We had a phenomenal weekend with our students at the Old School Revival.

The top hits from the weekend were:
15 Responses to the Gospel
7 Deeper commitments

Our speaker Stuart Henslee was incredible. God used him to really challenge and encourage our Students.

Seeing our students respond to the challenge of inviting their friends to hear the Gospel was incredibly rewarding.

The big blow out Glow fight was absolutely off the charts crazy and insane. And the best part of this event was that at the end of it all we simply stripped all the crazy down ad worshipped together. It was a very practical picture of the fact that in the midst of the craziness and uncertainty of life- God is there. In the middle of the storms of life we are able to recognize and worship him.

And perhaps my overall favorite part of the weekend was our opportunity to serve schools here in our own backyard. We served Robinson High, Madison Middle and Bayshore Christians schools. We simply served them however they needed; cleaning, pulling weeds, painting and even moving giant boulders! It was a great time as our students embraced fully the call to serve. After we finished cleaning and working we divided up and prayer walked each middle an high school campus in our community. Praying for administration, teachers, our peers and ultimately revival!

God moved this weekend. I am excited to see what He does next! Here are a few pictures that highlight the weekend.

Seniors

This weekend we honor our graduating seniors at South Tampa Fellowship and EPIC. This is a special class to me personally as it is the first graduating class that I have been here for their entire senior year.  So to give a special shout out to all of you – I will miss you and I know that God has BIG plans for each of you!  EPIC will always be here for you but God will never leave you.  I pray you will memorize the verse that started it all here at EPIC, Romans 12:1-2:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.

God is BIGGER…

-Rob Jr.

Travel Light

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Matthew 26:4

Recently my life changed, radically.  Really, there is no other way to say it; radical change!  Seemingly overnight, I moved from being a newlywed becoming accustomed to married life, to fatherhood as my daughter was born!  The challenges of paternity coupled with the utter fulfillment of being a dad is simply hard to describe.  Parenthood has revolutionized the way I think; the way I act; even my priorities.  The most difficult truth I have had to come to terms with is trust; trusting that God will care for my daughter better, longer and more lovingly than I ever will.  I wrestle with trusting God to care for my daughter as she grows up in a city, a country, and a world like ours.  As for me, I trust God, but interestingly, with my daughter I struggle to.  It is easy for me to admit I need God to provide for me – this self-recognition generates my faith.  However, when it comes to my child, I struggle to have faith that God knows much better than I what she will need on this journey called life.  As the verse above mentions, there will be wars and destruction.  But just has the end is coming, so also is the savior to return and rule forever.  We are not to be alarmed; we know how the story ends; God wins! Yet I am hard pressed to relinquish the shred of control I have over my own daughter to the one who has already won the war.

I know it sounds simple – God created and cares for us; He knows implicitly what we will need for our journey – so why should it ever be even remotely difficult for an earthly father to defer to our heavenly father to care for our children in ways only He can!? As I continue down the road of fatherhood, and as we begin this journey together ‘Faith Forward,’ I suggest we quickly and consistently remind ourselves and rest in the joy that our God has won; he has overcome this world.   He knows what we will need and what we won’t.  God is already in heaven’s victory circle and we are the ones he has called to join at the feast.  We need to have the faith to understand and trust that He knows what it takes for victory to be achieved.

I’m sure most of us have read Psalm 23 many times over; but today; read it with the mindset and assurance that God knows what we and our families need.  Why would we ever add to or take away from that?   What do you struggle to trust God with?  What do you try and add to God’s total provision for you? Will you trust him on this journey?

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

Just so you know, if you happen to tragically miss a week at EPIC you can download our podcast in iTunes or the Zune marketplace.  Or you can click HERE to listen online!!

Have fun downloading, listening and TAKING NOTES!!!

-Rob Jr.

This weekend at EPIC we concluded our series on the doctrine of justification called Jesus + Nothing = Everything. (both title and content based on the book of the same title by Tullian Tchividjian) It was serious, fun and effective. We made an intentional effort to be more theologically heavy and doctrinally challenging.  I think our students were challenged and I pray they now understand God’s incredible Grace more than ever.  The last week of the series was really a recap of the other weeks.  Here were the points:

1. We worship an incomprehensibly glorious God.

Isaiah 6 and

Isaiah 45:5 – I am the Lord, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.

2. We are sinfully lost people

Gen 8:21 – Every inclination of man’s heart is evil from childhood

Matt 19:12 -  Spiritually sick

2 Thess. 2:9 –  We are continually perishing

3. God’s grace is simply scandalous.

The beauty of the gospel is that God knows all our sins and sinful desires yet does not count them against us because of the cross of Jesus.

Great series.  Excited to see how our students respond to God’s grace.

-Rob Jr.