TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
January 31, 2019
www.nevadacrossroadschurch.org
Dear Crossroads Family,
I remember very well my family’s first night in Nevada. It had been a long day of packing, cleaning, driving, and unpacking again, with much help along the way from our church families in both Hermann and Nevada. The air-conditioner wasn’t working in our new house on Arch Street that night, and it was a hot July night. In my room, there was a mattress with a sheet on the floor, and that was all I needed to collapse after an exhausting day.
In the middle of that night (sometime during the early hours of Thursday morning), despite the noise of fans blowing around me and above me, I was awakened by the tremendous noise of the trash truck passing through the neighborhood stopping every few feet to empty, with its mechanical arm, the trash bins along the side of the street. It was a new sound to me – our home in Hermann had been in the country, and we drove our trash a half-mile or so to the dumpsters of the fishing “resort” across the road from our house. The sudden, surprising sound of that truck passing through was an unforgettable noise that marked our arrival to a new home and a new stage in our lives.
Now you may have a hard time believing this, but I don’t think I have missed an early Thursday morning passing of the trash truck in the nearly four years since that first night in Nevada! It’s normally around 3:30 a.m. – very noisy – but it’s my regular reminder that the Lord has faithfully brought me through another week. It’s a moment of time when I’m reminded again that God is faithful. I often offer a prayer of thanks to God and then (sometimes) go back to sleep.
Last night at Home Group we read some in the story of Job. Job lived through a long, hot, dark night of the soul, wondering if God took notice of him or his prayers. Some of the themes of Job’s speeches are these:
- disappointment in his friends
- disillusionment with God’s ways
- despair of life (and desire for death)
- desire for vindication
- … but also declarations of God’s greatness.
Have you experienced any (or maybe all) of the feelings Job experienced? At the end of Job’s story, God passed by in very noisy way and faithfully intervened in Job’s situation. Job is led to say, “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:1). Those are reassuring words for us! God’s purposes for you and me – and for our world – will not be thwarted. It’s great to know He has purposes, and it’s great to know He faithfully accomplishes what He purposes to do! Looking back over the past four years, I can see that has been true for me. I hope you’ll know it to be true for you too!
This Sunday
Worship at 10:00 at the Osage Prairie YMCA, 500 W. Highland Ave. I look forward to seeing you there! We will celebrate the Lord’s Supper (Communion) as part of our worship service.
Youth Bible Study on “Jesus Freaks” at 9:00 Sunday morning. All Middle School & High School students are welcome for a good time of encouragement and spiritual growth!
Other Reminders
Several of our women will be part of the Women’s Retreat in Branson this weekend, along with women from The Springs Church in Springfield. The theme is “Be Loved,” from 1 John 3:1. Let’s pray for God to bless this gathering of women with joy and love and renewal.
Men, we had a good time this past Monday night in study and fellowship! Let’s plan to meet again on Monday, February 18, 6:30 pm, at Precision Coffee for our next get-together. All men welcome!
How Important is a Sunday Worship Service to You?
I came across the following in an old book a friend gave me called Halley’s Bible Handbook. I think it was originally written in 1927, nearly 100 years ago!
Here’s what Halley said about Sunday worship:
“Nothing ever happens in any community as important to the life of the community as the regular Sunday worship services. Every community ought to love its churches and, at this appointed time, turn out, en masse, to honor HIM in whose name the church exists.”
Isn’t that a wonderful, bold statement? Here’s what he said about teaching young people (Sunday School) : “The Sunday School is by far the most valuable branch of Church work. It is a fearful mistake for the church to neglect the children of its community. What a glorious thing it is to be a good Sunday School teacher, and help shepherd the children!” Thanks to those who teach children and youth at Crossroads! We could use one or two more volunteer teachers or helpers who would like to be with the littlest kids at Crossroads one Sunday per month during the sermon time.
I hope you’re growing in your conviction that the coming together of the church family to worship the Lord on a regular basis is a much-needed part of each of our lives. I enjoy our Sunday mornings at Crossroads, and I think you do too. I’m always blessed when I meet there with the Lord and with you! I hope to see you this Sunday for good worship, fellowship, encouragement, and teaching.
A concluding remark by Henry Halley (the caps are his!) : “A regularly good Sunday morning church service is unquestionably THE VERY GREATEST BLESSING A COMMUNITY CAN HAVE. It is not possible to exaggerate its importance.”
— Tom
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