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
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