Well my time in Virginia was amazing, and we saw God do some amazing things. The theme was "Believe" with the emphasis on looking at God's existence in a new light. The more and more I think about our simple belief in the reality of God the more I am convicted of how simple we have made it. I even notice it in myself waking up every morning and not stoping to think about how amazing it is that God's existence and creation is still alive and well, instead I assume and go about my business. I think we need to stop, think, believe, and rejoice as opposed to driving by and not giving thanks that our God is real and ruling over all creation and all heavens. I am now back in B'ham and little bit under the weather, but hopefully on the road to recovery. I will be speaking at First Baptist Birmingham and First Baptist Trussville the next 2 weeks. Please pray that God's word would again be preached with Passion and Clarity.

For His Namesake,
John Pond

"of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known". Colossians 1:25

Well, another amazing day seeing God letting us be apart of spreading His truth around and telling the story of God to publish salvation for all to see. I am sitting in the Birmingham airport getting ready to leave for Virginia for a retreat at Tomahawk Baptist Church. Please pray for me and all who will be involved that we would simply see God for who He truly is and worship Him in light of the simple and glorious fact that GOD IS REAL! Also, pray for warmth, it is supposed to snow every single day while we are away. Meaning that I finally get to see some snow but will have to do so while it is freezing cold, seeing snow is funny that way :). Please continue to visit the blog as often as you like, and I am so thankful to the ones who are praying for me and God's spoken word. Please continue to leave our comments, they are a huge encouragement to me!

P.S. - Last night at First Baptist Birmingham was amazing God spoke and it was another chance for me to watch Him work. Praise God!

"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." - Psalm 46:10-11

Schedule for January and February

Please pray for over these dates, that God's word would be spoken humbly, clearly, and loudly!

January 24th : FCA Vestavia Hills 8:30p.m.
January 31st : First Baptist Church of Birmingham 6:00p.m.
FCA Vestavia Hills 8:30p.m.
February 1st - 4th : Tomahawk Baptist Church Disciple Now, Richmond Virginia
February 7th : FCA Vestavia Hills 8:30p.m.
February 21st: First Baptist Church of Birmingham
February 28th: First Baptist Church of Trussville

The Supremacy of God in Preaching

"All genuine preaching is rooted in a feeling of desperation. You wake up early Sunday morning and you can smell the smoke of hell on one side and feel the crisp breezes of heaven on the other. You go to your study and look down at your pitiful manuscript, and you kneel down and cry, "God, this is so weak! Who do I think I am? What audacity to think that in three hours my words will be the odor of death to death and the fragrance of life to life (2 Cor. 2:16). My God, who is sufficient for these things?" - John Piper, "The Supremacy of God in Preaching"

Ya, not much to smile about in Coney Island, where the snow comes at you sideways when it's around 5 degrees outside and the wind is blowing off the ocean. My time in New York was amazing, very cold, but amazing. The first couple of days were spent helping my friend Landon prep for a mission trip up there in April. I also got the chance to hang out with some folks from Brooklyn Tabernacle, sharing the vision of my ministry and what God has called me to do, to preach the amazing and overwhelming reality of God and His glory. The last day was spent playing in Manhattan and on top of Rockefeller center where I thought we would literally freeze to death. All in all my love for New York City is still alive and well and hope that God continues to open doors for me to go back there and preach. Next stop is Virginia for a d-now I am speaking at and you can begin to pray that God's word will be spoken with humbleness and clarity. God is at work, and I am having a blast just sitting on the front row, watching Him do His thing!

JP

''to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved". - Eph. 1:6

Back to NYC - (where Sox fans are questioned by the NYPD)

Sometimes the loudest response to the greatness of God is absolute silence. So it was this past week for me at the Passion conference in Atlanta. I never knew it could be so frustrating trying to tell someone what it was like. I guess all that someone can say is that it had nothing to do with a conference or the people there, but it had everything to do with the fact that God was there, and is always present every day of our lives. Maybe someday we can all treat that truth as an honest fact and not just something we take for granted. Lord knows I take it for granted. So, I now head for New York City, where it should be a bit colder and hardly anyone cares about College football. Either way, NYC is one of my favorite places to go in all the world. I will be up in NYC for 3 days helping prep a mission trip in March, and hopefully meeting some folks at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Please continue to pray for me that I would continue to be on my knees before God, humbled, and willing to go where He sends me. I have been very thankful to hear of the people who are reading these blogs and praying for me. I am continuing to see God open doors for me to go speak all over the U.S. and I'm very excited to see where He takes me throughout 2007. Thanks again!

For His Namesake,
John

P.S. - Please pray for me as I fly tomorrow on the big school bus with wings - Southwest Air.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you". - Psalm 32:8

All I can say right now about Him.