Life submitted to the Creator

You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things,
and they exist because you created what you pleased.
Revelation 4:11

May my life be one that utters these words. Of course, I pray that I would proclaim these words in song and in prayer. But more than that, I pray that my life would declare that.

• My thought life - what I allow myself to dwell on - does it bring glory to him?
• My talking life - do I allow myself to gossip, do I tear others down behind their back? Do I speak more often than I should? Am I being an excellent listener?
  
• My physical life - am I constantly disciplining my body - beating it into submission to Christ?
• My secret life - would I allow others to take a free look at any time at my life - or would I bring shame to the name of my creator?
• My giving life - do I see my life as something to be given away to others? Or am I interpreting events, circumstances and opportunities through a selfish filter?

Jesus, I ask that I would grow today. I ask that as you and work through this day together, we would make progress in answering these questions. I declare today that I want to move forward, to become more like you.

I lift up all of the youth who are a part of THRIVE. I ask that you bless each one of them with your presence and your mercy. I pray that you would open their eyes to your love, your purposes and plans. I ask that there would be an overwhelming sense of passion that would arise. I pray that you would strike a deep desire for you in each of their hearts! I pray that you would change our hearts! I pray that you would change our hearts! I pray that we would respond to your voice of correction! I pray for deep repentance! I pray for an attitude of sorrow for our sins!

Lord, I pray that as a result of humility and hunger - we would see the harvest come in! I pray that we would bring more and more to a saving knowledge of you! May we make believers and disciples right in Hillsboro! I pray for an overwhelming move of your spirit! I pray for your kingdom to come in passion and fury! Jesus, move your hand of mercy to save! Save us from us!

Make us desperate! I pray that this year would be EPIC. I pray that this year would be overwhelming - as we pursue you!

A decided heart

I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.
Revelation 3:19

The Lord is calling an indictment against the church of Laodicea. Jesus isn't pleased with the indifference and lukewarm attitude that existed among them.

As I read about who Jesus is and grow in my understanding of what he calls us to, I realize more and more that it is a radical and instrisuve call to live for Him and with him. This strikes against values of our culture - we love comfort and relaxation. We also have a hard time drawing firm lines of truth. Much of our time and energy is spend on trying to remain comfortable - being indifferent.

Jesus' words here are convicting and truly powerful against us.

Am I indifferent? Do I carry traces of unwillingness to die for him and to him? Are there areas of my life that I do not throw at his feet. Am I more interested in comfort and relaxation and less inclined towards truth?

Jesus, I ask that on this weekend away, you would guide and teach me. I pray that you would cast vision for what you would like my life to look like this fall. I pray that you would give me your heart! I pray that you would change my heart so that I look more like you! so that I am a servant who embraces the difficult, the humble and the lowly tasks - all for the sake of you my king.

I love you. Jesus, I love you. May you be the God of my family's life. I pray that you would richly bless Donia with love and life today. I pray that you would continue to minister to her heart and that you would continue to draw her to yourself. I pray that she would continue to find joy in you. I pray that your word would speak to her today. I ask that you would watch over her mind and spirit.

Jesus, great lover of me - I life you my children. I pray that they would follow you. I pray that they would understand your grace and your passion for their lives. I pray that they would run towards you early and often. I pray that they would come to know your love for them at a young age. I ask that you would invest your Spirit deeply into their hears and minds. I ask that you would give them a rich calling at an early age. I ask that you would give them a ministry to their peers. I ask that you would release a worshiping heart within both of them.

I ask that or family's lives would bring glory to your name. I ask that you would root out any stinky spirits! Bind us together in love and unity. May we have the mind of Christ and the heart of Christ and be able to see what is truth, what is right and what is important to you!

Thank you for your never ending blessings! Thank you for always providing for us! Thank you for always taking us down the road that you need us to be on. I pray that we would always following your leading! Thank you for giving us love and laughter and peace and grace! Thank you for how much you have transformed each of us! Thank you for never letting us down! Thank you for being the wonderful God of the Universe! Thank you!

I will love you forever - Jesus, my Lord, my king and everything!

Pursuing Truth

You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars
Revelation 2:2b

Jesus is talking to the early churches. It is amazing to me that there were those who were already trying to pervert the gospel for their own gain. I see the same thing to be true today.

It is amazing how many people work really hard to convince others that following Jesus is all about us gaining more in this life.

It is up to us to examine the claims of leaders. It is up to me as a leader to make sure that I am leading others towards truth and righteousness, not selfish interpretations that I may be more comfortable with.

Just this last year I sensed that the Lord was calling to me to address some of the more difficult concepts within Christianity. I did more thinking, study and prayer on Hell and God's wrath.

It isn't easy to work to be a discerning and careful Christian. From day one there have be people who work to distract from what God has called us to live by.

Jesus, today I will be discerning and careful about the influence that I allow in my life. I know there are teachers and leaders out there who I am drawn to, but I also know that they can error and mislead others. May I be one who is driven by your cross and your gift of eternal life for the sinner.

Today, I will follow what has been faithfully passed on to me - Jesus and him crucified. I pray that I would live as a citizen of Heaven - one that has been granted freedom from sin and punishment.

Living on my knees

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave."
Revelation 1:17-18

I feel just a smidgen of what John must have felt. In the moments where I truly acknowledge how vast and wide and significant and truly-other and awesome Jesus is, I dare not breathe without permission. Jesus you are everything to me. You are my purpose, my meaning and my full hope! Today, I live on my knees before you.

I pray that today I would see you for who you are! Alive and beautiful and able to conquer all things! I pray that you would birth and release faith in my heart! I pray you would reign in me and through me! I pray that I would have opportunity to share you with others, to love others as you love them and to care for those in need today.

Thank you for my lovely wife, for my children and for the life that you have given us! I pray that we would not just live in blessing unto ourselves and the end of comfort or happiness, but that we would strive to be a blessing to others. I pray that all people around us would know us as a blessing - of hope, compassion, truth and love.

Lids and Shepherds

My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray
and turned them loose in the mountains.
They have lost their way
and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.

Jeremiah 50:6

Leadership is something that we can all see, but few of us want to take responsibility for. We know it when there is effective and transforming leadership, but when we are called to lead, we often buck the responsibility. We look for other reasons for failure and try to assign blame to others.

For instance, my first reaction to chastisement over leaving my clothes lying around is to blame my children for distracting me. I use them as a scapegoat for my fault and irresponsibility.

Jeremiah draws attention here to the real problem - the shepherds who lead. Why do organizations wander, go astray and find themselves in trouble? It is a lack of leadership. John Maxwell calls this the "Law of the Lid" - the leader is the lid on the jar of potential - only as the leader grows, will the organization grow.

I see this to be true in my own leadership. I haven't seen growth in those I am leading, unless I myself am growing.

Jesus, today I pray that I would continue to grow as a leader. Help me to become who I am supposed to be. Thank you for never neglecting me.

False Hope

Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but the people believe your lies. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the Lord.’”

Jeremiah 28:15-16

Context.

Often within Christianity we here quoted the verses that follow this strange judgment upon Hananiah - a false prophet:

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Hananiah uttered words that resemble how we often quote this verse. He prophesied that Judah would be rescued from captivity in only 2 years. Jeremiah called him on his error and then prophesied that Hananiah would be dead within the year.

I have to put myself in Hananiah's shoes. His people had just been overtaken - their sin had ultimately caught up with them and the people who were once known for being released from bondage and captivity were now walking in chains once again. Hananiah's heart must have been breaking. I am sure that deep down he wanted to sooth the fears of the desperate mothers, the weary soldiers, the widows and the orphans.

And so he stepped out unwisely. He tried to speak for the Lord. On his strength, no doubt fueled by his emotion, he proclaimed an optimistic claim of release and freedom.

I can see myself doing exactly what he did. I want people to feel better. I would like there to be shortcuts for my history of sin. I would "speak" into existence what was never God's heart or voice.

It would be easier not to be Jeremiah - who was called to utter the difficult and true words of God. Intertwined into his proclamations were hope, but they were properly braided along with discipline and correction.

Lord, help me to hear what your voice is. Please help me to hear what your timing is. Help me to be one that proclaims your hope in the context of cleansing and repentance. I pray that I would always be able to walk that line. Jesus, today I love you! Speak to me and help me to listen.

Discplining me

Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,
for I am with you,” says the Lord.
“I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you,
but I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you, but with justice;
I cannot let you go unpunished.”

Jeremiah 46:28

Immediately after declaring such calamity on the nations around Israel, and after the many indictments against Israel (Jacob), the Lord reminds Israel of his faithfulness - one that is wrapped in covenant love. It was because of his love that he chose to discipline his beloved children.

I have endured the disciplined of the Lord in my young life. If Jeremiah were called to prophesy about my life, I have no doubt that he would be able to bring complaint to the Lord of my offenses. My laundry list would be long.

The Lord knows this, and his promise is the same for me. I will not completely destroy you. There is hope in that statement. I am to learn from my mistakes, to wrestle with my weaknesses, but the Lord will never give me something that isn't common to mankind. Whether it be temptation or difficult circumstances, I trust that the Lord has a plan for my own discipline.

I find myself there right now. I am not comfortable with my surroundings at the moment. Life on staff at Evergreen has changed dramatically over the last 4.5 years - and going into this school year, I have more challenges ahead of me than I would care to walk through.

I realize that I have a desire to be seen as significant and as dramatically needed. Gosh, I see the Lord chastising that right out of me.

Lord, I pray that today i would learn to trust in you again. That I would see you clearly and as a resuly demonstrate you in action and attitude all day today. I need you comforting love to surround me. I need you light and goodness to invade all of my senses. Jesus...I am before you again...thank you for you kindness of heart to love me and call me your own...and thank you for constantly taking me through things that grow me.

Counterfeit Prosperity

Lord, you always give me justice
when I bring a case before you.
So let me bring you this complaint:
Why are the wicked so prosperous?
Why are evil people so happy?
You have planted them,
and they have taken root and prospered.
Your name is on their lips,
but you are far from their hearts.

Jeremiah 12:1-2

Always we are in a world of impressive exterior - the creative minds and collaborative efforts of empires and nations have given us the outward appearance of prosperity.

Jeremiah saw this appearance of "happiness." And so he offered complaint to the Lord.

From my limited perspective - this world and what is has to offer is so tempting. People strive for a lifetime to be able to attain, get and have more. But, in this world, what we have, get or accomplish is "rubbish compared to knowing Christ."

Lord, I want to know you today. All of the stuff of the world will fade away. But knowing you will never grow tiring, old or wear out. Thank you for calling me to your kingdom, to be your son. Please help me to strive for the things of your kingdom - not the things of this world.

May I never lose focus or perspective - you give me what I need and you give it to me when I need it. I have never gone without as I have trusted you - but I have created my dissatisfaction by not remaining in you.

Today, with all that I have and all that I don't have - I love you and will live for you. May you be glorified.

A Young King Seeking God pt 2

What would it be like to be a king in a situation where there wasn't any inheritance of Godliness? That is what Josiah walked into when he was installed as the king of Judah. The legacy was that of insane idol worship, human sacrifice and sexually charged religious deviancy.

Josiah did what was wise and right:

There the king read to them the entire Book of the Covenant that had been found in the Lord’s Temple.

2 Kings 23:2b

He went to the source of truth to find out what was right. And then he put it into practice:

He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul.

2 Kings 23:3a

This wasn't going to be easy as the whole nation of Israel was entrenched in awful sin and bondage. Much of the rest of 2 Kings 23 describes the various places that Josiah went to tear down idols and shrines and altars that were all dedicated to false gods and to false, licentious and brutal worship.

God never wanted Israel to have a king. He wanted to be their king. He knew that the systems of power in the world would ultimately corrupt his desire. Jesus urges us to live as citizens of that Kingdom.

However, as far as Kings go, Josiah was wonderful. He worked hard to use his position and power to engage with God and to move towards him.

Lord! Help me to be like Josiah!

A Young King Seeking God

Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.

2 Chronicles 34:1-2

As a young man, Josiah did what was right. He had the privilege as a king - the position to create any sort of legacy imaginable.

During the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David.

He chose to seek God. To seek means that he chose to pursue a greater understanding of God and to choose a greater accountability to God. It would have been much easier for Josiah to accept his (and his culture's) view of God. But he chose to do the hard thing.

Lord, please help me, as a relatively young man, to do the hard thing and the right thing.

Prophet

Child prostitution up after Kenya's election bloodshed

Tapes show victims screaming, crying, gasping for air

My heart is breaking.
My anger is rising.
What are we doing to intervene?
What are we doing when we hear these screams?
Will we fit ourselves for battle or just hang up the phone to avoid the rattle?

Blood, sex, violence, gore
People are dying, but we want more
Blood, sex, violence, gore
People are crying, but give us more

God is angry, God is just
In middle of this blatant lust
For more for now for keeps
He won't let us off the hook
We are the creeps
Its cheap to pick the splinter from the eye
When our lives pass by
In a big lie of me and my and mine
Its brine fit for swine
Point that finger into your own sternum
Let it sink and twist and turn
Its time to think and fix and turn

Repent. Repent. Repent.
God sent, he sent, he sent
He spent, he spent, he spent
So he could relent

Will we go, go, go
To show, show, show
To throw, throw, throw
The vile prince of darkness
To his darkness, where the darkest hour for him yet remains
Evil will be repaid

Halt!
Ready yourself!
Rid yourself!

And GO.

Speak Out

Psalm 107:2

Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies!

Jesus, thank you for your life given that I may be able to have life now and eternally. you have redeemed me! You have given me purpose, hope and opprtunity to be partnered with you. Thank you for taking my shame, pain and failure upon your shoulders so I might have life and have it in abundance.

What have been my enemies? I am my own worst enemy - were it that I lived with an oppressive king striking me so I would work, this passage might ring a bit different. But I read it so say - "tell others he has redeemed you from yourself!"

I am pitiful, sinful and selfish - but you invade all of that, you remove my tattered outward garments and are giving me a new heart, a new mind and a new purpose - one that shines true from the inside - from all of who I am.

Today, Jesus, I ask fo an opportunity to share of your great love. I ask that I might be able to share your love to Arielle, Bubbles, Micheal, Luis, DJ, Austin or Beanie. I also pray for another God-centered conversation with Cody. Lord Jesus! Please rule and reign today!

Psalm 107:43

Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

Don't let the Lord rest

Isaiah 62:6-7

"O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth"

The Lord is speaking to me - that I am not to grow weary in doing good - in working to perpetuate the Kingdom. i know that it isn't something that I have to create - for the Lord is the "Lord of the Harvest." But, he does call me to be an active participant with what he is doing. I am to be a sower. And the more I sow, the more others have the opportunity to grow. My sowing will "give the Lord no rest."

Jesus, I pray that today you would renew me with strength that comes from your Spirit alone. After a long journey this summer, I am physically weary, but I pray that you would renew me spiritually so I may be able to sow more.

Today, I am all yours.

What now?

A friend has left.

Josh flew home to the Netherlands today.

I am sad.

Josh is a good friend, a lifter of the lids in my life and a great encourager to all around.

I honestly am having a hard time picturing what life will look like around here in Hillsboro and at Evergreen Christian Center without him. Yes, he has made that much of a difference.

For now - I am transitioning - the year of the European ID students is over. The time of my church providing lots of administrative help for me is over. It is now time for me to focus on the coming year - I need to become better at empowering others to ministry, need to have greater faith than what I have had before and need to give time and space for planning and vision!



Josh, I miss you already.

I pray that your flight is wonderful, that you catch your connection to Amsterdam and that we can work together again in the future.

Lifters around me

I am studying leadership. Leadership has always fascinated me - perhaps because I have always been told that I am a leader. I have found that I am most functional as a leader when I am taking the time to honestly evaluate myself as a leader. I have to really try in order to be effective.

I think some are more naturally inclined towards positive and effective leadership. These people I envy, for they, out of habit or impulse, lead effectively. I find that I have to grind some stuff out - focus on leadership development constantly.

Why? Because most leadership revolves around character. In order for me to lead, I must be leading myself - and that doesn't happen on accident.

Today, Jesus, I need to be led by you. I need your Spirit to guide me and hone me. Thank you for the many opportunities to grow, to learn and to change. Thank you for being patient with me, for directing my steps and for always placing me where you want me to be.

David had Jonathan. Jonathan was the next in line to be king (according to normal royal-bloodline progressions), but David had been anointed to be king. Instead of hating David, Jonathan served David and directly helped him to become who he was called to be. John Maxwell points out 3 things that Jonathan did for David, so that David could overcome obstacles in his life

1. He lifted up David with his words
   David needed encouragement - he needed affirmation and he needed to be challenged. Jonathan was able to thrust David forward with the power of words. Two things for me - I am stating today that I am going to increase my positive words and encouragement to the leaders around me. Secondly, I am so grateful for the people in my life who speak encouragement to me.
   
2. He raised David up with his actions
   David needed Jonathan to equip him and to ratify his leadership. I see that need in my own life. I have people in my life - praise the Lord - who rally around me. Without these people I would not be in the place that I am. May I never take it for granted - I am where I am because of others! Thank you Jesus!
   
3. He 'gave up' so that David could 'go up'
   Jonathan gave up his "rights" so David could be successful. Am I giving up my "rights" so that others can be successful? Am I grateful for the others around me who have given up theirs for me?

Lord, it is good to be called. Thank you for placing people around me. I want to grow, to learn and to be the best leader I can be.

I give you this day.

When a leader improves

I am a lid on the potential of the people who serve with me. As their leader I can hold them back or I can choose to expand and grow so that those around me expand and grow.

I think it is tempting to want to blame the followers or those in less significant positions for the lack of movement forward in any given organization.

David is a guy who lifted the lid of leadership. When all (including Saul) were afraid to jump into the fight and take on the behemoth Goliath, David went for it and released the potential of Israel's armies:

Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road...

I have to ask myself - where do I hold the armies back? in what way are my own limits, fears or inadequacies holding us back from exploding in fruit?

What lids can I lift? How can I improve today as a leader?

Any suggestions? I am open...

Leadership Lids - Saul and David

Every leader's success will be determined by their leadership ability, not by their personal gifting or charisma. There are things in every leaders life that inhibit their overall success. It is my goal to identify the lids in my life so that I can become the best leader I can be.

Saul had his lids. Mostly they were character flaws:

• Fear
• Jealousy
• Impulsiveness
• Anger

These things caused him to be unable to cope with the strains of leadership. Eventually he crumbled and those he was leading suffered. If Saul had been able to overcome his insecurity and humble himself, he might have been a great leader.

David also had lids. He was the youngest and was overlooked by his own father. When Samuel went to choose one of Jesse's sons to be king, David wasn't even invited to be considered. David was able to overcome that obstacle through hard work and dedication to the Lord first.

What are my lids?

• Fear - sometimes I assume failure will happen rather than success. Also, I hesitate in getting to know new people - I am afraid my efforts won't be successful.
• Inconsistency - I can be emotionally driven and therefore am often times up and down in my leadership. I know the Lord is teaching me to be more stable and faith filled.

Jesus, I lift to you my lids - I don't want to be held back any longer, but I want to overcome these obstacles so I can be the best leader I can be.

The mud is thinning

I was surprised by today.

I have been quiet lately - thinking and processing a lot, but not always certain of what it is that I am thinking and going through. I have been reading Team of Rivals, which is a book on the genius ability of Abraham Lincoln to draw together various opposing people and ideas in order to accomplish great good.

I am in awe of this man and his great capacity to lead through humility. I find that most people aren't able to lead in this way. Mostly people feel that the leaders have to have all of the right answers and that those who follow only follow because they are less able to lead and more able to do the bidding of the said leader. Lincoln, to me, turns that on his head.

He wasn't able to do everything, nor did he have all of the answers for everything, but was able to gain a great unity between opposing and difficult ideas and people. On might suggest that Lincoln was the great mediator of the Civil War. He kept the country from total destruction through his tremendous political skill not based upon power and favors, but upon real and lasting virtues of love, tenderness, compassion and honesty.

I was challenged by a mentor several months ago to gain a broader perspective and compassion for various leaders and leadership styles. I have been very critical in the past of weak leaders and poor communicators.

This reading is a timely infusion of wisdom and know-how. I see the need to be a great unifier. I recognize that I am especially excited about the possibility of drawing strong and gifted leaders onto a team in order to accomplish something great.

I am surprised today because yesterday I was so tired and seemingly unable to process the swirling mush inside my head. I am glad to write that today, through several conversations, I am able to see more clearly where in leadership I am and where I am still being challenged to grow.

May I be a glowing light for Jesus. May I carry his humility and compassion with me...

Blood and War and Lying

An interesting confluence of events in my life.

I watched Blood Diamond last night. I spend most of the movie reflecting upon how much people need Jesus.

We all have a need - to be with God.

We all have a problem - sin. Vile, selfish and disgusting Sin. We are born with it.

God has provided a Remedy - Jesus.

In the story we see the horrific circumstances in Africa that grossly illustrate the nature of man. There is the consumeristic greed of the Western countries driving the demand for diamonds. And then the war over diamonds between races and classes. And the corrupt military who poses as a conduit of righteousness while laying out strategies to lace their own pockets. Finally we see the journalist who realizes that her nobility, couched in the facade of objective journalism, is shallow and, at the core - selfish.

From every angle we see people motivated by themselves.

I was surprised that the movie, in a brief dialog, posed the question - "is man good or evil by nature?"

The characters, in the midst of devastating war, concluded that man is basically good. A not-so-clever attempt to sow some opinion that leads people away from God and back to man. For, if we believe that man is basically good, than we are saying that man can basically solve its own problems.

Has this ever been true? Is there less war today than before? I was recently told that there are more slaves today than at any other time in history. How far we have not come.

This week I also have been studying the story of Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5:1-11. They sold a house and then claimed to give all of the money to the Apostles but in reality had kept a portion from themselves. No doubt their motive was to appear to be righteous and noble. They weren't required to do any of this, but they saw an opportunity to elevate themselves in the eyes of others.

God killed them. Ananias first and then Sapphira.

Some would say - shame on God. I say shame on man. We are so different from God in that we deserve to have our blood spilled. How many of us have committed little white lies just like the unfortunate couple in Acts 5? We love to allow our image to be inflated while nursing a habit of destruction on the side.

And so the question of the decision of God isn't that difficult. I didn't lay awake in bed this week wondering why God killed these two.

I simply wonder why he hasn't killed me yet...I deserve it.

The blood is on our own hands.

I am so grateful for the blood of Jesus - that intercepts my sentence of eternal death. Now I live forever with him.

I love this song by David Crowder - Remedy

Here we are
Here we are
The broken and used
Mistreated, abused
Here we are

Here You are
Here You are
The beautiful one
Who came like a Son
Here You are

So we lift up our voices
We open our hands
To cling to the love
That we can't comprehend

Oh, lift up your voices
And lift up your heads
To sing of the love
That has freed us from sin

He is the one
Who has saved us
He is the one
Who embraced us
He is the one who has come
And is coming again
He's the remedy

Here we are
Here we are
Bandaged and bruised
Awaiting a cure
Here we are

Here You are
Here You are
Our beautiful King
Bringing relief
Here You are with us

So we lift up our voices
And open our hands
Let go of the things
That have kept us from Him

Isaac Preaches at Evergreen's Main Service