Author: Pastor Jesse Moss | Duluth

January 13, 2020 Pastor Jesse Moss | Duluth

Along with the end of 2019, we also recently ended two different series that we’ve been in for quite some time. In 2019 we took one Wednesday a month to take a look at the issue of creationism and evolution. We watched a video series titled Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis. Each month we covered a different topic in the debate between the Bible-believing creationist and the typical secular scientist. We dug into questions like- “What really happened to the dinosaurs?” and “Did we ever experience an ice age.”

These are real questions that people have. For most of us if we are left trusting what we have heard from culture and our time spent in any formal education we would be led to believe that modern-day science is incompatible with the narrative of scripture. The problem is the evidence is not so stacked against the miracle of God’s creation as we might assume. Throughout the year it’s been made clear there is tons of evidence supporting the Bible’s explanation for the world’s creation. There are also reasonable explanations for why the world around us looks how it does. It has been a good reminder that all of us should consider why we are believing what we believe.

Pastor Justin also just finished up his series going through the Gospel of John. We have spent well over a year in this series so it was a bittersweet thing to finish it up. Through this series, we have been given the opportunity to be more fully introduced to who Jesus is, the incredible love of God, the plans that He has for us, our desperate need for Christ, and the realities of what a life spent in pursuit of Him and His mission will entail.

New Year’s Happenings

We went int 2020 with a New Year’s Eve party. We spent the night eating playing games, eating, a little more games, and then a little more eating. It was a great night of fellowship and also a good opportunity to invite some friends from the community. We also had the chance to watch a video reminding us of all that God has done throughout the last year, what he has let us be a part of, and the family that we get to do it all together with. Also, we got to remember that one time when James crashed his bicycle.

After our New Year’s Eve festivities, we gathered back together on New Year’s Day for a mission’s breakfast at Big Apple Bagels. We took some time to enjoy a meal together and talk about where God has taken us in the mission field this year. It was a great time hearing stories of recent trips. We ended our breakfast being reminded that God has placed each of us in the mission field and that all of us have a role to play.

Looking Forward

Street Level is in the midst of making plans for the upcoming spring semester both in Superior and in Duluth. Please keep Street Level in prayer as we schedule, plan, and seek God for His direction in our outreach to the local college campuses. The start of the semester is always an exciting time for us. We are looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for Street Level in the Twin Ports.

December 13, 2019 Pastor Jesse Moss | Duluth

At the end of the year, it is always interesting to look back and see just how far God has brought us in the past 12 months. It is good to pause and look at all that He has allowed us to be a part of. Following Christ is quite the journey. Knowing that we still have far to go and many trials to traverse is a daunting thing. It can seem overwhelming and you can lose sight of any progress if you don’t look back at where God has taken you.


The Bible compares the life of a Christian to a race. It is a race that is full of great feats of achievement and glorious moments of success for God’s kingdom, but also obstacles, unexpected curves, and crashes on the path. The 2019 leg of this race was no exception. It was full of activity. It was an exciting year of ministry. A quick look back at the calendar shows that JFB Duluth took part in four different mission trips. We had several outreaches in the twin ports community. We hosted two rummage sales, a concert, and had nearly a hundred church services. There were countless hours of service together. We have brought on more staff. We have begun to pursue new ministry opportunities on another college campus and also to home-school kids.

Ups and Downs

It has been busy and fast-paced. It isn’t hard to understand why God would compare this to a race. We have had great celebrations like when we joined JFB Menomonie in thanking God for allowing 30 years of ministry. We have laughed and had a lot of fun. It has been a great joy. We have worked hard. There really has been blood sweat and tears. The unfortunate truth is this race has had its fair share of injuries and setbacks. There have even been casualties along the way. It hasn’t been an easy race, but it has been a worthwhile one.


“Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps
moving but does not make any progress.”
― Alfred Montapert

One of the largest racing events in the US is the Daytona 500. Where fifty cars race around the track at speeds upwards of 200 mph. The top concern is speed, motion, and activity. They want to move. So much so that the average pit stop taken to replace four tires takes less than three seconds. Meaning in the time it took you to read that sentence a car would be jacked up, had all tires removed and the replaced.


Like these drivers, we want to make sure that we are always moving. We want to ensure that we are always growing. But there is one big difference. The drivers are concerned with speed. They race around the track, but in the end, they get nowhere. They end back where they started. There is great motion, great activity, insane speed, but there is no progress. For the Christian, we must never be satisfied with motion and activity that doesn’t lead anywhere. What happened in 2019 was not intended to keep us busy. It was intended to take us somewhere.


Where Does the Race Lead?

In short, we are headed closer and closer to God. We are headed for spiritual maturity and greater holiness. Take a look back at 2019. No doubt you were busy. I hope you joined us in this race, but be sure to ask yourself where did it take you. Did all the activity leave you running in circles around the same spot all year? Or has it led you to press on? I’m not asking if you have reached the finish line, I am asking if you can recognize progress. Don’t allow yourself to be swept up by constant activity, staying busy, always moving but never actually getting closer to God. Let’s do as Hebrews 12 tells us and run the race that God has before us with endurance.

November 11, 2019 Pastor Jesse Moss | Duluth

On August 20, 2019 a man was found on the side of the road frantically stuffing medical gauze into a baseball sized hole in his tire. After filling the hole with gauze, the man then proceeded to put bandaid after bandaid over that same baseball sized hole intending to keep air inside of the tire…I’m sure you will be surprised to read that it didn’t work. If only the complicated problems in our life could be fixed by bandaids, duct tape, and tie wire. 

We Are in Need of Repair

The path God has you on will undoubtedly be filled with countless obstacles and struggles to overcome. We are a broken people and that brokenness is far more severe than a flat tire. Our broken state is one that is in desperate need of repair. The temptation is always there to attempt to fix this problem with a half hearted lazy approach. We’d like to just patch up our lives, put a bandaid on it and call it good enough. The problem is our brokenness will never be bound up in that way. Despite what we have heard and would desire to believe, some things require more attention and strength than a little duct tape. 

Demolition 

The human state is a gross thing. Our hearts are full of all kinds of rot and decay, and oftentimes in some state of disrepair. I have done a lot of remodeling where homes are also suffering from rot and decay. They have compromised integrity and are in desperate need of repair. Now, many homeowners would like it if those issues could simply be covered up, painted over and ignored. They desire beautiful, new, and improved homes, with fresh paint and all of the blemishes hidden but they desire it to be done while ignoring some of the most serious of problems. Or if they do decide to not ignore the problem, they are often not totally eliminated but are simply mitigated. 

We know that the Christian life is one of continued sanctification, pursuit of greater holiness and Godliness day by day. We’re quick to say that we want spiritual growth and maturity, we just want it to be easy. We want the new and abundant life that Christ offers and we want it cost free. Many of us would say that our lives are in need of remodeling and repair spiritually speaking, but what we really mean is that we want it remodeled without disturbing or changing anything. That would be great. Do it without any demolition. Fix it up and make it better just don’t tear out any weak or rotten areas. We like those areas. They are important to us. 

No Easy Way Out

God does not work that way. He requires that things are dealt with completely. The weak areas and sins in our lives do not get to be ignored or covered up, they are to be removed altogether, once and for all. We don’t like this. It will necessitate the pain and discomfort of God ripping away some of what we hold most dear. I don’t really like pain. Nor do I enjoy discomfort. I don’t like distress, hardships or unease. If given the chance I would avoid those things. If given the opportunity I would rather allow those weaknesses to remain. I would rather just put a bandaid on, cover it up and pretend it is okay, even when I know that the attempt of patching myself up will never suffice. 

The Bible talks about taking care of the heart. It also discuss dealing things at the root level. The Bible speaks of a spiritual root that bears bitterness. (Deuteronomy 19:18)  Jeremiah was told to “root out” sin (Jeremiah 1:10, and the prophet Malachi shows God dealing with the root of transgressions in the lives of His people. (Malachi 4:1) As people we would prefer to deal with the symptoms of our problems, but the problem with that is, like the stubborn weed in your garden, if we do not dig to the root it will return. 

It’s a Problem with the Heart

There is a reason that God is so greatly concerned with people’s hearts. It is from the overflow of the heart that we speak and act. What is inside of us dictates how we live, what decisions we make. Dealing with a problem by throwing a bandaid on it may make things appear to look better on the outside, but on the inside things remain as broken and twisted as ever before. 

For example, you may find that you are bitter towards someone in the church. This leads to disunity, anger, and awkwardness when around that person. An attempt to patch things up may be to simply distance yourself from that person. This may temporarily relieve some of the symptoms on the outside. It may appear as though you are: getting along, being of one mind, on mission together, and caring for each other. But it will be a short lived sham. The heart of the problem has not been addressed.

God is greatly concerned with the heart. He cares about what is really going on beneath the surface. He has no desire for us to simply try to cover up the problem areas in our lives in order to look as if we are whole and complete.

Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Not the Easy Path

Dealing with things God’s way is harder. It means not always going for the simple fix.  Although it will without question be more difficult, it is the only thing that is ultimately going to work. Don’t try to hide your brokenness. Let God expose all of it. Then let him rip it from your life and replace it with new strengthened materials. Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Your old dead heart cannot be fixed by some duct tape. It must be fully removed. It is only when it is fully removed that God can replace it with a new heart leading to life. 

October 13, 2019 Pastor Jesse Moss | Duluth

In all that we do as a church we seek to be obedient to the directives of scripture and fulfill what God has for us. All while being dependent upon His lead, empowerment, and grace. At the end of His time on Earth, Jesus gave His followers, and in turn us, a mission. He directs us to go out and declare His truth, to teach all that he taught. He tells us to make followers of Him. This is a steep order.

It is not something that we can do alone. We need each other. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. Nor is it something that can be done simply by gathering together for a weekly meeting. It is going to take far more than that. It is going to take commitment, striving, and investment.

Stayin Home

To do this we are going to have to do a lot of work internally. We will have to spend time together, growing in unity. All of us have to become individuals who can operate as a team. We are going to have to teach each other and learn from each other. This happens Sundays, Wednesdays, when we come together in fellowship, when we invite each other to interfere in our lives. One way we intentionally do this is with all church workdays.

The last work day we made some improvements to the sanctuary doors, making them more inviting, better protected against the weather, and more energy efficient.

Team of sanders preparing trim for the sanctuary doors. Truly many hands do make light work.
Putting new windows in doors to allow light and visibility
Stamping thousands of logos and websites onto outreach materials

Workdays go far beyond getting a few projects done around the church. They are a tool of discipleship. I have always loved church workdays, because what we physically see happening is a representation of what we intend to be happening spiritually. We come together and make improvements on the church. We chip off the weak areas, replacing the rot and decay with new stronger materials. We improve the “character” of the building. We spend time getting materials ready to be used in ministry. The church building and physical assets becomes more equipped and ready for ministry.

Meanwhile more importantly the church body (the people) are doing the same. We work, sweat, and sometimes even bleed together. We laugh, correct, and teach each other. We get to know each other better. We become more united. God never fails to use these days to achieve His purpose in our lives so that when the day is over it isn’t just the church building that is more equipped for ministry, but also its members.

Projects Are Not the Point

We appreciate your help in pitching in with projects. Undoubtedly there will always be physical and practical needs. But they are never meant to be the focus. It never fails that at the end of a workday a final group stays well beyond when the work has stopped. We sit together and look at the new improvements, what we got done and appreciate the work God has allowed us to do, but more importantly the people that He has called us to do it with.

Let’s continue to invest inwardly, growing in unity and strength, becoming more prepared, refining our character. It is only when we do so that our efforts in reaching out will be found fruitful.

Reaching Out

This time of year is always a busy one for getting out in the community. If we are to make disciples, we need to go beyond our walls and find the would-be disciples of Christ and get to know them. We have two main avenues through which we do this: our college ministry (Street Level) and our Community Group

Street Level is still in the start of a new year and we have continued with coffee giveaways, campus tables, and hitting the halls with fliers for our Bible Study. Likewise, the community group has been getting out to local parks giving away ice cream and meeting new people.

Coffee Outreach at UW-Superior
Community group giving away root beer floats

One new door of outreach that God has opened has been at some local high schools. We have gotten to know some students and staff who are part of a high school Christian organization.  This past week we got to go to a regional event to talk with a high school student about authentic faith and making their lives count for Christ and His kingdom. Please pray that these relationships would grow and God would reveal how we can play a part and be a blessing to the work that He is doing in these students.

Speaking at a local high school football field

God has given us a mission and it isn’t an easy one. All that we have as individuals will not be enough, we need each other. Even all that we have together won’t be enough. We need God’s lead, and His Holy Spirit. Which is good, because I don’t want to do this alone.  All together we can do this. Let us “go forth and make disciples teaching them to obey knowing that Jesus is with us always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

September 14, 2019 Pastor Jesse Moss | Duluth

When walking on a college campus you are met with a barrage of advertisements. They try to get you to attend an event, join some club, or to make a moral stand. There are tables upon tables of people giving out information. There is poster after poster, all of which would lead you to believe that the message on it is more important than the hundreds of other posters surrounding it. With so many groups vying for attention what are we to do? How can we make sure that our message is also being heard? What can we do to stand out? The message of the truth of Jesus is important, it is real, and it matters; far more than the knitting club or the BBQ club and yet it seems that sometimes nothing we do will get the attention that we might desire. 

Shouting Above the Noise

We have never hidden the fact that as a church we seek to invest in our local campuses. We want to reach students with the truth of God. If we can reach students now, at the start of this year, the start of their college career, the start of their adult life, there is no telling what incredible things God will do both in and through these individuals. There is no doubt that the potential is great. These students are going to find community, invest their time, energy, and resources, and pursue dreams. The question is where? Will what they seek be found only in the temporal activities that the university and culture around them has to offer? Or will they find real community, invest deeply, and pursue fulfillment in the kingdom of God?  What can a little group like ours do to encourage the latter? 

So far we have set up tables at three different college campuses, given away coffee and Street Level information to as many as possible. We have attended student org fairs and welcome week activities. We released the newest issue of Word on the Street Magazine. We had our first weekly meeting as well as hosted a well-attended canoe trip. We have had bonfires where we gave away hot chocolate and apple cider. The start of the semester has been a busy one. It’s been a lot of fun. And many of these things were good. Many we will continue to do in the future, as well as continually seeking new ways to meet and talk with students. They are all important and we should seek to do them with excellence. But none of them are the answer. 

What is the Answer?

Last Monday we had our first Bible Study of the semester. At it we talked about how we cannot rely on our past experiences with God, we cannot assume that because something worked once it will again. Instead God desires us to continually seek and know Him. And that is what I want for Street Level this semester. I want us to be a people that are marked with the presence of God. I’d like to strive to be a group that is close to God, that knows Him, and that desires Him above outward success, attendance, and notoriety. If that is true of us, I have no doubt that God will do a great work both in us and through us.

Things to Pray for Street Level Twin Ports

  • -Weekly dinner and BIble study at UW-Superior on Monday nights
  • -Coffee Giveaways and other student outreaches
  • -New weekly Bible studies at Perk Place coffeehouse for Duluth campuses on Tuesday nights 
July 10, 2019 Pastor Jesse Moss | Duluth

I’ve always been intrigued by sailboats. I think that they are brilliant inventions. They directly take an energy source that can be attributed to nothing other than the power of God in order to move across the sea to reach desired destinations. The fastest sailboat ever recorded went as quick as 65.45 knots. (That’s over 75 mph for those of us who desire to stay on solid and dry ground.) It seems intuitive that sailboats can travel with the wind at their backs, but a skilled captain can harness wind blowing in any direction in order to get wherever they need to go. It is only when there is a lack of any wind that a sailboat will become unable to move. 

One of the most impressive built with the most advanced engineering in the industry is the “Black Pearl” (not from the movie). It is 350 feet long and complete with three masts each over 200 feet tall. The ship has the ability to travel across the globe using energy solely harnessed by the wind. It is an impressive invention. Yet none of its advanced technology and no amount of skill found in its captain causes the sails to fill and propel the ship with no wind. There is little that we can do to cause the wind to blow, but we can set the sail. When winds do come, there must be a ship in the water, that can withstand the waves, a captain with enough skill to pilot the ship, and sails that are set and raised in order to catch the wind. Otherwise, winds will come and the opportunity for movement will be lost. 

We Want to Move… Even when there is no wind

If you’re taking the time to read this article I assume that you want to see God do great work. I would assume that you want to see and experience God moving in big ways. That is a good thing. As Christians, we know that God has things that He is accomplishing. He is at work in us, causing our sanctification, growth, Christ-likeness. He is doing work all around us, accomplishing great things and bringing glory to His name. And yet if we are honest, sometimes we want to see God do more. We want to see him move and it may seem to us as if He isn’t. We desire faster growth, deeper maturity, we want to become more like Christ, and we want it now. There is a desire to move. And sometimes it seems like there is no movement, no progress, as though there is no wind moving us forward. 

Pray for Wind

You can try as hard as you like, but you will never create real wind that leads to progressive movement on your own. Likewise, we cannot force ourselves to grow, we cannot force God to accomplish something according to our wishes. Maybe you have a coworker that you desperately desire to be saved. You cannot make that work happen. Maybe you’re looking for restoration in your family, again nothing you can do will fix the issue with finality. Of course, there are steps to take, and things to do that will be beneficial. Some things you do may even appear to fix problems temporarily, but in the end, we are entirely dependent upon the grace of God. 

A passage from “The Sailors Prayer Book” 1852 reads, “Surely God Almighty, ever-present, is alone fit for a sailor’s refuge. We may by care and skill be able to trim our ship, to steer our course, or to keep our reckoning; but we cannot control the winds, or subdue deceitful currents, or prevent disasters.” God is going to do what He is going to do. We must realize that. Then pray earnestly that he would cause the wind to blow to accomplish His work that we desire.

Raise Your Sails

We cannot create wind, but we can and must be faithful to set our sails. Sometimes we will wait for a long time to see the movement and work of God that we desire. Although there is nothing we can do to force God to work in a way and time frame that matches our own plans we better do all that we can to be prepared.

Are you remaining humble? Do you stay where you know God wants you? Then when He sends the wind to push you forward you’re there to catch it? Are you learning what you can so that when it comes time to captain your life you have the skills and knowledge to know whether to turn to the right or to the left? Remember that coworker that you desire to come to faith in Jesus? You cannot force them to be interested in Christ. But it’d be a shame if the day comes where they have a question about God and you are ill-prepared. 

2 Peter 1:10. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling, election, if you practice these qualities you’ll never fall.

A Word of Warning

Just to be clear doing these things doesn’t mean that the wind will blow. You must live the entirety of your life absolutely and desperately dependant for God to come through. Live needing God to show himself strong, because the fact is we just will not be able to do it on our own. Even if we could is that the journey we want? A journey full of self-determination and your own strength sounds empty and lonely to me. Striving for righteous living is not a way to trick God into getting you where you want to be, but if the wind blows and the sail is not up There is no doubt that effectiveness may be lost. 

Reaching Our Destination

Years ago I got the chance to go sailing on Lake Superior. The large boat seemed to move effortlessly through the water, but eventually, we found ourselves drifting aimlessly. There was no wind to be found. No matter how high we raised the mast or which direction our experienced and skilled captain turned the sail we were getting nowhere. We could have brought the sail down and given up. If so we would have had to stay there until late December when we could trek back into Bayfield on the ice. But we didn’t instead we set the sail and waited for the wind to return bringing us where we needed to be. 

Let’s be sure that we do our part, let’s “have our sail set’ so that when God does the work that He will do we are ready. If we fail to do so, the wind will still blow. He will get His ship where He desires, but what will our part be? Will we be holding on for dear life as the ship is tipped over and pushed by the waves. Will we find ourselves screaming as we bounce off every rock possible on the way? Or maybe find that the voyage took far longer than necessary because we didn’t follow a straight path and instead went from port to port wasting valuable time.  

Or will we, having done our part, set our sails and our sight focused on the direction and destination God has for us. If we are prepared we will find joy in being able to participate in the work He does. God has his children on a grand adventure. Be diligent to set the sails and enjoy the trip.