Marriage Should Reflect the Gospel

One of the high privileges that Kempton has as a Senior High Pastor is to spiritually nurture, train, & teach students and watch them grow and mature in Christ.  Another blessing is the privilege to officiate the weddings of some of his students.  Yesterday, he was able to do just that!  Josh & Elise were in the 9th grade when Kempton became their Pastor.  We have witnessed them beautifully grow in Christ over these past 6 years.  The spiritual fruit in their lives is radiant.  When I think of them, these verses come to mind:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Therefore, I wasn't surprised when they wanted to have their wedding outside surrounded by trees.  It was such a sweet occasion!  Whenever my husband does a wedding, he brings the gospel. I love that about him!  Here's a video snippet of his message - 

Many Blessings Josh & Elise!  

♥♥♥

Pure Pleasure Follow-up

The title from yesterday's blog post reminded me that I never gave a follow-up to the Pure Pleasure Gathering.  Your prayers were answered in mighty ways; more than we'll ever know.  More than 800 men showed up that Saturday morning to worship the Lord through singing, praying, and hearing of the Word.  I praise God that he greatly used my hubby for the advancement of God's kingdom as it pertains to sexual purity.  We both have a sinful sexual past, so to be used by the Lord in this way is a sweet grace.  We Praise God for the power of the cross and the forgiveness of ALL our sins!  You can view the sessions below.

Session 1: Kempton's Story and God's Story

Session 2: Sanctification, Sin-Killing, and Satisfaction in Jesus

Porn or Pinterest

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 
2 Corinthians 4:4

"Satan gives steady flows of “energy” and “power” to do any and every thing (good or bad) that will keep you disobedient to the gospel and blind to the beauty of Christ.

Whether it’s cocaine or cookies, porn or Pinterest, alcohol or Apple gadgets, suicide or social media, “the prince of the power of the air” will do anything to capture your will, desires and thoughts so that, according to Ephesians 2:3, you “lustfully carry out the desires of your body and your mind...in the passions of your flesh” until you reach death and judgment without Christ."

Excerpt from Kempton's Sermon last Sunday titled "But God!" 

You can view Part 1 & Part 2.

Pure Pleasure Gathering - This Saturday!

Here’s how you can pray for this gathering –

1.    The “Behind-the-scenes” support team - Ask the Father to fill them with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5.18) that those who will be using their gifts at the Pure Pleasure gathering would serve in the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. (I Pet. 4.11)

2.    The Worship Team (led by Ryan Thom) - Ask the Father to fill them with the Holy Spirit, so that they would be addressing their brothers in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with their hearts! (Eph. 5.18-19)

3.    Men who are enslaved to sexual sin - Ask the Lord Jesus to come in mighty Truth and gospel power to set these men free from their bondage to all forms of sexual sin. And if any are spiritually dead, to cause them to be born again to a new and living hope (I Pet. 1.3)!  Praise Jesus that everyone that He sets free is really, truly, lastingly free indeed (Jn. 8.31-36)!  May our God satisfy them every morning and every moment—with Himself! (Jn. 6.35)

4.    Men who have been set free from sexual sin - Lord Jesus, we praise you that you have set these men free from their bondage to sexual sin!  Please keep them from using their freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Cause them to go from one degree of glory to another in their freedom, satisfaction and conformity to your image (2 Cor. 3.17-18).  Through your Spirit, equip them to comfort their brothers with the same comfort that they have received from you (2 Cor. 1.3-4). 

5.    Pastor Jason (who will do the opening Welcome/ Announcements/ Prayer) - Ask the Father to fill Jason with the Holy Spirit in Jesus name, so that his prayers would be “in the Spirit” (Jude 20). And that his words would be “good for building up, as fits the occasion, that they may give grace to those who hear.” (Eph. 4.29) 

6.    Pastor Kempton (who will lead 2 one-hour sessions) - Ask the Father to fill Kempton with the Holy Spirit in Jesus name, so that when he speaks, he would be speaking the very oracles of God—as he serves in the strength that God supplies—so that God would be glorified through Jesus Christ! (I Pet. 4.11).

Ask our Father to cause Kempton to know nothing among the men at Pure Pleasure except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  And in Kempton’s utter weakness, ask the Lord to cause his speech and message not to be in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that the faith of the hearers might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God! (I Cor. 2.1-5)

7. Joe Rigney (who will lead a 4-wk follow-up study) – Same prayer aim as Kempton’s. 

4:12 Conference - The Christian Man

Young men & their fathers won't want to miss this conference!
Visit the website for more info.

“The Gospel and Entertainment”

The following is the closing application portion of a message that my hubby taught at a recent student event.

Here are 5 practical questions to ask yourself in hopes of pushing the

beauty of the gospel into this entertainment corner of your life:

(Notice, I have NOT mentioned any specifics...only the gospel and

your heart...there is no specific, legalistic, religious list).

So, before you entertain yourself by reading this or watching that or

listening to this or going there or doing this...filter your choices

through biblical questions like....

1) Is my main motive to glorify my good God through this? (I Cor. 10.31)

2) Will this help me to keep my mind on things above where Christ

is at the right hand of the Father? (Col. 3.1, Phil. 4.8)

3) Will this grieve or quench the work of the Spirit in my heart or

feed the filling of the Spirit (Eph. 4.30, I Thess. 5.19, Eph. 5.18)

4) Will this have even the slightest possibility of causing another

Christian to stumble or unbeliever to mock the holiness of

Christ? (Rom. 14, I Peter 2.12)

5) Can I begin this by praying “Our Father in heaven hallowed be

Your Name [set apart Your name through this as holy, great and

matchless], your kingdom come Your will be done”. (Matt. 6.9-10)

Note: If you ask yourself these questions and can proceed forward in

this “entertainment choice” with a clean and clear conscience before

God and men - go for it! Enjoy your God and His good gifts, either

alone, with friends, with family...to His glory! He is for your

happiness...eternal happiness in Christ Jesus!!!

The gospel grace of the Lord be with you all! (Titus 3.15)

Why My Husband Should Not Be Speaking

My husband spoke at the Children Desiring God Conference that was held in March. He started by sharing "The Ten Reasons why he should not be one of the keynote speakers”. Here's what he shared:

1. I was born to parents (whom I love) who were both drug addicts/alcoholics.

2. I was orphaned and raised by my great aunt.

3. I was raised in East St. Louis, IL (with a national reputation as the worst, most dangerous city in America).

4. I lived a filthy life of sinful, wild rebellion.

5. I have been arrested for stealing.

6. I grew up with a slurred speech impediment and learning disabilities.

7. I have no seminary degree!

8. I have hurt many people in my life because of my sin, including those whom I love the most.

9. I am still plagued by remaining pockets of the lust of my flesh, lust of my eyes, and the pride of life - in my heart!

10. I feel like the chief of sinners among us...really! = I should not be here.....BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved me, even when I was dead in my trespasses and sins, made me alive with Christ—by grace I have been saved!

...Do you hear me?..I should NOT be speaking to you... BUT GOD chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And BECAUSE OF HIM I am in Christ Jesus, who is my wisdom, my righteousness, my sanctification and my redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast (not in Kempton) but, in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Listen to the entire talk or watch the video. The Lord was so gracious in using my imperfect husband to proclaim His perfect truth. To God Be the Glory!

Kempton's talk to MOMS

Kempton spoke at our church's MOMS group last month. His topic was Fear & God's Faithfulness. If you are interested, you can listen to the talk. You may want to grab a snack first, it's 45 minutes! :-)

When Lightning Strikes Twice

I know many of you have already read my sweetie's article that was printed in our church's newsletter last week. For those of you who haven't, you can read it here.

Dominican Republic Trip

Our Lord Jesus Christ wonderfully answered all of our prayers and the many prayers that were lifted up on our behalf. We were blessed far more abundantly than all that we asked for or imagined (Eph 3:20). God's hand of favor covered us on our trip to the Dominican Republic and He richly graced our children while we were away. To God be the glory! Thank you for partnering with us in prayer.

~Kempton & Caryn


FYI - If you would like to listen to Kempton's sermons from the DR, click on the links below.
Sermon #1 and Sermon #2.

Something Special for Dads

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. Hebrews 3:12-14

God has made husbands the head of their wives and their children (1 Cor 11:3, Eph 5:23, Col 3:18-20). The husband's role is very important and many times very difficult if the family has been affected by disability. Do you know that 80% of families affected by disability experience divorce? Since the husband is the pillar of the family, it is the church's responsibility to equip, exhort, and encourage them in this vital role. I praise the Lord for how The Barnabas Ministry is reaching out to families of children with disabilities. They will be hosting a breakfast event on April 18 for dads of children with special needs. My hubby will be speaking and sharing about our precious son, Christian. If you would like more information, go to the web site and scroll down under the title, "Something Special for Dads". Registration ends April 9. Please pray for this event!

They Be Jammin'!

What an interesting ministry! It's pretty cool, tight, crunk (or whatever they're saying these days :-)! It is simply...

10:31 Sermon Jams...Why did it start? 10:31 Sermon Jams was made to bring sermons and music together. They were created to bring life changing truth, and the good news of Jesus Christ to the current culture.

Who are we? We are Bryan and Caleb, and our mission is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people. This ministry is based on 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Our main focus is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and to make His name famous. Our goal is to take biblically saturated sermons and turn them into mini clips for edification for the household of faith and tracts to unbelievers.

(Taken from the website - "About Us" page.)

They actually have put 2 of my hubby's (Kempton Turner) sermons to jams. Click here so you can be jammin' too!