It is a brand new day!

Dear Friends,

I trust you are thankful in the Lord! You know that this is God's will, right? And we DO want to be walking and living in the will of the Lord, right? Read this word from the Word: "...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
II Thessalonians 5:18

That is a very easy verse to read. It is a very difficult verse to put into practice! "Give thanks in all circumstances Lord?" "But Lord, You don't know my circumstances!" Or maybe this is what you have inwardly thought: "Lord, NOBODY has ever walked through what I am going through right now! I am the only one to (you fill in the blank)!" You all know what I am writing about. We just have those moments, those days, perhaps even those weeks where "thankfulness" is not a part of our vocabulary and is not a point of consideration...at any time!

Interestingly enough when Paul wrote these lines to the Thessalonians he did not go into all sorts of explanations. He just wrote it...by the power of the Holy Spirit: "...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Pretty straight forward. Not real fancy. But very, very true!

You are thinking, "get off of this already. I don't need a sermon!" And if you are not thinking that then you just might be thinking something sort of like that! You get my point. We deal with it. We have heard it. We understand it. But living "it" and putting "it" into practice, like I said above, really takes a lifetime of daily, consistent, thoughtful application. It is not easy, but it is very doable. And, it is "the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."

What does all of this have to do with STADIA INTERNATIONAL-JONATHAN PROJECT? Well I think it is probably pretty obvious. I am attempting to live a life of "thankfulness." I am not always successful, but I am working at it by the grace of God. One of the HUGE parts of my life that I am really thankful for is this ministry: STADIA INTERNATIONAL-JONATHAN PROJECT. Here are a handful of my thanksgivings regarding this global initiative:

• I am thankful for the ministry itself- that is, preparing JONATHANS to take the Gospel to very difficult, unreached people groups. Translated- that is preaching Jesus to people who have never even heard the word or name of Jesus!
• I am thankful for the thousands who have received Jesus Christ who had never heard of Him before. That would be over 300,000 in the past 12 years!
• I am thankful for 12 years of JONATHANS, trained, empowered and released to preach the Gospel and to train others who in turn train others in the telling of the story of Jesus Christ. (II Timothy 2:2)
• I am thankful that over 1,000 multiplying churches have been planted in these past 12 years among people who had never heard of Jesus, or of church, or of forgiveness, or of eternal life and who now not only hear regularly of these eternal truths, but who also are learning to live them out in their daily lives!
• In these 1,000 churches these kinds of things have happened for which I am eternally thankful: (Remember, these were all unreached people groups for Jesus Christ just a handful of years ago!)

1. Families are reunited.
2. Broken relationships are healed.
3. Little daughters are not sold into the worldwide sex trade.
4. Little boys reject being trained in terrorism.
5. New followers of Jesus change their businesses, for example from growing "poppies" (for drugs) to creative businesses that are consistent with their new found freedoms in Jesus Christ.
6. Education is encouraged.
7. Health issues, such as sanitation, clean drinking water, and diet are introduced to the believers and these new practices contribute to a healthier environment for the new followers of Jesus Christ.
8. The above results profoundly affect the quality of village/town life so that a discernable difference is seen between unreached people groups touched by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and those yet unreached.

This list could go on! I am so "thankful" to be part of a global initiative that touches the hearts and lives of men and women, boys and girls not only in the physical and current, but in the spiritual and eternal! God is so good...and I am so thankful!

Serving with a Spirit of Thanksgiving,

Graydon Jessup

P.S. Preaching Dates:

May 10, 2009 Mother's Day

Christian Church of Carson, Conrado Montefalcon, Pastor

356 E 220th Street, Carson, CA

Sunday Morning at 10 AM

Lunch will follow the morning worship and Judy will speak on "Mothers."

May 24, 2009, New Day Church with Ed Moreno, Pastor

2191 5th Street, Norco, CA 92860

Worship Times: First Service, 8:45 AM ; Second Service 10:30 AM