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We are thankful for YOU! Please read this month's update.
JUNE
04
 9:30 AM

2nd Annual Prayer Breakfast
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Beautiful and Broken

The wonder of a newborn baby is awe-inspiring! The miracle of new life reminds us of God’s blessing bestowed upon the human race:

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

Beautiful is that precious human being come into the world. And we take delight in it! Though we may be tempted to gaze upon the infant and deem him or her perfect, we know better.

For there will be a time in the not so distant future when that baby grows into a little child and is able to express an aspect of our identity as human beings that is both undeniable and undesirable. We are not perfect. We are broken. Oh, the curse of sin, which mars our being as image-bearers of the Creator God.

Beautiful, yet broken. This paradox of our identity as human beings has led philosophers, theologians and thinkers throughout history to attempt to reconcile this paradox - this identity crisis, if you will.

Who am I? Who are you? Why does it matter? These kinds of questions reverberate through our culture even this day.

One need look no further into the identity issue than the present public discourse and battle over gender identity.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we join the chorus of outrage against the premise of gender confusion being a normal paradigm. Even apart from the theology of gender identity, the biological difference is without dispute. 

But this current manifestation in our raging culture war is, at its core, a spiritual issue. And this dynamic affects our evangelistic endeavor as God’s people seek to fulfill the Great Commission.

How then do we engage a culture seeking to dislodge itself from the tether called morality - that morality being transcendent, absolute, and God-given?

Thoughtfully and compassionately.

May I suggest we become conversant on this and other issues surrounding the LGBTQ movement. Learning from Christian commentators engaging the issues is certainly a benefit. Al Mohler and Dr. Michael Brown are both quite literate on these matters. You may have other resources.

Additionally, we see Jesus providing a compassionate example to people struggling with identity issues. He gently addressed the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), forgave a prostitute (Luke 7:36-50), and ministered to a societal misfit (the Samaritan women) in John 4:4-42.

While we may express righteous indignation toward those who seek to legitimize gender confusion, let’s not forget those precious people who are broken and struggling to find their identity.

For Jesus compassionately comes to seek and to save those who are lost, even those wallowing in the brokenness of gender confusion.

For our brokenness, namely our broken relationship with God, is ultimately mended in the person of Jesus and in His glorious gospel. And guess what? You and I have been given the ministry of reconciliation as His ambassadors:

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

May we never forget the inestimable value all people are to God! For He is the healer of the broken-hearted and the restorer of that which is broken - even our image. For in the gospel, the Lord desires all who are broken by sin to be made beautiful through the righteousness of Christ. For God’s desire and design for humanity is that we find our ultimate identity...not in who we are, but in Whose we are. Amen.

And as we have borne the image of the man of dust [Adam] we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man [Jesus]” (1 Corinthians 15:49).

Ministry at Bristol Motor Speedway

On April 15-16 I volunteered at the Bristol Motor Speedway, home to NASCAR two weekends a year. Serving with the Steve Wingfield Evangelistic Association (SWEA), it’s a wonderful opportunity to take Jesus where the people are…in the marketplace. I’m a product of marketplace ministry (the marketplace being anywhere outside the halls of a church), as I came to faith through the testimony of friends at college, co-workers, and strangers I met on the go. So I resonate with this kind of outreach.

During the weekend SWEA set up a stage in one of the campgrounds adjacent to the racetrack. They provide music with top notch talent, then use the platform to honor veterans and share the gospel.  A number of people responded to an invitation, making first-time decisions for Christ. We were able to get follow up material into the hands of many who made decisions. Pray the Lord would lead them to solid churches in their hometowns as they begin their walk with God.

Additionally, I’ve been praying for Steve and Levita, a couple I had met last year. During that time I witnessed to Steve. When I saw them again at the same campground, Levita, a believer, invited me into their motorhome to chat. After sharing that I’ve been praying for them for the past year, she was moved. Though Steve hasn’t yet come to Christ, Levita told me he’s is more open to spiritual things. Please pray for his salvation.

You Are Cordially Invited

We invite you to breakfast and a special time of worship, fellowship and prayer on Saturday, June 4 at 9:30 am. Meet us at Summit Leadership Foundation, 3104 Hanover Road, Johnson City. We’ll pray for the work of Larry Stamm Ministries, the salvation of lost people, and for the witness of the Church in the Tri-Cities and beyond. We’ll also enjoy a little Jewish nosh - including lox & bagels, Brooklyn-style egg creams, coffee and more. RSVP requested by replying to this email.

Praises & Prayer Requests

Thank God with us for His mighty work among NASCAR fans at the Bristol Motor Speedway outreach with the Steve Wingfield Evangelistic Association. Please pray that the Lord would guide those who were born-again into solid churches in their hometowns.

Thank God with us for a safe and fruitful month of ministry, as Larry taught at churches in Kingsport, Mountain City, and Sevierville during the month of April.

Please pray for God to open ministry doors this summer - in churches and elsewhere.

Please pray for the Lord to accomplish everything He desires in and through our 2nd Annual Ministry Prayer Breakfast.

Guest Speaking

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Guest Speaking

Our Book

Inspiration to witness with confidence
Serving in His Court
Copyright © 2016 Larry Stamm Ministries, All rights reserved.


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