On May 29th, Mike preached a youth conference for the Western Ukrainian Evangelical Convention in Federal Way, Washington. There were about 170 in attendance, most between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. In Ukrainian churches, high schoolers and young singles are considered the “youth.”
Mike’s message was on 1 Peter 2, with emphasis on the value of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the precious stone, the living stone, the stone chosen by God. If we respond to Him in faith, Christ becomes our cornerstone—a firm foundation for us to stand on. “He who believes in Him will not be disappointed” (1 Pet. 2:6). But if we reject Christ, He becomes “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” (1 Pet. 2:8). Mike urged those listening to consider the question, “Which stone is Christ to you?”
For any lost students in attendance, the Gospel was clearly presented as Mike went through evidence for how we can know that Jesus is God’s chosen, living stone. Please pray that any students there who do not know Christ will think about what they heard and realize the importance of trusting Jesus for salvation.
Mike also encouraged those who were already believers to remember the surpassing value of Christ. He challenged them to stop chasing after and treasuring the worthless things of this world and, instead, to seek a deeper and stronger relationship with our precious Cornerstone, Jesus Christ. Pray that the Christian students would take this message to heart and daily live it out.
