Tom’s Midweek Greeting May 9, 2019
TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
May 8, 2019
www.nevadacrossroadschurch.org
Hello Church Family!
I hope you’re having a good, even though wet, week so far! I’m thankful for each one of you, and I know you are being used by God in your home, at your place of work, in your school, and wherever He leads you!
Our Sunday mornings have been fun times recently! Thanks to everyone who stayed last Sunday for the “Walk the Walls” meeting with Joe Chenoweth. We made some significant progress and had more good discussion about ministry priorities and ministry teams at Crossroads.
Sunday Morning Team
I’m so thankful that communication, preparation, set-up and tear-down go so well these days on Sunday mornings at the Y. Some of you have committed to be part of that team, and others of you just pitch in by lending a helping hand each Sunday. Thank you! Thanks to Cris who is our Point Person for that team, and to Forrest who plays a major role in helping us all get ready for worship each Sunday.
Follow-Up Team
We have one new person joining the Follow-Up Team. Erlinda will join Stacey, Liz, and Dave on this team whose focus is connecting with newcomers to Crossroads and helping them plug in. This team is currently working on upgrading our Visitors Card, and they’re also making connections with people who visit at Crossroads. Thank you!
Worship Team
On Sunday, we defined more clearly the ministry of the Worship Team which is responsible for planning and leading worship each Sunday. This team will work closely with the Sunday Morning Team. Did you know we already have at least eight people who are involved in planning and leading worship for us at Crossroads each Sunday? An important task, and not an easy one. Let’s remember them in prayer, and especially Erin, Erlinda, and myself who lead worship on a rotating basis.
Children’s Church
Did you know there are nine people who commit some time each month to helping with Children’s Church during the sermon? Currently, I’m coordinating that team, but we’re looking for God’s person to step into that role. Would you pray for that person? Last Sunday we had ten children in Children’s Church! It’s fun to have kids at church, isn’t it?
Please pray for these teams and for our elders who are responsible for giving oversight. Thanks very much to Joe for leading us through this project. As God grows the church, we’ll be looking at more ministry gates and building more sections of the wall … just like the residents of Jerusalem did in Nehemiah’s day.
Next week on Thursday (May 16), I’ll have the opportunity to travel with Joe and his pastor, Mark McCune, to the St Louis area where Joe will present the “Walk the Walls” material to a group of Evangelical Free Church pastors and others there. Would you pray for us as we go and offer these helpful tools to those leaders. Thank you!
Please remember that our homework assignment these days is to…
- … pray at some point each day for the pastor and elders of Crossroads ;
- … take time at some point once during the week to pray a bit longer for the whole church. You may want to use the church directory, bulletin, or website to help you. Thank you!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Hannah, Natalie, and Ebony, each of whom will receive a degree this Sunday morning from Cottey College. We are so proud of you! And we’re so thankful for the impact the three of you have made on our lives! We look forward to staying in touch and to serving the Lord together in new ways. This verse comes to mind for the three of you:
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever!” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Calendar
Worship this Sunday, 10:00, at the YMCA. We’ll have a great time of worship and fellowship this Sunday! In our sermon, we’ll take a look at a story about a mother who lived in Old Testament times — “When Life Falls Apart,” from 2 Kings 4:1-7.
Youth Bible Study this Sunday, 9:00. This will be the last Sunday for high school & middle school Sunday morning Bible study. Come join the group! Thanks so much to Forrest for leading this group, and to Hannah and Cris who have been a support to the group!
Men’s Discipleship & Fellowship: Next Monday, May 13, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, at Precision Coffee. Our monthly get-together for mutual encouragement and a short Bible study. All men are welcome to come! Precision Coffee is located at 127 E. Cherry Street.
Marmaduke Madness for high school students – Tuesday, May 14, 6:03 pm, at Marmaduke Park. This is the end-of-the-school-year event the Young Life launch team has been preparing! Would you please be in prayer for this important and exciting event! And please spread the word to high school students you know! Talk to Donna if you need more information!
Church Night at the Griffons Game – Sunday, June 2, 7:00 pm, at Lyons Stadium. Admission is free! If you bring a Crossroads church bulletin from that morning, we’ll be eligible to win a $75 donation to our youth group. If you’re interested in going, let’s meet in the parking lot of the YMCA at 6:30 on June 2nd!
The Secret of Making the Best of Your Life
A former E-Free missionary colleague included the following in a recent newsletter of his. It’s from a book, John the Baptist by F.B. Meyer — good reminders as we seek to follow and serve the Lord!
Discover what you can do best – the one thing which you are called to do for others, and which probably no one else can do so well. Set yourself to do this! Remember that God made you what you are, and placed you. Dare to be yourself – a simple, humble, sincere follower of Jesus. Do not seek to imitate this or the other great speaker or leader. Be content to find out what God made you for; be that at its best. You will be a bad copy, but a unique original; for the Almighty always breaks the pattern from which He has made one vase. Above all, speak the truth as God has revealed it to you, distorting, exaggerating, omitting nothing; and long after you have passed away, those who remember you will gather at your grave and say, “He did no miracle; there was nothing sensational or phenomenal in his life-work; but he spoke true things about Jesus Christ which we have tested for ourselves and are undeniable. Indeed, they led us to believe in Him for ourselves!”
See you Sunday!
— Tom
Tom’s Midweek Greeting May 2, 2019
TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
May 2, 2019
Hello Crossroads Family!
These have been good days of prayer and worship and fellowship at Crossroads. It’s great to see our family growing and to enjoy some spring worship together. I look forward this Sunday to our worship and to the final message in our series from
1 Corinthians 16. We’ll complete the snapshot of the church which we began last Sunday:
- The church is a place of special service.
- The church is a place of special people.
- The church is a place for learning to grow strong.
- The church is a place of special ??? . (Come complete the picture this Sunday morning!)
There will be Bible study for young people (High School & Middle School) this Sunday morning at 9:00. Worship at 10:00.
Walk the Walls this Sunday
We’re building the walls and hanging the gates of ministry at Crossroads, just like Nehemiah and the residents of Jerusalem did 2500 years ago. Please plan to come for the next step in building, this Sunday right after the worship service. Your participation is so important and helpful! Joe Chenoweth will be with us, leading us through the process of solidifying ministry teams and identifying areas of ministry.
I’ve been reading in the Old Testament book of Joshua this week, and I’ve come to the part of the story where the Israelites have conquered most of the land and are dividing it up among their twelve tribes. The story consists of several chapters in the middle of the book that contain lots of details about boundary lines and geographical markers! Slow reading! Maybe you’ve had trouble getting through it yourself!
There are, however, some similarities between the Joshua story of settling the land and the Nehemiah story of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Here are three lessons from those Joshua chapters (Joshua 11-17) which I felt like were good ones for us at Crossroads:
- The boundaries of the land were clearly defined.
God defined clearly for Joshua and the Israelites the boundary lines of the land and of the tribes within the land. Similarly, it’s important that we define ministry at Crossroads. We should not assume that we all understand the goal of being a church together ; rather, we should define (or, better, allow God to define) what our mission is and how we hope to fulfill that mission. As your remember from our studies in 1 Corinthians on Sunday mornings, God is a God of order: “Let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner” (1 Cor 14:40). Let’s continue to define ministry.
- Certain individuals rose up to lead / serve.
The Joshua passages seem quite dry. If you have a hard time with maps, it doesn’t seem like a very interesting several chapters. However, if you notice closely, from time to time certain individuals are named who step forward for a special work. That happens too in Nehemiah. And it’s what we hope to happen at Crossroads as we walk the walls. Thanks to all who are engaging; thanks to those who make themselves willing to lead. We need everyone who loves Crossroads to be a special “someone” who steps forward in some way. From last Sunday’s sermon: “What is the best way I can serve in my church right now?”
- Some of the work was left undone!
Throughout the Joshua passages, you’ll notice that parts of the land here and there were left unconquered and unsettled. This inability (failure) to complete the work would come back to haunt the Israelites. Let’s not leave work unfinished at Crossroads! We’re laying a foundation we hope will be for a church that will impact Nevada for many years to come, beyond our own involvement. That’s hard work! It will pay off, however, to be thorough. A friend of mine uses these three words to describe his walk with, and service to, the Lord: Committed. Yielded. Determined.
Please pray with me that this Sunday after our worship service God will find us committed, yielded, and determined!
Young Life
Please be committed to praying for the Young Life outreach event, this coming May 14th, at 6:03 pm, at Marmaduke Park. “Marmaduke Madness” is an initial outreach to high school students in Nevada. Please pray for Donna, Erlinda, Heather, Natalie, and others who are helping plan for this. I praise God that Crossroads has been able to play a small part in a new outreach to young people in Nevada!
Personal
I received good health news this week! My iron levels are in the normal range and holding steady. I won’t need another iron infusion for at least a while and, if all continues to go well, I won’t have to see the stomach doctor again until November. I’ll have blood checked again in a couple months, but for the time being no infusions or scopes. Just lots of spinach and other iron-rich foods! Thank you for your prayers for me! It has been two years since all of this started.
Thank you for the many kind words of appreciation and affection on my birthday last Sunday. We have a bunch of birthdays at Crossroads in May: Dave Reedy (today), Donna Rodriguez, Lindsey Reedy, Kyle Dahmer, Julie Kemper, and Judy Austin! Wow! Happy birthday to all of you!
It was great to have Pastor Jerry Carlin and Donna Carlin worshiping with us last Sunday. Jerry just recently retired from 25 years of serving as the lead pastor at The Springs, our sister E-Free Church in Springfield. He and Donna have been a tremendous support to Diana and my family over the years. They pray for God’s work at Crossroads and are willing to help us in any way we need.
The music students at Nevada High School have had a successful year. Of the five vocal soloists I accompanied at State Music Contest in Columbia last week, two received gold medals, and three received silver medals. The Show Choirs earned 50 trophies this year, a record number! Over the course of the past two years, the choirs have earned 99 trophies!
May will be a busy month for me, so I would be grateful for your prayers.
- Spring choir concert at the high school next week.
- I’m scheduled to deliver the Senior Sermon (and the choirs will sing) on May 12.
- Choirs sing again at graduationon May 19.
- I’ll accompany Joe Chenoweth to a meeting of St Louis area E-Free pastors May 16 where Joe will share his Walk the Walls materials. Looking forward to being with Joe and his pastor, Mark McCune, from Cornerstone E-Free in Harrisonville.
- On May 18, I’ll participate in the Celebration of Life service for Bob Scheibe in Marysville, Kansas.
- On May 22, the kids and I will leave for South Carolina and the wedding of my oldest son Andrew.
In my family:
- Andrew and Molly are planning their wedding and also a move from Columbia, South Carolina, to Portland, Oregon.
- Annie is teaching piano and also playing the organ at her church (the second of the kids to learn to play the organ). She and her husband Mark are raising a beautiful little girl, Fiona.
- Betsy is working hard at her job in South Carolina and helping preparations for Andrew’s wedding.
- Billy ran a marathon last weekend in Arkansas. He and his wife Hannah are waiting for the Lord’s leading concerning medical school and a move.
- Emma and Jason are expecting baby boy # 4 this summer to go along with Hudson, Elliot, and William.
- Samuel was part of a powerful and beautiful choir concert at College of the Ozarks last Sunday. He’ll be back home in Nevada for about six weeks at the start of this summer.
- Esther continues her hard work at school and at Woods Supermarket. She needed a warm blanket when she got home the other night after doing carry-out in the terrible storms we had!
- Evan was named to the First Team All-Conference tennis team yesterday, as he won first place in his division at the Conference Tournament in Springfield.
I’m grateful for God’s faithfulness in our lives. I’m certain he has been faithful in yours as well. Life is full of ups and downs, but we have a solid rock who helps us through!
Some Helps from God’s Word
Here are some random Scripture passages that have been helpful to me this week:
— The phrase “put on” is used in several places in the New Testament:
- Put on the new self. Eph 4:24
- Put on the full armor of God. Eph 6:11
- Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Col 3:12
- Put on love. Col 3:14
— “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” Col 4:17
— “Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.” Psalm 105:3
— “Nevertheless, He looked upon their distress; … He made them objects of compassion.” Psalm 106:44,46
I look forward to being with you on Sunday!
— Tom
Tom’s Midweek Greeting April 18, 2019
TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
April 18, 2019
This is written of the Lord Jesus in Paul’s letter to the Philippians:
“Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:8-11).
What an amazing Savior! Obedient to the Father, even to the point of suffering separation from the Father while on the cross. Exalted, risen, and now reigning over the living and the dead. One day all the people who have ever lived will bow their knee before Him, recognizing him as the rightful Lord of all creation.
I look forward to celebrating with you this coming Sunday morning at the YMCA. Our morning will start with breakfast at 8:30, followed by plenty of time for fellowship. Then we’ll worship together at 10:00. As always, there will be Children’s Church and nursery care for the youngest ones during the sermon time, so feel free to invite someone who needs to connect with the good news of Easter. There will be no 9:00 Bible study for youth this Sunday morning.
Easter Sunday Morning at the Y
- Breakfast, 8:30
- Worship, 10:00
Someone has written: “Easter was when Hope, in person, surprised the whole world by coming forward from the future into the present.”
I like that thought. Hope is something that is future; but the resurrection of Jesus makes it real to us today. The Bible says the entire creation is groaning for release from death and decay. The resurrection of Jesus reminds us that that longing will definitely be fulfilled.
In the meantime, what happens when we die? Where does a person go when he/she dies? How can we be sure? What is a resurrected body like? We’ll consider some of those questions this Sunday as part of our worship. I hope you’ll be there!
Two More Notes…
Walking the Walls meeting with Joe Chenoweth – Sunday, May 5.
Please mark your calendar and plan to stay after worship on May 5 for an important meeting in Crossroads’ Walking the Walls project with Joe Chenoweth. We’re developing ministry teams and strengthening ministry at Crossroads, just as Nehemiah and the Jews did in Jerusalem when they rebuilt the walls and gates of that city.
An interesting article on church attendance in America.
I read this article today and thought you might find it as interesting … and as challenging … as I did. It’s from the Gallup organization and is called “U.S. Church Membership Down Sharply in Past Two Decades.” It gives a picture of the sharp decline in church membership and attendance in America in just the past 20 years. https://news.gallup.com/poll/248837/church-membership-down-sharply-past-two-decades.aspx
I’m so thankful we have a good, growing church to be part of! I look forward to seeing you Sunday!
–Tom
Tom’s Midweek Greeting April 11, 2019
TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
April 11, 2019
www.nevadacrossroadschurch.org
Hello Crossroads Family!
We’re going to have a wonderful time at worship this coming Sunday, Palm Sunday! High school and middle school Bible study at 9:00, followed by some time for fellowship, then worship at 10:00. I hope you’ll be there! We’ll take a look at the Palm Sunday story and what God was communicating to the various people involved on that exciting day so many years ago. What does it mean for us today?
Also, coming up:
Men’s Discipleship & Fellowship this coming Monday, April 15, 6:30 pm, at Precision Coffee, 127 E. Cherry Street, in Nevada.
Guys, this is a once-a-month chance to interact with other men in order to be sharpened spiritually and personally. I hope you’ll join us on Monday. We’ll finish by 8:00.
Easter Breakfast & Worship, April 21st
Do you have a desire to experience a meaningful Easter? Easter Sunday at Crossroads is going to be loaded with meaning, fellowship, and celebration. I hope you’ll be there…and bring a friend! Breakfast will be served at the Y starting at 8:30. Then worship will follow at 10:00. There will be no high school/middle school Bible study on Easter Sunday. We’ll have a hunt for Easter eggs after the worship service.
Walk the Walls – Sunday, May 5th, following worship
Everyone is invited to take the next step of walking the walls with Joe Chenoweth on Sunday, May 5th. Joe is coming down to meet with as many of us as he can immediately following the worship service for discussion, input, and planning next steps . We’re following Nehemiah’s example in strengthening the gates (ministries) at Crossroads and making a place for everyone to serve. “Let us arise and build!” was the cry of the people in Nehemiah’s day. So far we’re off to a good start re-building the gates at Crossroads with our Sunday Morning Team and our Follow-Up Team. How can we continue to fill out those teams and also consider other gates to be worked on? If Crossroads is your church home, I hope you’ll plan to join us on May 5th!
Seeing God at Work
God’s doing some good things at Crossroads these days, and in the process he is showing us more and more of himself.
Last night, several of us finished up our winter session of Wednesday night Home Group. After it was over I asked myself, “What was accomplished in Home Group this semester?” Here are some things that came to mind:
- Good, much-needed fellowship in the middle of the week. The Bible says not to forsake our assembling together, but to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25). One of the main reasons for church members to come together at any time is for encouragement. We received that on Wednesday nights this semester.
- Good food shared around the tables by people of all ages. Much of the food was provided by Donna and Cris – thank you! – but others contributed as well. What a blessing to have an evening in the middle of the week not to have to worry about food preparation!
- Connections made … between young people aging in range all the way from Middle School to college students and beyond; between adults and young people investigating matters of real importance for our lives.
- A study of Job was the focus of our adult group, and through it we saw God in new and stimulating ways.
A.W. Tozer said in his book The Knowledge of the Holy that the most important thing about us is what comes into our minds when we think about God. “Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘What comes into your mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man.” During the Job study, it seemed that in some respects we found it harder and harder to give a precise answer about how we perceive God. His nature seems to escape our comprehension. We start to grasp it, then we find there’s a “flip side” to what we were saying. What an amazing and wonderful God he is!
Earlier this week, as I was doing some personal Bible reading, I jotted down some of the characteristics of God I found in a couple of passages. Here’s the list I came up with:
Psalm 91
- refuge
- fortress
- trustworthy
- faithful
- shield
- bulwark
- dwelling place
Psalm 92
- faithful
- loving and kind
- great
- possessing deep thoughts
- dwells “on high”
- upright
- righteous
Deuteronomy 4
- a consuming fire
- jealous
- compassionate
How amazing he is! How good it is to belong to him, even if we fail to understand him fully! Job certainly found that to be true. God brought Job through his terrible trials, back out into the sunshine. I wonder what other trials Job faced later in his life?
Other Ways God is Working
- Please continue to pray for the development of a Young Life ministry in Nevada. Some important concrete steps are being taken this spring. The leadership team will need our prayer support, financial support, and even hands-on practical help. Talk to Donna about what’s going on with Young Life, a ministry that has reached thousands of young people in a life-impacting way.
- I am in conversation with a person who works for an organization that helps the YMCA in America lean into its Christian mission (putting the “C” back into YMCA, as he puts it). What his group is doing at YMCA’s all over America is very exciting, and there’s a possibility Crossroads could be a part of this project here in Nevada. I would especially appreciate your prayers as we seek God’s leading and opening of doors. I’m grateful Crossroads has been given such a good welcome by our Osage Prairie YMCA all these years.
- Several at Crossroads are undergoing physical trials or are in transition times in life. God works through these trials and times of decision too! Let’s pray for each other and remember to watch for God’s faithfulness and provision of all our needs!
- I have a busy several weeks coming up. Easter Sunday is always an important Sunday, as hearts are open and sensitive to the meaning of the day. Pray that the message would be clear, and that the worship service Erin and I have been planning would invite people to draw near to the risen Christ. I’ll be in Springfield in the afternoon and evening of April 23rd for part of a retreat for E-Free pastors in Missouri and Arkansas. I’ve been invited by the senior class at Nevada High School to give the “Senior Sermon” (what was called “Baccalaureate” back in my day) on May 12th. I will lead the Celebration of Life service for Bob Scheibe in Marysville, Kansas, on May 18th. Then our choirs will sing as part of graduation at NHS on May 19th. The following week the kids and I will take off for South Carolina for the wedding of my oldest son, Andrew, and Molly Lewis.
A blessing God taught Moses and Aaron to give to the people of Israel … and the words of a song we’re learning in our choirs at the high school:
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine on you, and be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance on you, and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
See you Sunday!
— Tom
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