Food Pantry Testimony

We are excited to share with you some of the Kingdom impact happening on Wednesdays as we partner with the HOPE food pantry to serve and minister to those coming in for food.  The food pantry opens their doors at 2pm each Wednesday but it is not uncommon to have people arriving as early as 10:30am.  We have been taking advantage of these few hours to connect with people, hear their stories, pray with them and discover God’s Truth and love for them by reading the Bible together and asking a few simple questions: what is this passage saying to you?  How can you apply it to your life? Who can you share it with this week?  Last week we meditated on Proverbs 16:3 which says, “commit everything you do to the Lord and He will make your plans succeed.”  Many people had great observations and applications for this nugget of truth but one person in particular had some great insight and then shared her testimony of how there was a time in her life when she was addicted to alcohol and very angry but she turned to Jesus, received forgiveness and submitted to Jesus’ leading for her life and now she has peace in her life and has been set free from the bondage of alcohol.  We asked her if she would be willing to prayer over the group and invite those who are ready to receive Jesus’ forgiveness and new life through His Holy Spirit to pray along with her.  Of the 20 people that had gathered there were 2 people we know of that received Jesus’ forgiveness and new life!  God’s Word is powerful and does not return void but accomplishes all that it is purposed to do!  We are not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation!!  

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Spark Notes (1/28)

Mark Vermeer gave a teaching based on the verse of the week, John 15:12, "My command is this, love each other as I have loved you". He focused on three "R's" - Realization, Revelation and Response.

Realization

What kind of love is this scripture talking about? A perfect love like Jesus who would do nothing outside of the Father's love.

We have to realize that we are deeply loved by a Holy Father. Ephesians 3:17-18 says, "So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the saints to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love". This is an unlimited, perfect, sacrificial love. In John 3:16 we see that: "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." God sacrificed his own son to give life to us. 

Philippians 2: 6-8 says, " who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.". In 1 John 3:1, we read, "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him." 

We long to understand who Jesus was so we can continue to realize his love for us.

Revelation
Revelation shoes us the significance and importance of his command in John 15:12. Jesus didn't recommend, or suggest it as advice, but he commanded us. Just like when Jesus commanded the wind and waves to calm during the storm on the sea of Galilee in Mark 4. When this happened, the disciples were terrified! They had revelation of the power that Jesus has. In Ephesians 1:3, "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit," we too, have the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Following revelation, we then Respond
1 John 4:20 says, "If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." Who are our brothers and sisters? Who can we be loving better? Even strangers! Except it is sometimes easier to love a stranger for a moment by helping them out, but then what about the relationships in our families and close friends? How are those relationships? If we are truly loving, we should be giving the best gift - the love of Christ that leads them to a relationship with the One who loves more that we could ever love. This love of Christ in us should convict us to lead others to this love. Who can you be showing this love to today? 

To watch the full service, click here. 

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Emma's testimony

This is a testimony shared by Emma Sandbulte.

As I was sitting at the Wednesday night loft set at the HOME Building,I could feel the Holy Spirit moving in everyone and throughout the room. When you hear all the different ways people sing and talk in tongues you can tell that you are not alone.  You think of a whole bunch of ways to worship and praise the Lord. My favorite part about the Loft is that no one cares about what they look like and what others will think about how they worship. I also like how you have the freedom to yell out a verse or a prayer whenever you want because you never know if God is putting that same verse or topic on a prayer on someone else’s heart. I also like how I am young but I have the freedom to do whatever I want when it comes to prayer. I feel like blogging is a way to express some of my emotions in a way that some people wouldn’t think that a child would be able to think or do. My favorite song in the whole set was Reckless Love because it talks about how God will fight for us even if he has 99 more believers and yet our one heart turned to him makes such a difference. In the song it says “there is no shadow he won’t light up Mountain he won’t climb coming after me.” To me that means God will do anything to get our hearts turned to him but only if we truly mean it. The next line says “there’s no wall you won’t kick down, no lie you won’t tear down coming after me.” To me that means that God will kick or tear down any lie that the enemy is telling us. That lie may be that we are to fat or that we don’t have a purpose on this earth. Whatever it is God will try and make us not believe it. If someone is saying that awful stuff to you please know that you are not alone in this. Being in middle school means that there are always going to be people who are mean. But lately there have been some really hurtful words being said to me and I am trying to stay strong. You’re not alone in this time. I don’t know why people think it is okay to say stuff like that but just stay strong and you will be okay. If you are believing the lies that the enemy is telling you then you have to PRAY! God is always trying to do what is right for you. He has your whole life planned and memorized so he knows what is going to happen it just depends on if you trust in what the Lord has planned for you. God really moved through me tonight and I know that I will probably want to go again. I have been there before in the summer but now that the school year has started I haven’t been able to make it. I hope to be able to find time to go though. I had so much to say from one hour of worship and spending time with the Lord but if you have ever been there then you would know that it is so moving.

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Spark Notes (1/21)

Jen Sandbulte continued the series on Purpose, giving ideas on practical ways to set and achieve goals with the Lord.

Jen began sharing how her sons, both football players prepare for football season. Before football season, they are in intense training - early mornings with weight lifting and practice, then throughout the season they are working hard for the team. Once the season ends, they are already setting goals for next season and working in the off season to achieve those goals. This scenario is much like any other activity or job out there - we work hard and set goals for the things that we are passionate about. But what about our realationship with God? Do we spend all of those long hours in preparation for the Lord, just like we do with athletics, or our careers, or our families?

The book Bible 360 by Daniel Lim talks about giving the Lord our first fruits, not our left overs, then gives examples of how to get into the Word.

1. Read it. 
The average reader can read the Bible in 90 hours, so that means if we read it for an hour every day, we could read it in 90 days. That means we could read the entire Bible through 4 times in one year.

Yes, the Bible should be studied and meditated on, but reading the Bible all the way through breaks the unbelief that it can be read through. It's a big book, but it's doable! There are 66 books in the Bible, written over 600 years by 40 authors with 1 Holy Spirit and it's still relevant today. There are 1,189 chapters, 31,000 verses and 770,000 words. If you invest 1 hour a day for 30 days reading the New Testament, it can be finished in 30 days. What a return for a 1 hour a day investment. Image what the Lord would do with that! Where else to we invest 1 hour of our time each day? Are there other distractions that we could give up to spend 1 hour a day in the Word? We are to give 10% to the Lord. 10% of 24 hours is 2.4 hours. Are there ways we could make time in our day to give the Lord 10%?

2. Meditate on it.
To meditate means: thinking on, imagining and resolving the mind.  Psalm 1:1-3 Says that we should be mediating on the Word day and night. We can just take small pieces of scripture and slowly chew and digest them.

3. Live it. 
James 1:22-25 tells us to be doers of the word. Mark 16:15-17 says to cast out demons and speak in new tongues. We are to be the Church, living in community.

4. Write it. 
Deuteronomy 17:18-20 says, “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel."
The kings had to write (copy) the word down and read it daily! Just start with writing 1-2 verses, eventually work up to more - maybe even a whole chapter! Then underline what sticks out. This is a great way to see the word in a new way. 

5. Pray it. 
Praying scripture essentially demands that we put our faith in God's word and utter it back to Him - expecting HIM to stay true to His word in His time.  Praying and agreeing with the truth in the Bible will also assure us that we are praying in the will of God and he delights to perform that which was written in His word. When we're praying the word of God, we are praying His will. 

6. Sing it.
Not just songs, but scripture. Most worship songs come straight out of scripture. When you hear a song, look up what scripture it is referencing - it will change the way you sing the song. 

Remember that if you don't se a goal and know where you are heading you'll always hit a target, but it's a moving target. You want to aim at the target God has in mind for you. 

We use apps for tracking fitness and health, work, and scheduling, but what about for prayer?
Download the app called "Prayer Prompter" or the "Read Scripture" app!

Another idea is to take a blank calendar and write down things you prayed for or write down praises. Then when prayers are answered, you can highlight them and be able to look back at where you've seen God work!

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Lyle's Testimony

This is a testimony shared by Lyle Schut.

I injured my left shoulder in June and had very bad pain and difficulty lifting my arm above my head.

I thought I tore something and was worried that I might need to have surgery.  I signed up to receive

prayer for healing at the HOME healing rooms.  I met with two people in a ministry room at HOME

and they spent some time listening to me tell the story of how I hurt my shoulder, then they read

some scripture and prayed for healing in my shoulder.  I felt really warm heat in my shoulder while they

prayed.  After I left, I knew something was happening because I immediately had less pain and more

movement in my shoulder.  After about a week, I was able to move my arm above my head without pain

and it kept getting stronger and stronger.  I did not need to have surgery!  I felt very loved and I really

appreciated the time the ministry team spent reading scripture and praying for me.

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Spark Notes (1/14)

On January 14, 2018, Jen Sandbulte started of the first IGNITE series of 2018 called Purpose: Setting Goals with Jesus. 

Have you ever asked yourself "Why am I here? Have you ever made a new years resolution? Have you ever felt like you were wasting your life? Have you ever wondered what your purpose is? 

Pur-pose (noun) - the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. 

 (verb) - Have as one's intention or objective.

So, what does the Bible say about purpose? Why did God create us? What is our purpose? 

In Genesis 1 - God existed in perfect love and unity before he even created time. 

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." - Genesis 1:1-2

Even King David asked in Psalm 8:3-4, finding out that He cares for us.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of you fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?"

God didn't need us, though. Acts 17:24-25 says, "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else."

God is love - love demonstrated by pouring out on others. That went against the norms .

Revelation 4:11 shoes that God created us for his pleasure.
"The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

We are created for his pleasure. How does this change what is most important in your life? Can someone give you pleasure if you never spend time with them or if you never talk to them? Our minds say that is God, but do our actions say that too?

FASTING
What is it?
The Bible presents fasting as something that is good, profitable, and beneficial. The book of Acts records believers fasting before they made important decisions.
"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off." - Acts 13:2
"Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust." - Acts 14:23

Fasting and prayer are often linked together
Like, Anna in Luke 2:37-38, "She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and prayer. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem."
In Luke 5:33-35, the disciples were questioned for not fasting - "They said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking." Jesus answered, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast."

Too often, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food. Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrated to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him. Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God.

Although fasting in scripture is almost always a fasting from food, there are other ways to fast. Anything given up temporarily in order to focus all our attention on God can be considered a fast.

Fasting should be limited to a set time, especially when fasting from food. Extended periods of time without eating can be harmful to the body. Fasting is not intended to punish the flesh, but to redirect attention to God. fasting should not be considered a "dieting method" either. The purpose of a biblical fast is not to lose weight, but rather to gain deeper fellowship with God. Anyone can fast, but some may not be able to fast from food (diabetics, for example). Everyone can temporarily give up something in order to draw closer to God.

By taking our eyes off of the things of this world, we can more successfully turn our attention to Christ. Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want. Fasting changes us, not God. Fasting is not a way to appear more spiritual than others. Fasting is to be done in a spirit of humility and a joyful attitude. Mathew 6:16-18 declares, "When you fast, do on look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you."

Jesus fasted! In Matthew 3, we read that he is baptized, then in Matthew 4, He fasted immediately. He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. This was when he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. But Jesus was able to resist the continuous temptations. Jesus used the word of God, not his own strength to defeat temptations. This demonstrates how fasting can strengthen spiritually when we use it to draw closer to God. In Matthew 4:17, it shows how Jesus was then ready to embrace the purpose to which he was called, "From the time on, Jesus began to preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'"

If the Son of God did not rely on flesh to live in obedience to God, then we can't either.

We invite you to do a seven day fast with us. We will also be corporately fasting as a ministry on Wednesdays going forward.

If you would like to watch the full service, click here.

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Matt's Testimony

This is a testimony shared by Matt DeJager.

One of the testimonies I can share is about 2 years ago right before Easter we had a service upstairs at HOME

and I kept praying Lord pierce our heart of the pain you went through on the cross. Just kept repeating that prayer

to understand what Easter was all about. The next morning I woke up had a lot of pain in my hand and I was running

a fever. I went to the doctor and he told me I needed to go to Sioux City to see a specialist and to get rid of the swelling.

Then I was checked into a hospital room. I had to have my hand tied to an IV pole hanging up in the air to get the

swelling to come down and they pumped me full of drugs. The next day was Easter. So I woke up Easter morning with

my hand raised in the air being tied to a iv pole all night and realized that God heard my cry and my prayer. The small

amount of pain that I went through is nothing in comparison to the pain he went through on the cross. The Lord did heal

me of my swelling and he did hear my cry. I love the way he shows up and he loves to show us that he is always 
listening to our prayers so I would say keep praying, keep asking because the Lord does answer prayer!

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Greg's Testimony

This is a testimony shared by Greg Schut.

My wife and I took our family of 5 to HOME to receive prophetic last week. A

ll I can say is WOW!! The things that Holy Spirit was highlighting over us and especially my children

was so awesome! It was one of those moments that all you can say is “that was truly the Lord’s voice

because only He could know this stuff!”  As a family we all felt to inspired to continue to grow in

the calling over us as well as a strengthening to stand firm in the midst of some of the storms we

are currently in. Thank you Lord and thank you HOME team!

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