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Spiritual Renewal 2024

January 29 - 31, 2024 

Spiritual Renewal 2024 yellow and red logo

“This is what the Lord says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:16-19).

We all long for something new. New clothes, a new phone, a new car, a new relationship, etc. Perhaps our constant longing for new things is because once we obtain them, the “new” quickly wears off. What about when it comes to our relationship with God? Does it ever begin to feel stale and stagnant? Has the relationship become rote and routine? Why does this happen?

In Isaiah 43:16-19, the prophet is speaking to the Israelites about the trustworthiness of God to deliver them from exile. He speaks about God’s redemptive grace toward His people as he points to the mighty acts of God in the exodus from Egypt. Next, he proclaims that God is doing something new! Where God once led the Israelites through water (the Dead Sea), He will now “make a way in the wilderness,” providing streams for them in the desert.

In a similar manner, God is still doing new things and wants to do things in our lives. For Him to accomplish this, we may also need to “forget the former things,” both past successes and failures. At the beginning of a new year and a new semester, we want you as an ETBU student to consider what new thing God wants to accomplish in and through you. During Spiritual Renewal 2024 we will focus on the following:

• God’s desire to do new things in our lives (Isaiah 43:26-28)
• In Christ we are new creations who are Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
• God’s desire to give us a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-28)
• Jesus is making everything new (Revelation 21:1-5)

Special Guests

Man smiling at the camera outside
Lance Shumake
Guest Speaker

Pastor Lance serves as an elder and teaching pastor at Crosspoint. He also coordinates the teaching ministry. He works on staff at iGo Global, a student mission organization.

Lance graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 1992 and (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1996. Lance has been speaking at churches and student-focused events since 1990. He previously served on staff with the Indiana Baptist Convention before founding iGo Global in 2000. Lance served as an elder and teaching team member at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall and as the interim pastor at Hunters Glen Baptist Church in Plano in 2012-2013.

The connection between Lance and Crosspoint Fellowship in Greenville can be traced back many years. It wasn’t until 2014 though, that the conversations about planting started to become more intentional. Through a series of God-orchestrated events, it became quite clear that he and his family were supposed to be involved in the plant, known as Crosspoint Community Church.

Lance serves as a non-staff elder and is one of the founding pastors for Crosspoint. He leads the teaching ministry by coordinating the teaching schedule and Biblical direction of the expository teaching. As an elder Lance helps provide vision and shepherding to the body.

Lance and Tammy were married in September, 1993. Tammy works as a recovery nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Rockwall. She has worked as a nurse in various hospital settings since 1993. She also serves in various ministry settings.

Lance and Tammy live in north Rockwall and have four children: Austin, Liberty, Dub and Glory.

Man smiling at the camera
David Berryhill (with ETBU Worship Band)
Worship Leader

David Berryhill serves as the Music Minister at First Baptist Church in Kilgore, Texas, where he has been ministering for 8 years. He accepted Christ at the age of 8 in Bonham, Texas, and at 12 years of age was called into ministry at a summer church camp. From that moment on he has surrendered his abilities and his future to the Lord. David graduated from ETBU in 1994 with a Bachelor of Music degree. While on the Hill, David met his wife Heather. They have 2 amazing sons, Harrison and Hayden.

Schedule

Spiritual Renewal Week
Monday, January 29, 2024
10:00am
Chapel with Guest Speaker Lance Shumake and David Berryhill
8:00pm
Worship Service with Guest Speaker Lance Shumake and David Berryhill
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
8:00pm
Worship Service with Guest Speaker Lance Shumake and David Berryhill
9:30pm
Dessert Fellowship

Immediately following worship, we will host a Dessert Fellowship in the Edwards Conference Room.

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
10:00am
Chapel with Guest Speaker Lance Shumake and David Berryhill

Spiritual Renewal 2024 | "All Things New" Devotionals

January 22-28, 2024

Devotional | Day 1

Read: Isaiah 43:16-19

16 This is what the Lord says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Reflect:

  • Isaiah 43:16-17 remind us of God’s power and faithfulness as He led the Israelite exodus from Egypt. Think of a challenging time in your past when God revealed Himself in power and faithfulness. What were the circumstances and how did you respond to God’s movement?
  • Why can it also be important for us to “forget the former things and not dwell on the past (both good and bad)?” Do we come to expect that God will work in our lives like He always has in the past? Are we prone to be irritated if He doesn’t?
  • Could it be that God wants to do a new thing in your life? In the Exodus, water was a barrier for the Israelites, but Isaiah says that God is now going to use water to make a way in the desert – He is going to do a new thing! What do you need to do to make yourself available to a new work of God in your life?

Respond:

Lord, I praise You for Your magnificent power and faithfulness. Thank you for wanting to do new things in my life. Father, help me to be receptive to any change You want to bring as I seek to walk obediently with You.

Devotional | Day 2

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Reflect:

  • What does it mean that Christ has made us a new creation? Why do we tend to forget our identity in Christ and the newness He brings?
  • What does the word “reconciliation” mean? With whom do you need to reconcile and begin a new relationship? Who do you know that needs to be reconciled with God and needs to hear the message of reconciliation from you?
  • What is the role of an ambassador? How can we become an effective representative of Jesus as we engage in our ministry of reconciliation?

Respond: 

Jesus, thank You for making me a new creation. Empower me by Your Spirit so I can be an effective ambassador for You.

Devotional | Day 3

Read: Ezekiel 36:26-28

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 

Reflect:

  • Ezekiel is addressing the nation of Israel here, but why do we also need a new heart and a new spirit? (See Jeremiah 17:9)
  • Why do our hearts often become hard towards God and His Word? What is the solution to this problem?
  • If we will repent of our sin and turn to God, He promises to put His Spirit in us to enable us to follow Him. (See Philippians 2:13). Is your heart hard when it comes to certain people or situations in your life? Could you benefit from a new attitude and outlook? If so, be honest with God about your needs and expect Him to be faithful to His promises.

Respond:

Holy Spirit, please search my heart and my spirit for hard places and areas where I am not aligned with Your will. As I repent, I trust that You will soften my heart and redirect my thoughts, attitudes, and actions toward You.

Devotional | Day 4

Read: Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Reflect:

  • Since sin entered the world (see Genesis 3), God has been moving through history to redeem all of His creation, most notably through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What thoughts come to mind when you consider that there will be “a new heaven and a new earth?”
  • What current situation or struggle brings tears to your eyes? How can we draw hope from God’s promise that one day there will be no death, mourning, crying, or pain? How can we share this hope with others who need it?
  • Jesus said, “I am making everything new!” What does He need to make new for you? Tell Him your need, He wants to hear from you. Ask Him for endurance as you wait on Him.

Respond:

Jesus, please grant me the endurance I need for the challenges I face. Thank You that you will make all things new and that a time is coming when You will wipe every tear from my eyes.

Devotional | Day 5

Read: Ephesians 4:22-24

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Reflect:

  • Paul is encouraging the Ephesians to no longer live as those who do not know Christ (See Ephesians 4:17-32). What was your life like before you came to know Christ? Have there been times since you’ve known Him that you have given into “deceitful desires?” If so, why?
  • What determines the attitude of your mind? Are most of the factors internal or external? Why is a new attitude important for a Christian?
  • As followers of Jesus, do you believe we were created to “be like God in true righteousness and holiness?” Why or why not? How do we “put on the new self” we were created to be?

Respond:

Father, thank You for making me new in the attitude of my mind because of Jesus. Please help me to choose to pursue the righteousness and holiness for which I have been created.

Devotional | Day 6

Read: Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Reflect:

  • How should we view God’s mercy towards us? How should it influence our worship? Why is it difficult to be a living sacrifice?
  • Why are we so quick to conform to the pattern of the world? Is it more a matter of willpower or forgetting our identity (in Christ)?
  • How can we renew our minds? How can this transform us? What does this Scripture say is the result of a renewed mind? How can this change our lives?

Respond:

Father, please forgive me when I let the world squeeze me into its mold. Please renew my mind as I spend time with You in Your Word and prayer, so I can be a living sacrifice who lays down my life for You as an act of worship.

Devotional | Day 7

Read: John 3:1-3
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

Reflect:

  • Why do you think Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader, came to Jesus? What risk was he taking in doing so? What did this act reveal about his humility?
  • Why do we come to Jesus? What risks are we willing to take? Do we tend to come out of curiosity or because we want Jesus to do something for us?
  • What does it mean to be “born again?” Why is this a requirement for seeing the kingdom of God? How can we be born again? Who do you know who needs to be born again?

Respond:

Lord Jesus, thank You that because of Your life, death, and resurrection You have paid the debt for my sin. If I will confess my sin and place my faith in You, I can be born again. I praise you for my spiritual re-birth.

Contact Information

Name/Title Division Phone
Dr. Scott Stevens
Dean
Associate Professor of Christian Ministry
Spiritual Life 903.923.2178 Send Message View Bio