TMG
Hello, Crossroads Family!
I wonder how things are going for you? It’s exciting to watch the sun in the sky a little longer each day and to experience (today, anyway) warmer temperatures and a hint of spring. Yet, maybe you, like me, feel swamped with work, needs, and other responsibilities. The news from around the world continues to be bad. It’s easy to get discouraged!
I read this morning passages in Deuteronomy where Moses recites the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land.
Moses reminds the Israelites that God chose them, not because they were good or because they were numerous, but because He loved them. Deuteronomy 4:37 is actually the first time in the Bible (147 pages in, in my Bible) where God says He loves someone (even though He had demonstrated it many times). It’s a good reminder to me that it’s not because of our goodness that God loves us, but because of His character.
Ultimately, the following truth is the best good news ever:
“God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
This Coming Sunday
We’ll enjoy some good worship and fellowship at the Community Center starting at 10:00. Come early if you can! Our women’s “Breathe” Bible Study will start at 9:00. We’ll start the worship service at 10:00 with announcements. Don’t miss out!
We’ll be back in Genesis for the sermon this Sunday. We’ll take a look at Genesis 25, God’s choice of Jacob over his twin brother Esau.
This is another of those Genesis stories that seem, at first glance, to be just old, unimportant stories. Actually, however, this is an event that reverberates throughout the rest of the Bible and carries with it principles for us today.
- In Malachi 1 (the last book of the Old Testament, written over 1000 years after the birth of Esau and Jacob), God says: “I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.” That sounds strange to our ears. What does it mean?
- In Romans 9, Paul continues: “For though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad,… it was said to their mother, ‘The older will serve the younger.'”
- In the gospels (Luke 13, Matthew 20, Mark 10), Jesus adds a similar thought : “Behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
We’ll ask three questions this Sunday about the Jacob and Esau story:
- What does God seem to have against firstborn children? (It seems He’s always choosing the younger over the older — Joseph, David, Jacob, others. Does that bother you?)
- What does the choosing of the youngest child show us?
- What did Jacob have that Esau didn’t have?
If you’re not able to be with us in person, watch for a recording of the sermon on the Crossroads Facebook page or on my personal Facebook page. I’ll try to have it up there before the end of the weekend! As you know, we’ve been having some trouble uploading sermons recently. Thanks for your patience!
Announcements
Youth Group this Wednesday, 6:30 pm
Come for some fun, food, and fellowship tomorrow evening at the Rodriguez home, *contact us for location*. Bring a friend! Thanks to those leading our Crossroads young people, and to the Rodriguezes for hosting!
Elders Meeting this Sunday, 7:00 pm
Please be in prayer for our elders as they meet this Sunday evening to seek God’s wisdom and help in their role as shepherds of the Crossroads flock. If you have a need to bring to the elders’ attention, please contact one of us.
Prayer Needs
If you didn’t get, or have lost, the copy from last Sunday’s bulletin of ways to be praying for Ukraine and Russia, see the section “A Call to Prayer” under the blog post found at https://blogs.efca.org/posts/a-country-on-the-brink . These are helpful guides for knowing how to pray for what’s happening in that part of the world. Thanks to all who are praying! May God show Himself powerful; may lives be spared; may evil intentions be confounded; and may doors be opened for the Good News of eternal life in Christ.
I hope to see you this coming Sunday!
— Tom
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