TMG
Hello, Crossroads Family!
I have a little group of summer school students and their parents who congregate every morning, literally right under my window, waiting for the school bus. They come early, and I enjoy listening to them laugh and play and carry on. (I miss having children in my house!) I’m reminded to pray for them, and then I’m reminded to pray for some of the high school students I’ll be around again in the fall.
Today, God gave me the joy of reading through the little book of Colossians. What a bright, joyful letter it is, written by Paul while he was in prison, written to Christians living in what is today Turkey. Specifically, I love the helps Colossians gives, at the beginning, on how to pray. This is how Paul prayed for the Colossian Christians. I’ve listed below some of the things he asked for them, and I’ve added some notes of my own. Maybe these can help you today in praying for yourself or for others.
We can pray…
… to be filled with all the knowledge of God’s will, Colossians 1:9-10. This is the second time this week I’ve read that God’s will is “knowable”; the first was in Ephesians 5:17, “understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
… to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord (Colossians 1:10). Pretty straightforward, isn’t it? Yet, it’s an idea we may often forget to pray for.
… to please Him (in all aspects), Colossians 1:10. Again, an amazingly simple prayer, an amazingly simple goal.
… to bear fruit (in every good work), Colossians 1:10.
… to increase in the knowledge of God, Colossians 1:10. Isn’t it interesting that not only does God want us to know Him, but He wants us to know Him more and more? And, since it’s listed here as a prayer request, it must be something that’s actually possible for us to experience. Are you knowing God more and more? I wonder about that for the kids outside my house this morning.
… to be strengthened with all power (according to His glorious might), Colossians 1:11. All power, all strength. Wow! We need strength and power in various circumstances throughout the day, don’t we? And it’s power for a purpose, as Paul specifies at the end of verse 11 and in verse 12:
… that we might…
(1) … attain all steadfastness and patience. Patience is something it seems God knows we need a lot of! Yet, we resist the work required for developing patience, don’t we? We still want things to happen quickly in our lives; yet God gives power to attain all steadfastness (not a word we use often) and patience.
(2) … joyously (not grudgingly) give thanks to the Father. We’re also told why it’s possible to give thanks — because He has qualified us, through Christ, to share in the inheritance.
I sometimes wonder what’s meant by that word “inheritance” (which also shows up a lot in Ephesians). I suppose our inheritance ultimately is heaven. But also, in Christ, we’ve inherited a place in the family of God, and we’ve inherited every spiritual blessing from heaven (like forgiveness of sins, hope, joy, gifts to use in God’s service, the Church, etc.)
Take time to read Colossians. Allow it to re-ignite hope for your life and to motivate you to pray for hope for others!
Going on at Crossroads
Here are the highlights. If I leave out some details, be sure to ask me!
Worship this Sunday morning, 10:00, at the Community Center.
If you invite people to church, be sure to tell them to park in the library parking lot and to use the double doors on the southeast corner of the Community Center. Those are doors most people aren’t accustomed to using at the Community Center. Thanks to our Set-up Team, Children’s Church team, Worship Team, Tear-Down Team, Greeter Team, Donut Team, and many others who bless us on Sunday mornings. Our sermon this Sunday will be from Revelation 19, the very exciting return of Christ to the earth. The sermon will be posted on Facebook if you can’t be with us in person. I hope you won’t miss it!
Bushwhacker Days Gospel Night
If you’re helping at the concession stand this Thursday, Julie would like us there between 5:30 and 6:00 … on the southeast corner of the square. You can’t miss it!
Home Group next Tuesday
Our Home Group study in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction will meet next on Tuesday, June 13th, 6:00-7:15 pm, again at the home of Alex and Emily Lewis, 320 N. Spring Street. Everyone is invited! The remaining dates for Home Group in June are these:
- Thursday, June 22
- Thursday, June 29
Dates for July will be determined later.
Church Picnic
We’re going to have a picnic for Father’s Day, after the worship service, at Radio Spring Park. Pulled pork, paper products, and water will be provided. Please bring a side and/or dessert, your own favorite drink if you want, and a lawn chair if you think you might need it! We’ll have a fun, informal time!
Elders Meeting
Our elders will meet this Sunday following the worship service. Thank you for praying for our elders and their work!
Women of Joy
Be sure to connect with Heather Hall if you’re interested in attending the Women of Joy conference in Branson in October, or if you have any questions!
Camps
Riverside Cowboy Camp coming up June 14-17, and Kamp Keirsey high school camp July 16-20. Be praying for the young people attending and for the adults who will be leading!
Missions
There are a lot of exciting things going on with our missionaries — Jesse and Erica McCallister & family in Berlin; Tyrell and Rachel Shoemaker & family in Chicago; and Colin Welch in Paris. Be sure to read the news in the bulletin insert on Sundays, and sometimes there are missionary letters on the back table by the offering basket. Lawson and Shay Albey and their children are leaving very soon to begin their ministry work in Turkey. There will be a commissioning service for them this Sunday afternoon, 4 pm, at The Springs church in Springfield. You remember Lawson and Shay from their visit to Crossroads this past spring.
Personal
These have been good but busy days for me personally. It’s great to be busy at Crossroads; in addition, as you know, I’ve been working through insurance issues and doing some car-shopping since the accident to my car at the end of May (both things I dislike and which tend to lead me into worry!). I’m grateful, in addition to our summer Home Group, to be doing some one-on-one discipleship with two people. That one-on-one mentoring is also happening in other relationships at Crossroads. It’s an exciting work of God’s Spirit. I’ve had a friend from Eldorado Springs spend some time in the Nevada hospital recently, and I thank God that she has recently been allowed to return home. I hope you’ll keep Jan and her husband Bill in your prayers. Finally, I have four sermons to prepare for Kamp Keirsey where I’ll be preaching each evening during camp there in July. I’m looking forward to some vacation time in July too, and a short trip to Portland, Oregon, to see my four kids there.
It’s amazing how God works in our lives — truly He gives and takes away, and sometimes at the most unexpected moments. I think how God “took out” my old car with a surprise direct hit in the parking lot of Jake’s Fireworks. Who would have thunk it? I think how God dropped the Cottey College accompaniment job in my lap two years ago, and then suddenly removed it. Not too many years ago, I had a small handful of piano students who kind of came out of nowhere (all homeschool students), and then kind of all at the same time either moved out of town or moved on to study other instruments. Even the high school accompaniment job was one I wasn’t seeking out seven years ago when I started but one God truly dropped in my lap. We live under the providence of an all-knowing, righteous God. Right now I’m needing a little extra income stream to replace the Cottey job, so I appreciate your prayers for that need. God has always provided, and I know He will again.
My daughter Emma was telling me yesterday about their exciting Vacation Bible School this week at the Evangelical Free Church of Albert City, Iowa, led by young people and staff from Hidden Acres Camp. Hidden Acres is our E-Free Central District camp, located west of Des Moines (www.hacamps.org). I’ve been there in the past, as have at least a couple of others from Crossroads. It’s an excellent family camp ministry. At Albert City, they’re having VBS Monday through Thursday, from 9 am to 3 pm. The Hidden Acres staff stay in the homes of church members, and the church provides them with meals throughout the week. What a great idea! Maybe God will lead Crossroads to a connection with Hidden Acres in the future!
Here comes the bus! I look forward to seeing you this Sunday, and I pray God will rejuvenate you through the things prayed for in Colossians!
— Tom
Leave a Reply