Hello, Crossroads Family !
I hope to see many of you tonight at Immerse at 7:00 as we finish up our discussion of the kings and kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Everyone is invited ! You’ll find the discussion to be worthwhile whether you’ve completed this week’s reading or not.
There are, in the Bible, some psalms that give excellent summaries of the history of Israel we read about in other books of the Old Testament. One of those is Psalm 78, written by a man named Asaph, a prominent musician appointed by King David. In Psalm 78, Asaph writes an easy-to-understand summary of Israel’s history up to his day. One of the themes is a theme we’ve observed at Immerse this semester : No matter how good God was to the people of Israel, they continually did wrong and disobeyed Him ! (“They just don’t seem to learn,” is one way it was put in one of our discussion groups — which can, sadly, also describe ourselves at time !)
- “Yet they still continued to sin against Him, to rebel against the Most High …” (78:17).
- “In spite of all this they still sinned and did not believe in His wonderful works” (78:32).
- “Again and again they tempted God and pained the Holy One of Israel” (78:41).
- “Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep His testimonies” (78:56).
I think my favorite line in Psalm 78, however, is verse 65 : “Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep.” God, after allowing the Israelites to be drained of their strength and to receive punishment from their adversaries, seemed to “wake up” and make all things right again. A part of that was His choice of David to be His servant and the nation’s king.
Do you feel like you’re waiting for God to “wake up” in some area of your life ? Of course, God never sleeps nor even grows weary ; but sometimes it may seem to us like He’s asleep !
At a point in the history of Israel, Asaph says God woke up and undertook much-needed action ! Will God do that in our lives ? Yes, I believe He has and will again. And, if He will do that, can we patiently wait for His right moment ? Can we trust His timing ? And — just as God seemed one day to “wake up” — in what ways do we as a church also need to wake up ?
The final line of Psalm 78 is also a good one. Speaking of King David, it says, “He shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart and with his skillful hands (78:72).” I like these two qualities mentioned about David : (1) the integrity of his heart — a man of integrity ; and (2) skillful in what He did.
It is possible to do things in the church skillfully and with excellence. Sometimes a false humility (or, sometimes, spiritual laziness) causes us to think it’s acceptable in church to offer to God what’s less than our absolute best, or to cut corners (i.e., to miss David’s standard of integrity). Sometimes there may also be a thought that ordinary churchgoers can never really be skilled in ministry — in outreach, children’s ministry, music, teaching, discipleship, or prayer. Actually, I think we can grow in the excellence of what we offer to God, and experience the joy of doing our very best for Him on a regular basis. (I see this happening at Crossroads.) Our Evangelical Free Church Central District is offering several evenings of training and encouragement for church ministry leaders in May (see below). I hope someone from Crossroads will take advantage of one of these “workshops” and that we will all grow in integrity and skill in serving God … even as He “wakes up” and does something great among us !
Notes & Dates
Thank you !
Thanks to everyone who made Easter Sunday morning such a good time of worship and celebration ! I suppose it was the largest attendance we’ve had in my memory at Crossroads, and we were missing several regular attenders who were ill or out of town. May God show us how to welcome and include in our lives those who are new at Crossroads !
Helping Women in Pittsburg
Don’t forget to bring something this Sunday to help with the outreach Rachel DeWeese is organizing as part of a school project at Pitt State. The box at the back of the church is available for your donations of personal hygiene products for women and will be used by the Wesley House in Pittsburg. Thank you !
Calendar :
- Tonight : Immerse, 7:00-8:15.
- This Sunday, April 27 : Worship at 10:00. Come early if you would like to pray with a few others.
- Sunday, May 4 :
- 8-13 year-olds Bible class during the sermon
- Congregational meeting following the worship service. Everyone is welcome to attend.
- Thursday, May 15 : Men’s Recharge, 6:30-8:00. All men are invited.
- Friday, May 16 : Women’s “Bond Fire,” 6:30-8:30 in Jessica’s back yard at 320 N. Olive Street in Nevada. S’mores, snacks, and fellowship. Bring a lawn chair and a snack to share.
- Saturday, May 17 : Women’s Breakfast fellowship at 54 Cafe, 8 am.
*** Don’t forget that we’ll be serving food at Gospel Night during Bushwhacker Days on Thursday, June 12. More details coming.
Training for all interested ministry leaders
Our Central District EFC team is giving a series of one-night trainings for church ministry leaders throughout the district in May. This training is open to pastors, elders, and lay leaders such as children’s ministry leaders, women’s ministry, men’s ministry, music, and youth leaders. Here’s a description :
Every church leader plays a vital role in seeing their local church live out the Gospel in their community. Life-giving churches have leaders who live and serve with Gospel Clarity, Gospel Boldness, Gospel Compassion, and Gospel Humility. Join us as Mike Shields unpacks the question, “What does a life-giving leader look like in the local church?” Mike is our Central District Superintendent and will give an excellent training.
Would you like to be more of a life-giving leader in the church ? The Bible says of Jesus, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
The closest trainings for us are these :
- Monday, May 5, Siloam Springs.
- Tuesday, May 6, St Louis.
- Thursday, May 8, Jefferson City.
The evenings will last from 6:00-8:30 and will include light snacks.
If you’re interested in attending, you will need to register here. You may also contact Mark Farran at the Central District office : mfarran@efcacentral.org. Or you can call the office at 515-232-9005.
He shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hands (Psalm 78:72).
May God be at work in all of our lives this week !
— Tom
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