Praying?

So a few months ago I got a book called Em Bounds On Prayer and the other day I picked it up to start reading. This is one of those books that many pastors talk about as a must read. Let me tell you from the very first page I was hooked. Just the first chapter was not just mind blowing but also I butt kicking. The way that he talks about prayer and how it is a full body act is so amazing. Prayer should and must take every aspect of your soul. He takes a look at Jesus in the garden. He talks about how when Jesus was praying his full body felt the weight of the prayer so much that he had blood coming from the inside of him.

I thought that my prayer life was OK but after reading this I have felt God speak to me about how I need to kick it into gear.

If you are looking for a book to start reading about prayer this is a must to pick up and read. I would also say that a book called the valley of vision is another one. I pray that God will move in your prayer life and may it effect you as it has me.

Who is He calling you to be?

As you know I have not been blogging for a while. Over the past month or so I have been going through a lot and I am only wanting to be the person God calls me to be and nothing else. Through my years in ministry I have sadly fallen into the cool factor of ministry. I can sit back now and see times in my life when I wanted to be cool and fit in with other pastors. Now as I look at some of those pastors all I see is pastors who are not called just cool and fitting in. I have gone through my twitter and Facebook and not following those anymore.

All I want to do and be is only what God has called me to be and nothing less. I think that I have been more on the less part of life and ministry. So I just thought that I would let you know. From here on I am no longer going to be mister cool pastor but rather a shepherd of His people, a man always and only wanting to be used by Him for His kingdom and for His glory.

Church planting is to sexy.

Over the past few months of my life I have been fighting the coolness of Church planting. I am very sick of seeing churches plant and start a church and it looks, smells and acts cool. Mean while people right outside its door are going to hell. Planting a church to me is not about starting a sunday morning look how cool we are service. It is about the Gospel effecting a community with a gospel community. This film has touched my heart today and I pray it will yours as well.

So here it is.

As you know I am a guy who does and will speak my mind. I am not afraid to let you know what I think about some pastors. One thing that God has been doing in me for the past few months is helping me how more grace because with out that grace I would not be saved.

So why am I saying this? What am I about to say?

I am sorry if at anytime I have made you upset by something I have said. I feel as if I have become known not so much for my love for the gospel and for Jesus Christ but more for being angry about things. As a Christian I want to be known as a man who is saved by God's amazing and unbelievable grace.

I just wanted to let you all know what God has been doing.

What a great week.

So the last few days I have been at the Gospel Coalition in Chicago and let me tell you it was a great week hearing and seeing some very godly men preach and teach God's holy word. I have been thinking about how I could share everything and even some of my thoughts about this week with you and I really think that it would take me forever and you would most likely get very bored. So what I have done is below are some links to some blogger that I follow that have done some reflections and even posted notes up on there blogs. Also I have shared below a few links for the videos and/or audio of the sermons and talks. Recommendations would be to listen to Tim Kellers sermon (two words its amazing) and Mbewe sermons.

Mbewe: Jeremiah 23:1-8

Timothy Keller: Exodus 14

The rest of the media

Blogging Theologically: He has great sermon notes from every speaker.

So I hope that you enjoy these links. I was very blessed by what God spoke about through these men of God. May you be blessed jus as much. If I find more

Don't Use E-mail to Correct Others

This is so true. At my last church there was a lot of slander and rumors going around and it was all done through email. When it comes to dealing with major issues do not use email. Be very careful in your words and what you say. If you think that it will go bad for you in an email then don't send it. Give that person a call or even as James Macdonald says just breathe before writing an email and have a right heart.

COME TO SAVE US

Jesus came from heaven to us in a manger. This is not just a christmas story but it is the story of God restoring a broken relationship. May you ,today know Jesus Christ and know that he did not come to condom but to save.

Short and sweet

So the other day I was looking at my twitter and saw a post from a youth pastor that said "didn't have time to finish my sermon tonight for youth so going to let the kids cut my hear instead". WOW really dude.

When I read this I got pretty upset. When I look at some of the old dead pastors that I read and some of the pastors today that I look up to they all put a high standard on preaching. They put writing there sermons up there before anything. Paul himself tells us to let the deacons worry about the other things so that you can put your time into teaching the truth rightly.

This is one of the things that I feel is wrong with youth ministry today. So many youth leaders just get by by playing games and feeding students pizza and not teaching God's word. I feel that if you do not have time to study God's word so that you can teach it then it is not effecting your own life so why should it effect others.

Well my rant is over now. You can go back to doing whatever you are doing.

WOW.

So this morning I was writing and I started to think about the year I have had. Talk about a roller coaster.

I was at a church for only three months when the pastor told me about a few families that wanted him out. My first church meeting in January I saw how ugly people and sin can really be. After the meeting that lasted about four hours they kicked the pastor out. I was only the youth pastor now without a senior pastor. In just 6 months I saw and heard things from people in a church that would make some people wanna throw up. It was sick but yet God kept helping me to fall in love with The Church , His bride. During everything that was going on with people cursing other people out right before and during the service God was growing the youth ministry. I can remember times that we did not have enough room because of the kids that showed up. Students where getting saved and being baptized and it was sweet. In October Kim and I left there and are now at a church named Mosaic in Highland ILL. God is doing so many things in and around our ministry it is really cool.

Kim and I over the past year have grown so much and I am so thankful that God has done the things in my life and marriage that he has done. This year I have learned a little more of what it means to be a pastor after being a husband. God has also blessed Kim and I with a child that will be born in June 2011.

As you can see God has been up to a lot just in my life and it is so cool. I am really looking forward to seeing what God does in 2011. I pray that I will stay close to him and never stray from hearing His voice. May God bless you in 2011.

The Well. A New Church coming to Lebanon

Some may already know this but I wanted to let you all know what is going on.

In October of 2006 God laid on my heart a church called The Well. After much prayer and seeking Him and listening to Him He has called Kim and I to plant a church called The Well in Lebanon IL.

The Well is a church where people are restored by the cross and serve there city.

We will be starting this March meeting in Lebanon and I can not wait. God is doing so much right now that I do not have time to write it all out and tell you. If you would like to know more information please feel free to shoot me an email mhampel82@gmail.com.

There will be much more information on this coming very soon. Right now this is what I am going to ask you. PRAY for us. Please pray that God's will will be done in this new church. Also please pray about maybe seeing if God would have you be a part of this new church. Starting in January we will be sending out invites to people for some informational meeting and calling people to join us on this journey.

What a Day.

So today was such a cool day. Kim and I went to the doctors and heard baby Hampel's heart beat. WOW you wanna talk about being amazing by God just do that. I am really looking forward to the day that I get to hold my child in my arms. June 16th 2011 that should happen but until then all I can do is pray for my child and keep kissing it through Kim's belly. :) I like that part just don't tell her LOL.

There is one more thing that I am doing and wow it is so cool. This past February I went to the desiring God pastors retreat and they gave us a book with a bunch of blank pages in it and it says romans down the side. We are suppose to write out the book of romans for us to study but I am writing the whole book of Romans and one day give it to our first born. On days that I write and something happens, like today, I write at the top of the page the date and what happened. So I am really looking forward to leading my son or daughter to know the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Weight we carry .

Over the past two years I have been able to feel the full weight of what a pastor carries on a regular basis. We are called to carry this weight but we are called to rely on Christ on a daily basis. Praise God that he is our strength.

We are Sinners.

So I just got done watching a video from someone who I would say is leading people astray. This guy is saying that we are not sinners. WOW I am so glad this guy let me know this. O I forgot there is a reason that I have never been told this because we are sinners saved by God's grace. Paul him self says that he was the chief of sinners. Someone who says that he is not a sinner is sinning in that thought. We sin on a daily basis. Today we were prideful, lustful,greedy and the list can go on and on. We are saved by God's grace from our sins but until the day that we go home we will sin everyday.

Do not let someone lead you astray by saying you are not a sinner because that would give us something to be prideful about and that would be sin. We are sinners and we need to be thankful that God loves us sinner and draws us to him.

Church stop playing and start being!

May God use this song to stir in you a heart for those who are hurting. A heart for those who do not know Him. A heart for those in africa that have no water. THose in africa who are being thrown into war. THose in your city who may not have a christmas this year because they don't have the money . STOP PLAYING CHURCH AND START BEING THE CHURCH.

Men are not fit for Marriage.

This morning I was reading a devotional and one of the things that hit was that it said " men are not fit for marriage" and this is why we have the problems we do with porn, and sex. We are not brought up like girls are to look forward to the wedding day.

Most men ,because there fathers never have taught them about it, look to the world for who they are to be and sadly that is sex hungry beasts. After reading that today I really think that the men in the church and fathers should start talking to there sons about the wedding day and how the bride is the church and we (the groom) are Christ. We need to take our sons back from the world and show them who they are called to be and not sex hungry beast. Just my thoughts.

The machine gun preacher

Sam Childers will be at Grace Community Baptist Church in Trenton Tomorrow night Wed 29th at 7:00pm. This will be a not to miss night. Hope to see you there.

Reflect

So I woke up today feeling very sleepy and ready to go back to bed and I think it is so easy for pastors to say let's take a day off and rest. But then I started to think about some of the things that are happening in my ministry and I ,even though still sleepy, get pumped.

Last night two students came up to me and they both want to get baptized in the next two weeks. Also after talking with a bunch of the students I could tell that there is about to be a mini revival at the two schools that I serve. There are these two students that are ready to see everyone at there school to get saved. They are so focused on this that you can tell that it is driving them.

Also this Sunday I will be meeting with some people that are ready to see the future and pray for God to use us in a way that will give Him glory and that will change us and others. Even now as I sit in my office and think about this my legs are shacking because I get pumped when I think about what God is up to.

As a pastor I think it is easy for us to sit back and say this is all because of me and what I am doing. I was fighting that a little last night. It's called pride and for pastors it is a fight every day. But then I remember that I am only doing what I am because God has called me and so then all the glory goes back to him. So I just thought that I would let you know.

Are you truly thankful?

Do you really live life as if you were truly saved by the coming of the Kingdom? I just got done a few months ago doing a sermon series on the beatitudes. The first two weeks I talked about the kingdom of God. It is an amazing thought to think that what was promised in the old testament has come through Jesus Christ. We can be saved because the Kingdom came and the king of the kingdom is Jesus Christ.

Piper on Suffering

Did that really happen?

This morning at around 5:00 am I felt God calling me to get up and get something done. Over the last the few weeks I have been going through a lot as a young pastor. I have ,at times, thanked God and other times questioned God about what has gone on. This morning I stood before the church and started with my heart being placed before the church. As a young pastor I have had to do somethings today that I never thought that I would have to. For it I am thankful for God calling me and molding me the way He is. I am also very thankful for Grace Community Baptist Church and being patience with a 28 year old young pastor. I am thankful for the men in my life and most important I am thankful to my wife who has stood by me every step of the way and I could not ask for a better women to call my wife.