New Prayer Letter (Spring 2012)
  Thank you once again so much for all of your prayers! Below are the links to our latest prayer update.   Spring 2012 Update  
Lessons from Colossians
LESSONS FROM COLOSSIANS After concluding our studies on 1 Corinthians and Let the Nations Be Glad in our Koinonia young adult Sunday school group, our attention is now set on Colossians. Two main notes of application are on my mind lately. 1. The need for passionate lay leadership. There Paul, a Jew who gave his life for the Gentiles’ redemption, finds himself in Roman imprisonment. Al...
Easter 2012
After a couple thousand years of generations and cultures, we come to another year of commemorating the cross and the resurrection. It's 2012 and Jesus is still fulfilling His promise of building His Matt. 16:13-19 church centered on the glorious Eph. 1:7 redemption bought at the terrible but beautiful cross. God is still redeeming His people to Himself until the Rom. 11:25 fullness of the Genti...
Word-Shaped Prayer
Picking up on another Let the Nations Be Glad post, I wanted to include some of Piper's writings regarding prayer. Interestingly I read as Piper explained how prayer can often be too elevated above its intended role. Now, if you're like me and thinking, you may say, huh? Let me further explain. He continued to explain that prayer is often elevated in our emphasis on it over the Word of God. H...
Worship, Missions, and Life
Greetings! I just wanted to check in and share some stuff that I am really enjoying going through with the Koinonia group at our church from our Let the Nations Be Glad study. The study itself finds it's roots in a principle inseparably connected to the Scriptures as a whole. However, Psalm 67 rings clear on the study's central premise. "May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His f...
New Prayer Letter (Winter 2012)
  Thank you once again so much for all of your prayers! Below are the links to our latest prayer update.   Winter 2012 Update  
Our Deliverer, Our Solace
I was reading in Exodus today about Israel's deliverance from Egypt. Although the parting of the Red Sea and the host of other miraculous deliverances of Israel are familiar to us, I think we often take them for granted. Can you relate? Consider the Red Sea deliverance in Exodus 14 for a moment. Can you imagine what it must have been like! Imagine as we all are just delivered from an oppressive pe...
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...

Quick Update

Posted By: thegapstander on January 25, 2010 in Ministry Updates, Updates (all) - Comments: No Comments »

Thanks to all of our supporters for your continual partnership! I wanted to give a quick update of our ministry so you all know how to pray specifically for 2010. Since our 3 month Alaska deputation trip, December and January has kept us

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Isaiah 40 is Awesome!

Posted By: thegapstander on January 18, 2010 in Theological Reflections, Updates (all) - Comments: No Comments »

We are still booking meetings and are going to be very busy traveling soon. In the meantime since I am home, I am able to still participate in a Tuesday evening Youth Prison Bible Study. Last week I volunteered to do this week’s lesson. Our lesson last week was on the signs of Christ’s imminent return. Little did we know that one of the signs mentioned in Matthew 24 and elsewhere (earthquakes) would become front and center in our world this week. So, rather than proceed

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Pray for Haiti

Posted By: thegapstander on January 17, 2010 in Missions, Updates (all) - Comments: No Comments »

Words cannot fully express the tragedy that occurred in recent days in Haiti! As most of us probably have, I have sat in shock as the video and photos stream across the tv and computer screens. There are so many questions that come to mind during such a traumatic event. While there will always be those who are quick to assert causation to Divine wrath, may we be deeply moved to pray for Haiti. Let us pray for the church in Haiti, for the believers to find their rock in Christ. Let us pray for those who

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God's Work This New Year

Posted By: thegapstander on January 2, 2010 in Theological Reflections, Updates (all) - Comments: No Comments »

As I prepare for tomorrow’s message on Ezra and Nehemiah, I am again amazed at our great God’s grace! As we begin this new year, may we be reminded of what life and ministry really is all about…God’s grace and our relationship to it. In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, God gave Israel yet another chance to experience His grace. Their sin drove them into judgment in the form of captivity. Now Israel’s descendants find themselves in a strange place wondering how God’s promises regarding their blessing would ever come to pass in their present downtrodden situation. It is at this seemingly hopeless

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All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are from the ESV