TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
June 27, 2019
www.nevadacrossroadschurch.org
Hello Church Family!
This Sunday we’ll continue our sermon series on “What Is God Like?” by taking a look at God’s love. Does God love us? How do we know? And what are the outcomes for our lives if we’re living in God’s love? Those are questions we’ll be trying to answer from 1 John 4 this Sunday morning. Come if you’re needing to be reminded of the great love of God! I like the quote of Victor Hugo (19th-century author of Les Miserables and other works) who said, “The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.”
One of the best books of the Bible that conveys the strength of God’s love is The Song of Solomon. Read through it some time. To see it as the love of a man (Solomon) for his bride is beautiful in and of itself; to view it through the prism of the Lord’s love for his people increases our understanding of how great is the love of God. In Song of Solomon 4:7, the bridegroom says to his bride, “You are altogether beautiful, my darling, and there is no blemish in you,” reminding us of the plan of the Lord Jesus to present to himself a Church that has no spot or wrinkle, but rather is holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:27). Song of Solomon chapter 2 gives us hints of the Lord’s return for his Bride: “Behold, he is coming, climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills!” (2:8). “My beloved responded and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along. For behold, the winter is past” (2:10).
I look forward to a great time together this Sunday at 10:00!
How to Have a Good Week
Our own Josh Hunt emailed me the following advice for having a good week. You might remember Point #1 as coming from last week’s sermon!
Five Steps to a Good Week:
- Have a little faith.
- Pray to God.
- Exercise.
- Have some fun.
- Spend time with family.
Great advice! Thanks, Josh!
Speaking of our young people at Crossroads, did you know that…
… Matthew is playing in the Nevada rec league championship baseball game tonight?
… Sabrina’s 14th birthday is today?
… Kyle, Chosen, and Evan all have their driver’s permit?
Others are involved in sports teams, Bible studies, and making important decisions for their lives. Let’s pray for the young people at Crossroads: Paizlei, Trigger, Grace, Kyle, Shalea, Matt, Grace, Josh, Hope, Vicky, Erika, Sabrina, Brinklee, Brylan, Lexxi, Adi, Asa, Esther, Evan, Chosen, Axton, and others!
Busyness: A Huge Hindrance to Evangelism
Later this summer I want to preach a short sermon series on personal evangelism. The greatest favor we can do for any human being is to introduce them to Jesus Christ! One of the things that hinders our telling others about the Good News of our Lord is that we’re so busy! At the end of this email, I’ve copied, with permission, an article by Dr. Larry Moyer, Founder and CEO of EvanTell, called “Busyness: A Hindrance to Evangelism.” I hope you’ll take time to read it. It’s not long, but I found it personally to be insightful and helpful. By the way, we have a great new gospel tract on the back table at church, also from EvanTell, called “May I Ask You a Question ?” Take one or several; they are an easy-to-use tool for telling someone the Good News!
Calendar
Thursday Prayer today, 4:00. Stop by my front porch, **contact us for address**, any time between 4:00 and 5:00, and we’ll pray for each other and for needs God has put on your heart.
Sunday Worship & Children’s Church, 10:00. At the Y, 500 W. Highland Ave. Thanks to Lindsey Reedy and Heather Hall who will be with the children during Children’s Church.
Worship Team Meeting, July 10, 6:00 pm. We’ll meet at my house – anyone who is currently involved in preparing Sunday morning worship. A time of review and planning! Your input will be important!
Next Men’s Fellowship & Discipleship Meeting, July 15, 6:30 – 8:00. Guys, mark your calendars! We’ll meet at Precision Coffee, 127 E. Cherry Street.
Crossroads at Kauffman Stadium. We have a chance to see the Royals and Cardinals play on Wednesday, August 14, at 7:15 pm in Kansas City. Tickets are $18. Please think about whether or not you could join the Crossroads fans, some rooting for each team! We need to sign up and pay by July 28.
Busyness: A Huge Hindrance to Evangelism
by Larry Moyer, Founder & CEO, EvanTell
There’s a story told about a doctor who rushed to the bedside of a patient one morning and said, “Please forgive me. I have been so busy I’ve not had a chance to talk with you. I have some good news and some bad news.”
The patient replied, “Well, give me the good news first.”
The doctor answered, “You have about one month to live.”
The patient said, “Well, if that’s the good news, what’s the bad news?”
The doctor answered him, “I’ve been so busy! I should have told you three weeks ago!”
Busyness is an issue for all of us, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Busy people are often the most productive. But that busyness becomes an issue when it hinders us from talking to others about Jesus. Sometimes our schedules become so full we have no time to heed His admonition, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19).
How do we overcome that busyness instead of letting that busyness crowd out our evangelism? Consider the following questions:
Have I asked God for His assistance? Finding time to evangelize is like every other aspect of Christian living; God is not asking us to go it alone. To appropriately apply John 15:5, without Him you cannot overcome the bad part of busyness. Start with a simple prayer, “Jesus help me.”
How realistic am I being? It’s probably not realistic to ask, “How can I take time out of my schedule for non-Christians?” The people who evangelize the most don’t take time out of their schedule; they work non-Christians into their existing schedule. Begin by thinking about the activities you typically do with Christians. Then choose to do some of those things with non-Christians instead.
Am I looking at everything in life from eternity backward? What will matter most when we stand before Christ? Have we made sure the things valued by Christ are important to us as well? “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Are we giving the lost the same priority He did?
What is the only thing that lasts? The answer – people. Everyone will live forever; the only difference is where. Material things will pass away as God establishes a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:12). Hence, people need to take priority over possessions, which often occupy a large part of our busyness.
Will these four questions solve the worst of our busyness overnight? Of course not. But they will put us on the right path. Week by week you will make changes that help others and, most importantly, honor Him.
–Tom
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