a guy!) and made the 1.5 hour trek up the coast to the campgrounds here in Brisbane where I am speaking in the young adult tent all week. I wish that you could all see the work that the volunteers have put in to create an amazing atmosphere for worship.
I solicit your prayers on behalf of those in attendance as well as for myself. I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has mighty plans for this tent this week. I will keep you posted as I interact with those coming out.
This weekend I am speaking at the Church of the Advent Hope in New York City! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be here. Tonight was amazing as the basement of the church was converted into a cafe. It was packed out! Live music from my good friends in Fade, phenomenal food and drinks by church volunteers, and great ambiance and people created the perfect combination for a stelar time.
Tomorrow AM we pick back up with Sabbath School and the corporate worship experience. You are all invited so if you are in the area, please stop in!
More to come on this amazing weekend, but for now I am off to bed!
This past Sabbath I had the opportunity of speaking at Sabbath Grace Fellowship, a church plant in the Orlando area. I was warned ahead of time that I would be welcomed with open arms, literally. And let me tell you, they were right. I had to have been hugged by at least a half-dozen people within the first 10 minutes of being there. In addition to the friendliness, I also noticed the diversity of people there. Not just the races, but the various types of dress that was present. While it may seem insignificant, to me I value a church that welcomes people in jeans as well as in suits.
Before the service began, I was invited into the prayer room to meet with some prayer warriors who said a word of prayer for the service and the preaching. It was much appreciated.
The service began and it was clearly evident that excellence was of high value. From the setting of the room with its lights and sound, to music, to the flow of the service, everything testified of a team of people who were committed to worshiping an excellent God! I especially enjoyed the time referred to as “celebration” where anyone in the congregation was empowered to share what they were celebrating that week. It was really a touching part of the worship experience as people from the congregation heard of stories from around the room including anniversaries or surgery’s gone well.
After the offering I took the platform to address the relatively large audience inspite of the long holiday weekend. I started with a brief recap of my conversion story and then dove into the message for the morning based on Jesus’ words found in the Sermon on the Mount. You can listen to the message by CLICKING HERE.
I want to thank all of the fine folks at Sabbath Grace Fellowship for showing me the warm Southern Hospitality. I hope to see y’all again soon!
Today is the Sabbath, a day of rest to bask in God’s presence and refrain from work. Susan, my wife, has worked over 50 hours in the last three days alone. Needless to say she is wiped out. And in two days we will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary (checks can be made out to Matthew and Susan.. j/k). That being said we took the opportunity to spend the day together. The goal was to drive up the coast of Connecticut to find a beach where the three of us (Mia came along too) could chill together. While the drive up Route 167 was gorgeous, we could not find one public beach where we could park and enjoy the sights. So we had to settle for lunch at a marina. Wanting to be able to get in the water, we came back home to go to the pool.
Over the past few days, I have found myself re-engaging in devotional time with God in His Word. This is not to say that I had stopped entirely, but I felt that my devotional time had come to a place of complacency, as there was no real consistency or direction. So along with some prayer and encouraging conversations with some friends, I committed to reading the corresponding chapter for the day out of Proverbs as well as some out of another book of the Bible, which I have picked the Gospel of John. When we made it out to the poolside, I opened to the chapter where I had left off yesterday, Chapter 5. The title here is “The Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath.” (I actually laughed out loud… truly it is the LIVING WORD!) A couple of things stuck out to be about this story that I want to share with you.
1 – JESUS GOES WHERE FUNKY PEOPLE ARE – Jesus goes to Jerusalem for a feast. Upon arrival he makes a b-line for the pool of Bethesda, you know the one by the Sheep Gate. Who are there? “A multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.” (:3) I love this about Jesus, He ALWAYS initiates! He goes right into the cesspool of society to reveal His Father’s love and power!
2 – JESUS WANTS TO HEAR FROM US – While it may be obvious to us that these people want to be healed, Jesus doesn’t take it for granted. He turns to one of the invalids who had been this way for 38 years and asks him, “Do you want to be healed?” (:6) Honestly, had I been there that day and overheard this question I would have laughed as it is bordering on ridiculous to ask an invalid that question. But the more I think about it, two things dawn on me. 1) Not everyone wants to be healed. I mean really, truly, honestly wants to be healed; and 2) Jesus wants to hear us articulate our need.
Have you ever met someone who seems perfectly content living in his or her funk? It is as though they have resigned themselves to living in sin, brokenness, poverty, shamefulness, etc. Their family members and friends look on and shake their head realizing that they have so much more potential, but they chose to remain in the situation they are in. In some respects the saying is true that Jesus will help those who help themselves. Jesus tells the man, “take up your bed and walk” and “at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.” (:8,9)
I don’t know about you today, but I am tired of being hypocritical, stagnant, lying around in my complacency and accepting mediocracy! I believe that Jesus is coming to me and you today, meeting us in our funk and telling us to stand up and walk as sons and daughters of the most High God. How do we do it? How about “take up your cross and follow Him!” (Luke 9:23)
John 2:24,25 NMGV (New Matthew Gamble Version) “Jesus did not entrust himself to man because he knew what was in the heart of man and needed no one to bear witness about man.”
I had to take a double-take when I read this passage out of John. What does it mean that Jesus did not entrust himself to man because he knew what was in the heart of man? Don’t get me wrong it makes perfect sense as I often am baffled that Jesus would chose sinful humans to represent His prefect character to the world, but I am confused by what it means that He did not entrust Himself to man while He was here on this earth. Maybe the entrusting didn’t take place until he rose from the grave and empoarted the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
This past weekend I was in Ocala Florida for the North Florida Back to School Rally! And it was an amazing time. More times than not when I am approaching a weekend of speaking, I am fairly clear before the week begins what God would have me to say. This was not the case this past week. There I was Friday sitting out on the beach in St. Augustine begging God to inspire me with the message that He wanted me to share. Nothing was really coming so I started reading through my Bible staring in the Gospel of Matthew. I didn’t get too far before I started bogging down in some of Jesus’ teachings.
In talking with (lay) Pastor Mike about the weekend he told me that the vision was to empower the audience with a desire to go out and share their faith. As I started reading through the Bible I came across passages that talked about this exact thing. Jesus told the people during the Sermon on the Mount not to “lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
Just a few chapters later, Jesus says, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves… Do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:16,19b-20)
God ended up providing the Word that needed to be spoke this past weekend. I praise God that with Him on our side, we need to trust that it is truly not me who is speaking, but the Holy Spirit will take over and provide. I encourage you to follow God’s leading to share Him with someone else. Simply pray that God will give you the words to say, and He will!
I had a great time with everyone that showed up. There is more to come in October at the High School Retreat so be on the look out!
Tomorrow I am off to Florida to speak at the annual High School Bible Conference. I solicit your prayers for my health as I have been battling a cold and sinus virus for over 10 days and just started antibiotics yesterday. But more important than prayers for me are the prayers for those who will be attending. Here is a message sent out by the organizer of the event:
This weekend I am speaking at the 
This past Sabbath I had the opportunity of speaking at 
Today is the Sabbath, a day of rest to bask in God’s presence and refrain from work. Susan, my wife, has worked over 50 hours in the last three days alone. Needless to say she is wiped out. And in two days we will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary (checks can be made out to Matthew and Susan.. j/k). That being said we took the opportunity to spend the day together. The goal was to drive up the coast of Connecticut to find a beach where the three of us (Mia came along too) could chill together. While the drive up Route 167 was gorgeous, we could not find one public beach where we could park and enjoy the sights. So we had to settle for lunch at a marina. Wanting to be able to get in the water, we came back home to go to the pool.
John 2:24,25 NMGV (New Matthew Gamble Version) “Jesus did not entrust himself to man because he knew what was in the heart of man and needed no one to bear witness about man.”
This past weekend I was in Ocala Florida for the North Florida Back to School Rally! And it was an amazing time. More times than not when I am approaching a weekend of speaking, I am fairly clear before the week begins what God would have me to say. This was not the case this past week. There I was Friday sitting out on the beach in St. Augustine begging God to inspire me with the message that He wanted me to share. Nothing was really coming so I started reading through my Bible staring in the Gospel of Matthew. I didn’t get too far before I started bogging down in some of Jesus’ teachings.
