2009 December |

Welcome Jathan!

Announcing the birth of our dude-man #2! Jathan Lee Black was born today, January 26, 2012 at 4:14pm. He measured 8 lbs. 6.9 oz. and 21.25 inches in length. Laura is doing pretty good and on her way to recovery. Thank you all so much for your prayers! In His Grace, Derek, Laura, Elias, & Jathan

Let the Nations Be Glad!

I'm super amped (really, really excited) to launch a new study this Sunday in the Koinonia group! My attention is drawn to a book by John Piper, entitled, Let the Nations Be Glad. Piper's subtitle is "The Supremacy of God in Missions," but don't let the title and subtitle automatically shuffle this book into strictly a missions category. The Biblical truths in this book reveal God's desire and pla...

Corinthians… Jesus Identity

Well, in the Koinonia young adult group we just wrapped up our 6 month study in 1 Corinthians. Wow, what a great book! If you haven't lately checked out Paul's letters to the church at Corinth, maybe you should. We found this first canonical letter to the Corinthians to be extremely relevant for us the church today! In a world racked with moral depravity, God redeemed a people to Himself. Think ab...

Headed to ANC

So I'm pretty amped to speak at church this weekend with our friends at Dimond in Anchorage. Alaska big city here we come :-) Topics for the weekend include... the imago Dei (image of God) in relation to culture and a missiological focus, Acts 1:8 Confidence of the church, our ministry vision to the villages, and Acts 18 regarding God's sovereignty in redeeming a people to himself (the backsto...

Brief 2012 Thoughts

As I think about this new year (which reaches us in AK rather late on the world's timetable), my heart is drawn to Paul's earnest prayer for the Ephesians in chapter 1. This Christmas I thought much on Isaiah 9:1-7 and the reality of our God's active plan of redemption. As we graciously enter 2012, may we bring the reality of God's Word and His work back to our minds. Our world so desensitizes us,...

New Prayer Letter (Christmas 2011)

Thank you once again so much for all of your prayers! Below are the links to our latest prayer update. Christmas 2011 Update

This Christmas God is Not Dead

I recently read through a devotional in my YouVersion iPhone app (a little plug for a sweet app) on the Christmas carol, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” On Christmas day 1864, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem entitled “Christmas Bells,” that was later turned into our current carol by John Baptiste Calkin. The story behind the lyrics riveted my attention. As the backstory un...

God Shaped Sexuality

Recently my attention has been directed toward God’s design of mankind as sexual beings. As we progressed through a study in the Koinonia group at church on 1 Corinthians, we approached chapters 6 and 7. It is here that the apostle Paul deals with confusion and compromise regarding sexual issues within the Corinthian church body. This topic led us to a brief study of the Song of Songs (or Song o...

New Prayer Letter (Fall 2011)

Thank you once again so much for all of your prayers! Below are the links to our latest prayer update. Fall 2011 Update

Culture: Receive, Reject, Redeem

The other day I was sitting at an Alaska local coffee shop, Kaladi Brothers. As I sit it any coffee shop, it is quite interesting to observe this cultural epicenter of our society. Culture in general fascinates me and it is likely one of the interests that God gave me for mission work. As believers we are called to live in this world for the spread of Jesus’ fame. We are called to be in t...

Reflections on Christmas Theology in Song

Posted By: thegapstander on December 21, 2009 in Theological Reflections, Updates (all) - Comments: No Comments »

Christmas is such an awesome time of year! We have all heard the ever-dominating “holiday” greetings lately. It is at this time of year the Christian community emphasizes the importance of keeping Christ in Christmas. I whole-heartedly agree, but let’s make sure we take it one step farther. This Christmas season, don’t just remember the term “Christ” in Christmas; be reminded of our great God’s sovereign plan of redemption!

If you’re like me,

Awesome Spurgeon Quote

Posted By: thegapstander on December 20, 2009 in Theological Reflections, Updates (all) - Comments: No Comments »

I came across this quote from Spurgeon the other day: “If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”

Correlation Between Worship and Biblical Counseling

Posted By: thegapstander on December 17, 2009 in Links, Updates (all) - Comments: No Comments »

Interesting video conversation about the correlations between worship and Biblical counseling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cExWp4rtT9Q

What Really Matters in Life?

Posted By: thegapstander on December 16, 2009 in Links, Theological Reflections, Updates (all) - Comments: No Comments »

Really truthful video about what really matters in life (kind of a weird background music, but still cool video). Voice is taken from a John Piper message & video was posted on Bob Kauflin’s website, worshipmatters.com

http://www.worshipmatters.com/2009/12/14/treasuring-christ-above-all-things/

The Curiosity of a Child

Posted By: thegapstander on December 2, 2009 in Theological Reflections, Updates (all) - Comments: No Comments »

So the end of this week we hopped in the car for northern Michigan to visit Laura’s grandparents. As we drove further along the now tree lined two lane northern Michigan road, the scenery became increasingly blanketed with snow. When we woke up the next morning, the lanscape was now competely covered with snow, providing an ideal backdrop for Christmas decorating and window gazing.

Recent Tweets

Announcing dudeman #2, Jathan Lee Black, born 1-26-2012 4:14pm, 8 lbs. 6.9 oz. and 21.25 inches long. Welcome to the world our little man!
Excited to be speaking tomorrow in front of a group of Alaska native students in Soldotna... appreciate the prayers!
Starting 2012 updating/presenting our ministry as well as doing pulpit fill. Appreciate the prayers!
Had a great day with our friends at Sterling Baptist today! Next week we head to Anchorage at Dimond Baptist.

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All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are from the ESV