REFRESH CONFERENCE 2017: The Heart Behind the Event

I am getting so excited about how the Lord is bringing everything together for our first ever REFRESH CONFERENCE! It has been awesome to see how things are lining up so well, AND all of the people that are wanting to get involved! I wanted to take just a few minutes to share with you the HEART behind this conference as well as give you an idea of what it will look like!

The Theme: HOPE

Starting a few months ago, the Lord put it on my heart to put on a conference for some of the LOCAL CHURCHES in our area to ENCOURAGE and EQUIP them. It will be open to all adults who want to take 2 days to seek the Lord and hear from Him. My prayer is that this will be a time of refreshing for many servants of Jesus in our area who so desperately need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and be renewed in HOPE. So, the theme for this conference is: HOPE.

Why a Conference? 

Many youth and young adults go on retreats and grow exponentially because they are taking time away to purposefully seek God and give Him that time. These are special times when many look back and say that God did something truly special in their heart or they heard something from Him that changed their life from that point on. Retreats and conferences are just awesome places to seek Jesus and let Him work in your heart! Sadly, many of the people in our congregations have never been to a conference or a retreat as an adult—the cost and the time away from work make it difficult to take time away and get to some of the amazing conferences there are around the country. This is why I thought I would bring a conference to us!

Who is Invited?

I have already invited 6 local churches in the area that are relativity small—several of which have planted within the last 5 years. These are servants of Jesus who are working very hard to share Jesus with the lost in our area and to disciple and love those in their churches. I’m excited for this opportunity to worship and seek Jesus as ONE BODY together and bless some of these churches who, like us, do not typically have the resources to attend or host a large-scale Christian conference. I also know that when the churches in our area are all healthy and strong in the Lord, not only is it good for them, but it is good for our community. This is why the purpose of the REFRESH CONFERENCE is to encourage and equip the servants of Jesus in our area.

Who are the Speakers?

Our first speaker will be Ben Courson from Medford, Oregon. Ben is a pastor/guest speaker whose message and ministry are all about HOPE! He is also the director of Hope Generation, host of a national TV and radio program, and is an author and speaker based out of Applegate Christian Fellowship. Ben is a good friend who will be a wonderful blessing for everyone who comes. You can learn more about Ben and his ministry at www.bencourson.com

We will also be welcoming Pastor Daryl Nelson from Calvary Chapel of the Palm Beaches. Pastor Daryl planted his church in 1995, when he was ordained as a Christian minister with Calvary Chapel. He has studied with and under some of the best Bible teachers in the world and still continues his studies today. Pastor Daryl’s love for Jesus and His Word will be a great encouragement during our time together. You can learn more about Pastor Daryl and his church at www.ccpalmbeaches.com

What is the Schedule and cost?

The REFRESH CONFERENCE is scheduled for Friday-Saturday, August 18-19th and will be held at Lakeview Church on North Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach. We will have an evening session on Friday night, and on Saturday, there will be a continental breakfast and time for fellowship followed by 1 morning session and a catered lunch. We will close with a final afternoon session. The cost will be kept low at only $25 per person in order for as many people as possible to be able to participate. Detailed schedule and registration information will be available soon. Right now we have invited The Avenue Church, Calvary Chapel Delray Beach, Joy Church, Lakeview Baptist Church, Coastal Chapel, and Gospel Fellowship.

How is Redemption Church involved?

I am very excited to be coordinating this conference for the churches in our area, and I am praying that our church can get excited with me about serving and helping make this happen! Lakeview Baptist Church has agreed to allow us to use their building for the conference which is awesome because their facility has a larger sanctuary as well as a dining hall we can use for our lunch and fellowship times! We will definitely be needing volunteers to help with things like greeting and registration, some administrative help, and various other areas. We are not offering childcare, so hopefully all of our Redemption Kids volunteers can arrange for their own children’s care and attend the conference themselves! Remember, the heart of this conference is to encourage and equip the servants of Jesus in our area—this includes us! So, plan to ATTEND and SERVE in whatever ways the Lord has equipped you!

Please begin praying with me that Jesus will continue to direct us as we plan out the details of this conference, that many people will participate, and that God is glorified through all of our efforts. I am really praying that it is a blessing to the churches and believers in our area. More details and registration information will be available in the coming weeks, so be sure to stay connected!

Be blessed,

Pastor Daniel

PROVERBS - Growing in Wisdom Over the Summer by Daniel Williams

I have a special challenge for our church family this Summer, and I’d love to have anyone and everyone who would like to participate to join with us as well!

I want to challenge you to GROW IN WISDOM this summer. For many of us, when we think about Summer, we think vacations and Summer break. But this Summer, I want to encourage you to seek WISDOM! And I have an excellent resource to help you do that!

You may already be familiar with the 3 MINUTE MESSAGES we put up twice each week. They are simple and short videos where we share insight into different scriptures as we read through the Bible together as a church. This Summer (starting in June), our 3 minute messages will be covering scriptures from the book of PROVERBS!

I want to challenge you to read a chapter from Proverbs each day during the Summer. This is a great habit to start because this book is full of WISDOM. There are also 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, so whatever the date is, you simply read the Proverb for that day! If it is the 6th of the month, you read the 6th chapter that day. It also makes it easy to pick back up again if you miss a few days. You just jump back in where you are in the month. If you keep up with this habit, you will begin to become more familiar with the truths and wisdom in this book because you will be revisiting them each month! 

Beginning in June, the 3 minute message videos will be focused on practicalwisdom from various verses throughout the book of Proverbs. I am especially excited because there are a variety of people from around the country (and the world!) that helped contribute to the videos for this summer! Some of the videos include people like Jason Sanchez (missionary in Bachiniva, Mexico), Pastor Ben Courson (Applegate, Oregon), Esteban Valenzuela (missionary in Madrid, Spain), Andre and Angie Amirato (community group leaders at Redemption Church), and lots more! I think you will be very blessed and encouraged by the things that Jesus has taught THEM through the Proverbs as you are reading through the book for yourself!

Proverbs 18:9 says: “Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will discover good.”

Charles R. Swindoll said that “Wisdom is looking at life from God's point of view.” and this is exactly what reading from the book of Proverbs allows us to do. We can sit down with the book of Proverbs as an old friend and glean the advice, counsel and wisdom of God. We can hear what He has to say about living this life wisely.

Proverbs 4:7-9 says, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

I also want to challenge you by reminding you what wisdom teaches us…it must be APPLIED. It is not just knowing these cute little statements that helps us, but putting them into practice is where the blessing is. Chuck Smith said about wisdom: “Wisdom is knowing what to do with what you know.” Another commentator of Proverbs said, “Wisdom is concerned with what one understands but also what one does with that understanding. Wisdom is about developing both discernment and character.” So this is why we must ask God for help from His Spirit to apply His Word.

So will you seek God and His wisdom with me this Summer? I am looking forward to Summer for many different reasons, and I am excited for all of the fun things that are coming up, but I am especially excited for all that Jesus wants to teach us as we study this book of WISDOM together! And when we take the time to ask God for wisdom and study His word, we will never be disappointed. 

Proverbs 3:15 “She (wisdom) is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”

CONVERSATIONS | with Church Planter Esteban Valenzuela

Social media is here to stay. But how can we use it to grow stronger in our relationship with Jesus and other people? We hear a lot about the abuses of social media. Are there good things about being on Facebook and Instagram, things we can make use of as we walk by faith alongside one another as believers all over the world? God led Esteban Valenzuela and his family to leave their home in Southern California and move to Madrid, Spain to do the work of ministry there. “God made it clear: This is the only place I have for you. It’s Spain.” Social media has enabled the Valenzuelas to stay connected with family and friends, and to reach out to those who read their blog and see their posts about their struggles as missionaries far from home. “It’s about connectivity. There’s the young generation…everyone is flocking to this technology. It’s a way to be part of this movement to reach the people on the other end of their smart phones, their devices.” Catch up with the Valenzuelas at www.vtribe4jesus.com

Serving Like Jesus by Daniel Williams

God has called us all to love Him and love people, and part of loving people is SERVING them. If we are going to love people well, we need to serve them. 

Part of maturing and growing in your relationship with God is doing what He says and walking in His ways. The more we get to know God, to more we will find ourselves wanting to apply His Word to our lives because we love Him. And even though we cannot expect to do this perfectly, we should be striving more and more to be like Jesus through the help of His Spirit living in us!

One way we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us grow to be more like Him is through SERVING OTHERS. And as in all things, Jesus is our example of what it looks like to truly serve as He wants us to serve one another. We are going to look at just a few things that we can learn from Jesus about serving in the story of Jesus washing His disciples feet in John 13:1-20 (READ HERE). We are Jesus’s followers, and followers of Jesus need to learn to serve like Him (our Master). And when we do, we are so blessed.

1. Jesus served when it was inconvenient

First of all, it is important to notice that the story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet took place during the week of the Passover. This would probably have felt like a good time to just enjoy a meal with one another.  It was supposed to be a celebration and would be exciting to see everyone all together. But Jesus chose to serve others even when it wasn’t the most convenient time. He chose to use a teachable moment that could easily have been missed—because He valued the chance to serve someone more than His own comfort.

2. Jesus served in everyday life

John tells us Jesus “loved them to the end.” Many times when I think of Jesus’s love for me I think about the cross…it was the great display of love. “No greater love has one than this: that he lay his life down for his friend.” But Jesus didn’t just serve His disciples once on the crossHe was serving and demonstrating His love for them over and over again. Many times we think we will serve God and others with these huge actions, but it is important we serve others in the little things as well. Jesus loved his disciples until the end…in both the small things and the little things. At this time, Jesus had not yet gone to the cross, but John knew he was loved by Jesus. You could almost say that the little acts of service prepared Jesus to step into the big acts of service. 

3. Jesus served imperfect people

It must be said…the disciples weren't perfect! Nathanael questioned where Jesus came from,  James & John fought for power, Peter rebuked Jesus, the disciples rebuked the little children and would continually not understand Jesus’s teaching, and Judas was a betrayer! These guys weren’t perfect, BUT Jesus had loved them in their everyday life and served them anyway. If we want to serve like Jesus, we need to be consistently showing love by serving imperfect people—not only those who deserve it. 

4. Jesus served when it was uncomfortable. 

Serving Jesus can be a lot of fun and very rewarding, but other times it can just be hard. Washing feet was a degrading job and not a fun thing to do. In their culture, seeing the bottom of people’s feet was offensive and the job of washing feet was saved for only the lowest of servants. I am sure that raising the dead or healing was very fun, feeding the five thousand people with a few loaves of bread was fun, BUT not all of that Jesus did was fun. He didn't serve for the fun experience but rather to obey and love the Father. This required Him being uncomfortable at times and doing hard things that didn't just please Him.

5. Jesus served with initiative

Jesus washing His disciples’ feet shows us that He saw a need and did something about it. Jesus and the disciples didn’t have any servants to wash their feet, and their feet were dirty. This is refreshing because most people see a problem and just complain. But I have found that if we see a need, it is probably because God wants us to do something about it! We are gifted in a certain way to identify certain needs and serve others in that way. What needs do you see in your family? Your community? Your church? Can you do anything about it? What can you do about it? How can you serve?

6. Jesus served with humility

The text tells us that Jesus knowing His identity allowed Him to serve others.  “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God…” Jesus knew that His identity wasn’t in what He did but whose He was. This enabled Him to humble Himself and serve His disciples because He was concerned with pleasing God over man. He was able to do this because He already recognized that He was God’s servant! If God wanted Him to serve people, it was the best thing for Him. Humility is having a right recognition of one’s self, and if we truly realize we are servants of God Almighty, it will help us serve others. I have found that when I am walking in humility before God, experiencing and receiving God’s love and grace, it helps me to serve others! And ministry becomes more enjoyable because I am doing it for God and not others. 

7. Jesus served to set an example

Jesus wanted the disciples to know what just happened…He wanted them to follow His ways! He told them, “For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” Jesus commanded his disciples to do the same as he had done. I love that Jesus not only gives us words to live by, but lived those same words out so we can see them. He doesn’t leave us in the dark to figure it all out, but He lived His life openly for us to see and understand what it looks like to serve. When we serve as Jesus serves, many people will be able to follow our example as well. 

Remember, Jesus not only gave us a great example of how to serve, but He enables us to serve others by the power of His Spirit. So, may we walk in the ways of Jesus and apply these lessons of serving to our own life! When we do, we will be blessed just as Jesus told His disciples in verse 17: “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them!” 

Mother's Day Video

I Am Seen by Alesha Sinks

We sat in a the living room, scattered on couches and kitchen chairs and higher up counter stools, worshipping. As the last notes of the song hung on, our pastor invited us to worship God by proclaiming His name.

In the stillness that followed, His Names rang out from different lips.

Healer

Mighty to Save

Yahweh

Redeemer

The Lamb Who Was Slain

God With Us

Wonderful Counselor

One name jumped out at me, and I think it did the same for many others, because a murmur of worship and agreement ran through the room.

The God Who Sees Me

It was as if a breath of air that had been held inside me for too long rushed out all at once.

The God Who Sees Me

The God Who Sees Me

The God Who Sees Me

He sees me. He sees my heart. He sees my struggles and my pain. He sees my joy and my passion. He sees my desires and my longings. He sees my light and my darkness. He sees my mind and the battles fought within it.

He sees me.

HE SEES ME, AND STILL, HE LOVES ME.

And isn’t that the very deepest longing and desire of my heart? Isn’t that the thing that drives much of my stress and anxiety? Isn’t that the thing that informs so many of my choices and actions? The desire to be fully and completely known and understood. To simultaneously be completely known and completely accepted.

Isn’t that what I am constantly working toward in my marriage and in my friendships, and yet is always illusively out of grasp?

Because as humans, for all our trying, we will never be able to fully and perfectly comprehend every aspect of another person. We can never be perfectly known and comprehended because we don’t even know and understand our own selves well enough to help another understand us completely.

But God.

But God is not another human. He is not equal to us in understanding of ourselves. He is beyond that. He is our creator.

HE UNDERSTANDS US IN A WAY THAT WE CANNOT EVEN UNDERSTAND OURSELVES.

He fashioned us with purpose and uniqueness and intention and beauty, and sometimes it seems as though our whole lives are taken up with uncovering that how that purpose is to be lived out in the practicality of the day-to-day.

I looked up this name of God today.

El Roi - The God Who Sees Me

And I found that this name for God is only used once in the Bible. It was used by Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant, when she ran away.

God saw her in her affliction from Sarai. He saw her in her hardness of heart toward Sarai. He saw her in her desperation. He saw her in her humanity.

And He didn’t give her an easy out. He told her to go back, to go back to her harsh mistress and submit. He told her to go back, knowing that much later she would be sent away. He told her to go back her place of shame and mistreatment. He told her to go back to slavery and servitude.

BUT HE ALSO TOLD HER THAT HE HAD HEARD HER, AND THAT HE HAD A PLAN FOR HER AND HER SON.

And her response was this.

"So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, 'You are a God of seeing,' for she said, 'Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.’”

Genesis 13:16

She did not even know His name, but she knew that He had seen her. That He had deeply seen and understood her. Something in her brief interaction with God convinced her to obey. Convinced her that He was good. Convinced her that she was deeply seen and understood. Convinced her that she was protected.

And she obeyed.

She went back to the place of her hurt. She went back to the place of her disgrace. She went back to the place that would require her ultimate submission and sacrifice.

She went back because she knew that He saw her. He knew her. He heard her. He loved her. He was looking after her.

What places would I go unafraid if I realized how deeply He knows me?

How fully He sees me?

How faithfully He hears me?

How wholly He looks after me?

How completely He loves me?

HE IS THE GOD WHO SEES ME.

I want to let that truth sit deeply in me. I want it to push into the deep places of my heart and mind. I want it reshape my heart and my actions. I want it to inform my every thought and desire.

I want to live from the understanding that He is The God Who Sees Me.

Introducing Nieves and Karen!

We are thrilled to be introducing the Vargas Rodriguez family: Nieves, Karen, and their 2 beautiful children. Nieves is the son of Pastor Luis Vargas—Pastor Luis is the pastor of the church in Bachiniva, Mexico where we have visited as a church while serving at the House of Blessing Orphanage. Nieves and Karen have been serving Jesus at their home church in the small town of Bachiniva as well as serving along with Jason Sanchez at the orphanage in Bachiniva. Several members of Redemption Church have been able to meet and become acquainted with this sweet family on our missions trips to Mexico over the last several years.

On our most recent trip, Pastor Daniel and his family were able to reconnect with Nieves and Karen and learn of their new calling to pastor a small church several hours from Bachiniva in the Sierra Madres mountains. They are taking a huge step of faith in leaving their families and home in Bachiniva to follow God’s calling for them to minister to the community there.

We are now partnering with Nieves and Karen through prayer as well as financial support for their family and ministry. Please take the time to read this brief update from Pastor Nieves below, and join us in praying for their protection, provision, and to be used greatly by Jesus in this new season!

Letter from Pastor Nieves:

On October 21st of 2016, the Lord spoke to my wife and I telling us that we were to follow his leading to take over a small church located in the town of San Juanito. San Juanito is a town of 10,500 people that is located on one of the highest points of the Sierra Madre Mountains of Chihuahua. Since November of last year, we have been drying from our home in Bachiniva to San Juanito every weekend to minister to the church and community. After many trips of hauling much needed stuff to San Juanito, praise the Lord! He has one again faithfully provided and set things in order for us to move up indefinitely to San Juanito. So on Saturday, April 22nd, we packed up the last of our stuff and set out to San Juanito. We are very encouraged and excited since we have a place to stay and will be able to engage even more in ministry! Although leaving our house, family, church, and commodities behind is a little scary, it cannot compare to the joy or excitement of serving Jesus. Despite our fears and anxieties, we are more than confident hat all things will work out for good and most importantly for the honor and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we enter this new phase in our lives, we are in need of much prayer for protection and guidance. We are extremely encouraged and excited to continue in this adventure of faith.

In Jesus, 

The Vargas Rodriguez family

Church Family Picnic | PHOTO ESSAY

CONVERSATIONS | with Pastor Pilgrim Benham

Do you long for closer and deeper friendships in your life? Where does this desire come from? “The importance of friendship is that God has created us to be relational people,” says Pastor Pilgrim. Pastors and friends, Daniel Williams and Pilgrim Benham talk about their own friendship, the awkwardness of new friendships and how to get past superficial friendships to more meaningful ones. What are some practical ways you can start pursuing godly friendships in your life? God works through community to form relationships through mutual encouragement, challenging one another and speaking the truth in love. There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

A Great Partnership | The House of Blessing

Many of you have read about the House of Blessing (HOB) Orphanage either in posts from our past church missions trips, blogs from the orphanage director, Jason Sanchez, or in our e-bulletins. Redemption Church has worked closely with HOB since it was founded nearly 5 years ago. Jason and his wife, Jackie, moved to Bachiniva, Mexico with their daughter Ayantu in 2012 to build and start an orphanage in the mountains. They have been faithful to serve and care for up to 19 children at a time and have seen God do amazing things in the lives of these children, their families, and the community there. We have taken 3 missions trip as a church to visit and serve at the orphanage as well as sponsoring them monthly. To learn more about the House of Blessing Orphanage, CLICK HERE.

We are thrilled to be sending our first short-term missionary to serve at the House of Blessing orphanage for a 3-month internship beginning in June! Meet Julie Ruse!

Julie has been a part of Redemption Church since Summer of 2016, and she has had a desire to serve at an orphanage for some time. The Lord has been directing and leading Julie to commit to a short-term mission to serve the staff and children at the House of Blessing. She will serve as one of the female staff at the orphanage helping to care for the girls, help them with getting ready for school, homework, cleaning and laundry (which is a BIG job when there are so many children!), various special projects, and wherever else the Lord allows.

We would love you to join us in praying for Julie as she prepares to drive across the country in May to see her family in Colorado then heads south of the border in June! She would love to have your prayers for safety, health, spiritual protection and encouragement, and for the Lord to use her in wonderful ways while she is there!

Would you also consider donating to help provide the necessary funds for Julie to serve in this special way? This is a great opportunity to participate in what God wants to do at the House of Blessing through Julie’s time there, and we want as many people as possible to be able to take part in what God is doing!

You can CLICK HERE to make a one-time donation toward her living cost while she is in Mexico or send a check (with “Julie” in the Memo) to:

Redemption Church Delray Beach

PO Box 832039 335 East Linton Blvd.

Delray Beach, FL 33483

You can read an excerpt from Julie’s support letter below as well! 

Excerpt from Julie’s support letter:

    Through a series of miraculous events, God has paved a way for me to go to Mexico this summer (June, July and August) to live/ serve at the House of Blessing orphanage in Bachiniva. The orphanage was started by an American family almost five years ago, and today they (along with staff and volunteers) care for 15 children. You can learn more at thehouseofblessing.org. My wonderful church, Redemption Church of Delray Beach, has been helping support the orphanage financially and has sent short term mission teams, but I will be the first “intern” they’ve directly supported. Basically I’ll be joining everyday life there: helping kids get ready for school, doing hair, cleaning, laundry (they do about 20 loads per week), and generally loving on people in Jesus’ name. 

    Internet will be available so I’ll be keeping ya’ll updated on happenings and prayer requests through facebook. My mailing address will be 7101 N Mesa St #283, El Paso, TX 79912.  If interested in supporting me financially, you can give online or by mail. (SEE LINKS AND INFO IN BLOG ABOVE) Thanks for the impact each of you have already made on my life. I’m excited for what lies ahead and to witness God’s mighty hand. 

Peace and blessings,

Julie