Hello, Crossroads Family!

I’m excited to continue our sermon series this Sunday on “Being People Who Make a Difference.”  I felt like we had a good time with that last Sunday and that the Lord spoke to us.  Would you please pray with me, however, that this would not just be a matter of tossing around “good ideas,” but that some or all of us would be moved by God to take practical steps toward building bridges to our community.  Here’s one possibility available this week:  Diane Ray is asking for help in the diner at the fairgrounds tomorrow (Thursday) from 9-11 am.  What an easy and fun way to serve our community and build a bridge of love to people there.

Here are other thoughts that bounce around in my mind:

• I continue to set water bottles out at the corner of my property!    One was taken yesterday.  What a joy to bless someone in this little way and to know that they experienced love.
• As I mentioned Sunday, I’m working with Barbara Long at Community Outreach in fielding emergency requests for help through the Vernon County Ministerial Alliance Emergency Fund.  I wonder how we could be more of a support Community Outreach — some of us or all of us?  Barb and her team really do a lot of the hard work that would normally come to the churches.
• I look forward to our Crossroads hot dog party!  Julie tells me this will probably happen in September.  Before then, however, we have a chance to bless and build bridges to high school students by serving them dinner at Kamp Keirsey on Sunday evening, July 20.  (More information below.)
• I’m curious as to how we could be good neighbors to “On My Own” and/or the Nathan Jones assisted living facility right across the street from where we meet for worship.
• I’ve often wondered if Crossroads would, or should, have a Vacation Bible School.  However, the idea of doing a one-time craft class for kids could be effective in terms of building bridges to people around us.  What would that look like, practically speaking?
• I’m thinking about our Advent and Christmas season — wondering who would like to help me envision some sort of outreach during that season beyond Christmas Eve.

Thanks for thinking and dreaming and praying!  Please pray for God to provide additional space for Crossroads!  This is a time of growth for us, both in spiritual depth and in numbers.  However, our physical location, as much as we like it, doesn’t allow for much more numerical growth.  What should be our next steps?  What is God leading us to do?

In addition to preaching on Sunday mornings about people in the book of Acts who made a difference (Stephen, Philip, Dorcas, and Ananias), a person in the Old Testament we can learn a lot from in this area is Nehemiah.  The book of Nehemiah is easy to read if you divide it into two parts:

• Chapters 1-7 :  The reconstruction of the walls (of Jerusalem).
• Chapters 8-13 :  The re-instruction of the people.

Some things we see Nehemiah doing that allowed him to be a person who made a difference are these:

1. Eleven times in this short book, Nehemiah is said to be engaged in prayer.
2. After he arrived in Jerusalem, he studied the situation.  In other words, he did his homework, keeping his vision and ideas to himself for awhile as he studied and developed a plan.
3. He combined prayer and action.  “We prayed and we set up a guard.” (Neh 4:9).
4. He personally made financial sacrifices to bless the rebuilding of Jerusalem.  (See 5:14-17).

In chapter 4 of Nehemiah, we read that God gave the people of Jerusalem “a mind to work” (4:6).  Let’s make that a prayer for ourselves.  We’re doing the heavy lifting of re-planting a church.  May God give us a mind to work!  Not easy, but we can do it!  

A church calendar is below.  

• Kourtnee Vestal will be home this weekend and will update us on her ministry with CentriKid this summer.  I’m looking forward to that!
• Jesse and Erica McCallister arrive back to the U.S. July 14.  Please keep them in your prayers.
• Colin Welch, our ReachGlobal missionary in Paris, has a recent newsletter out which we’ll post at the church.  He thanks God for new members that have been added to the Paris Team; for his recent engagement to Angie; for bridges being built with classmates in his French language class; and he asks prayer for his grandmother whose cancer has returned in an aggressive way.  This grandmother doesn’t give evidence of knowing Christ as her Savior.

Coming Up …

• This Sunday:  
• Worship at 10:00.  Children’s Church for ages 0-7 during the sermon.  
• Sign-ups will be available if you can help prepare food and/or serve dinner at Kamp Keirsey the following Sunday, July 20, at 6 pm.  Specifically, we need help in two areas:  (1) We need servers at the camp, and (2) we need a team to make Rice Krispie treats for about 75 high schoolers.  Sign up this Sunday, or let Julie Kemper know you’re interested in helping!  Thank you!
• Women’s Designs & Devotionals, 3 pm, at Jenny Rives’ home.

• Next week :
• Thursday, July 17:  Men’s Recharge at the church, 6:30-8:00 pm.  Come on out, men!  This is good fellowship and encouragement!
• Saturday, July 19:  Women’s breakfast & fellowship at 54 Cafe, 8 am, for all women interested.
• Sunday, July 20:
  • Worship at 10:00.  
  • 8-13 year-old Bible Class and Children’s Church during the sermon.
  • Elders meeting following worship.
  • Dinner at Kamp Keirsey, 6 pm, Amsterdam, MO.

• August:
• Sunday, August 10:  We’ve scheduled a meeting for Ministry Team Leaders for this Sunday, following the worship service, to discuss plans and expectations for the fall.  We would like anyone leading a team to plan to be at the meeting.  Bring some of your ministry team with you if you would like.  Thank you!
• Sunday, August 17:  I will lead a membership meeting on Sunday, August 17, following the worship service, for anyone interested in church membership.  Let me know if you’re interested in attending!
• Sunday, August 24:  We’ll have a carry-in dinner at the church following worship.  The McCallister family will be with us — a chance to get to know them and the bridges they’re building to people in Berlin.

I appreciate all of you !  The prayer vigil is over, but there’s no reason not to spend an hour in prayer this week or every week.  Many of the helps I gave two Sundays ago for spending an hour in prayer can be found here.  

Tom

Hello, Crossroads Family!

I’m so excited about this coming Sunday and the message I’m working on right now!  Would appreciate your continued prayers as I work the rest of this morning and into the afternoon.  I am humbled and grateful when I think that many of you likely prayed for your dear old pastor at some point during this week’s prayer vigil.  Thank you!  

What a special 24 hours we spent on Monday and Tuesday.  I’ve heard from many of you, as has Catherine, about what a special experience that was.  Thanks for sharing, and thanks for the pictures you sent of where and how you spent your hour of prayer!  I’ve posted those on the Crossroads Facebook page.  

If you participated in the prayer vigil and will be present in worship this Sunday, would you be willing to share a very short thought of what that day of prayer did for you, how God worked in you, or any other impressions from the prayer vigil?  I would love to carve out a few minutes Sunday for your thoughts or experiences.  Thank you!

We will worship around the Lord’s table this Sunday as well.  I look forward to it!  Thanks to Kim and Dave for the monthly organization of Communion, and thanks to those who serve us the meal!  Thanks to our worship team and children’s team who serve faithfully every week, as do many others!  Thanks to those who clean the church each week.

Calendar & Reminders

Thank you!

Thanks to all who contributed to a great picnic last Sunday!  Special thanks to Diane and Tommie, Bobbie and others who put everything together for us, from ordering the chicken to reserving the pavilion.  A good time together as a church family!  

Coming up in July :

• Women’s Designs & Devotionals at Jenny Rives’ home on Sunday, July 13, 3 pm.  Please sign up at the church or you may contact Erin Townsend or Jenny.

• Men’s Recharge at the church on Thursday, July 17, 6:30-8:00 pm.  Men, this is a good time of encouragement and re-focus on God.  Hope you’ll plan to be there!

• Women’s Breakfast & Fellowship at 54 Cafe on Saturday, July 19, 8 am.

• Next 8-13 year-olds Bible Class will be Sunday, July 20, during the sermon.

• Camp dinner served at Kamp Keirsey on Sunday evening, July 20.  We’ll be signing people up very soon for your assistance in cooking and/or serving.  Thanks for your willingness!

Some more needs for prayer :

• There are several who have been at Crossroads in past years who need our prayer support at this time :  Misha Dubenin (living in Ukraine / Poland) ; Liz Hunt (now Liz Schultz) at the passing of her stepmom last week ; Richard Roberts is beginning dialysis ; Phill Edwards is dealing with some physical challenges ; LJ and Judy Austin need prayer for the continued rebuilding of their lives following the tornado and the fire in their home.  If you know these friends, please pray for them and ask God for ways you might bless them.

• Let’s be sure to keep Kourtnee Vestal in our prayers as she works faithfully through the summer with CentriKid camp ministry in the Southeastern U.S.  The McCallister family, our missionaries in Berlin, should be back in the U.S. either this week or very soon.  They will speak at Crossroads on Sunday, August 24.  Our Missions Team is planning a carry-in meal for that Sunday.

• Let’s be in prayer for the families at Crossroads that are raising children.  They need our support and prayers … and practical blessings as well.  Let’s pray that God will add more families to our number.

• Let’s keep in prayer those who are planning to be married :  Dominick Goodwin and Kylee Vestal ; Konner Sisseck and Jaci Servos.  My daughter Betsy is pregnant, expecting her first child.  Thanks for your prayers for Betsy and Dan.

Israel :  Past, Present & Future

We finished up our June Home Group last Sunday night.  Thanks for such a good turnout despite the storms!  Thanks to KJ and Alexandra and kids for hosting us in your beautiful home!  I hope perhaps to re-offer this course on some Sunday afternoons this fall.  There is so much to take in on the subject of Israel’s place in the world, in God’s plans, and the problem of antisemitism.

Of the many Bible passages we read last Sunday night, I would suggest going back to focus on these:

• Jeremiah 30:1-7 speaks of a coming time called “the time of Jacob’s (or Israel’s) trouble.”  If you read through the first eight or nine chapters of Revelation, notice how often the word or the idea of “tribulation” is mentioned.  This unique time of distress is a coming time when God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth; and He will deal strongly with Israel in a final attempt to turn their heart back to Him.  We should remember that while some would consider Revelation an allegorical book, all the prophecies concerning the first coming of Jesus (“born of a virgin,” etc) were fulfilled literally; we should anticipate, then, that prophecies concerning His second coming will also have a literal fulfillment. 

• Daniel 9:24-27 gives a calendar of future events from Daniel’s day until the end-times.  Notice that in reference to the 70 “weeks” Gabriel speaks about in this passage, one “week” is missing.  This missing “week” is a 7-year period of time we discover again in the book of Revelation.  Jesus laid out a calendar similar to Daniel’s when He spoke on the end-times in Matthew 24.  The 70 weeks of Daniel 9 begin with a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.  We know when that decree was given : 444 BCE by the Persian king Artaxerxes.  So we can count forward from that date.

• Zechariah 12-13 tell us about the Jews finally turning to faith in the Messiah, Jesus, when He returns.  Jesus said this very thing to the Jews on the day we call Palm Sunday:  “I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'” (Matthew 23:39).  When the Jews turn to the Lord in faith will be the day of His coming with His kingdom.

• Joel 3:1-2 is a rather grave and overlooked warning about dividing up the land of Israel.

What a wonderful God we serve!  We know that all times and all events are in His hands.  He is also intimately acquainted with the circumstances of our own lives.  He cares about all people; He cares about you; and He cares about Crossroads Church!

Have a happy 4th of July, and I hope to see you this Sunday morning at 10 am!

— Tom