Hello, Crossroads Family !
These have been full days for me, as I’m sure they have been for you. Several of us enjoyed a good time at Immerse last night, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible this Sunday morning for worship, fellowship, and a message from God’s Word. As a part of our sermon series on “Real Life Christianity,” we’re going to consider what God says in the Bible about our physical bodies. I’ll be following an outline I’ve borrowed from a book I’m reading on the subject :
- The created body.
- The gendered body.
- The particular (i.e., individual) body.
- The sexual body.
- The sick and healing body.
- The dead body (i.e., the future of our bodies).
This will take us up to Easter when we’ll celebrate the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus !
We may be surprised to discover how much God has to say about these bodies of ours. They are an important part of who we are ! It’s not that the “real” you is living inside a body you should hope to be free of some day ; your body is a part of the “real” you ! Understanding God’s design and plan for the body will help us understand ourselves !
Conversation at Immerse last night ranged from birthday cakes, to the challenge of waiting on God, to the timing of shoveling snow, to thankfulness. Some shared how the psalms help them develop an attitude of thankfulness each morning : “This is the day that the Lord has made ; I will rejoice and be glad in it” (from Psalm 118). I’ve personally taken to praying from Psalm 40 in the morning : “I delight to do Your will.” I had a conversation with two of you at Immerse about our shared love of popcorn. I proceeded to go home and pop a bowl for myself. However, as has happened more than once in the past, I forgot to put the lid on my oil-popped popcorn popper and discovered a few minutes later that I had popcorn and grease all over my kitchen ! A little late-night clean-up to add to my busy day.
At Immerse last night the desire was expressed to have a deep relationship with God. I made a mental note of that and was led to give thanks that this desire is present among so many at Crossroads. Not only is the desire present, but I see many of you actually experiencing a deep relationship with God. That’s an inspiration and help to me ! There are certainly struggles in our church, but if we will walk in God’s ways (which most of the time are different from the world’s ways, and different from our own faulty ways of thinking), we will persevere and ultimately prosper. (Psalm 1 tells us this.)
As for perseverance, yesterday was an anniversary day for our family — thirteen years since we took Diana up to the gates of heaven. I also learned yesterday evening of the homegoing yesterday of a dear family friend. Memories came to mind of fun times with these friends, trips to Macon, Missouri, where Millie lived, and there was the reminder of how fleeting life is — how close we all are to being with the Lord.
Our time is likely shorter than we realize. Let’s run with more endurance than ever before — with wisdom and with humility ! God has wisely and kindly laid out a course for us ! In the end, He will bring us through all the storms and challenges of life.
The reading assignment for Immerse next Wednesday is the entire book of Song of Solomon, and Psalms 73-78. (This is pp 78-87 and 181-194 in the Immerse Bible.) This is not a difficult reading assignment, so I hope you’ll work on the assignment and join us next Wednesday night even if you’ve missed some in these first few weeks.
Reminders
- Women’s Breakfast & Bible Study this Saturday morning at 8:00.
- Worship this Sunday morning at 10:00. There will soon be some work happening on the sidewalk and construction of a ramp outside the door to our meeting room. Please be prepared and be careful when that work begins.
- Easter cantata practice this Sunday following the worship service.
- Thanks to everyone who contributed support money to Nevada Birthright through the Baby Bottle Boomerang program.
- Our Bible Quiz Night will take place Saturday, March 28. Please note that we have a new start time — 6 pm. The location will be First Baptist Church, Nevada. Looking forward to it !
- Prayers for Colin, our missionary in France, who will be getting married in May. Also for Konner and Jaci’s wedding this coming May 2. Prayers for Julie Forkner’s dad, LJ ; for Angi (healing, strength) ; for Kiercy (important work assignment next week) ; Erlinda (tests and God’s healing) ; for our future church home.
May God give endurance and encouragement today !
Tom
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