Evoke Worship

No Shame in My Game (Pastor Dereck Scott)

dereckscott — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:45:53 +0000

No Shame in My Game | Pastor Dereck Scott | May 1, 2012

Consumed (Pastor Cody Winkler)

evoke — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 06:09:40 +0000

Consumed | Pastor Cody Winkler | April 24, 2012

What Are You Ashamed Of?

dereckscott — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:37:54 +0000

What Are You Ashamed Of? What a powerful question that always gets a quick response. Normally when you ask anyone this question, they will quickly say “nothing,” but when you have to make it personal and it demands an answer, what answer do you give?

When you look at the word ashamed, there are so many things in life that you could be ashamed of. This word ashamed means: embarrassed or feeling guilty of something one has done or a characteristic one has. Do you know of anyone who has ever felt or been ashamed of one person? Maybe in your journey of life you have friends, co-workers, and family members who have shamed you. Maybe you have been the one who has shamed them. When we look at the life of Jesus in the gospel, we see a pattern of Jesus not being ashamed of His father in Heaven and how His mission was to preach the gospel and tell all to repent because the kingdom of His father was at hand.

We see this take place in Matthew 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

So when we see Jesus who was not ashamed to preach the good news and to help people through the love of His Father, why should we as children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus be ashamed to proclaim the good news to all? I believe because we allow shame in our own lives that it can play a part in us being ashamed of Jesus.

Jesus said in Mark 8:38, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

I believe if we want to have God’s power in our lives active, then we will have to not be ashamed of Jesus and who He is to us.

The Bible says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

So I challenge you as a Christian, believer, and child of God to step out with boldness and proclaim the good news to all believers and non-believers.

Limitless (Pastor Cody Winkler)

evoke — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 06:24:28 +0000

Limitless | Pastor Cody Winkler | April 17, 2012

Meet Nathan

Andy West — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 05:21:52 +0000

Name: Nathan Toti

College: Texas Tech University

Major: Finance

Classification: Sophomore

Hometown: Lubbock, TX

One of my favorite verses is 1 Peter 1:18-19. It says, “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” (NLT)

This verse conveys the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice and God’s love for us. Even though we were sinful, corrupted, and blameworthy, God gave the best He could offer to mankind, namely Himself. Jesus means the conclusion of sin/death and the commencement of redemption/life to us as believers. He poured out His own blood; He bore the sin I committed; He held nothing back to purchase this wretched sinner. He is my Redeemer—I live to acknowledge and proclaim this truth everyday of my life.

Game Changers

Andy West — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 19:14:30 +0000

Our mission trip has been filled with moments to build relationships and grow together as the body of Christ. Every experience, whether during work projects, church services, and even times of relaxation, shaped us individually and in turn allowed is to become a cohesive group. The friendships solidified during our time in Bogotá will not be easily torn apart. The relational bonds between our team members are strong and will definitely withstand the test of time. Both old and new connections have been strengthened through many long bus rides, many exciting meals at different restaurants, and hours of laughter caused by jokes, delirium, or memories of our wild encounters in Bogotá. It’s exciting to think about spending even more time together once we’re back in the States.

In the words of a friend, “Today was great. We went to the mountain, Monserrate, and did some shopping!!” It was a day of relaxation and fun. Our group was able to go to the mountain after getting rained out during our actual tour day. Riding the gondola truly felt like an ascension to Heaven, and our experience of the morning definitely was one ordained by the Holy Spirit. Overlooking the city and seeing Bogotá from a new perspective was eye-opening and mind-boggling. Just relaxing and spending time with one another without a strict schedule or time restraints was refreshing and very much needed after all the work from the week. This time of bonding was rewarding and enjoyable. It was another chance to get to know one another and solidify connections before flying out. This, along with the many other chances for investments into relationships from the week were characterized by a specific verse in the Bible:

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
-Ecclesiastes 4:12 NIV

It’s exciting to consider the enormous potential this group has to enact revival back at home! We are literally unstoppable and will not put down the Lord’s good work because of anything, We are the game changers of our generation and will surely affect the work of the Kingdom!!

Conversations About the Unspeakable

Andy West — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 04:26:05 +0000

Sitting on a bus, a now typical yet revealing part of each day here in Bogotá, yields conversations both hilarious and full of impact. One topic that has been brought up is really puzzling our team members. What word(s) can we use to describe the Bogotá experience and all that has happened to and within us?!? In reality, there are none. No adjective or sentence can fully encompass what all has happened to us this past week. The thought of returning home is surreal yet exciting. It’s somewhat sad because we will all miss the fun times of laughter, intimate moments of worship in Spanish, and the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit everywhere we go. It’s thrilling to think that we will be able to share our experiences with others. We will have the opportunity to see revival and spiritual impact as a group and even on an individual basis. What we’ve seen and experienced in Colombia has been amazing but cannot be left here!!

One of the indescribable moments we have encountered the Lord in occurred this afternoon on a mountaintop overlooking the city of Bogotá. We were taken to this beautiful spot by one of the pastors we have been working with this week. His ministry includes a church and four projects where mission work is accomplished for the benefit of local children and widows. The vision for his organization includes an orphanage, a sports complex, and a new church. His dreams have been confirmed by the Lord. The spot we were at is the location revealed to him by God for this vision. Our team came to pray over the land and bless the work of the pastor’s ministry. The beauty of the mountain and the view of the massive city is absolutely unfathomable. Our time was blessed and revealed a lot about how spirit-filled our group is. The potential for change through prayer is evident every time we come together or even speak with the Lord alone.

Another aspect of the trip that brings unspeakable joy to every leader and student in our group is the children. Today, we had even more opportunities to invest time and love into the lives of kids at one of Pastor Parra’s mission projects. Some of us were able to work with younger kids in order to improve their English while others painted or worked on posters for the building. Our efforts were focused on kids for the majority of our time there. Repeating letters of the alphabet or drawing pictures were just a few of the activities we helped with that completely melted our hearts with love and compassion for God’s precious children.

Our mission trip has been blessed beyond our human comprehension. God and His spirit have reigned in our situations in ways that cannot be described or replicated. Our time has yielded us vulnerable before the Holy Spirit. One verse truly characterizes every moment of our time in Colombia.

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
-Romans 8:9 NKJV

Celebrity Status

Andy West — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 06:42:59 +0000

A hearty breakfast was a great start to this wonderful day. We loaded the bus at 8 o’clock to begin our journey to Interamericano, a Christian school. As we approached the doors of the school, we could hear the children screaming and banging on the walls. Not knowing what to expect, we cautiously entered. All of the children went crazy, and greeted us as if we were rock stars. Pens, pencils, and paper were shoved at us from all different directions because each child had to get our autograph. Each member of our team had a bundle of little hands wrapped around their waist, and all you could hear over the crowd of excitement was children screaming in English, “I love you! I love you! I love you!” We were then shuffled from the courtyard to a meeting room to have a time of worship with the younger kids. Our funny skits not only broke the ice, they captured the children’s attention and prepared them for worship. The kids jumped in, literally, to the lively worship and joyous dance. After that, the high schoolers joined us in the courtyard for a more serious time of dramas, worship, and prayer.

We were then split up into groups of two or three to interact and help the students with their English. They were full of questions for us about an array of things in our American lives. The sidewalks were filled with laughter as we all walked down to a local park. There, we had a ton of fun with more skits and a dance contest. It was amazing to see God move in those students. Their true hunger for love is a reminder to us just how important being a compassionate servant is.

Service tonight was at the church we are staying at. Pastor Romick, the senior pastor here, invited Pastor Tommy to speak during their evening service being held for the leaders of the church. Pastor Tommy’s gentle and passionate word about prayer challenged each of us to cautiously be more diligent about our prayer life, and reminded us of the many positive effects and the power prayer holds spiritually, physically, and emotionally. The evening came to a wonderful close as we debriefed and spoke words of encouragement into our leaders’ lives. After an amazing past few days, we can only expect God to continue to exceed our expectations for the rest of our stay here in Bogotá.

By Kelsie Wallace

Tú Estas Aquí

Andy West — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 06:32:56 +0000

Kate Douglas Wiggir once stated, “Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility.” These profound words declare that God has a plan for every single life on this entire earth. Seriously, every person all the way from Lubbock, TX, to Bogotá, Colombia, and to the ends of the world!

Today we got to work with the students of Avivamiento School. This is a private school based out of Avivamiento Church. The school goes all the way from Pre-K to High School and places it’s foundation strongly on the spirit. After arriving we were split into groups and given the opportunity to actually teach these children in their English classes! It was like a reversed Spanish class. The thing that stuck out to me was the fact that the kids truly wanted to learn, they were working so hard and they loved the fact that we were challenging them.

While at the school, we also got to play with the kids during their breaks. At one point we started singing and worshipping with them in the courtyard singing “From the Inside Out” in Spanish. It was simply beautiful. You could feel God’s presence. We then proceeded to play some basketball and soccer with the kids. The experience was overwhelming. Every child was beautiful and you could see the work God was doing in their lives, even in the kindergarden groups. We got to share our testimonies and service and in return we received memories and moments that’s will forever be stained on our hearts.

By Allie Moroles

This evening we led a service at Pastor Samuel’s church. It was evident from the beginning that the Lord was there with us. We had a full team that led worship in Spanish. Now this may sound like no big deal, but when you know that this team had never practiced together before and only one out of the six people had led in Spanish before, the story is quite different. Worship was POWERFUL, the Lord used those members of our team to lead the church into His presence. We also performed two dramas that we prepared for this trip. This first was to the song “Stand in the Rain” by Super Chick and the second was to “Creere” by Tercer Cielo. Both of these demonstrated the freedom that we find in Christ. God worked mightily through these dramas to touch the hearts of many people tonight. Pastor Tommy gave a message on the importance of prayer in our lives, all in perfect Spanish. At the end of our service, our team prayed for practically the entire congregation. The Holy Spirit was moving and molding the hearts and lives of numerous people, including ours! Tonight was one of the best evenings we’ve had yet. The Lord continues to grow our love for Him and blow us away by His power!

By Sarah Peters

Beauty from Ashes

Andy West — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:19:30 +0000

To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.
-Isaiah 61:3-4 NKJV

Humility, a characteristic the Son of God displayed in absolute perfection, resonates within our hearts as one of the most demonstrative acts of love. What does it mean to show humility? Jesus’ example indicates that one of the most significant properties of humility is the component of service. Serving others coincides with the idea of humility because its essence lies within the concept of denying oneself and placing the interests/needs of others’ before one’s own. This concept is antithetical to man’s nature and contradicts the secular system of today; yet, it is the embodiment of sacrificial love that Jesus exhibited on this earth.

Today, our group was given the opportunity to engage in Christ-inspired service. Pastor Parra, a meek individual who is purposive and passionate toward the work of the Lord, invited our group to join in his growing mission of caring for younger kids. Our service ranged from playing with the children, cleaning bathrooms, washing dishes, sweeping/mopping floors, washing windows, digging a trench, picking up trash, and painting the outside courtyard and inside first floor. While the several hours’ worth of work was tiresome and lengthy, we knew God was ultimately being glorified, and the kids were being eternally impacted by the love we were expressing through our service.

We finished the night off with dinner at Archie’s, a local and rather popular Italian restaurant destination. The night ended early and gave us plenty of time to relax and recuperate after a bustling and jam-packed first three days in the country.

We were tremendously blessed to have participated in service activities at Pastor Parra’s mission project. The valuable lesson of being the hands and feet of the Father has expanded our capacity for Christ-like humility. Out of that mission project come children with purpose, confidence, and vision. In the words of Pastor Parra (through Pastor Tommy, his translator), many of the children respond when asked what they want to be when they grow up: “I want to be a pastor… so I can feed hungry kids.” This response is the definition of beauty coming out of the ashes. We’re anxiously anticipating even more spiritual growth and powerful ministry beyond physical servanthood during the next few days!

By Nathan Toti

Pastor Parra with Pastor Tommy Cruz showing us a home in the slums.