New Building Update December, 2012

Sudden Thankfulness: Repenting From A Bad Attitude...

A Big Miracle For A Little Blessing

Cori and I took Zion to Hershey Medical Center today for her yearly Spina Bifida clinic to see how she is growing and developing. It involves a lot of energy, expense and effort to load two kids into the vehicle before the break of dawn on a cold October morning each year, but this year we were happy to make the effort...

You see, last year was a very different experience for us. Cori and I did our usual thing, dressing the kids warmly and eating on the run. We arrived early. We waited indefinitely and became...impatient. After four hours, crammed into a tiny doctor's office with a then 3-year old and 7-year old, we were angry, frustrated and begging for an end to the seemingly endless parade of specialists and doctors, surgeons and nurses coming in the door only to say, "she seems to be developing like a normal child."

I would like to say that I accepted the news gratefully, but the truth is, I remember saying something like, "Then why are we here, wasting our day?" As the clinic came to a close and the last doctor left saying "she's practically perfect," I remember mumbling, "It's about time," as we headed quickly for the door.

Standing in line to settle our bill, a stranger interrupted our space from behind us with a question. "Does she have Spina Bifida?" he said, gesturing incredulously toward little Zion who was twirling and dervishing in her own little dance world. "Yes," Cori said.

The stranger who interrupted our day then went on to tell us that he was a grandfather to a child that had undergone several surgeries before her first birthday to reverse the effects of Spina Bifida. He also told us that she was due for yet another surgery in the next month and that the prospects weren't good for his little grand daughter to EVER have a normal life.

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In that moment, a Godly sorrow settled on us like none we have ever known. We decided then and there that we would NEVER begrudge the chance to hear that our daughter was perfect ever again. God had performed a miracle for us that allowed Zion to develop like any other little girl and we weren't going to take that for granted EVER again.

So today we piled in the car thanking God for the big miracle He provided for our little blessing. Another year has come and gone and she is still undeniably "perfect."

URGENT Prayer Post!!

Hey Everyone!

I need your prayers, fasting and agreement!! To be honest, there really has not been a whole lot to say about the progress on our potential move to the Yingling Auction House property at the corner of Rt. 15 & 97 south of Gettysburg until today. Last Thursday, we received a draft of the lease that was supposed to reflect the pre-work we have done thus far with Dave Sites and Mr. Yingling. After taking a close look at this lease we saw that there are some radical differences and unforeseen additions to this new, legally binding version of the lease. In short, we cannot sign this version of the lease in good conscience without some further negotiations.

This can be disheartening, but it is not a game-ender by any means. We are people of faith who do not rely on our surroundings and circumstances. Instead we hold on to prayer and God's Word. Therefore, I am asking all our serious prayer partners to spend some time in prayer and fasting, asking God to do these four things:

• Give us wisdom on how to proceed in negotiations
• Protect us from any pitfalls that could materialize among the legal jargon of the lease
• Work out the things that we have no power to control
• Help all of the parties involved stay at the negotiating table as long as is practical

We love you all and appreciate your help in praying/agreeing over this matter in this way. Thank you!!

Facing the Movie Massacre Tragedy Through Faith

Everyone in America woke up Friday morning to the news that a terrible thing had happened in a CO movie theater in the wee hours of the morning at a Batman Movie premiere. I spent most of the day asking God why this stuff is all around us and I spent some time soul-searching for some answers. In the wake of this tragedy I found a powerful blog that communicates the Faith-Filled response to this rampage so well, I just had to share it with you all. It is written by a survivor of that terrifying night.

 Here is my take-away...

"God is always good..."

"Man is not." 

"Don't confuse the two."

Take a minute and read it through. My guess is that it will say all that needs to be said to help you see God's goodness in the face of tragedy... 

You can read the whole thing here

MAN-FEST is this Sunday!! Join the whole Intersection family for Hot Wings, Hot Rods and Root Beer on keg immediately following our regular worship service starting at 10am. You should bring your dads, step-dads and not-so-dads out along with your whole family for a great time and good food!

Be sure to bring your canopy tent, lawn chairs and yard games along with you to church on Sunday and if you have a classic car, cool motorcycle or testosterone-tuned truck that you want to show off, drive it in and park it out!! It's gonna be a great Sunday so don't skip it, ya slackers!!  :)

Leaving Sinai...

In Deuteronomy, Chapter 1 and verse 6, Moses recounts that moment in the history of the exodus from Egypt to the promised land when God told His people it was time to break camp and move into the next phase of their journey. The Israelites had been parked around the mountain of God where all of their needs were being met and life was somewhat comfortable. They could have chosen to stay there, but God was the one providing what they needed and God was moving. For them to stay in provision, they would have to follow Him. As I read that portion today, I am struck again by the parallels that exist between this burgeoning race of God people and our little tribe of Christ followers called the Intersection. We have met, (quite happily I might add) at the Gettysburg Middle School during the last two years. All of our needs have been provided for and we have even managed to save a little here and there, while giving as much away as we can. Our natural eyes would say that we could stay here as long as we wanted and we could live the good life. The truth, however, is that God may be calling us to strike our tents as well. And just like the Israelites we must make a choice to move by faith or hope that everything stays the same... I believe the miracles that have taken place so far concerning the Yingling property at the corner of Rt. 15 and 97 are amazing proof of God's desire to move us from here to there. I believe that God is desiring to nurture a life-giving church in that place for many years to come. I know that we should not desire comfort or ease and I am sure that blessing does not always equal fun. On June 11th, 2012 we will be holding a congregational meeting at Freedom Valley (3185 York Road) in Gettysburg to discuss this potential move and all of it's ramifications. Will you pray for me to hear God's voice concerning this decision? Will you pray that every door would fly open with miraculous intensity as we move forward step by step? Would you consider joining us at that meeting to pray, discuss and decide what the next chapter of the Intersection's exodus will hold? Thank you so much for praying for my leadership team and I!! jeremiah

On Becoming A "Giant Killer"

So I woke up at 5am with God telling me to wake up my son, Sam (age 7), get in my car, and go pray over a location that has become a kind of "Promised Land" for our God tribe called the Intersection. I know that God has given us this property. I don't know how it will happen and I don't know when, but I have been fasting, praying and thanking God for it along with the rest of our church family. In fact, we have been waiting to hear if our lease proposal would be entertained for the last few weeks... As I sat in the parking lot of the 7-11 across the street this morning, I couldn't help but feel a little like Moses sitting on the East side of the Jordan looking across to Canaan (a land promised to his God-tribe). I quickly opened my iPhone and turned to Deuteronomy 1 to read his account of that very moment when he looked across that river at a seeming insurmountable challenge and I heard God speak to me. As I left the gas station and drove home I felt confident that I would have an answer soon. Little did I know how quickly an answer would come. When I came through the door, Cori told me that we were denied in case a better offer came a long. I absorbed the blow surprisingly well, suddenly thankful that God had woken me up in such an extreme way to build up my faith. What he said to me at the gas station was that He was creating my story right now and that I should trust Him. A good story has it's share of evil, despair and enemies. Just like Moses' story. Moses faced two kings before he even got to the Jordan river that day. These kings were powerful men who stood in direct opposition to Moses and his tribe of believers. In fact, Og (the king of Bashan), was a giant of a man whose bed was the size of a bedroom in your house!! Some scholars believe he was part of a race of humans that is now extinct standing 10-11 feet tall. However, when Moses came to this challenge, he heard God's voice saying, "Do not fear Og, for I have given you victory over him and his whole army!" Thousands of years later, my God is speaking to me in the same way. He is assuring me that the giants I am facing right now have heavenly crosshairs assigned to them as well and soon there will be a giant skeleton for me to point to as the story that builds our faith to step into the Jordan and take on bigger challenges... Will you pray with me? God has given us a land flowing with His blessing, but we must trust Him to write the story. We must faithfully walk each step and kill the giants He commands us to take on one by one. Thanks for reading and may my God bless you in every way... jeremiah