TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
March 21, 2019
In our Home Group study in Job last night, we encountered a new character, a young man named Elihu. Elihu had a different approach to Job’s problems than did Job’s three other friends; and while not accusing Job of having done some wicked thing that caused his suffering, Elihu nevertheless didn’t offer an explanation for what had happened to Job. Instead, he offered promises. They were promises like “God does not act wickedly. God doesn’t pervert justice. No matter what the suffering may be in the world or in our own lives, God always acts in a right way.”
They’re wise insights from a young man. It’s good for us to be reminded that we live by promises, not necessarily by explanations.
I came across some good promises as I was reading Psalm 66 this morning:
- He keeps us in life and does not allow our feet to slip (Ps 66:9).
- He brings us through the fire and through water and ultimately out into a place of abundance (Ps 66:12).
- When we confess our sins, he does not turn away our prayers (Ps 66:20).
Of Abraham (who also knew his share of trials and wandering through life) it’s written: “With respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully assured that what God had promised, he was able also to perform” (Romans 4:20-21).
I hope that in the midst of life’s challenges today you’ll find God’s promises to be a helpful and sure source of comfort and encouragement!
Worship This Sunday, and Congregational Meeting
We’ll gather this Sunday morning at 10:00 at the YMCA for wonderful worship, fantastic fellowship, and more! I hope you’ll plan on being there! Our sermon will come from 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 where Paul writes, “The women are to keep silent in the churches” (verse 34). Wow! What did he mean by that? Did you know it’s the third time in that passage that Paul tells a group of people they must keep silent? At the root of it all is the question of why do we attend meetings of the church? Why do we bother? What does it really mean to us to be in church? I hope you’ll come Sunday morning. You may be surprised – and will certainly be encouraged – by what we find in this part of 1 Corinthians.
We have a Congregational Meeting scheduled for this Sunday immediately following the worship service. We often call these meetings “Family Meetings,” and they happen about once per quarter. We have several things on the agenda for this Sunday’s meeting:
- planning for Easter
- update on Walking the Walls
- finances
- other planning for the coming quarter
- prayer
Please join us! The meeting is for anyone who considers Crossroads Church to be their church home! We will try to keep the meeting to an hour or less.
Spring Break
The kids and I enjoyed a nice break last week and a chance to get away for part of that time. Thanks to everyone who picked up some of the slack while I was gone, and especially to Shane McCasslin who preached in my place last Sunday. I’m grateful for his ministry to you on several occasions.
We were able to attend church in Hermann, Missouri, last Sunday at Emmanuel E-Free Church where I served as pastor for fifteen years before coming to Crossroads. It was great to re-connect with friends there. Many of them asked about you at Crossroads, and you can be assured that at Emmanuel (and in other places) there are those who pray for you and for God’s work at Crossroads.
It’s a special joy for a pastor to watch people in the church connect with each other, and I saw that happening at Emmanuel. Watching that happen made me ask myself, “What are the things that really make a pastor happy?” Here’s a short list I came up with:
- members of the church family connecting with each other and growing in relationship
- people in the church who are willing to take the pastor’s crazy ideas and make practical efforts to implement them as God leads
- people whose knowledge of, and love for, God is growing
- teamwork ; mutual submission ; not insisting on our own way
- people in the church who are patient with each other, and not easily discouraged, in the exchange of ideas
- people reaching out beyond the walls of the church to others in the community who need Christ and a healthy church home ; in other words, those who love to watch the circle be enlarged !
Well, there are a few insights into the mind of a pastor (at least, into the mind of one pastor you know). Being part of a church is not about making a pastor happy, however; it’s about pleasing the Lord. As a friend of mine used to say, we would love to put a smile on God’s face! Thank you for doing that at Crossroads!
I look forward to worshiping with you this coming Sunday, and to hearing about what God has been doing in your life!
— Tom
Leave a Reply