TMG
Hello, Crossroads Family!
We have much for which to thank God, and much to pray about. I’m reminded of the offer of God in Psalm 81:10, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” How much more might our parents have done for us if we had only asked them for some extra help! This is even more true of our loving Father in heaven.
Please remember those requests mentioned Sunday.
Some Reminders
Worship this Sunday morning, 10:00
Thanks to all who made last Sunday a special time together. We had good worship and good fellowship. Thank you for reaching out to those who are new on Sundays at Crossroads. I’m looking forward to the rest of the summer and a great start to the fall! I hope you’re not growing weary of Exodus! There’s so much to learn and so much from that long-ago period of time that is applicable to our lives today. “Let my people go!” I have some other topical sermons I’m preparing to break up the long journey in Exodus. Thank you for praying for me!
Elders meeting this Sunday
Our elders will meet following worship this coming Sunday. Thank you for your prayers as we seek to provide good leadership.
Evening of Prayer, July 17, 7 pm
For those available, we’ll have an informal time of prayer on Wednesday evening, July 17, starting at 7:00. I’d love to have you join us! We’ll pray again on Wednesday, August 14, so mark your calendar. Thanks for sharing in these summertime evenings of communion with God and fellowship through prayer.
Baptisms, Sunday, July 21
On July 21, we’ll meet for worship at 10:00 as usual at our Highland Avenue location. At the conclusion of worship, everyone is invited to the Vestals’ home, 16682 S. 1413 Road, on the west side of Nevada, for a baptismal service. Instructions will be given concerning parking at the Vestals’. Three are being baptized: Kaleb Vestal, Adi Wilson, and my nephew Tanner Dean from the Kansas City area.
Dinner at Kamp Keirsey, July 21st
Thanks again to all who signed up to help with dinner at Kamp Keirsey. If you have any questions or need anything for your part of the meal, please let me know. (I’ll be checking this week with those who signed up to grill.) Dinner at the camp is at 6:00, and all are welcome to stay for chapel at 7:00 if you would like. For those who wish to travel together, meet at the church at 4 pm on the 21st.
Church Directory
Heather Hall has a copy of the new church directory available on the back table at the church. Please take a moment to make sure your information is correct before Heather makes the final version. Thank you !
What’s God Saying Through Sickness?
As I was reading through some of the Old Testament stories of David recently, I came again across Mephibosheth, the grandson of King Saul who, as a little boy, was dropped and, because of his fall, was left crippled in his feet. Later, as you know, David reaches out to Mephibosheth and gives him a permanent place at his table — meals every day at the king’s table!
There are so many people in the Bible who are either lame or ill! There must be a reason why God included so many!
- Mephibosheth: lame in his feet
- Job: boils from head to toe and left to scrape his sores with a piece of broken pottery
- Naaman: a man with leprosy (More people with leprosy show up, of course, in the gospels.)
- Isaac : grew steadily blind in his old age
- a man ill for 38 years who lived in an encampment of people in Jerusalem who were “sick, blind, lame, and withered” (John 5)
- a paralyzed man who was lowered down to Jesus through the roof of a home (Matthew 9)
- a man at the temple who had never been able to walk (Acts 3)
- Nebuchadnezzar had an illness some today call boanthropy (Daniel 4).
- Paul had what he called “a thorn in the flesh.”
- The father of a prominent man on the island of Malta was sick with a recurring fever and dysentery (Acts 28).
- Samson was blind (missing his eyes) at the end of his life.
- King Hezekiah had a severe illness (Isaiah 38).
- Peter ministered to a man named Aeneas who had been paralyzed for eight years (Acts 9).
- In the city of Lystra, Paul and Barnabas encountered a man lame from birth (Acts 14).
- An official from Capernaum went looking for Jesus because his son was sick (John 4).
- Dorcas and Lazarus were not only sick; they were dead.
That’s a lot of physical trauma. Physical illness is all around us (and within us) still today.
Paralysis in the Bible seems to speak to us of our own spiritual paralysis. Many haven’t walked with the Lord in any way for many years. Jesus would love to heal your spiritual paralysis. Other physical illnesses remind us of the heart sickness we carry about with us. The Bible says it’s the heart that is sick and deceived. Times of physical illness can be times when God is trying to reach our heart and bring inner healing. We’re forced to stop, be still, listen, and think about the core issues of life such as who we are, who He is, and where we’re going. Jesus healed the paralyzed man in Matthew 9, but first He forgave him of his sins. A heart cure was needed in addition to a bodily cure.
Physical illness teaches us to understand others who are ill and to be equipped to bless them. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in afflictions so that we will be able to comfort others with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
Many of the people in the list above received physical healing (though all eventually did die, including Lazarus and Dorcas a second time). I’ve been dealing with an iron deficiency problem for seven years, and probably for most of my life without knowing it. I wonder how it impacted me in ways I didn’t realize. Like Mephibosheth, God loves sick people! And, like Mephibosheth, anyone can have a place at God’s table, enjoy His provision and care no matter what the condition of their physical body. This happens through faith in Jesus Christ and a daily attachment to Him. “He brought me to his banqueting table; His banner over me is love” (Song of Solomon 2:4).
I’ll be looking forward to seeing you this Sunday, Lord willing!
— Tom
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