Archive for the Ministry category
Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008 at 1:13 PM by David Zavadil
Things have been crazy here at EPC the last few weeks. If you have been
checking my site out you have probably noticed things changing back and
forth and looking kind of wierd. I am reconstructing my site and will also
be changing my focus on here. I am beginning with the site name and a new
look. In coming days you should notice a differenct frequency in posts and
a change in what is posted. Bear with me as I make a move necessary to
maintain my sanity.
Posted in Ministry (RSS), The Church (RSS)
Posted on Monday, July 21, 2008 at 3:35 AM by David Zavadil
Hello from the City of the Seven Towers, Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
Our team arrived late but safely on Saturday. Enjoyed a wonderful day of
worship on Sunday with our brothers and sisters from Hillside Community
Church. I preached a message from 2 Tim 4:21, "come before winter." The
people had never heard a 1st person sermon before. It was a blessed day
of worship and fellowship.
Today we begin the hands on ministry. As I write this, a team mate and I
are headed to the sporting goods store to pick up need materials. at
10:45 am GMT, we head to the pitch to pick up glass, needles and
assorted trash. After lunch we head back up for children's ministry.
This year we will be hosting VBS at two different sites. Pray for us as
this will be a first.
Pray for us during the week. Sleep is at a premium and there is much
work for the Lord to be done.
Posted in Family happenings (RSS), Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 3:50 PM by David Zavadil
We at EPC had a blessed evening and then breakfast with Rev. Stephen
Atkinson of Christian
Witness to Israel . If you have a heart for the Jewish people and
desire to learn more about this Reformed and International ministry, I
heartily recommend CWI.
Posted in Ministry (RSS), The Church (RSS)
Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 10:34 AM by David Zavadil
Edited on: Thursday, May 15, 2008 10:53 AM
Posted in Ministry (RSS), The Church (RSS)
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 3:28 PM by David Zavadil
I have restored the comments on this blog. It is a new account so all of
the previous comments, including the spam have been deleted. I plan on
writing more and moderating the comments tighter. I pray that at some
time this site will be used by people around the world for edification
and growth.
Edited on: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 4:03 PM
Posted in Bible Study (RSS), Books (RSS), Commentary (RSS), Family happenings (RSS), Fear of God (RSS), Just For Fun (RSS), Locarb (RSS), Ministry (RSS), Mortification (RSS), Psalm 119 (RSS), Puritans (RSS), Stupid Movie Quotes (RSS), The Church (RSS), TNT (RSS)
Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 at 6:27 PM by David Zavadil
My comments were spammed recently so I have eliminated them until I can
find a better system.
Posted in Bible Study (RSS), Books (RSS), Commentary (RSS), Family happenings (RSS), Fear of God (RSS), Just For Fun (RSS), Locarb (RSS), Ministry (RSS), Mortification (RSS), Psalm 119 (RSS), Puritans (RSS), Stupid Movie Quotes (RSS), The Church (RSS), TNT (RSS)
Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 at 3:43 PM by David Zavadil
Traffic was soooo light this morning. I was surprised by how many people
apparently have "Good Friday" off. Last night we had an exciting and
successful Seder. The meal and service went very smooth and we had about
a half dozen visitors to boot. Tonight we will be hosting our first
Tenebrae Service.
The service of Tenebrae, or "shadows," is an ancient tradition, used on
the Friday before Easter to impress upon the hearts of believers the
awful consequences of sin and the magnitude of the Savior's sacrifice.
This service is very moving and an interesting way to head into the
Easter Celebration on Sunday. Pray for us as we remember the cost that
Christ paid for us on the cross.
Edited on: Friday, March 21, 2008 4:50 PM
Posted in Commentary (RSS), Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 8:50 AM by David Zavadil
Today is Maundy
Thursday. It is the day we remember the "Last Supper." At EPC we
will celebrate by hosting a Messianic Passover Seder. For the purists
reading this, I know that today is not Passover, it is about a month
from now. We are seeking to visually remember the last few days of
Christ's life beginning with this Seder. Pray as we remember the pain
that began with Judas's leaving during the supper to betray our Lord.
Posted in Commentary (RSS), Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 3:57 PM by David Zavadil
I haven't been writing much recently. I have been really busy and just
have not slowed down enough to jot anything down or read. I do want to
take a moment to share with you about a mission opportunity our fmily is
involved at EPC.
We are preparing to take a team to Ballymena, Norhern Ireland for ten
days of ministry. What makes this trip exciting for me, personally, is
that my entire family will be joining me. My wife and younger children,
12 and 15, have never been on a mission project overseas. I am excited
they will be joining the team.
During our time in Ballymena, we will be working along side of the
Ballyloughan Presbyterian Church and Hillside Community Church. We will
be participating in VBS, sports outreach, evangelism and community
service projects in the Dunclug, Dunvale, and Millfield housing estates
(in American English, they are called projects). Most of the people we
will be ministering to are unchurched. Drug abuse is rampant in these
estates among people living from paycheck to paycheck. Many immigrants
and travelers (gypsies) live in these estates, making this an
international opportunity.
Pray for our family and team as we prepare to go. We each have to raise
$2000 for the trip. Please pray that the Lord will provide all of the
monies needed. Pray for the hearts of the people of Ballymena. Pray for
boldness to proclaim the gospel clearly. Pray about being a part of our
support team. If God moves you to support our effort, you can contact me
through this link Email
David Zavadil.
Edited on: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 4:03 PM
Posted in Family happenings (RSS), Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 12:20 PM by David Zavadil
I noticed that my last entry was on the 6th. Where has the month gone?
We have been very busy at Eastminster Presbyterian Church. We began our
revamped Sunday School and have doubled our average attendance since the
new beginning. I currently have 5 adults in our inquirer's class and am
excited about the new possiblities.
The last week in January I had lunch with Pastor Kim of Eden Korean
Presbyterian Church. They meet in our Chapel on Sundays. Pastor Kim
asked if they could move their worship time to coincide with ours. He
expressed concern that some of their children speak better English than
the parents and would appreciate being involved in our Sunday School. We
are now having joint Sunday School classes with adult classes in English
and Korean and the kids and youth all meeting together. Our next joint
venture is to begin ESL classes in the spring/summer season.
Our IT elder and I have been busy trying to upgrade the church website
to Joomla 1.5. This has proven a bigger undertaking than we first
thought. I hope to have the site up and ready by next week sometime.
February 17 - 20, 2008 we held our FIRST Evangelism and Apologetics
Conference. Attendance was good, with three times the participants for
the evangelism class than we had planned to have. Clete Hux with Apologetics
Resource Center was our Keynote speaker. He taught on world views
during the week, enlightening us on the Postmodernism, Mormonism,
Jehovah's Witnesses and the Word of Faith Movement. It was a great time,
too bad Clete was fighting the flu the entire time.
This last week we have all been dealing with that same flu bug. Over
half of the congregation was out sick last week with the flu and various
other ailments. Many more have fallin ill this week. Sickness is running
rampant through our body.
For those that might be interested. I am down 20 lbs and only about 5
pounds from my target weight. I am feeling better and stronger than at
any time in my life. I really encourage everyone to watch what they eat.
Pray for us. Easter is coming, one of the busiest seasons in the church.
Pray for the physical health of our congregation. Pray that God will
give me the words to say on Sundays.
Posted in Family happenings (RSS), Locarb (RSS), Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 at 12:18 PM by David Zavadil
As most of you know, I have been taking part in a modified form of The
Puritan Challenge . I January I began reading, Grace
Abounding for the Chief of Sinners. I have to confess that this has
been a tougher read than I first expected. Though it is not an easy
read, compared to the latest Olsteen book, it has been most challenging.
I spent the first two weeks wondering, "When am I going to get to the
slave trade?" Only after reading a while did it click that this is
Bunyan's story not Newton's. After beating myself up for my idiocy, I
pressed on.
Bunyan's constant struggle with doubt and his own selfish lusts proves
convicting. I am amazed how many of his struggles and issues were
similar to those we experience. Like Bunyan, I have often wondered how
God could love and forgive a sinner such as I am. Like Bunyan, I seek
God's grace as the chief of sinners. It is so amazing to see the truth
of Scriptures revealing to my heart, as it did to Bunyan, the abundant
grace of God.
Though I have not finished this wonderful book, I will continue to plug
on at the same time beginning Flavel's Mystery
of Providence (Puritan Paperbacks) (Puritan Paperbacks)
You can find it online Here .
Join me on this journey.
Posted in Commentary (RSS), Ministry (RSS), Puritans (RSS)
Posted on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 11:45 AM by David Zavadil
For those of you who have a network at home or the office, I have found
a new resource that allows you to configure your router to filter the
internet. Unless you have direct access to the router's configuration
program, you can't circumvent the filter ( as far as I have been able to
determine). Check out Open
DNS
Posted in Family happenings (RSS), Ministry (RSS), The Church (RSS)
Posted on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 4:24 PM by David Zavadil
I attended a pastors meeting about an upcoming conference in our area.
The Restoring Sexual Purity Seminar will be held at New
Covenant PCA in Virginia Beach Virginia on Feb. 1,2, 2008. During
the meeting I shared of a cd I had created for our congregation with
numerous internet filters and accountability software. Here are some
links to some of these pieces of software.
k9
Web Protection (This filter is free for both windows and mac users,
you must register for an install code)
Dansguardian (This
filter is free for windows, linux and mac. For the mac check out DGComplete
These take some computer knowledge to set up!)
x3Watch (This
has both a free and for pay version in both windoze and mac. It is
accountability software, not a filter)
Covenant
Eyes (This is an accountability software. It is not free.)
Safe
Eyes (This is a filter program for windows or mac. It is not free.)
BSafe (This
is a multipurpose filter program for windows. It is not free.)
These are just a few of the products that are out there. You can learn
more by checking out Filter
Review online.
Posted in Family happenings (RSS), Ministry (RSS), The Church (RSS)
Posted on Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 10:38 AM by David Zavadil
Originally posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2006
41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according
to your promise;
42 then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in
your word.
43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope
is in your rules.
44 I will keep your law continually, forever and ever,
45 and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.
46 I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be
put to shame,
47 for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.
48 I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I
will meditate on your statutes.
I have to apologize to those of you who have been following this study.
I have been substitute teaching, while seeking a call and have had
little time to sit down and write. I had hoped to maybe make use of my
palm, but have not yet found the software that would allow me to write a
post and add it to my site. At any rate, let me do this today, let me
begin on this section and rather than trying to cover the whole passage,
I will work on part and finish in the next couple of days. Fair enough?
I pray so.
41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation
according to your promise;
Love. I think that if there is one thing every human wants to experience
it is love. Not necessarily erotic love, but the fullness of love that
overwhelms the life of the recipient. The Psalmist prays for that type
of love. Charles Bridges writes, " A prayer of deep anxiety-large
deisre-simple faith!" That it is!
The word translated love in the ESV is rendered mercies in the KJV and
"unfailing love" in the NIV. The Hebrew word is chesed and carries a
meaning that emcompasses the fullness of God's mercy and love. To
experience the chesed of God is to experience the fullness of the
character of God and is seen in His loving mercy to us. It is bound in
and with his salvation, promised to us beginning in Genesis 3:15 and
repeated throughout Scripture. In fact, the true mercies of God can not
be seen apart from the salvation of God. To think of God's mercy, His
full love, without contemplating His salvation is impossible. Bridges
put it this way, "Therefore general notions of mercy without a distinct
apprehension of salvation have their origin in presumption, not in
warrented faith." Lord, let your mercies come upon us!
This mercy/salvation relationship raises a question. Why are we in such
a need of the fullness of love displayed in God's saving mercy? ( Ok, I
know none of us really talk like this, but it sounds nicer than,"Why do
I need that stuff?") We first need to be saved from the wrath and
punishment of a Holy God. The sinful acts of our first parents, Adam and
Eve, left us all condemned as sinners. At birth we are already marked
with a death sentence. The merciful salvation of God, frees us from this
death sentence.
Not only are we condemned from birth, we are also under bondage to sin.
Sin wars against us all of our lives, but through the saving mercy of
our God, it has no victory. However, it is not a foe to be taken
lightly. William Bridge, not the same man I quoted earlier, said, "If
the guilt of sin is so great that nothing can satisfy it but the blood
of Jesus; and the filth of sin is so great that nothing can fetch out
the stain thereof but the blood of Jesus, how great, how heinous, how
sinful must the evil of sin be." Apart from the mercy of God found in
the salvation brought us through Jesus Christ, we could never overcome
the bondage of sin. In the merciful salvation of Jesus Christ, we are
made righteous through the effective work of Christ, not anything we
have done or will do.
We also need to be saved from ourselves. I don't know about you, but I
do know myself. If I am in charge, I will make a mess of things. I will
begin by taking the easy path and then seek the one that will make me
feel the best, and give me the most in return. Left to myself, I not
only won't but can not seek the way of God. The mercies/love of God
found in His salvation frees me from this bondage to self. I am no
longer bound to mess things up but freed to live in grace and mercy,
resting in the righteousness of Christ.
Every day we should begin as the Psalmist begins this passage. 41 Let
your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your
promise; Make this your prayer each day as you awake. We will next
examine how this is carried out in our lives.
This completes my previous posts. I will begin next week with a new
study from Psalm 119. I pray that this study will be edifying to all who
read it.
Edited on: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 1:55 PM
Posted in Bible Study (RSS), Ministry (RSS), Psalm 119 (RSS)
Posted on Thursday, December 20, 2007 at 10:42 AM by David Zavadil
As I have continued in reading
the classic The Mortification of Sin by John Owen, I was
struck by a thought he brought out on page 76 of the version I am
reading. Owens writes:
It is to be feared that very many have little knowledge of the main
enemy that they carry about with them in their bosoms. This makes them
ready to justify themselves and to be impatient of reproof or
admonition, not knowing that they are in any danger (2 Chron. 16:10).
How many of us really think about our sin? I am not speaking about
dwelling on how we can commit our sins or wallowing in guilt over our
sins. I am speaking about looking at our sins as if a general seeking to
win a war. We spend too little time going beyond the outward observances
of our sins and fail to get to the heart of the matter. What is the root
cause of my sin? What moves me in that direction? What things set of
those thoughts? We see the symptoms but we fail to diagnose the real
problem. As Owen points out, this failure to bring true diagnosis leads
to a failure to properly deal with or sin. Instead of mortifying our
sinfulness, we justify it, we deny that it is a problem.
To properly deal with any problem, you must learn everything you can
about the issue. The same holds true for our dealing with sin. We do not
need to learn how to sin, but how the sin takes hold so that we can
properly put it away, mortify that sin. How much do you know about those
lusts that plague you? How do you begin to fight the sin that torments
you? Comment and help us all learn to mortify our sin.
Edited on: Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:45 AM
Posted in Commentary (RSS), Fear of God (RSS), Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 11:51 AM by David Zavadil
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of
the Lord! 2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him
with their whole heart, 3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! 4
You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. 5 Oh that my
ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! 6 Then I shall not be
put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. 7 I will
praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. 8 I
will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!
The Psalmist begins this Psalm with a challenge to us all. The challenge
is to our walk with Christ. Blessed are those whose way is blameless.
What a challenge this is, for none of us seem to measure up. Paul in the
Epistle to the Romans recites from the Psalmist (Ps 14:1-3; 53:1-3),
3:10 as it is written: " None is righteous, no, not one;"
and thus implicates us all. We are not blessed, because we are not
blameless. As hard as we try we can not be blameless, holy. The prophet
Isaiah wrote, Isa 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like
a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. So who can be
blessed? Who can walk blamelessly? The answer is found in the Word of
God, those who walk in the law of the Lord! This does not mean
that we are to live a works righteousness, based upon strict obedience
to the law, for the law can not save man, only Jesus Christ. Rather, the
psalmist is teaching us that we are to walk according to the precepts,
the teachings set out in Scripture, and this begins with our faith in
Christ.
There is a blessing that comes in the life of the believer as we live
according to the Word of God. Verse two tells us that we are blessed as
we keep his testimonies. Some have called the Scriptures, "An intimate
love letter from the Father." This love letter gives us guidance to live
according to God's will. The Jews were seeking to live by every jot and
tittle of the law, they fail to see Christ for who he really is. Jesus
condemned this behavior in John 5:39 You search the Scriptures
because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they
that bear witness about me, The blessing comes from a right use of
God's Word. It is meant to lead us to the Savior, Jesus, it is not to
supplant the savior. We are blessed as we see the Scriptures pointing us
to Christ and we follow His teaching found in these Scripture. That is
why the psalmist writes, who seek him with their whole heart, and
not "who read them as often or as thoroughly as they can." We are to
seek Christ, the Scriptures point to Him. We are blessed as we seek Him
with our whole heart through the proper use and application of His Word.
The truths of Scripture lead us to Christ and enable us to see the way
to lead a righteous life. How can we possible live like verse 3, who
also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! We can only do this through
faith in Christ, for our heartiest attempts pale against the powerful
work of God in Christ. We always will do wrong save in the power and
grace of Christ. As we walk in His ways, we are enabled to live
righteously. Not by what we do, but by what He does in us.
As we have briefly glimpsed the grace of Christ in the previous verses,
verse 4 points us to His authority. 4 You have commanded your
precepts to be kept diligently. God did command his people to live
according to His word, to teach them to their children and to constantly
dwell on them. Deut 6: 6 And these words that I command you today
shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your
children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when
you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You
shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets
between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house
and on your gates. Today we seem to balk at the suggestion of even
reading the Bible, yet here and in our Psalm, we are commanded to love
God and His communication with us, His Word. We are not to just causally
read the Scripture, treating it as we would the latest novel or magazine
article, but we are to diligently study and read them. We are to go to
lengths to learn what he has to say to us. Do you keep His precepts
diligently or are they just light reading before drifting off to sleep?
With the Psalmist, I cry out, 5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in
keeping your statutes! I confess, it is difficult to get into and
study God's Word. Work, family and the plethora of every day
distractions hinder any serious study let alone reading. For pastors
there is an added hindrance of the ministry. By that I mean that it is
easy for us to sometimes view the Scripture as a work tool as opposed to
a "love letter" leading to the life giver. We can easily consume
ourselves in the study for a class or sermon in a manner that does not
look to Christ, but focuses on our own intellect. The task becomes the
goal instead of the relationship with Jesus. May I be a sentinel a
guardian of the Word, allowing its use in my life only to point to
Christ, never to be merely for work. Oh that I may be steadfast in
keeping God's Word in a manner that brings HIM all the glory and not me.
What a promise I find in verse 6. Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. If my heart and eyes
are fixed on the teachings that point to Christ, if my whole heart is
seeking God, I will not be put to shame. Living according to the
guidance of Madison Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue or even my own family
and self, will only lead to shame. Apart from Christ, I will certainly
cause shame in my life and will find myself shamed. The psalmist reminds
us that a life fixed on Christ through the guidance of the Scriptures
will not be shameful. As our eyes are fixed upon Christ we find the
eternal blessings of the throne of God.
As we see these truths applied in our lives, we are lead to praise the
Almighty King. Our hearts are lifted up as the Word of God works within
us. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your
righteous rules. When we wonder how we are to worship, how can we
possible praise God, we should turn to His Scriptures. In them we find
the promises of mercy and grace, the life and love that we all seek. As
we find Christ in the Scripture, we are then lead to worship and praise,
thus the Word now becomes not just a tool for worship but an element of
our worship. Reading, studying, memorizing and meditating on the
Scripture become acts of worship, turning our hearts to God.
8 I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! If the
Scriptures point to Christ, lead us to the Cross and the Savior, then
anything short, to deviate in any way, will only lead to our being
forsaken. If we are not in constant seeking of Christ, constant
communion we will find ourselves left behind. The plea of the psalmist
is a cry to faithfulness, an exhortation to live faithfully in a
faithless world. The Word of God is the gift God has given us to help us
learn and understand how to live in this dark world. To try to live for
Christ with out the God written instruction manual is like trying to
build a house without blueprints. When you are finished it may look like
a house, even smell like one, but when the winds and storms come, will
it protect like a house? Will it still be standing after the storm? To
try to live the Christian life without the Word of God is like the man
in the airport five minutes after departure, wondering where everyone
went to and will he ever get where he is going. The statutes of
Scripture will carry us to Christ where John 10:28 I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of
my hand.
Originally edited on: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 4:10 PM
Posted in Bible Study (RSS), Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 8:47 AM by David Zavadil
We are starting our Stewardship Month here at EPC. Here are some links
to various articles and resources that should be of help in your
personal quest for good stewardship.
Arthur
Pink has written on the the best booklets on Tithing .
You need to read this!
Redeemer
PCA has some great resources on Stewardship
I am convinced that one of the reasons people give so poorly to God's
work is that they manage so poorly at home. Here are some sites to help
get your finances back in order.
Crown
Financial Ministries
Sound
Mind Investing
Dave
Ramsey
Consumer
Credit Counseling Services
Question (s) for the week. Was tithing part of the OT civil law, moral
law, or ceremonial law? How do we apply the teaching of tithing today?
This should get some interesting discussion going.
Edited on: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 7:51 PM
Posted in Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 2:27 PM by David Zavadil
If you have gone to Eastminster
Presbyterian Church Website lately, you have probably gotten an
error or unable to load message. Due to an accidental erasure, our site
is down. We have decided to use this opportunity to upgrade our server.
Keep an eye out for the new and improved EPC site.
Posted in Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 8:40 AM by David Zavadil
On Tuesday nights we, EPC, has begun a Study through The
Seven Seasons of a Man's Life . This past Tuesday we spoke about our
careers and our calling. We discussed the blessing of work and our need
to change our perspective of our vocation and calling from one of curse
to one of blessing. The Resurgence blog
posted an article on Work
as a Blessing . Take some time and check it out.
Edited on: Friday, October 12, 2007 8:59 AM
Posted in Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 2:40 PM by David Zavadil
Here are some links to check out.
Soul Searching Movie
A documentary about teens and their search for God.
Grace
and Peace is a blog started by My Friend, Walnut Hill PCA, Bristol,
TN
A
different way to listen to sermons
Posted in Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 8:43 AM by David Zavadil
I am tired. This has been a long and exhausting day. I was richly
blessed by our time of worship tonight, though the wonderful Mexican
dinner did make it hard to pay attention. Stuart Neil opened the evening
with a mini concert. His tenor voice carried us through six or seven
hymns of faith. Dr. R.C. Sproul preached a wonderful message on Genesis
28:10-19. If you check out PCAGA you can find all that went on today.
Posted in Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2007 at 9:14 AM by David Zavadil
Just wanted to take a few minutes to update on the ministry at EPC.
Work is nearly complete on the manse. The junk pile is gone, the
electricity is to be hooked up tomorrow and we may start moving in next
weekend.
The Nursery renovations are nearly complete. The murals painted by Sam
Welty look fantastic. The rooms will greatly enhance our Children's
ministry. In addition, we will be beginning our new Rotation Model
Sunday School . Come by and check out The Lighthouse.
We held our Missions Conference April 20-22, 2007. The Rev. Steve Burton
gave moving and challenging messages all weekend. The only negative of
the weekend was that we neglected to record all of the messages. You can
find what was recorded on the EPC Website .
I have begun a new series on the Sermon on the Mount. The first
installments on the Beatitudes deal with living as a Christian in a
fallen world. You can hear these messages by clicking EPC Sermons .
Check out Hope in Ballymena or EPC to find out about the ministry in
Northern Ireland. We will be sending a team of ten in July to work in
Ballymena. I am excited as my son, Joshua , and my daughter, Kristen,
will me joining me on this mission. Pray for our team. The Zavadils need
to raise $6000 before June 20.
I am praying about writing a book on being "exited" from ministry and
ministry failure. I was challenged by a pastor who has never had my
experiences to write something on this topic for other ministers. Join
me in praying about this prospect.
Well, time to get back to the sermon prep. Thanks for dropping by and I
will write soon.
Posted in Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 at 9:56 AM by David Zavadil
It seems like I am hearing this phrase more often these days. "Where ya
been?" Life in Virginia Beach has been crazy in the best sort of ways. I
am busier than ever but fell as though the Lord is at work in and
through me. This past week we received five new adult members, baptizing
one of them, and will be receiving 6 or 7 communicant members in about
three weeks. We are in the midst of one building project, the manse, and
will be beginning two more within the next month or two, a roof and a
nursery renovation. The most gratifying work is what the Lord is doing
on me, as hard as it is. He is showing me how little I am and how big He
is. Each day I am seeing more of Him and realizing what a worm I really
am.
Pray for our worship and my preaching. Busy is good except when it
begins to take over sermon preparation time and prayer time. Pray that I
will grow deeper in my prayer life. Pray for EPC as we prepare to send a
team to Northern Ireland this summer and look forward toward planting
churches in our presbytery. Pray that God will protect our family from
the arrows of the evil one. Finally, pray that people will be saved and
our community will experience true revival.
I will be making a concerted effort in the coming days to become regular
with my writing. I would love input, questions or interesting pieces to
post. Thank you for your faithfulness and patience with me. I look
forward to glorifying God with you all.
Posted in Ministry (RSS)
Posted on Monday, January 29, 2007 at 10:05 AM by David Zavadil
It seems like ages since I have last written. The first six months of
ministry here at Eastminster have seen 12 funerals, a near total
restructuring of the administration of the office, a near daily
frustration with the city over a building permit that seems may never
come, car issues and the adjustment of family from a town of 5000 to a
metro area of well over 1.2 million people. One thing I can say is that
the transition has been exciting.
This past Saturday, the leadership team and I finished crafting a core
values, a mission statement and a vision statement for Eastminster
Presbyterian Church. It is exciting to see God's people excited about
what God can do and what He is going to do in our hearts and the hearts
of the community. Two weeks ago we began taking the Salvation Army
mobile canteen out into the neighborhoods of Norfolk. Our people are now
getting the opportunity to see the needy world around us, up close and
personal.
Yesterday I completed a series on the Epistle of 1 John. I am not sure
who was blessed more during the excursion, me or the congregation. After
taking this next month to focus on worship, the plan is to begin a new
series on the Sermon on the Mount. Pray for me as I prepare for both of
these series. If anyone has some recommended resources, why don't you
post them on my comments?
Please be patient with me. I do still plan to write upon "the Fear of
God." Ministry obligations and family obligation have prevented me from
sitting down and doing any serious study and writing on the issue. Now
that there is an end in sight to our strategic planning, my time is
freeing up a bit. Pray for me that I will be able to develop this
series.
Posted in Ministry (RSS)