Unmerited Favor

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:56:00 +0000

Powerful Video

MSNBC - Vietnam War Photo from Family First on Vimeo.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:18:00 +0000

A Change of Direction for Unmerited Favor

If anyone has ever kept up with this blog much, you will have found that a majority of what has been written has been about what God has done through our ministry at Ridgeway! Sprinkled in among those stories have been blips and information about my incredible family.

A conviction came over me about how much I have written over the church and ministry....my job more than my family who so far outweighs what I do, yet it seems that I write more about my job than them. I guess I got into the hype of wanting to make my ministry and my name greater than anything else, hoping that from "wisdom" that I so selfishly thought I had would benefit the world.

From here on out, this blog will be more about my family. You will get a sneak peek into the heartfelt feelings of a dad who absolutely loves his wife and kids. You will see my struggles that I face as a dad, so this blog will remain as Unmerited Favor because I have done nothing to deserve the family that God has given me.

I ask myself many times, "What did I do to deserve such an incredible wife and kids?" The answer is, "Nothing." Fortunately, Sarah saw in me something that was worth marrying me and to her I am forever grateful. The children born to us are a daily reminder of God's goodness and grace.

Join me on this journey. I pray that you will learn from my mistakes, but also rejoice in what God is doing in the life of my family.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:47:00 +0000

Falls Creek Update: Monday and Tuesday
(If you want quicker updates, I am able to update more frequently on facebook where I am able to quickly upload pictures....our internet connection here is not the greatest and we have to walk to Timbuktoo in order to post anything)

Monday
We had a great day of travel and everyone got settled into their bunks! There are 42 of us staying in the cabin OKC, Olivet....it's about 75 yards from the prayer garden and high on a hill so we are definitely getting our exercise.

In our cabin devotions tonight, I spoke from the Scripture 1 Kings 19: 8-15. From this the challenge made to the students and I make the challenge to you is:

v. 11, --God says to Elijah, "Go out and stand before me". God is calling our students to doing this this week--to go and and stand before me. Not run, not walk, but stand. God simply wants us to be still.

As Moses was standing before God, there was wind, an earthquake, and fire, but God was not in any of these. It says in verse 12 that , "And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

This week is all about the gentle whisper. Yes, there will be "wind, earthquakes, and fire"--there will be great worship music, great sermons and yes God will speak through those, but God will speak mostly in a gentle whisper--through His Word. We substitute concerts, music, ipod sermons, tv sermons, devotionals for the incredible Word of God. God wants to speak to you through a Gentle Whisper--His Word. Students(and you adults) need to get alone and just read God's love letter to us.

It says next that Elijah went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Where was Elijah? He was in a cave. Many of our you have been in a cave and God is asking you to go out of the cave and stand. What cave is it that you find yourself in? Family issues, friend issues, personal issues....whatever it is God is asking you to "Cast all of your care and anxiety on Jesus because He cares for You!"(1 Peter 5:7)

Finally, God tells Elijah to "go back the same way you came....." If I was Elijah, I would not want to go back the same way I came mainly due to the fact that there was a madwoman trying to kill me, but God tells Elijah to go back the same way that he came. It's interesting that God is telling all of us to "go back the same way we came". We are going to have to go back into the same world, the same family, so what do you need to prepare for? The good thing is that we get a chance to go back the same way CHANGED and given the opportunity for the CHANGE that Christ has done in us to effect our families and friends.

God is soooo good! May our students hear from God through the Gentle Whisper! (Check out the song by BlueTree called Life's Noise--pretty cool)

Tuesday

Our Junior High Guys awoke to the sound, not of a trumpet, but of an air horn! That got their attention!
The food has been excellent courtesy of James and Jana Purcell!
Our girls played their first volleyball game and came in second(meaning they lost, BUT they did a great job)
Our softball team did great but also came in second--should have seen Nic Meador's homerun--very cool!
Our Sapulpa group made it safely around 7:30 just in time to join us for worship.
God has been so evident and moving this week in our midst. The worship in our cabin has been awesome! The worship and Word in the tabernacle has been incredible. Tonight, we had two students who made professions of faith! We celebrated with them in the cabin by singing the song, "O Happy Day!" How cool is that!
One of the coolest things this week is seeing our senior high students mentor our junior high kids in our family groups. I sooo appreciate these guys and gals learning to invest in the lives of those younger. These family groups meet together 2-3 times a day in prayer and discussion in applying the Word to their lives. Last night the family groups each shared their stories of how they came to know Christ!
Because the prayer garden is only 75 yards away, we have plenty time to spend time in prayer(it doesn't have to just be a the prayer garden) but it has been a great place to spend one on one time with God and many of our students use this venue for their quiet time.
Please be in prayer for us as the warfare will continue to increase as we go through the week. Please pray for me--kidney stones. It was interesting to explain what a kidney stone was to some of our junior high girls. Our students prayed over me last night and I was no longer "stoned" :)

Wednesday Morning

The airhorn is my friend--I got Jase good this morning :)
Our students are about to go and spend some time in the Word
Check out my facebook page for more up to date status updates and mobile pictures--you can see our softball team, Cassie in our infamous mohawk wig, Nick in a nice "mustache"
More updates coming later.....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:45:00 +0000

God Sightings during Mission MyTown

Mission MyTown was awesome! If you have a story to share, please email me or comment on this blog! We will having a celebration service, Wednesday, March 25 at 6:30 p.m. to share what God did during Mission MyTown and the Nuevo Laredo Mission Trip.

On Friday, we had a group go again to help the ministry, Filling the Void! What an incredible opportunity we had to pray over individuals downtown. It was cool to see the willingness of our group to pray and meet the spiritual needs of those who are less fortunate than ourselves! It's amazing how God uses these opportunities to not only bless others, but He uses them to encourage and bless us!

John and Rebecca Williams and their two sons, Zac and Ethan, were able to hand out over 120 free hot chocolates and coffee at the River City Parks at the soccer fields as part of the servant evangelism day! They simply passed out cards that said, "God Loves You" and it also included info. about our church. People came to the concession area to collect their free hot chocolates/coffee! What a simple way to share the love of Christ!

We also had a great group on Saturday that came out to a home in Sapulpa and got so much accomplished and was able to share the love of Christ with a couple in our church! It was amazing to see the incredible attitudes of our church as they served with joyful hearts!

In an earlier blog post, I shared with you about our new brother in Christ. Well, he came to church on Sunday and he is so fired up about his new relationship that it is effecting his whole family. I talked with two of his family members today of the change they have seen in him and I am praying for these family members....again, I am blown away how God works!

Join us Wednesday night to hear more stories from Mission MyTown....in the next day or two I want to share some exciting things happening as a result of Mission MyTown!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:54:00 +0000

Mission MyTown for Saturday

1. Servant Evangelism at RiverCity Parks in Sand Springs. Contact 671-6766. Will be giving out free drinks sharing the love of Christ.

2. 609 S. Poplar in Sapulpa...we are helping a great couple in our church
Bring "loppers", weedeaters, chainsaws, polesaws, rakes...wear gloves

Both begin at 8:30 a.m.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:23:00 +0000

Zander in Nuevo Laredo

Wanted to pass this picture along--it's Alexander sharing his testimony after a drama----what an answer to prayer--you can find other pictures at http://www.awestar.org/ and look on the left side of the page under trip updates.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:43:00 +0000

Update on Mission MyTown from Wednesday, March 18

Wow! What a great evening at Shannon Valley! We had approximately 130-150 people from our church and the Shannon Valley Community! Great food--burgers and briskets!

Ridgeway--thank you for coming out and loving on this community! You went beyond yourselves to share the love of Christ and that is our prayer--that they see Christ and desire Him!

We are starting to develop some great relationships through our partnership with Shannon Valley! It's great to see the same faces and see people being connected! Some of you have been a part of this ministry from the very beginning-over a year and a half ago--and we are seeing obstacles removed.

Thank you to everyone who helped set up, cook the meat, clean up, serve the food, play with the kids, and mingle with our new friends! I believe God was honored tonight!

If you have any stories, please email me at mike.lehew@ridgewaybaptist.com. My new brother in Christ that I shared about yesterday joined us tonight at the cookout as well. I am excited to see what God is going to do in his life.

What is coming up for the remainder of Mission MyTown:

Thursday---no official Mission MyTown activities, but still look for opportunities to share the love of Christ

Friday---Filling the void-ministering to the homeless.
Contact: Melissa Shepard
Meet at the church at 10:15 a.m.--arrive back at the church around 2 p.m. If you are meeting the group downtown, meet at the BOK Tower on the first street side(one way street). There may be free parking located near the Jazz Hall of Fame(be prepared to pay for parking)...when you go inside go up the escalator, take an immediate right and you will see an unmarked door by the UPS door). You will split into groups and hand out lunches and learn the ropes of this ministry.

Saturday--Servant Evangelism Project at River City Parks in Sand Springs
Contact: John Williams
Meet at 8:30 a.m. and plan on handing out simple cards that simply says God loves you. People can bring these by the concession stand to receive a free drink. For more information, please see John Williams

Code Ministry--we will go back to 609 S. Poplar in Sapulpa--bring chain saws, rakes, weed eaters. Meet at 8:30 a.m.--

Again, if you have any stories to share from this week, please email me at mike.lehew@ridgewaybaptist.com

ALSO, DON'T FORGET TO KEEP LIFTING UP OUR AWESTAR TEAM IN NUEVO LAREDO, MEXICO....CHECK OUT WWW.AWESTAR.ORG FOR TRIP UPDATES!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:26:00 +0000

Update on Mission MyTown from Tuesday and Schedule for Wednesday

We had two groups go out today in the community. One group headed up by Cindy Sharp went to DaySpring Villa to minister through helping to clean up! We had a great group of men, women, and students go! They got a chance to be a blessing to the workers and women at the shelter and I'm sure they were blessed as well.

Today I had a divine encounter. The group going to DaySpring Villa was about to leave when a gentleman walked in and asked to speak to someone. Over the next 30-45 minutes he poured out his heart and he asked Christ into his life! What an amazing day for him and an amazing day for me. I am thankful for our new brother in Christ! I am hoping you will soon get to meet him.

Another group went to a house in Sapulpa to help some of our very own with some debris/tree removal! It was a great time! We removed quite a bit of debris which was quite a relief to the homeowners--what an incredible opportunity to give back to this couple who has given so much!We will be headed back to 609 S. Poplar in Sapulpa on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. till we get it finished!

What in incredible day! If you have not gotten a chance to be a part of Mission MyTown maybe you have had an opportunity to see God at work at your workplace. If you have a story either through Mission MyTown or your workplace, please email them to me at mike.lehew@ridgewaybaptist.com

We are in the process of getting stories from each of the days happenings and we will post them here as they come in.

Wednesdays Schedule:
For those that can, please meet us at 3 p.m. to get things rollin' for the cookout--cutting tomatoes, lettuce, onions, making koolaid, tea and water. We will head to Shannon Valley at 4 p.m. to begin setting up. We will need help making sure that the grounds are kept clean during the cookout as well.
Please park just east of the community--you will see the church van or bus along with John Williams white van. James Purcell is leading the charge in grilling the brisket and burgers.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:44:00 +0000

Mission MyTown Schedule for Tuesday, March 17

Dayspring Villa: Meet at the church at 12:15; Ministry will be from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Cindy Sharp will be the team lead.

Code Enforcement Ministry: we are waiting to hear back on an opportunity, so until then we will be headed to 609 S. Poplar in Sapulpa to help a couple in our church
Map: http://www.mapquest.com/mq/7-LmEsJDDS

Coming up on Wednesday: we will be headed to the Shannon Valley Community located between 51st and 61st on Hwy 97 on the west side of the road. The festivities will start around 4 p.m. We will need some people at the community hanging out and we will need some to help haul some tables and other things in preparation for the cookout which will start at 5:30 p.m.(thanks to Jess and Cassie for handing out the flyers). Inflatables will be there around 4:30 p.m.

There will be no evening activities at the church other than Financial Peace.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:28:00 +0000

Picture Update from today, Monday, March 15 at Mission MyTown

What an incredible day of ministry! We had three ministry opportunities going throughout the day: our Senior Adults made blankets, we had a group downtown to help minister to the homeless, and another group help a family with their yard.

How proud I am of our senior ladies! What an incredible crew! About 14 ladies came together for lunch and ministry as they made baby blankets!

What a great day at Filling the Void. Micah Shepard got a chance to minister alongside his mom and in one particular conversation, they were talking with one of the gentlemen and he struck up a conversation with Micah. One of the guys that was showing them the ropes commented that up to that point when they had a conversation, very few words were said from this gentlemen, but he really opened and said more than at any other time and this was attributed to Micah.

Helping Lisa was a tremendous blessing to us today...the attitudes of all were incredible as we served the Lord with gladness. Through our conversations and actions and praying, we pray that Christ was exalted! For me personally, I enjoyed ministering alongside my family!

Thanks to everyone for coming out to share the love of Christ with our communities! Stay tuned for the plans for tomorrow!

Also....don't forget to check out the Awestar update and pictures at http://www.awestar.org/. You will see pictures of our students!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Pray for our Students who are with Awestar in Nueva Laredo

This picture is from the awestar website: in it can you spot Nick, Danielle, Megan, Merribeth, Mark and Alexander? Check out daily updates and pictures at www.awestar.org and go to trip updates.

They will be back on Saturday and will hopefully be able to share what God did in Mexico on Sunday morning during our lifegroup time at 9:30 a.m.!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Mission MyTown Update for Monday:
Mission MyTown is a ministry providing opportunities for families and LifeGroups to do ministry together in sharing the love of Christ with our communities.

Filling the Void: Monday meet at 10:15 a.m. and will carpool to downtown Tulsa
If you are meeting the group downtown, meet at the BOK Tower on the first street side(one way street). There may be free parking located near the Jazz Hall of Fame(be prepared to pay for parking)...when you go inside go up the escalator, take an immediate right and you will see an unmarked door by the UPS door). You will split into groups and hand out lunches and learn the ropes of this ministry.

Code Enforcement: Meet at 1427 East university in Sapulpa at 1 p.m.; You can bring trashbags, lawnmowers, tools to trim trees, rakes
What if I can't do the physical labor? How about coming and prayerwalking the neighborhood! Pray around the neighborhood!

Blanket Ministry: Meet at 10 a.m. at the church
If you would like to make baby blankets for DaySpring Villa and local hospitals join this group to make a difference. Bring food for a potluck lunch.

Please be in prayer as we share the love of Christ with our communities!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 04:44:00 +0000

New 7th Day Slumber Video

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:07:00 +0000

And I Quote.......

"My grandmother always said: 'God has a plan for all of us.' I should have went along with his, not mine; my plan sucked."

-Mickey Rourke, quoted in the Sun Times

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:05:00 +0000

My Good Friend Caleb

You need to meet one of my friends--his name is Caleb. The thing I like about Caleb is he is not like anyone else. He is his own person and is very comfortable with who God made him to be. I thought I would share a profound quote from him.

I mentioned to him that our senior adults were commenting how they appreciated Caleb and some of our other students for making them feel comfortable as they sat in the student section of our morning worship service. They really commented on how nice the guys were and that Caleb offered his jacket for one of them to wear since it was cold.

I love Caleb's comment:
"Hey, no problem. I love those ladies. They are my homies."

Profound words from my friend Caleb--he is one fun guy!

Check out his blog at www.capedconstablecaleb.wordpress.com

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:58:00 +0000

Question of the Week

When you wake up in the morning does satan say "Oh no......he's(she's) awake"? Does he worry about your influence in this world--at home....at school...with your friends?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Back in the Land of Blogging

What a whirlwind the last few months! This week alone has been crazy with the ice, but it has been good to stay home. To be honest, I pray for times like these to where I have to unplug and I can stay home.

Got a chance to play out in the sleet/snow with the kids. They had such a blast sledding down the hill. It's amazing how they can stay out in the freezing cold for hours.

I've recently moved my parents again about three miles from us! It's nice to have them close to us. Sarah's parents have recently returned from Belarus as well. We love having them back....they have been gone for 12 years as missionaries to Belarus. My kids really enjoy having them back.

In Closing......
"For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins." Colossians 1:13

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:36:00 +0000

Jesus lives inside of me, BUT......

"Yes, Jesus lives in me, BUT if my sin keeps someone from meeting Christ, I will not die spiritually, but it may lead to someone else's spiritual death."

This was a quote from one of my good friends, Jeff Jordan. Jeff teaches our Sunday Morning Large Group on Sunday mornings. He always does a phenomenal job. This past Sunday Jeff brought to us the Scripture of David committing adultery with Bathsheba. I wanted to share some insight that Jeff brought up:

1. My sin has far reaching affects.
David's sin didn't start with the act of adultery--it started when he decided to stay back. David was where he wasn't supposed to be. David was supposed to be with his men leading the charge in the battle.
-He implicated Joab with Him. What started as David's sin, Joab became an accomplice--therefore it had a far reaching affect.

2. There will be specific consequences to my sin
The Lord considered David's sin to be evil---please know that God is jealous of His name and he holds us to our vows.
Because of David's sin, his son died a grueling death.

Other thoughts:
-Many times when we sin, we are thinking of ways to skirt the sin or get out from underneath the pressure and it all becomes about us---Instead of thinking about what consequences I will face--what about Jesus?--what consequences did he face because of my sin(He became sin and was nailed to the cross)
-Do I really believe the wages of sin is death? What position have I put God in to punish me--it's defininitely not what He wants to do--he desires to love me, but I have put him in a position he does not desire to be in--the disciplinarian. It's not his choice, but it's my choice.

My sin can keep other people from eternal life. Have you thought about that?

Jeff-thanks for the Word on Sunday--for challenging me!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:00:00 +0000

New Creation from Pace Hartfield on Vimeo.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:05:00 +0000

Check out this video by John Piper--he reminds us towards the end of the video of what is the most important. God already knows who is going to be our president. If we are consumed by the what if's based upon who is elected into the office of President of the United States, we have forgotten the most important thing---God is in control--God is sovereign!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:46:00 +0000

Tulsa State Fair Cookie Stacking Champion: Hannah

Hannah won her heat at the Tulsa State Fair for the Cookie Stacking Contest with a total of 24 stacked cookies: AWESOME JOB HANNAH!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:38:00 +0000

Bear Fight at MORPH: Caleb vs Nick

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:12:00 +0000

MORPH Weekend: Group Shot
This picture didn't turn out that great, but it represents the coolest group of students who gave up their Fall Break to Love Out Loud.
I am very proud of them for the selflessness! God used them in incredible ways to bring hope to the hopeless.
Our students were exhausted by the end of the weekend. I played too much football and felt my age all the way down to my feet.

Ridgeway Students are AWESOME!

--A Huge thank you to our adults who weathered the whole weekend: Megan, Bethany, Kristen, and Ray! You guys are fantastic!

--Thanks to Scott, John, and Chris for leading the morning devotionals!

--Thanks to Lisa Hamilton and our wonderful Senior Adult ladies for making the desserts!

--Thanks to Bob for cooking and for cleaning up after us--also to Aimee, Jeremy, and Christian--you guys are such a blessing!

--Thanks to Sarah and the Dobrinski's for cooking the Friday night meal!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:07:00 +0000

Day One: MORPH Weekend: LOVE OUT LOUD

What a great day! This morning Chris B. really set the tone for us through the Word! Thanks so much Chris!

Our students did an incredible job of helping a lady and her neighbor with some much needed yard work that they couldn't do. One thing we want to accomplish is to love our community out loud. I'm hoping that Ms. Sherry sensed the love of Christ from our students! Thank you students for setting an incredible example!

We had a great lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ham sandwiches! We then headed to Shannon Valley to love on people in that community. We essentially are asking each household if they need anything done around their house like mowing and weedeating as well as inviting them to the playground to just play soccer, football, etc. It was great to see our students and adults make those much needed connections with the children, students and adults of this community. Please pray for us as we go back tomorrow!

We closed the evening with a hot dog cookout at the Reed's house--thank you so much for your hospitality. Patsy is battling cancer so we got a chance to encourage her through prayer! What a wonderful couple the Reed's are!

Thanks to Jeff J. for coming and leading us tonight in the Romans vs Christians game! The kids loved it!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:56:00 +0000

MORPH Weekend: LOVE OUT LOUD

We start today our ministry projects in our community! We have about thirty students who are excited about getting out into our community. Brent Higgins challenged us last night in the Word and got us off to a great start. He talked about COMPASSION! Brent will be here again on Friday night at 7 p.m. so feel free to join us!

Through our weekend, we are wanting to teach our students two things:
1. Serving One Another Unselfishly
2. Being sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in ministry. So many times we are so scheduled that there is no room for direction from the Holy Spirit. If God prompts one of our students or adults to meet a need in our community as we drive or as we serve, then we hope immediate obedience to the Spirit's prompting will be learned this weekend.

As I write this, a group of our students are preparing breakfast--biscuits/gravy/eggs/sausage! Our students are pumped....they are sooo pumped a few of them got up around 5 a.m.(a little tooo early for me).

This weekend we have partnered with the Code Enforcement Officer, so we will be going to homes who have received complaints about their lawns and we will do somewhat of an extreme makeover to their lawns so they don't get a ticket.

We are also partnering with a community down the street from our church where we will be doing random acts of kindness and playing games with the kids. Our whole goal in this is to LOVE OUT LOUD--presenting Jesus through actions and words. My prayer is that people do not see us, but they see Christ and through that they would desire a relationship with Christ.

Thanks to the parents who are helping us this week: Ray Teague, Scott Hamilton, Brian and Melissa Shepard, Bob Alexander, and Tim and Sherry Dobrinski. Thanks also to Chris B. and John W. for coming to lead our morning devotions.

Please pray for unity among our students. Please pray that the people we minister to will come to know Christ. Pray that our eyes will be opened to the lostness of our community.