TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
March 28, 2019
www.nevadacrossroadschurch.org
Dear Crossroads Family,
I’m looking forward to worshiping the Lord with you this coming Sunday morning at the Y! Our sermon will be from 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that this section of his letter was “of first importance” (15:3). So I’m calling it “The Most Important Message You’ll Ever Hear.” I hope you’ll come for a message that God said, through Paul, was of first importance.
Easter Breakfast & Worship, April 21
Easter morning is always a highlight of the year at Crossroads. I hope you’ll plan on coming this year for a joyful celebration of the Lord’s resurrection! We’ll have a relaxed time of food and fellowship at the Y starting at 8:30, then worship at 10:00. This would be a great time for a friend of yours, or a family member, to be part of the joy and hope of Easter! Feel free to invite as many as you can for this special morning!
Some Personal Bible Study Suggestions for Lent
Sometimes during the season of Lent, I feel led to approach Bible study in a different or new way, and especially to spend some time in the Gospels in order to be reminded of the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Here are four topics that might open your eyes to the Lord Jesus in a new way this season. Maybe you would like to delve into one or more of these topics.
At the feet of Jesus.
Dr. Terry Powell (www.penetratingthedarkness.com) suggests a study on people who fell at Jesus’ feet. Here’s what he says:
What attitudes tap into the Lord’s favor and give him pleasure? What posture of mind, heart, and body typically results in his favorable response to our prayers? I found some answers to those questions many years ago when I launched a peculiar topical study in the New Testament, “the feet of Jesus.” Especially in the Gospels, people often fell at his feet for a variety of compelling reasons. I mulled over these questions as I examined those passages:
- Who fell at Jesus’ feet?
- What was their reason for approaching him?
- How did Jesus respond to this person?
- What words best describe the mindset or attitude of the people who approached him in this way?
- What applications can I find for my own prayer life?
- Which instance of people falling at Jesus’ feet resonates most with me today? Why?
Here are some of the passages you can look at. Maybe you’ll find others.
Matthew 15:21-31; Matthew 17:1-8; Matthew 28:1-9; Mark 3:11; Mark 5:1-7; Luke 5:1-8; Luke 7:36-50; Luke 8:26-48; Luke 10:38-41; Luke 17:11-18; Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 1:9-18; Revelation 4:8-11; Revelation 5; Revelation 7:9-12.
Dr. Powell says, “Anyone who takes the time to use these passages and this theme as the basis for several days of devotions will profit immensely! God’s Spirit will speak many personal words to you – words of encouragement as well as conviction.”
Red-Letter Bible
Robert Morgan, in his book Mastering Life Before It’s Too Late, writes of a time when he sat down and read through all four Gospels, skipping everything except the words of Jesus (which in his Bible were printed in red). He writes that reading the words of Jesus in chronological order somehow “changed the way I viewed Jesus and the accounts of his ministry. The plain words of Christ are succinct, powerful, and capable of altering our lives in a single reading. It was a bracing spiritual exercise, one I recommend.”
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
As I started in on the Gospel of Mark this morning, I was struck (as I often am) by John the Baptist’s statement, “I baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). Since the Holy Spirit is someone we read about mostly, it seems, in the New Testament, I wondered how familiar the people of Jesus’ day were with the person of the Holy Spirit. Did this statement make sense to the pre-Jesus, pre-New-Testament people? Where is the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus would send to his disciples, spoken about in the Old Testament? Here are a few remarkable passages for your own personal study; you can find still others on your own:
Genesis 1:2; Exodus 31:3; Job 26:13; Job 33:4; Psalm 104:30; Psalm 139; Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 32:15; Micah 3:8.
The Kingdom is at Hand
The cry at the beginning of the Gospels is, “The Kingdom is at hand!” The great healings of Jesus and the deliverances of people from spiritual bondage that take place at the beginning of the Gospels demonstrate that the kingdom had come and that Jesus was truly the king. Again, it’s helpful to review some of the Old Testament passages that speak of the kingdom to see how, in fact, Jesus was so clearly fulfilling those descriptions through his ministry on the earth. Some Old Testament passages about the kingdom which have been helpful to me are these:
Isaiah 25; Isaiah 32; Isaiah 35; Psalm 72.
If you read Psalm 72, here’s an outline that will help you get a grasp on the amazing kingdom of our Lord Jesus. The psalm was written for King Solomon, but it was never fully realized under Solomon. It will be under Christ’s reign.
The Kingdom – Psalm 72
Its righteousness. verses 1-4
Its perpetuity. verses 5-7
Its universality. verses 8-11
Its humanity. verses 12-15
Its happiness. verses 16-17
Doxology verses 18-20
May the whole earth be filled with his glory! (Psalm 72:19)
See you this Sunday!
— Tom
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