Posts by Ephraim Costilow
Middle School on Mission
This Saturday, 18 of us will leave the parking lot of KCC and head to Crandon, Wisconsin, for our middle school mission trip. We will be working inside two area reservations (the Potawatomi and the Chippewa), pouring the love of Jesus into the kids through various games and activities. Our middle schoolers will get a taste of what it is like to be ‘on mission’ for Jesus. They will spend an entire week not thinking of themselves, but rather serving How COVID has affected us
The Upside-Down Kingdom
How can anyone read the Sermon on the Mount and not be changed? The message Jesus gives in Matthew chapters 5-7 is a remarkable masterpiece. Jesus’ main point in his message in these chapters is to piece together what the OT scriptures had been saying all along. As he said, he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He came to bring it to life. Many times this message is hailed as revolutionary, and new. But if How COVID has affected us
Graduating with God
Graduation is more than a ceremony. It’s a milestone — a moment where the past meets the future and you stand on the edge of the unknown. Whether you’re finishing high school or stepping out of college, this moment comes with excitement, questions, and maybe even some fear. As Christian graduates, we have the incredible gift of not walking into the future alone. We walk with God. 1. Trust God with What’s Next You might not have all the answers. How COVID has affected us
Stepping Into The Light
It’s been a long winter, and I think I speak for most of you when I say WE ARE SICK OF IT! We are ready for it to leave for good. Unfortunately we all know it will be back again next year. Stay with me before you step into a dark and dismal depression; next winter may not be as bad, but It will be back nonetheless. Just like winter, we will experience various highs and lows along our spiritual walk How COVID has affected us
Using Your Gifts and Supporting the Next Gen
Most of us know the parable of the talents and that it teaches us to use our gifts for the kingdom and the glory of God (Matthew 25:14-30). You may also be familiar with the passages where Paul talks about the different spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit gives us and how we should use them wisely and use them to serve others (1 Corinthians 12 & Romans 12). I wanted to bring these passages to your mind ahead of something really fun How COVID has affected us
Why Snacks?
The Bible outlines the early church modeling deep community through shared meals. Time after time the table became a place where God was present with His people, and His people were present with each other. This is what we strive for each week during our Wednesday night youth group. On the surface a “snack time” doesn’t seem profound, but I believe we are impressing something deeper upon these youth. Each week they know they are going to have 15 mins to How COVID has affected us
Questions of Christmas
December has arrived, and that means the Christmas Season is upon us! If any of you are like me, you’ve been keeping your wife at bay until after Thanksgiving. If she had her way, it would be Christmas in our house all year long. There is something special about preserving the holiday for this specific time each year. We anticipate it. We plan for it. We don’t take it for granted. During the Christmas season, several characteristics of Christ readily shine How COVID has affected us
Using Your Gifts
I Peter 4:10-11 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” This verse along with many others such as Romans 12: 3-8, I Corinthians 12:7, and I Timothy 4:14, teaches us How COVID has affected us
D-GROUPS (Discipleship Groups)
This Sunday night we’re taking the youth ministry to the next level by kicking off D-Groups! D-Groups is a weekly discipleship group where our High Schoolers will be circling up and reading the scriptures aloud, then openly discussing what they’ve read. I will have pointed questions prepared to help steer them in the right direction, but I am so excited to see where God steers them through their conversation. This is not a night where they’re coming to hear an adult give a How COVID has affected us
Even the Smallest Person
One of my favorite movie phrases comes from The Lord of the Rings: “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” This resonates with me because Freya was born at less than 4 lbs, she has changed the future of myself, Molly, and many others as well. This is one of the many reasons I love God’s word. It’s filled with stories of ordinary people doing crazy things for God. God can use anybody. God can use YOU. How COVID has affected us