When was the last time you thought you knew everything there was to know about something?

When we think we know everything, we lose our ability to be taught. And that's a danger to any ministry that God has called us to do.

Last week, we saw Elijah hit rock bottom. He was afraid of Jezebel's wrath and wanted to die. Elijah was worn down after all the work he'd done for God and thought he was alone as a believer, but God told him he had 7,000 followers still loyal to Him in Israel. Elijah was to then go and anoint his successor: a man named Elisha.

Elijah anoints Elisha to take his place as prophet. Elijah allows Elisha to kiss his parents goodbye, then Elisha destroys everything that would keep him tied to his home and eagerly follows Elijah.

Elisha's name translates to "God is Salvation." God provides salvation to Elijah through Elisha. He becomes Elijah's disciple and confirms God's promise that Elijah isn't all alone in following the Lord.

The prophet knows they can trust in God because of what God has already done.

God has a pretty impressive track record all throughout scripture: - He keeps every promise (or covenant) He makes with His followers. - He provides the paths for His followers to walk on when following Him. - He provides each of us with exactly what we need to tell people about Him (Perfect Provision again!).

All of us have been given a path that has been cleared by others. The people you discipled with, were taught by, raised you, and even just spend time around all worked to clear the path you're on now. And they've all given you things to use while you do God's work.

Every one of them has transferred some of their power or influence to you. There's a great quote that goes with this Sunday's lesson:

"We are all dwarves standing on the shoulders of giants." ~ Bernard of Chantres

The prophet welcomes and cheers the transfer of power.

If we never let go of what we start and pass it on to someone who we've trained or that is better qualified, we'll never see the results of what God has done through us. You won't see the difference you've been allowed to make in other people's lives. Your departure says more about your tenure than anything else.

There's a few steps we all need to take when ministering to others:

1) Find a worthy disciple. Find someone who is willing to let you guide them and teach them about what it means to live for Jesus.

2) Take the time to invest. Help this person (or people) grow in their faith. Give them guidance where it's needed, be an encouragement, and love them.

3) Release control. Sooner or later, you'll have to let the person (or people) you're mentoring try to fly by themselves. They can't grow any by themselves if you're always holding their hand.

4) Repeat as influence shifts.

The prophet knows that the older they get - the more their relationship with their parents will change.

The prophet also always honors their parents, when possible.

You won't always live with your parents and have them guiding you (telling you) what to do and not to do, but their lessons will always stick with you. The more you go through life, the more you'll start to see just what your parent's tried to teach you growing up.

The prophet is chosen in order to choose. God chooses us to lead people in following Him. And then it's up to us to choose and train people who will teach others after we've moved on to another part of our journey.

The prophet doesn't need a backup plan to God's calling.

When Elijah called Elisha to follow him, Elisha threw everything he had aside to become Elijah's disciple. He kissed his parents goodbye, killed his oxen, burned his plow and gave the meat to the people in his village to feast on. He made sure that there was nothing left for him to hold onto in his old life. He wasn't going to come back home to live with his parents again. Nothing was going to hold him back.

Now the strange part of the story however, is that Elijah and Elisha recede for the time being. The two aren't mentioned again until the beginning of 2 Kings.

Some advice for this week: 1. View your life as a whole. Don't look at your life in segments, like High School, then College, then Adulthood. Look at your life as a whole, like God does.

2. Release Control. God can't do the things He has planned for us if we're still trying to call the shots. Let God guide you to where He wants you to be. Other people that may be learning from you can't grow either if you're always trying to guide them. Sooner or later, you have to let them try to fly themselves.

3. Always Honor Your Parents. Your parents are the ones that brought you to where you are now. Even if you don't think they deserve the honor, find a way to give it to them anyway. You wouldn't be at this spot right now without them being in your lives.

4. Chosen to Choose. God called you to follow Him and lead others. Find someone that is willing to learn from you that you can teach. Some day, that person may just become a teacher to someone like you were to them.

5. Chuck the Back-Up Plan. God doesn't have us work for Him and then send us back to where we were when He's done with us. He's got a plan for our entire lives, and His plan beats anything we could come up with.

Psalm 107:43 is a great way to summarize everything we talked about this Sunday and last Sunday:

"Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord."

There is no wisdom outside of being centered in and responding to God's love for us. He delivers those in trouble out of it and demonstrates His love towards us every day.

When do you find yourselves in weak moments?

For me personally, one of the times I'm at my weakest is when I start to feel lonely. I'm sure a lot of us can relate to it as well: You haven't seen your friends in awhile because everyone is busy with work or home life, no one's called or texted asking to do anything or to say hi. The loneliness starts to set in, and before you know it, you're telling yourself that your friends don't care as much as you thought they did or that no one likes you very much. You start to feel like there's no one around that you can talk to, relate to or that will like you.

When you feel alone, you start believing lies.

Thankfully, we have a God that wants to meet us where we are, including those dark places we sometimes get to. He's constantly seeking us out. He's constantly guiding us back into the light.

Luke 19:10 says that "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Even when we're worn out, depressed and feel like we're at the end of our rope, God is there to help us.

God never gives up on the prophet in moments of doubt and fatigue.

Once he reached Jezreel, Ahab told his wife Jezebel about everything Elijah had done. Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying that she took an oath to have Elijah killed by that time the following day. When he heard Jezebel's threat, Elijah ran for his life away from Jezreel. He ran to the town of Beersheba (about 30 miles away from Jezreel) and left his servant there. He then went a day's journey into the desert until he came to a broom tree. Elijah stopped under the tree and asked God to kill him there, then took a nap.

After everything Elijah had just done for God and how much faith he had put in Him, we wonder why Elijah reacted to Jezebel's threat the way he did. The threat found Elijah at a weak moment. Elijah may have been depressed that God hadn't moved in the way he thought He would. Elijah had prayed for lightning, fire and a national revival in Israel, but it seemed like God hadn't answered his prayer. He thought that if Jezebel killed him, there would be no one left to be faithful to God because he believed he was the only one still faithful to Him.

While he was napping, an angel woke him up twice and told him to eat and drink, for the journey was too great for him. Each time Elijah was awakened, there was a fresh loaf of bread and a jar of water for him. After eating the second loaf of bread and jar of water, Elijah traveled for forty days and nights to Horeb (Mount Sinai), the Mountain of God (about a 260 mile journey from where he was). He stayed the night in a cave on the mountain, and the word of God came to him while he was there and asked him why he was there.

Elijah told God "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, tore down Your altars, and killed Your prophets. I alone am left; and now they seek to take my life."

God always asks the prophet questions he/she knows the answers to. They're for us, not Him

God told Elijah to stand on the mountain before the Lord. A great windstorm tore into the mountains and broke the rocks. Then an earthquake shook everything around the mountain, and finally a great fire roared. But God didn't reveal Himself to Elijah in any of these things. He spoke to Elijah through a gentle whisper after the fire was gone.

Psalm 46:10 goes so well with this passage: "Be Still (cease striving) and know that I am God."

God will stop at nothing to get the prophet's attention.

God asks Elijah again what he's doing there, and Elijah gives Him the same answer. God then sends Elijah to the wilderness of Damascus (260 miles from Mount Sinai) to anoint Hazael (a pagan) as king of Syria. Elijah is to then anoint Jehu as the king over Israel, and finally anoint Elisha as the prophet who would take his place. God tells Elijah that anyone who comes after his life has to go through Hazael, then through Jehu if they get past Hazael, and finally through Elisha if they get past Jehu.

God also tells Elijah that he isn't all alone like he thinks he is. God had kept 7,000 people in Israel who hadn't bowed down to Baal safe from harm.

The prophet will never be left alone. God produces, protects, and empowers His prophets and those that are faithful to Him.

Some things to take away from this week's lesson:

1. Expect some losses when following the path God has set for you. People are bound to disagree with our message, and it may cost us respect. It may cost us money to follow where God wants us to go next (hold your location loosely). Our message may make us unpopular to some, but following God's path is so much more important.

2. No Quit in God. He's not going to give up on you. Even when you're worn down and feel like you can't go another step, God's still right there with you.

3. God Desires Dialogue. If you're not sure what God wants you to do or say next, talk with Him. Pray for guidance, strength, encouragement, whatever you need. He always wants to hear from you.

4. Don't Dismiss Signs. Sometimes God's answer comes as a sign, a gut feeling, or something similar to that. If you feel God is pushing you to say something to someone or to do something for Him, don't brush it off. Take a step of faith and go for it.

5. You Are Not Alone. There are always other Followers of Christ out there who are willing to talk with you and pray for you. Whether it's at the CSF House at IU, the Impact House at IUPUI, your church you attend on campus or any of us back home at Impact, God will always bring someone along right when you need them.

"For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has mercy on you." ~ Isaiah 54:10

Love you guys! Have an awesome week and can't wait to see you all again next Sunday!

How many of you have ever started something only to wind up stopping because you get frustrated or don't see results as fast as you'd like to? I know personally I do that quite a bit when I start something new.

In college, you have to get great at taking care of yourself. Your life (normal and spiritual both) have to become sustainable. And that takes being consistent with both the things you need to do and the things you have to do.

Consistency is the problem we all face when doing anything though. If we don't do it often enough, we tend to stop whatever it is we're trying to do. And not being consistent at something can make it tiring to have to do.

The prophet cannot proceed in a fatigued state.

After his showdown with the Prophets of Baal, Elijah tells Ahab "Go eat and drink, for the rain is coming in abundance." While Ahab goes to do this, Elijah climbs to the top of Mount Carmel and prays. He sends his servant up the mountain to look towards the sea for rain. He tells Elijah that he doesn't say anything, and Elijah winds up telling him seven times "go again." The final time, his servant tells him that a cloud the size of a man's hand is rising out of the ocean. Elijah tells his servant to run to Ahab and tell him to get his chariot and go out before the rain stops him.

The prophet always sees the small as a precursor to the big.

After Elijah sends his servant to tell Ahab to ready his chariot, God grants Elijah the endurance he needs to run ahead of Ahab's chariot for 10 miles to Jezreel announcing the good news about the rain.

The prophet never gives up on people, and always honors those who are in authority.

Elijah knew Ahab was in the wrong for worshipping Baal instead of God, but he didn't give up hope that Ahab would make things right. He honored the king by being his chariot runner.

In the end, Elijah got to see God fulfill His promise of bringing rain to Israel. The prophet will always get to enjoy God's fulfilled promises.

Doing anything on God's behalf requires three things: - Preparation - Presentation - Perspiration

We have to put in the work to get ready to tell others about Jesus (through prayer, fellowship with other Christians and worship), be ready to give our witness to others whenever and wherever God decides to have us speak, and put in the effort to do what God calls us to do, no matter how tough it might be.

The prophet knows that intimacy with God is the only way to sustain for a semester. We all have to constantly be running back to Him to get ready for our missionary journeys.

- Run to rest - Run to prep - Run in the rain (God's fulfilled promises) - Run to submit - Run to hope

By running like Elijah did, we leave room for the impossible. Our God is a literal miracle worker, and He can do great things through all of you this semester.

When was the last time you ended up in a confrontation because of your faith in Jesus?

A lot of times we struggle with feeling like we have to defend God's word from people who don't believe it. We feel like as followers of Christ, we have to prove to people that His way is the true and right way. Sometimes it even stops us from answering questions about our faith because we feel like we don't have an answer for them.

Thankfully we don't have to prove God is the right way though. He will do that himself.

As C.H. Spurgeon once wrote, "The word of God is like a Lion. You don't have to defend a Lion. You just have to let the Lion loose, and the Lion will defend itself."

As we saw this Sunday, every trial is temporary.

Three and a half years into this drought, God tells Elijah "Go to Ahab. Tell him I will soon send rain." On his way to Ahab, Elijah runs into Obadiah, another servant of God. Obadiah had hidden 100 prophets of God in two different caves when Jezebel had purged the prophets of the Lord. He fed them bread and brought them water to keep them safe and alive.

When Obadiah met Elijah on the road, Elijah told him to go and tell Ahab that Elijah was there. But Obadiah was afraid to tell Ahab about Elijah, for fear that God would take Elijah somewhere else and Obadiah would be killed for it.

Every prophet is called to take risks. A risk is only risky if you have no one to trust in the midst of it though, and we have the best person to trust in our corner.

The prophet will always be identified with the problem, never the solution, in culture. When Ahab heard about Elijah and came out to meet him, he greeted Elijah with "Is that you, O troubler of Israel?" Ahab blamed Elijah for bringing the drought on his kingdom.

It's right here the Elijah initiates the confrontation God has been building between Himself and His people's hearts for three and a half years. He confronts and calls out Ahab by saying "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals." Elijah straight up tells the king of all Israel that all of the troubles Israel is facing are his fault!

Elijah tells Ahab to call all of Israel, the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of Asherah (female version of Baal) to Mount Carmel to show once and for all who the true God of Israel is.

The prophet is unafraid to assume that God will show himself to be above all others.

The prophet is always for absolute truth as well.

Once all the people gather around the mountain, Elijah asks them how long their hearts will sway between believing that God is God or that Baal is God. He challenges the 450 prophets of Baal to choose a bull to cut up, build an altar, and offer the bull as a sacrifice to Baal, while he does the same as an offering to God. Elijah tells them that whichever God answers by fire is the true God of Israel. The Baal prophets do this, and for the entire day (eight to noon essentially), they cry, scream, stomp and chant trying to get Baal to answer and accept their offering. When Baal doesn't answer (and after Elijah smack talks them a little about Baal "relieving himself"), they start to scream louder and cut themselves, so much that blood is gushing everywhere. This goes on until probably around 5:00 in the evening, but Baal never answers.

The prophet always prays for purpose, not just for show.

Elijah builds an altar to offer his bull on, and once he does he has the people help him dump four waterpots of water on the bull and the wood on the altar. Then they do it a second and third time. The wood and bull are completely soaked, and water has filled up a small trench Elijah dug around the offering. Elijah then prays "Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."

Fire almost immediately fell down from Heaven and burned up the bull, the wood, the rocks the altar was built on and all the water in the trench around the sacrifice. The people fell down on their faces and worshipped God. Their hearts finally stopped wavering between two opinions. Elijah then took the 450 prophets of Baal to the Brook Kishon and executed them.

There's a few things we should take from this week:

1. All trials are temporary. They may seem like they're taking forever, but sooner or later they'll end. 2. Rush to risk. When God has called you towards doing/saying something, really go for it. 3. Prepare to be a problem. Following Jesus and being a prophet will cause problems with others at some point or another. There will be some confrontation. 4. Assume above. We don't need to make excuses for God - He's never worried about the outcome because He already knows what it is. 5. Pray for purpose.

"But Moses said to the people, "Do Not Fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for You today, for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent." ~ Exodus 14:13-14

The Hebrew word for Salvation comes from a word that has to do with room or space. Sometimes in our journey when we're called to speak with people about our faith, we may feel like we're stuck between wanting to keep quiet about our message and telling it to people. Almost like our comfort zone is shrinking and our space is getting tighter around us. Thankfully, God will provide the salvation we need, because He's always pleased to give it.

Confrontation is coming. Fortunately for us, so is our King.

Obstinate = Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or chosen path of action, despite attempts to persuade one to do so.

How many of you would consider yourselves stubborn?

How many of you have ever resisted something you felt God was calling you to do?

Sometimes it's hard to do what God asks of us. We've always got reasons to try and say no to His plans. It's a list that could go on and on: - It's difficult - It makes me uncomfortable - I may not like it - People may not like what I have to say

Obstinate Obedience to God is never met with regret though. When is the last time you can remember someone telling you that they regretted doing what God called them to do?

Something we covered last night was that the prophet has to hold their location loosely. Being a prophet is a mixture of Geography and Escahtology.

First God provided for Elijah with ravens. Now he would provide for him through a widow.

After the brook dried up, God told Elijah to live in the village of Zarephath near Sidon (AKA The Capitol of BAAL Worship), where He had instructed a widow to feed him. Elijah went to the gate of the village and found the widow gathering sticks. He asked her for some water in a cup and a small bit of bread to eat. The widow answered that she had no bread in her house, and that with the last bit of flour and oil she had she was going to make a small loaf of bread for her and her son to eat. And then they were going to die.

I don't know about you, but I'd have a hard time doing what Elijah did. Not only did he obey God and go into the metaphorical lion's den, but he also asked a widow for what was going to be her and her son's last meal on earth. But Elijah answered her with "Don't be afraid! Do what you've just said, but make a small loaf of bread for me first. Then make some bread for you and your son with what you have left. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel has said: there will be flour in your bin and oil in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops go again!" And just like we saw last week, God supernaturally provides again. The woman always had enough flour and oil to make bread for the three of them to eat.

Sometime later the woman's son grew sick, and he kept getting worse until he died. And the woman turned to Elijah and said to him "O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come to point out my sins and kill my son?" Elijah took the boy upstairs, put him down on the bed, and cried out to God "O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who opened her home to me, causing her son to die?"

Elijah stretched himself out over the child and cried out to God three times asking for the child's spirit to return to him. And God answered Elijah's prayer. The boy revived, and when Elijah took him back downstairs to his mother, the widow replied "Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you." (1 Kings 17:8-24)

What is God asking you to do that has you pretty afraid?

Some things we all should take from this week are these: - The prophet will never be asked to request obedience without first obeying themselves. - Prophets never no the plan in advance. There isn't a script to follow. - Hold your location loosely.

What scares you?

What an awesome start to our first Impact of the summer. So glad everyone that came could make it!

This summer, we're talking about how God has called all of us to be prophets wherever we're at in our lives: - At school with your classmates and friends - At work with your co-workers and the people you come into contact with - Both places and possibly even more

If we look around wherever we are, everyone around us is announcing something. And we have two questions we need to ask ourselves: - What will your something be? - What will you be known for?

We have a story that's being written out right now. And sometimes that story has rough patches where things aren't clear, or things start falling apart. We have two choices of actions to take when those times hit us.

- We can put our heads down, try to ride the storms out and sometimes even blame God for our problems

or

- We can lift our eyes up to Him and pray

Elijah prophesied to Ahab that there would be no rain for three and a half years in the kingdom. And when the drought hit, God sent Elijah to hide by the Brook Cherith. God kept the brook flowing to give him water and commanded ravens to bring Elijah bread and meat twice a day. Eventually, the brook dried up and the Ravens left, but God spoke to Elijah and told him where to go next. (1 Kings 17:1-8)

In the drought, God provides for the prophet.

God supernaturally provided Elijah with everything he needed to do what He had called him to do.

God will provide all you need to do all that He's called you to do as well.

Elijah's name translates to "YHWH is my God." His heart was set on serving his Lord.

College will reveal whether or not YHWH is your God and if you're set on serving Him.

God is always aggressive in showing us that He's the true God. He'll provide whatever you need for whatever you're going through. All you have to do is ask.

Perfect provision awaits you in college.

Sometimes you'll feel like you're stuck in the wilderness with no idea where you're going. But always remember that God has a plan for those points too. And He won't keep you there for long. (Deut. 8:16-17)

Lift your eyes now.

There's two verses I'd like you guys to take away from this week: - Hebrews 12:1-2 - Revelation 3:20

Whenever you feel like the brook is dried up and your ravens are gone, remember that God will always provide. All you have to do is ask.

Can't wait to see what this summer has in store! Love you all!

What an awesome first night we had exploring Habakkuk’s conversation with God in chapter one. The first step in Embracing Doubt is to be honest before God.

Prayers expressing perplexity are appropriate so long as they are offered in a context of trust. - Tim Shenton

As a rule, we as a group have two times where we meet weekly together. One is during the summer, where we have up to 15-16 weeks of study and fellowship. The other is during Christmas/Winter break in December. We wanted to get these dates out to everyone, so you can plan to attend.

December 20, 27 & January 3

We have yet to get confirmation on meeting at Gathering Grounds Coffee shop, again, but we will let everyone know as soon as we get confirmation.

We are also opening up time for you to suggest the theme we’ll cover during these Sunday nights over the break. What is something you’d like to study/discuss? What is something that would be relevant to your experience this semester on campus?

Here is a passage that God has been really working on me about so far this semester:

The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it grew in strength and numbers. The believers were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. - Acts 9:31

They grew in strength AND numbers because of the conversion of Saul and the peace that overwhelmed them. They feared God and experienced the comfort of the Holy Spirit. This is something I’ve started to pray for our church, and I think you should do the same.

It isn’t just about strength. It isn’t just about numbers. It is about letting God have his way among us. It is about submitting to his lordship, even while we’re on campus.

Who is God calling you to reach for the second half of this semester?

Whomever it is, they aren’t in your life on accident -- they are there on purpose. 

To quote Paul: “How will they hear without a preacher?”

One of the scariest things about being a college student is blaring reality that eventually you will have do something with all of your schooling. Even though some people try, you cannot go to college forever.

So what are you wanting to do with the rest of your life?

Better question: What does God want you to do for the rest of your life?

Life is best when these two questions collide, when we start to want for-the-rest-of-our-lives what God wants for us.

A quote that has been resurfacing on loop in our college ministry is the following by Frederick Buechner: “Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s greatest need.”

Is this how you feel about your major?

If not, there may be need for you to reevaluate why you’re majoring in what you are. The world desperately needs you to do what God created you to do. 

So, you’re probably still thinking: “What is it that God wants me to do?”

You probably already know the answer. It has been there the entire time. I love what God said to Jeremiah (chapter one): “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then Jeremiah responded to God, “Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth.”

Then God answered back, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.”

We are all, in a way, prophets. Through our vocations we will be given, by God, the privilege speak on his behalf. What is it that would give you the greatest opportunity to tell the world just how great Jesus is?

Teacher? Photographer? Minister? Broadcaster? Professor? Counselor? Social worker? Engineer? Law enforcement? Business?

Doesn’t it excite you to glorify God in a profession?

You will spend around 117,000 hours at work, from the time you graduate college to the time you get to retire. God wants you to make every single one of those hours count for His glory.

Did you catch the end of God’s conversation with Jeremiah? God commanded Jeremiah to not be afraid of his opponents, or even those he was trying to reach. How was he going to keep from being intimidated or afraid?

God was with him.

God would deliver him.

God blessed us with an awesome summer of Sunday nights. We went through the book of Nehemiah together. In our study we read and discussed the life of an ordinary man who God used to do extraordinary things.

Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king. As exiles go, life was going pretty well for him. He had no real worries or concerns. He had probably never actually been to Jerusalem. He was born in exile. His entire life was wrapped up into where he currently was, and he was quite comfortable with it.

That is, until he heard of the state that the city of Jerusalem was in. 

His physical and emotional appearance before the king had changed to such an extent that the king noticed and made comment of it. This led to much prayer, permission to go to Jerusalem, a long journey back home (like driving from Indianapolis to Dallas -- yet on a beast for Nehemiah), and then constructing a massive wall in a mere 52 days.

His enemies reaction? Unbelief in Nehemiah’s own ability to do so. This is what the Bible says: “...they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this word had been accomplished with the help of our God.” (Nehemiah 6:16)

And this is how you’re going to make it through this semester and all of its challenges... with the help of our God.

There will be too much for you to handle. Too much information to retain and reproduce on tests. Too many words you need to say in the right way to the right people to show them the love of God. There are too many Sunday mornings where you won’t feel like going to church.

It is too much.

It’s a good thing our God is bigger, that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was sufficient for all of these weaknesses.

May this passage encourage you at the top of this semester: 

2 Timothy 4:1-5

What an awesome start to our Christmas Break! Well, I guess I've been on break for over two weeks but I definitely needed this. Often times I take for granted the friendships I have through Christ, so it was so nice being with all of my true friends.

Life is constantly changing and the time is coming when God will send us out on our missions in life. Some will become ministers, others will work their way through the corporate world, but one thing is for sure... God is preparing to use us all in mighty ways. Believe it or not, God does have a plan. 

Paul knew his time was almost up in this life and he saw Timothy as a man that continue Paul's work for God. This letter to Timothy is such a powerful guide for anyone struggling with how to move forward in life, and last Sunday night we talked about the troubles we have in being prepared.

If you weren't spiritually ready for this past semester, then I bet it was a tough few months. If you were ready then I bet it wasn't much different! Whether you were ready or not, Satan is constantly working hard to try and hurt you. Temptation is a way of life and the Devil has mastered it. Our "itching ears" according to Paul are going to want to listen to things that we shouldn't. We just want something tangible; something we can grab onto and put our full attention on, and college is full of things like this.

This is the myth. The myth is our enemy in this world, but it's also something we tend to desire. The myth is everything that this world tries to pour into us, rather than what Jesus already poured out for us. The myth is convenient, common, and fun... but it's even more destructive, unhealthy, and temporary. TEMPORARY. We grasp onto things that do not last in this world, and that will not prepare us for our time. 

We can never forget that even in the midst of the myth, God is still with us. 

I saw a video at a Christmas Eve service and there was a line that caught my eye - "God wastes nothing, not even in our darkness."

God loves us so much that even when we screw up, He's using it. We will slip up time to time because of the myth, but God can use each mistake if we let him. Your time is coming so be prepared, because God has something powerful waiting for you.

Love you all!

Props to Phil Holden for making this incredible video that recapped our summer we had together. 

Many of you are just over halfway through your semester. We are praying that you've made your way to a Christian community on your campus and are being encouraged to grow closer to Jesus day by day and week by week.

A good thing to remember in the blood and guts of a long semester is that you have been justified by Jesus (Romans 5:1) -- that means all of your sin has been taken care of... it is no longer your identity. Jesus' blood has taken it all away. Don't let anyone but Jesus tell you who you are -- you are forgiven and cleansed.

This is your fuel.

This is your get-out-of-bed-in-the-morning-when-you-don't-feel-like-it-juice.

No height. No depth. No professor. No annoying kid. No humdrum food. No relationship drama. No job. No stress. Nothing can keep you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8). Hang in there. You can do this, with God's complete support.

If you need a little bit more motivation to make it to Christmas break... here you go:

Christmas break is coming!

What an awesome way to wrap up the summer. A day on the lake followed by a new life in Christ that night. Check out the recap of our discussion below.

Week 14: The Finale (Acts 26:1-32)

Paul traveled through all kinds of places and situations to reach where he was intended to go. And just like he had to travel to all these places (Corinth, Macedonia, Jerusalem, Caesarea) to be prepared to do God's work, we've had training this summer to get ready for the school year (weddings, disagreements, worship nights, late night Taco Bell runs).

Why do we think it's almost impossible for us to make it through an entire school year with our goals and standards intact?

Why do we struggle with seeing things from our own perspective rather than God's perspective?

Each "pitstop" Paul took on his journey to Rome (his rooftop) was preparing him to speak into the microphone. And with the end of summer, it's our turn to find out rooftops now. We've got to know where out microphone is and we have to be ready to speak into it. 

What causes us to doubt and hesitate in our faith among people at school?

What holds us back from being the man/woman God wants us to be?

We've all got flaws that hold us back, but don't just accept them. Fuel your fire with them!

Don't let this year just pass by. Don't just get through the semester. Make it mean something. Make an (WARNING: LAME JOKE APPROACHING) impact on your campus! 

Note from the editor: Guys, this summer has been absolutely awesome. We've all grown together as a group and made friendships stronger. Now let's make a difference on our campuses this semester!

If I can ask three things of each of you guys, it would be for you to do these:

1. Please pray for and encourage the Impact Leaders throughout the semester. These guys have put in so much time and effort planning out these lessons for us over the summer, and I know they're already thinking about this semester, winter break, second semester and even the beginning of next summer. 

2. Let us know if there's any ideas of how Impact can help or encourage you through the semester. We're looking for ideas (beyond the care packages) and input from you guys would be awesome.

3. Encourage each other through the semester. Drop each other a letter in the mail. Go to church with each other on campus. Set up lunch dates to hang out. You never know just how much a couple hours with an Impact friend can do.

Sorry we're running a bit behind on this one, guys. Here's the recap for our discussion last Sunday evening.

Week 13: Taking Courage (Acts 23:1-11)

Whether you're Captain America, Luke Skywalker or that guy named Paul, you're always going to see these characters exuding something important during their travels: courage.

When was a time you had to have courage while in college or before college?

Paul showed a lot of courage during his missionary journeys. When he was on trial in Acts 23, the high priest ordered Paul struck on the mouth. 

Paul didn't turn the other cheek on this one though. He screamed at the priest "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!" 

Has there ever been a time in your life where you misdirected your courage or went overboard with it?

Sometimes we may get arrogant with how much we really know about something, but move forward with confidence in it. We get a little too self-reliant, which means we're not relying on God to make the decisions for us.

We've all had some point or another where we've had the courage to step out and say what God wants us to say. The most common times for this are when you're around your friends or mentors. Being around people who share your faith is almost like having some "spiritual backup." Sometimes we have to have Jesus tap us on the shoulder and tell us that we can do this, just like he did for Paul.

It's been said that a goal is a dream with a deadline.

When we're going back to school, we often set goals for ourselves. Sometimes we decide on things like:

- Make better grades

- Run every day

Let's aim bigger this semester though. What can we dream that God will accomplish through us on campus this semester? 

- Bring a friend to church with you/get them involved with Jesus

- Live in a way that people can see what you believe through your actions

Ephesians 3:20 tell us that "He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (we can't fathom what God can do through us)."

God has called us to head out on this mission on our campuses. He's tapping us on the shoulder constantly telling us that we can do it. He's always got our backs these journeys.