Acts 2 shares, of the life of the early church, that there were wonders and signs and the magnificence of God was on display in their lives. People were awed by His life expressed through them. In light of that truth, a thought from this weekend has left me with much to ponder...

Something is wrong when our lives make sense to those who are not Christ-followers.

Thinking about that thought (is that meta-thinking?)

2 Verses leave me undone... Paul writes that I joyfully get to suffer for the sake of the gospel... willingly becoming a servant to the church of Jesus Christ... commissioned by God.... with the clarion call to make clear the word of God in its fullness. Honestly, that's a big deal. If these words find root in our fellowship, we might not make sense. We might leave a sense of wonder and awe for the living God. Holy Spirit, stir!

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

Grace amazing. God amazing. God is choosing to use our fellowship and it is such an glorious reality that He is using us to REVEAL Himself, His life, His purposes and His ways. We have this incomprehensible treasure that is held in us, as a jar of clay. It is absolutely crazy that God fully intends to use us to show that His all-surpassing greatness is for His glory alone and not for ours. We are fixing our eyes and our hearts and our passions and our purposes on God's great glory. His glory far outweighs any small aspiration or trouble or persecution or pain or suffering or sorrow that I face on this planet. (2 Cor 4.7 - 18)

You know, I really did not realize that this weekend was going to be an amazing celebration of God's grace in the life of EBC. We celebrated Christ! Christ has been....

- free to use us in Port St. Joe. We stepped into a move of God and reached kids... families...and encouraged a church (Faith Bible Church). We are praying that God will live and move and have His being in the life of this church. They are broadening vision and taking steps to reach the next generation. Pray for Faith Bible... for Michael and Audra as they lead.

- free to amplify His name in Brazil. The team has returned... a house church is planted in the interior. The vision is not clear. God's heart to reach this part of the world is clear. I cannot wait to process with Bruce and Rhonda in days to come.

- free to send a team to England Thursday. More kids. More families. More fun as Christ is magnified through a Vacation Bible School. Pray for Grace Fellowship as they host a beautiful and Christ-exalting VBS.

- free to grow and to change and to deepen our students in the knowledge of God's grace and truth. Perhaps my favorite line of the entire weekend was written by one of our students as she described the last night on the mission trip. She said, 'a group of us gathered and chilled on 72 verses that were recorded. Our favorite verse was from Philippians, that we would 'become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in which we shine like stars in the universe." She said that we also liked... and she typed about 15 other verses and 10 or so books of the Bible. I LOVE our students!

- Finally, Christ felt free to display His life and His transformation through baptism. Baptism amazes me. To be immersed in; made new by; freed by; saved through the blood and water of Jesus Christ is simply overwhelming. He is good. He is good. His love endures forever!

May we find such satisfaction as we reveal Him. Christ alone.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Wonder... Awe..... Amazement by the greatness and supremacy of Christ are excellent descriptives of our journey through Colossians 1.15 - 23. I really love that we are studying of His supremacy. What I love, even more, is that God continuously reveals His supreme life and His creative handiwork. Personally, these are beautiful descriptives of the Seagle family journey as we welcomed Ella Rebecca to our home. Ella joined the Seagle family on 7/11 @ 11:07. Sus loves numbers and Ella hit a walk-off HR in the birthing numbers realm. Wow, do I love my wife! Wow, I never cease to be amazed by the love of our God and the love that He gives in abounding goodness. I cannot fathom having more love for my kids.... then, He favors us with another glorious child and my heart bursts with love and joy. Welcome Ella! Thank you, Christ. Yeah, she is beautiful and I am praying for her heart to be aflame for the supreme One!

I think that I have been so hesitant to wrap up 'Supreme'. Honestly, I think that Paul's teaching in Colossians 1.15 - 23 are hinge to our faith expression. Paul is inviting us into true recognition of Supremacy. He is calling us to recognize that the only great good on this planet is Christ. Christ supreme. Christ satisfying. Christ abounding. Christ. May the echo of our lives and of our church be the great goodness of the King of Glory. May we be so well-known for knowing Christ well and of making much of Him. We closed the series by profiling the gloriously obsessed. I am praying that our fellowship will fit the profile of the Christ-obsessed.

Because Jesus Christ is supreme, this glorious obsession is for those who want more Jesus. It is for those who are bored with what American (better said, 'southern religion') Christianity offers. It is for those who don’t want to plateau. It is for those who would rather die before their convictions do. It is my hope that the picture painted in the Scripture of a supreme God leaves you with a longing for more God, even if you are surrounded by those who have enough God. Following Christ isn’t something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side. He is central and supreme His life shapes what we do and who we are. His passion and his life reign supreme over us. I never want to stop in my relentless pursuit of Christ. I long to share that unimpeded journey with an amazing group of Christ-followers. I love the church! I cannot think of a better way to venture through life, than in giving much glory to God and to watch as He uses us, together, to express His life and His hope and a taste of eternity on this journey through the temporal. Christ supreme.... Christ supreme.... Christ

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

I love these kids! I thank my God for you guys!!

I love EBC! I love watching as Christ leads His church. Honestly, VBS is one of my absolute favorite weeks of the year. It is so fresh to see:

- Hundreds of kids on the campus discovering, in a sweet way, wonder and awe of our God

- I love listening to hundreds of kids sing, together, "Here I am to Worship!'

- I love watching our student band lead our kids in worship

- I love Bill and Ted! Dude!!

- I love the incredible number of adults who show up and show off Jesus Christ.

- I love hearing comments like, "I've never seen anything like this... it's amazing!'

- I love having kids walk up to me and tell me, "Pastor Mark, I just made Christ my forever friend!"

- I love thinking about the rejoicing in heaven as salvation springs up from the ground

- I love being totally wiped at the end of the week, but loving being weary for His glory

- I love that the baptismal waters will flow with life-change in the next few weeks

- I love watching the church in action.

- I love that Christ is leading His church. He is doing a great job!

The summer is moving forward and the next venture will take the EBC family into Brazil and England and Port St. Joe. Christ lead! Supreme God, move us!!

This past weekend, there are a couple of statements that are sitting in my core. 'Christ cannot be exaggerated.' I really like that idea. We simply cannot make too much of Christ. It's impossible. Yet, I sure want to be a part of the church that gives its best shot at matching His magnitude! (Can't do it, but let's try anyway!!). I want to love Christ, not for what I gain from Him, but for who He is. I really want to be in love with Him. I want to be surrounded by Christ-followers who are in love with Him as well. That could be radical and world-transforming, which sounds much like Christ's plans for His church!

Go ahead, attempt to exaggerate Christ this week.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark