The Bad Year

Easily, the year 2020 might go down as one of the most difficult years in recent memory. The last year with such a reputation in my memory was 2008 with the real estate market crash and following recession. From a global pandemic to a year of civil unrest and some of the most political polarization in recent years, 2020 has brought truly difficult challenges. None of us truly understood what lay before us 12 months ago as we were setting up our new year resolutions and goals for the year. 

As we exit this year and look toward the future, there is a big question that lies before us: What is 2021 going to be like? Depending on your personality and how you have traversed this year will determine your answer. Some seem to think that at the stroke of midnight all of this year’s difficulties and hardships will disappear, like cinderella. While others are worried that 2020 will overstay its welcome and we will continue to experience a similar future to our current reality. While I do not know that future, I do believe that how we look back on 2020 can and will impact how we look toward the future. I think God is giving a unique invitation to us in this season. I think we see this invitation in the book of Zechariah. 

Zechariah, The Confusing Prophet

Recently, I was able to take some time to study the book of Zechariah in preparation for teaching it for our School of Biblical Studies. This minor prophet may be one of the weirdest books in the entire biblical canon. Frankly, many Christians don’t know much about it, and when we read it, I get quickly confused. Luckily, we are in good company as many Biblical scholars agree that the passages in Zechariah are among some of the most difficult to interpret in the whole Bible. (Daniel withstanding). I love to say at Emmaus, in tongue in cheek, of course,  “Well, no one really knows what this book is about, so I can’t be wrong in how I teach it”

While this book is confusing, we can see that the main message of the book can speak to us today. Zechariah was a prophet during the return from Babylonian Exile. His job was to encourage the returning Jews to trust God and rebuild the temple and Jerusalem. This community was beaten down, discouraged, and disappointed. They had hoped that their return to the promised land was going to be easy and life-giving. What they found when they returned, was a collapsed city that was in need of repair and seemingly endless opposition and persecution from their neighbors as they tried to rebuild. This led the community to give up on the rebuilding efforts entirely. Their expectations for life were not living up to the reality that they were experiencing.

The Prophet Zechariah speaks into a discouraged community and encourages them with this message “God has not abandoned you, he never will. Hold on to His hope that will encourage you despite your circumstances”. Zechariah challenges the people not to ignore their current struggle, rather to push into God. He shows them that the current hardships that lay before them were not obstacles to God’s restoration plan, they were part of God’s restoration plan. 

God’s Strange Promise Prompts Hope

Towards the end of his book, Zechariah starts to talk about a future messiah that would come and fully rescue God’s people from the brokenness of the world. Zechariah calls him a few different titles throughout his book (The Branch, the King, and the Good Shepherd). In the second to last chapter of the book, we see a strange prophecy about this coming Messiah and his followers. The passage is Zechariah 13:7-9. 

“‘Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, Against the man who stands next to me,’” Declares the Lord of hosts”

“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones. 

In the whole land, declares the Lord, Two thirds shall be cut off and perish, And one third shall be left alive. 

And I will put this third into the fire, And refine them as one refines silver, And test them as gold is tested. 

They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, “They are my people” and they will say “The LORD is my God”

Not your typical Sunday school, feel good, coffee mug verse right? I don’t think anyone is going to be using Zechariah 13 as their life verse anytime soon. All jokes aside, what is going on here? Zechariah introduces an interesting concept to his readers. The coming Messiah (The Shepherd), the one that was going to rescue and redeem them, would himself endure suffering. Yet through the suffering of Jesus, his death on the cross he would offer salvation to all who would accept him. Zechariah 13:1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness” The suffering of the Shepherd was necessary to bring redemption to God’s people. 

Zechariah goes on to include this interesting detail, that when “The Shepherd” was struck his sheep would scatter. Not only would they scatter, but the remaining sheep that belong to the Shepherd were also going to go through trials, verse 9 “And I will put this third into the fire.” Many commentators point to the fact that this flock is representing the church. From the time of the striking of the shepherd (The death of Jesus) to his return would be a time of testing by fire, trials, and tribulation. 

What is God doing? Why is he allowing the church to go through trials? The answer is given here in the text. “And refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested.” In order to make silver and Gold stronger, you have to remove any impurities that might be present in the stones. By heating up metal to extreme temperatures, the imperfections would rise to the top where the skilled blacksmith would remove them. God uses this imagery to describe how he strengthens his flock. Through the testing of Fire. 

How God uses Suffering and Hardships

The Apostle James picks up on this theme when he opened his epistle. “Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4. God uses trials, hardships, and suffering not as a punishment against his people, but as a way to strengthen his people. God makes sure that nothing goes to waste for his people (Romans 8:28). Without the suffering of Jesus, we would not have the forgiveness of sins, and now God uses suffering to make his people more like Christ. 

Knowing that God uses all things to grow and shape us to be more like him, how will we look back on 2020. Will we either...

1. Pretend like the hardship did not exist, put on the shades of denial, and simply overlook the difficulties felt by millions this year, 

2. Succumb to fear, worry that life couldn't get better, and feel doomed to repeat the brokenness of the year. Or, 

3. Push into the restoration process. Realize that through the difficulty and through the pain God had and has something for us to learn and grow in. 

Will we view 2020 as the year where our lives were put on pause, or will we recognize that all along that God wanted to use this time to sharpen and strengthen his people. 

Adam Narciso said this recently: “imagine this sad scenario: enduring the pressures of 2020 and not benefiting from them”. The worst way I can leave this year is to not recognize how God has been trying to grow me. To ignore how God has been trying to call my attention to the sufferings and pain of my brothers and sisters and the areas of my own heart that I need to hand over to the Lord. We do not leave this year defeated rather we leave the year more shaped like God.

Take some time to consider a few questions:
How has God used this year to mold and shape me?
Have I been open to God trying to get my attention this year? About my own heart, desires, and actions? About the pain and hurt of others? Did I listen?
Did I respond to this year by pushing into the restoration of the Lord or by rejecting it?

The good news of the Gospel is that ultimately Jesus has provided a victory to his people. Far beyond 2020 lies eternity with Christ where there will no longer be any hurt, pain, or suffering. A restored creation fully ready to explore and enjoy. While we wait for that to come, God calls us to trust him in the trial as he shapes us to be more like him. While we cry “Come Lord Jesus” we also participate in his Kingdom “On earth as it is in heaven”.

Until now, 2007 was the strangest summer that I had ever experienced. Many of you know, My dad made a living by speaking at summer camps, churches, and conferences. Growing up our family would spend the summers traveling to summer camps around the eastern United States. We called it our summer tour. Just a few weeks before leaving for summer camp, my dad injured his head and we had to cancel all of our plans. Normal life was interrupted. We didn’t return to visiting summer camps for several years as my dad recovered from his brain injury. The “Normal” was gone and uncertainty and confusion set in.

This summer we have faced a similar disruption of “normal”. I don’t have to write in length about the difficulties that the summer of 2020 has brought. This has been a year of disruption and frustration for all people. I wanted to focus quickly on what this summer has been like for us, what I have been working on, and then a quick word of encouragement. 

I have been working almost exclusively from home since the real start of the outbreak in March. If I am going to be honest, working only from home is not my favorite thing. I actually work better when I am able to study beside coworkers. Their presence helps me to focus and be generally more productive. Working from home, very often alone, I have found myself getting discouraged easily. It has been a tough season to feel productive when I feel so isolated. Lauren has continued to work in the hospital in her unit. 

This summer I have mainly been working on studying Exodus (more on that to come) and also helping to craft our COVID-19 response plans for the different ministries we run. Usually, when we look at our fall season, we are busy trying to improve our ministry programs; seeking ways to make our teaching better. This year we are also trying to think through spacing, masks, locations, use of technology and so much more. That being said, I am very happy with the several different contingency plans our team has come up with. Emmaus Ministries will indeed continue to help people engage the Bible. 

In fact, this season has helped us to embrace new ways to equip believers to know the Bible. For the first time this fall, our Biblical Narrative Series will be streamed online. We are opening up that course for anyone around the United States. If you are interested and want to learn more Click Here.

The biggest project I have been working on is my lecture for Exodus. Exodus has very quickly become one of my favorite books of the Bible (Most books that I study become my favorite). Exodus may be one of the most important books of the Old Testament. The story of the exodus is a story of a God who wants to rescue his people. God answers the cries of his enslaved people by sending a rescuer. God gives his people protection of the coming judgment through the blood of a lamb. Those who have the blood of the lamb over their doorpost, death passes over them and they are released from their slavery. God then takes them out of their land of slavery and into a new land. 

This story shows us God's salvation blueprints. It is in a very similar way that Jesus himself has set us free, not from slavery to Egypt, but to our own sin and shame. The story of the Exodus is of a God who wants to radically save his people. As I have studied this book I have found myself more in awe of God's absolute power, wonder, and grace in my own life.

Devotional: I have found my thoughts and heart clouded with frustration, distractions, and disappointments. I would imagine that you might be in a similar place. (And if not praise God!). I need to spend more time focusing on what God has done for me and less time on the unknowns. In Exodus, we see the exuberant work and planning that God did to save his people. At no movement was God not in control, at no moment was God’s ultimate plan derailed. God rescues his people while only using an ounce of his power and wonder. He did the same for you with his son Jesus on the cross. Join me and pause. Reflect on all that Jesus has done for you, find peace in knowing that Jesus loves you and cares for you. Whatever chaos you might be facing, is smaller than the God who parted the Red Sea. 

Prayer Requests: 

Thank you so much for investing your time, money, and prayer to our ministry! In this season we have a few prayer requests. 

Planning for the Fall- As I stated above, we have several COVID contingency plans ready in place. We are already planning to run several programs this year in different capacities to make our classrooms safe. Please pray that God would give us his wisdom as we seek to implement those plans. 

Students for the Fall- Even in the midst of a global pandemic, God has called to us several students for our day school and our Biblical narrative series. We are so excited about the community that God is forming. Please pray that we can best serve and love our incoming school. 

If you are reading this, and have not partnered with me in ministry, I would ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with me spiritually through prayer or financially through monthly donations. If you would like to learn more: Click Here. 

PS We recently had the pleasure of adopting our very first family dog. We are so excited to welcome Korah to the family. Please enjoy these very cute pictures of her. 

Just like that, the Holidays are upon us. This time of year always seems to be a whirlwind of activity and commotion. Here at Emmaus, life is no different. Our students in our School of Biblical Studies are just wrapping up their time studying the entire old testament. Since August, our students have journeyed through countless hours of study, class time and devotions as they explored the Old Testament story.

As we wind down this school year, we have already been preparing for next year. In January we will be resuming our school as our students explore the wisdom literature of the Bible and the whole new testament. Alongside our school, we have been making preparations for our next Biblical narrative series. We have big plans for the future and are so excited to be helping people here in Central Florida engage their Bible.

Emmaus has been and has continued to be the most formative thing in my life. My year as a student at Emmaus not only taught me how to engage the Bible and how to teach the Bible in an engaging way, it brought me so much closer in relationship to Jesus. It taught me how to trust Jesus when life got hard, it showed me a clear picture of the Glory of Jesus worth following. And now, I get to help other students of the Bible go on that same journey.

This leads me to you. I cannot do this work without you. In order to keep our programs at Emmaus cost-effective, the staff are required to raise their own salaries through support. All of our life-changing ministry at Emmaus is because of the Generosity of people exactly like you. This Tuesday is the global movement known as Giving Tuesday. Over the last few years, this day has become one of the biggest days of the year for non-profits to receive donations and services. People all over the world are encouraged to donate to organizations that they are excited about.

I want to humbly invite you to partner with me at Emmaus this Giving Tuesday. It is through your generosity that I will be able to get closer to my fully funded goal so that I can continue to work towards the mission that God has set before me.

You can give a one time gift by clicking here, Or you can even set up a monthly recurring donation here. If you would like to learn more about the ministry and what I do with Emmaus please fill out the form below to contact me! I would love to answer your questions. All gifts are tax-deductible.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey as we watch God move powerfully in the lives of people here in Central Florida.

It’s been five years. At the beginning of the book of Ezekiel, it has been five years since Judah had gone into exile. In 597 BC, the Babylonian army laid siege against the city of Jerusalem and taken many into captivity. Those taken captive had to walk through the battlefield filled with the dead bodies of the Israelite army and make the long walk to Babylon. The king, his nobles, and some of the elites were all marched out of the city five years ago. Among those exiles was a young priest named Ezekiel. 

On the first page of his book, we find Ezekiel sitting on the banks of the river Chebar alone on his 30th birthday. This was the day that he was supposed to start his job in the temple. This was the day that he was supposed to begin ministering to the people of Judah. This was supposed to be the day that he was in the glorious presence of the Lord, but instead, he is in Babylon. His dreams of this day died five years ago. 

This feels like the end of not only Israel's story but Ezekiel’s as well. As a nation, they have run after idols instead of following God, they have run so far that Babylon took them into exile. It would only be a matter of time before the temple and the city of Jerusalem would fall. Surely, Israel has run too far, truly they have sinned too much. 

But this wasn’t the end of the story. 

As Ezekiel looks up, he sees a vision from God. From the west, he saw God on his mobile throne coming towards Babylon. In an instant, the message is clear: God is not giving up on his people. In fact, God's presence is following them into Babylon. God is chasing them into their exile. He loves them too much to leave them. In this chapter, God says to Ezekiel, “I don't need a building to dwell with you Ezekiel, I am going to raise your dead bodies to life and give you a new hope”. 

This book gives hope that one day, God would perfectly dwell with his people through his Holy Spirit. The hope that we would not ever again be separated from his presence because of the sacrifice that Jesus would do on the cross, forever closing the gap between us and God. Ezekiel shows us that we have a God who chases after us. When we run away from him he is hot on our heels.

While I was preparing to teach Ezekiel and during my week of lectures I couldn't stop thinking about God’s irresistible love. When I have made mistakes, when I have sinned, when I have tried to run from God and pursue my own plan, God has always been close. In the moments of my life where I thought, “I hope God didn't see that” the truth is, he sees everything and wants to forgive me and restore me. Never once did the invitation for me to follow him ever go away. 

There are other books of the Bible that talk about God's unrelenting love. They tell us that God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Ezekiel shows it. 

God is closer to you and me than we care to realize. Because of his Holy Spirit, God is always with us. What does it look like in our own lives to be like Ezekiel and realize that God's presence is not based on territory boundaries? To know that I don't need to get back to a place to experience God, I just need to turn and see that he is still with me. God sees every part of me and still wants to have me as his own. 

(A big part of the book is the enacted symbols that God asked Ezekiel to preform for his original audience. Here you can see some of our students acting out those signs for the class. This exercise helps the students get into the shoes of the original readers.)

Life has been crazy. It feels like it was just a couple of days ago that I was wrapping up teaching the book of Exodus and writing a blog reflecting on the new school year and what was ahead. Life has been moving so fast, I looked down and it was November. So much has unfolded over the last 2 months. I would love to share some of the highlights with you. 

Teaching Books

Over the past few months, I have had the pleasure of teaching a few books of the Bible for our School and for our Biblical Narrative Series. 

I had the pleasure of teaching Kings and Joel for our School of Biblical Studies. I was excited to teach 1st and 2nd Kings because these two books help give us a roadmap to the rest of the Old Testament. With Kings, we are able to better understand the context of all of the major and minor prophets. It was really fun to help walk the students through this daunting book and show them how even Kings points us to the Gospel. Kings surprised me by showing how much God ran after his rebellious people. Through the entire book, we see that Israel is walking away from God and choosing to rebel against him. In the midst of their rebellion, he sends his prophets to try and get the people to turn back to him. I found myself not only teaching the history of these books but also of the great character of God that we see in them. 

Last week, I was able to share with our students Joel. This book might be the polar opposite of Kings; short, simple and light on historical details. Joel shows us yet another aspect of God. This book often scares a lot of people away by talking about “the day of the Lord,” but for me, Joel always gives me such hope. Joel teaches my heart what true repentance looks like. Repentance isn’t saying “ill do better,” it is collapsing on Jesus. Joel also shows us that Jesus can bring life-changing restoration, he can “redeem the years that the locust have stolen.” The message of hope rings in my heart every year that I teach this book. 

Biblical Narrative Series

One of the most exciting things that we have been working on this year is the Biblical Narrative Series. For those of you who might not know, the Biblical narrative series is a lecture course that we offer on Monday nights. Through the course, participants learn about the relevant historical background, main ideas, and themes of every book in the Bible. Our aim is to give people the tools that they need to better engage the Bible as they walk through the Scriptures. We offer two separate courses, an Old Testament overview and a New Testament overview. 

This Fall we are wrapping up the Old Testament overview. We have had 80 people from 11 different churches studying with us every week through the Bible. We have been so excited to see the reception of this program from the local church. As we move forward as a ministry, we are exploring more ways that we are able to help the body of Christ here in Orlando engage the Bible and walk with Jesus! 

Family 

Lauren and I are just 3 months away from celebrating our one year anniversary. We are so excited to close in on this milestone and celebrate together. 

Speaking of milestones, this past September my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. My sister Kelly put together a surprise anniversary celebration for our parents and Lauren and I were able to journey together to surprise my parents. It was an awesome weekend of seeing friends and family. It was a real out of body experience to see a house full of people who have been touched by my parent’s ministry. 

We have been so blessed by these two and continue to look to their marriage as a beacon of hope. If our marriage can be 1/10 of what Brett and Carol Ray’s has been in their lifetimes, then Lauren and I have an amazing life ahead of us. 

What is ahead. 

From here until the end of the year is a long road. With the holiday’s life is about to really speed up. In the next few months I have a few different opportunities to teach, please pray that God will move through me in a powerful way and that hearts would be moved closer to Christ. 

November 9th- The Pause youth retreat 

November 11th and 14th- Teaching Ezekiel for ESBS

November 24th- Guest teaching for a local church 

December 9th- Teaching Zechariah for ESBS

December 15th- Guest teaching for a local church

Please pray as I prep that God would have his way with all of my speaking engagements. Pray that I would get out of the way and let God do what he does best!

Prayer Requests: 

Current Students- I can honestly say that this class of students are some of the best SBS students I have ever seen. They are smart, funny and genuinely awesome to be around. Please pray that their year at Emmaus would be restful and that they would meet Jesus in the Scriptures. 

Future of Emmaus- We are so excited about what lies ahead. We are dreaming up new ways to help Central Florida engage their Bibles. Please pray for God to give us a clear path of which way to go. Please also pray for our future students. That God would begin to call people to come and study the Bible with us. 

Emmaus Staff- While this has been possibly the best semester our ministry has ever seen, some of our staff members have gone through some real trials to get where we are now. Car trouble, family health issues, and finances are a few things that have slowed us down. Please pray that our staff would be unified in Christ and that we would have peace as we walk together. 

Thank you so much for your continued support. It is so much fun to see God moving here in Orlando, Florida in such powerful ways. It is an honor and a joy to be used by God in this ministry and it is because of people like you that I am able to do what God has called me to do. 

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This month we started a new school year with brand new students in our School of Biblical Studies. We are in the middle of our very first unit as I write this blog. A few weeks ago our students showed up on campus ready and excited to spend the next 10 months digging into the Bible. I can tell already that this is a great class who are committed to following Jesus and learning more about him.

 Starting a new school year with new students is such a breath of fresh air. I really do love having the summer available to work on projects, speak at summer camps and raise support, but I also find that it’s really easy to lose sight of what I am working for. Our students are just names on a document during the summer, but getting to meet our class and see the people we will be journeying through scripture it really brings life back to my heart. 

We began the school year with what we call “Seminar Week.” During this week, we teach the students how to utilize the inductive bible study method. In this method, the modern reader must lay aside any preconceived notions that they might have about the text. Instead, students must seek to draw conclusions by first examining the text and then see the scripture in its original context.During Seminar Week, the students practice the inductive method by using the book of Jonah. We chose this book because it is a story that many Christians are familiar with through children's books and tv shows. Students have to let go of what they think they might know about Jonah to study it inductively. The story goes from a man being swallowed by a fish to God trying to show love to his enemies through a rebellious prophet. The story evolves from a simple children's story to a deeply convicting call from God for us to search our hearts and show love to the people we believe are not worthy of love. 

As I write this blog I have just wrapped up teaching the classroom lecture on the book of Exodus. Exodus, without a doubt, is the biggest book that I have taught to date for the school. Not only is it long (40 chapters) but Exodus is jam-packed with narrative, laws, and plagues (Oh my!). This was the first time that I felt unsure I could get through all of the content in 6 hours. We discussed: when the exodus took place, the plagues against Egypt, the Passover, the Law (and how to follow it) and finally the Tabernacle. Exodus has been one of my favorite books to teach. I loved showing the students how the whole book of Exodus actually shows us our salvation story. The Hebrews were trapped in slavery and cried out to God for freedom. God sent his servant to be their rescuer. Through the blood of an innocent lamb, death passes over God’s people and they leave the land of slavery forever. Then, God gives them his perfect law and dwells with them (even though they aren't perfect). This book gives us a clear picture of how God moved to save his people then as well as how God has moved to save us from our own slavery to sin even now. I was so honored to have the opportunity to make this book come alive in the hearts of our students. 

What’s Coming Up/Prayer Requests: 

September and October are going to be jam-packed! My next lecture will be 1 and 2 Kings. I am so excited (and nervous) to start digging into these books. Please pray for my prep time, that I will manage time my well and get this big project done. Coming up this fall, we have completely reinvented the Biblical Narrative Series. We are now running two 7 week courses. The first of which is starting on September 23rd.  We will be exploring the entire Old Testament. We already have several people signed up for this course and are expecting much more as we continue to spread the word. Getting the word out has also given Emmaus a chance to connect with and speak at different churches in the Oviedo area! Please pray that we will be able to have a real, lasting impact on the local church! Lastly, Please pray for our current students. They are starting a long and good journey through the Bible. Please pray that they just enjoy this season of life and that they get the most out of their year digging into the scriptures! Thank you for your support and prayers. 

Hurricane Dorian update: Lauren and I are still trying to figure out where we will be staying during the hurricane. As a nurse, Lauren might be working at the hospital during the storm. Expect another blog update from me with more details to come. 

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This last week we officially closed out our 2018-2019 school year with our graduation ceremony. I was asked to share a few words about the journey I had gone on over the past 10 months. I had already wanted to write a blog about this very thing to share with you so I felt like it was fitting to just give you guys the speech that I gave at graduation! A little over a year ago God gave me a vision of myself. It looked like a movie. I could see a 9 year old version of myself walking on a dirt road at sunset. I was holding someone's hand but I couldn't see who it was. Suddenly, I realized that the person was Jesus. I then saw my face: 9 year old me was laughing and experiencing pure joy. I was delighting in simply being with Jesus, delighting in his presence with me on the road. This vision came during a time when my walk with Christ had grown stale, I was desperate to see Jesus like I had when I was a child: with wide-eyed wonder! 10 months ago, the students and staff of Emmaus embarked on a journey. God called us all to journey together to a city called Emmaus, a road that the resurrected Jesus walked on with two of his disciples. As they were walking he showed them how the whole story of Scripture pointed to himself. As they reflected on their time on the road they said, “Did not our hearts burn within us when he opened up the scriptures to us?”One of my favorite parts of my job is that I get to continue to walk on this Emmaus Road every year with our students. I get to journey alongside them as they see each book of the Bible come alive. I was asked by Caleb to quickly share a little bit of what my Emmaus Journey has looked like for the past 10 months. This turned out to be a really difficult task. The last 10 months of my life have seen so much movement and change. Many times it felt like I was sprinting, not walking, on this Emmaus road. In the last 10 months I taught 10 books of the Bible for the school, and I moved off campus into my first apartment. Most importantly, on January 19th, I got married to the love of my life. As I have reflected about the last year I feel like God has done two things in my life. Specifically, he has shown me his love for me in two major ways. I would like to share those with you.

First thing:

God has shown me his love for me through the books that I taught. Each book this year has been God wanting to gain more real estate in my heart. It was never me imparting knowledge to the students. It was always God speaking to a direct timely need.[gallery ids="329,330" type="rectangular"]Jonah taught me that I am like Jonah: bitter and resentful to people that I think don’t deserve my love; people who I believe are my enemy. God is patient with me, sits with me and challenges me to love unconditionally like how he loves his enemies. Deuteronomy showed me the choice that we all have between life and death. The one I have so commonly chosen wrong. So many times what I think will bring me life is really death with a disguise. No matter how many times I chose death God was offering me true life. Ezekiel: God is in the midst of my suffering, pain and loneliness. He enters into my Babylon. In fact he enters into our darkest times and is present with us. This came at a time when my father was in bad health and I had to go home.Zechariah showed me how to walk out life when our expectations don't meet reality. Corinthians taught me to make Love my aim. Peter taught me to be gentle and kind. So often I wrongly envision myself as leading the students down the Emmaus road - like I’m playing the part of Jesus. But in actuality, it’s that I’m still on this Emmaus journey. I’m 9 years old, delighting in Jesus and every now and again I look back and see these guys walking behind me. The first way God loved me is by giving me these books to teach.

The second way I have seen God love me is through Lauren.

[gallery ids="325,328" type="rectangular"]I knew marriage was going to be fun and awesome. But man, I didn't know that it was going to be this good! There has not been one single other person who has taught me more about the love of Jesus than Lauren. Not because of lack of godly mentors, that's just how awesome Lauren is. When I feel dirty, gross, and unlovable she has been the one to speak love to me. Too many times she has picked me off of the floor and said, “try again”. She has spoken truth to me when I have needed it. She has challenged me to look more like Jesus every day. She Demands my love for her, she pulls my heart back to her and reminds me, “hey, we are in this forever.”. She has seen the ugliest sides of me and said, “I think I can love that.”. She only learned that from Jesus. When I spend time with her and have her love on me, it’s God’s love for me through her. Lauren you are teaching me more about the Gospel than I could ever learn from just studying it in a book. God sent you to be my best friend, because he knew I needed you. Thank you. In many ways I am still on this Emmaus road, and I’m thankful that it will never stop. I’m also so thankful to have these travel companions for this leg of the journey. Class of 2019, your time here at Emmaus is coming to a close, but your journey on the road to Emmaus is just beginning.

Prayer Requests

The Summer ahead- I will soon share with you what we are doing this summer. Please pray for productivity for the staff and travel mercies as we all journey around. Future Students- We are currently accepting student applications. Pray for those who are getting ready to do the school and for those who are still yet to apply. Pray that God would draw in future students to our program. Support- I am hoping to use this summer to get ahead in support raising. I really need to double my monthly support base. Please pray for divine appointments and people who are excited about the mission.

Hello, Partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!Catching Up:I try to do a blog update once every 2 months, but March and April were so jam-packed with teaching that it was hard to find time to sit down, process the season, and give you an update on it all! In the span of 7 weeks, I taught 5 books for our SBS, 3 different seminars and was a guest speaker for my own church. Needless to say, it was probably the busiest I’ve ever been. I wish that I could share everything about these lectures. Each lecture had a different impact on me as I prepared, and I pray a lasting impact on those who attended my classes, lectures, and sermons. In this update I will be sharing some of the highlights, telling you about what God is doing in my heart, then talk about what we are currently working on here at Emmaus. Teaching Books of the Bible: In the last few months, I taught 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Peter, and Jude for our students in our 10-month school. All of these books have heavily impacted me as a teacher and leader. Corinthians taught me to lead out of my weaknesses and humility, and to seek my neighbors needs instead of my own. 1 Peter taught me that I am a priest both in word and action, because of this I’m called to a holy life. 2 Peter and Jude showed me that it's easy to be a false teacher, say what’s popular, and stay comfortable. These books challenged me to contend for the faith and stand up for the truth.Teaching Seminars:Many of you know that we offer several different seminars. This spring I was able to teach a few. The first was a seminar that we call Bible Overview. We break up the Bible into different “acts” and teach people the overarching story of Scripture. My Lecture covered Acts to Revelation!The second seminar was a historical background lecture to the Gospel of Mark. The Gospel of Mark is my favorite book to teach, so to be able to help a church better understand this amazing book was so awesome! I also taught one of our Biblical Narrative Series. I had the pleasure of talking about Hebrews, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude and James in a 2-hour seminar. This was honestly one of my favorite lectures. The seminar is part of a series where we teach each book of the Bible and how they fit into God's bigger story!Lastly, I had the distinct pleasure of teaching Sunday morning for my church, Grace Oviedo. This was my first time teaching on a Sunday morning at a church ever! I have never been so nervous and so excited to teach. I was asked to teach in the middle of our series on marriage, where we were going through the book Song of Songs. My sermon was on chapter 7! I taught on Nakedness and Vulnerability in marriage. If we want true intimacy we must first be vulnerable and open. You can listen to my sermon here!  https://discovergrace.com/media/?sapurl=Lys0ODk0L2xiL21pLytrczVnajZjP2F1dG9wbGF5PXRydWUmZW1iZWQ9dHJ1ZQ==Current work:We are in our last few weeks of school so we are shifting our attention to the Fall. There are a few big things that we are focusing on.

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the big day. Don't worry, more will be coming soon!Pictures by Old Pine Pictorial. 

Hello, partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’m super excited to be writing you! This year has been a great year of change already, with much more to come. As we enter 2019 we have a lot on our hearts for this ministry. I wanted to take some time to vision cast with you, to show you what we are hoping to accomplish this year and all that we have going on.

General Ministry Updates!

This year is really exciting for two big reasons: We have just welcomed two brand new staff members to help run the school! I want to introduce to you, Kristi Marsh and Morgan Phaneuf.Over thMorgan was a student with our SBS program this last year. Morgan really let Scripture transform and mess with her life. Even when she was a student she had a passion for helping people engage with the Bible. We are thrilled to welcome her husband, Justin, and their children Drake and Tannis, to the Emmaus Family. Please pray for Morgan as she is currently support raising and preparing to teach her first book: Colossians.

This spring we are back in the New Testament. This semester is our second time teaching the New Testament with our revised format. This makes it so much easier to not be creating the curriculum as we teach. We feel like we have hit a groove and now we can focus on fine-tuning our school to be the best experience it can be. Vision for the future: We first changed the program because we believed that God was calling us to make the school more accessible. We took the program down to 20/hours a week by eliminating some “busy work”. We also designed our program to be more commuter friendly so that our students didn't have to live on campus. We are exploring even more ways that we can remove barriers and make the school even more attainable to more people. We have a few ideas that we are considering, Stay posted!

We have been blown away by the response to our Biblical Narrative Series. We created this monthly night class as a way for people to learn the overarching story of Scripture. We have been seeing great engagement from those in attendance. People are getting quick and easy tips and tricks for tackling each book of the Bible. Vision for the Future: We want to reach more people with this great resource. We are currently looking into ways that are going to make the monthly night class easier to attend. We are even praying through multiple nights and locations. Our hope as always is to help as many Christians feel less intimidated by Scripture. We want to see Orlando know their Bible in a way they haven't been able to yet. We believe that the Biblical Narrative Series will play a big role in seeing this vision come true.

We started 2019 the best way ever! On January 19th Lauren and I got married here in Orlando! It was a beautiful service lead by Tom Phillips. We celebrated with family and friends at First Baptist Orlando. Lauren and I were blessed to spend our honeymoon in Hawaii. We spent most of our time on Maui. I have never seen anywhere so beautiful! We are home now and getting back into the swing of normal life. Lauren and I have been looking forward to getting into a rhythm! We only have the rest of our lives together to figure this thing out! (wedding pictures by Old Pine Pictorial)

Emmaus- Please pray for me as I prep for the books that I'm teaching this semester. Please also pray for our new staff as they support raise and teach for the first time. Support Raise- Now that we are married I am feeling the pressure to get fully funded. I'm starting to close the gap, but I'm still in need of more monthly donors. Please pray for God to move in the hearts of people and to set up divine appointments.If you would like to join me as a financial partner in ministry, Click Here.Grace Oviedo- Pray that Lauren and I will have a real impact on these high schoolers. Pray that God will use us to break into their lives.

Hello Partners in the living Word of God. It has been a little while since I have been able to spend any time updating yall about life here at Emmaus. I wanted to just take some time sharing with y'all what is happening here at the school, what I am doing here at Emmaus and what is going on with our wedding planning. As I write this Lauren and I have less than 100 days until we tie the knot! We are so excited to kick off our life together! Currently, we have sent out all of our invites and are now working through everything for the reception. It feels weird to be this close to the wedding, yet it still feels far away. Lauren and I do recognize that October, November, and December are all going to fly by and before we know it, we will be married! We recently got back from Northern Georgia where we had the pleasure of shooting our engagement photos! Our Photographers are a young couple our age and we had an awesome road trip to the mountains to make these photos happen. Here is a little sneak peek of what is to come: [gallery ids="269,270,271,272,273,274" type="rectangular"]

(Our Photos were taken by Old Pine Pictorial)

So much has been happening here at Emmaus that I am excited to tell you about. On September 8th, Jacob and Samantha McRae (staff) welcomed little Benaiah McRae into the world and we welcomed him into the Emmaus family! We are so excited for the McRaes! We have been able to spend some time with Benaiah and it has been a joy. Sam and Jacob are both doing well! They are currently trying to get used to life with a baby. Since Jacob and Sam are on leave, their responsibilities have been split between the remaining staff. Over the past month, I have picked up a few more responsibilities with things on campus and with making the day to day operations run. The main new thing is that I have currently been cooking/ordering breakfast for our students. A big part of this work is doing what is ultimately unseen by students. I feel like God has been growing in me an appreciation for the work in ministry that goes unpraised. Very rarely would I ever sign up for a task that wouldn't result in me getting some sort of praise. In this season I feel like my heart has been pushed and challenged. God has said to my heart, “I have more for you than what you want, isn't it enough that I see you and am pleased?”. This time has really forced me to be more forward-thinking, more organized and more humble than ever before. I really am grateful for it and I still have tons of room to grow! In September I had the pleasure of teaching Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy might be my favorite book of the Law and it was a blast to prepare and teach. I found myself, more than ever, vulnerable while teaching Deuteronomy. I believe that God has called me to be open and vulnerable when I teach, to share my own faults and weaknesses with our students. I didn't realize until I was teaching Deuteronomy, but it was really hard this time to be open and share my own brokenness with the students. Deuteronomy has a great message. The Israelites are about to enter over into the promised land and they are given a choice: Follow God in faithfulness or rebel and do what they think is right. Moses phrases it like this. “Today I set before you a choice, life or death. Choose life”. It has really hit me during prep and teaching what it looks like to have true life: following Jesus with everything I've got. Death looks like doing what I think will bring me life. Too often in my own life, I have chosen death when it disguises itself as life. Jesus would say it this way in the Gospel of Mark (8:35), “For whoever would save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life or my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Deuteronomy was the hardest book for me to teach, but it was one of the most rewarding at the same time. More recently I was able to teach the prophet Joel. This seemingly insignificant book is absolutely packed with amazing truth about God’s character, the day of the Lord and the hope that we know we have in our Savior. I was able to teach about how God is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and willing to relent of disaster. Joel has been one of the more challenging books to teach and yet one of the most rewarding. If you would like the audio lectures for either Deuteronomy or Joel, feel free to message me and I will send it to you![gallery ids="275,278,276,277" type="rectangular"] 

What is coming up:

During this month we have several Biblical Narrative Series! All of them will be on the prophets and we are so excited to share these with the local church. Caleb Ives has been teaching and totally killing each one! Lauren and I are moving right along with wedding planning and getting ready for starting life together! We can't wait to be married. I will be teaching Ezekiel (November) and Zechariah (December). I am really excited for both, but I don't feel like I have enough time to sufficiently study and know Ezekiel. Pray that I will be diligent in my study!  

Prayer Request:

As always, pray that our students would find life in their study and their work, that it wouldn't just be turning in homework. Support- I'm still attempting to be fully funded by the wedding. We have had a few more partners join us! Slowly but surely God is closing the gap. Please pray for more meetings and for divine appointments! Praise- Lauren and I just got accepted for an apartment! We are really excited about moving in and starting our family together. I will be moving in at the end of November. I’m going to get the apartment ready (paint, furniture etc). Then Lauren is going to move in after the wedding! We are so excited and so blessed to have our living situation figured out!!