Christ Communicator

Even after all that we have read about Williams Syndrome, Patty and I still don’t feel like we know much. However, my smart and persistent wife might have discovered something today: Lilly is 6 months old, so we are transitioning to baby food. Well, Lilly was doing fabulously, until the past couple of days. She has just fought and fought the spoon, not wanting to eat from it. It has been discouraging because she has to be hungry. Well, Patty tried something today: She dipped Lilly’s pacifier in the baby food, and put it in Lilly’s mouth. Lilly liked that. Patty did it a few more times with the pacifier, and then transitioned back to the spoon. Lilly then gladly accepted the spoon and happily ate all of her food. We’ll see if this continues to keep her settled and eating well. We are wondering if there is someting going on her her brain about order and familiarity.

Thank you for praying about the youth retreat in Indiana. I sensed the Lord’s blessing, hearing of many teens either experiencing conviction or wrestling with assurance of salvation. I’m praying for true converts. Please join me. I really enjoyed my time with these young people!

I preached twice yesterday for Edgewood Baptist Church, and I think I made some lifelong friends in the process.

Below are a few pictures from the retreat. Perhaps you’ll be able to find my mug in the group of teens!

7th-12th graders representing 8 churches from 4 states

Pastor Andy Lutz, my college and seminary friend who invited me

Interacting with the youth

I will be speaking to anywhere from 150-200 7^th-12^th graders at a youth retreat in Indiana this week. Specifically, I will be interviewed in one session (testimony, my life, etc.) to let the young people get to know me (I hope I’m not too boring!), and then I will preach once on Thursday night, and twice on Friday. The theme is “Jesus, The Great One,” which is actually quite fitting since so many people have nicknamed President Obama “The Great One.” He is a special individual, for sure, and we should rejoice that certain sinful barriers have been broken down with his presidency, but he is no Jesus. 

At the retreat, I will preach Luke 1:31-33, “Defining the Great One,” Luke 23:33-43, “Responding to the Great One,” and Luke 9:26, “The Return of the Great One.” I’m also really looking forward to getting to know and converse with the youth. The retreat ends Saturday morning, and then I will preach two messages for Edgewood Baptist Church on Sunday, where one of my college golf teammates, Andy Lutz, serves as one of the pastors.

Concerning this retreat, I was moved recently by a prayer of one of the men of our church, Rod McDonald. He said something like, “Father, we know that you have given Steve a certain amount of natural ability in speaking, but if that is all that he has when he preaches to those teens in Indiana, he will fail miserably. He needs your presence; he needs your Spirit to accompany him and come powerfully behind the truth that he proclaims.” Amen. Please make that your prayer.

Does anyone have any recommendations on articles, websites, or books which address end-of-life issues (dying, death, feeding tube, “pulling the plug,” etc.) from a biblical perspective? The nursing home ministry that I am involved in (which is really going super-I’ll share more in a future post!) really has me thinking about how to counsel those who are facing difficult end-of-life decisions. This issue also came up recently with one of my collegues in the ministry whose mother was dying. I haven’t uncovered a whole lot in this area, so your suggestions would be appreciated. If you know of anything, you can either leave a comment or e-mail me.

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