TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
December 5, 2019
www.nevadacrossroadschurch.org
Hello, church family!
I was thinking about the cold gymnasium where we meet for worship on Sunday mornings when I read this by E.M. Bounds (1835-1913) on the subject of “Prayer and Desire.” He wrote the following:
The early Methodists had no heating apparatus in their churches. They declared that the flame in the pew and the fire in the pulpit must suffice to keep them warm. And we, of this hour, have need of a live coal from God’s altar and a consuming flame from heaven to glow in our hearts. God requires to be represented by a fiery church, or he is not in any proper sense represented at all. God himself is on fire, and his church, if it is to be like him, must also be at white heat. The Lord Jesus was the antithesis of nervous excitability,… yet the zeal of God’s house consumed him; and the world is still feeling the glow of his fierce, consuming flame.
Those are good thoughts, aren’t they? They motivate me to pray for our church and for the community of Christians in and around Nevada.
Bounds goes on to write about finding the real, burning desires of our heart which should ignite our prayers:
Desire precedes prayer, accompanies it, is followed by it. Desire goes before prayer, and by prayer, is intensified. Without desire, prayer is a meaningless mumble of words. Many things may be catalogued and much ground covered in prayer. But does desire compile the catalogue? Does desire map out the region to be covered? Desire is intense but narrow; it cannot spread itself over a wide area. It wants a few things and wants them badly. Desire single-shoots at its objective. There may be many things desired, but they are specifically and individually felt and expressed. David did not yearn for everything; nor did he allow his desires to spread out everywhere and hit nothing. His prayer was fashioned in this way: “One thing have I desired of the Lord: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).
Let’s look within and identify what are the real desires of our hearts. Then let’s single-shoot them to the Lord. Let’s let prayer and true spiritual desire warm up the atmosphere!
For myself, a great personal desire is a life and ministry of discipleship. How can I help present every person fully mature in Christ (as Paul put it in Colossians 1:29)? That’s my prayer for Crossroads Church too. Our purposes as church members are…
- … to grow as disciples,
- … and to reach a place of being able to make new disciples of the Lord.
Would you join me in praying for God to fire up our desires for Him, and to enable the expression of true, spiritual desire through authentic prayer?
Crossroads Connection
We had a great time last Sunday after worship, enjoying soup, fellowship, and a time of interaction and planning for ministry. Thanks to Kim who brought the delicious soup, and to others who added to the meal! Thanks to everyone who stayed for the fellowship and ministry planning time! Our hope is to make this a regular habit. We’ll do it again on Sunday, January 5th, following the worship service. Angi will organize the meal. The goal is a simple meal and time of connection; interaction and updates with the entire church family; time afterwards for ministry teams that need to meet! Mark your calendar for January 5th!
Other Dates:
Worship this Sunday, 10:00, at the Y, 500 W. Highland Ave.
We’ll enjoy worship and continue in our Advent sermon series, “Christmas Ornaments.” Specifically, this Sunday we’ll take a look at the angels who appear so frequently in the Christmas stories. What are angels? What do they do? What do we learn from these creatures God has made? How are our lives personally impacted today … by angels?
Home Group: Wednesday, December 11, 6:30-8:00, at the Rodriguez Home, *contact us for address*
Home Group is a time of connection for young and old. Activity and discussion for students; a short study and prayer for adults. Everyone is welcome!
Christmas Eve Service: Tuesday, December 24th, 6:30-7:30, at the Y.
Crossroads Connection: Sunday, January 5th, immediately following the Worship Service.
Thought for a Busy Season
For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
“In repentance and rest you will be saved; in quietness and trust is your strength.” Isaiah 30:15
See you Sunday!
–Tom
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