Hello, Crossroads Family !
An all-day music contest on Monday followed by two days sick at home has made this a strange and somewhat frustrating week. Thanks for your prayers. This seems to be only a major cold ; I trust I’ll be back to a more regular routine tomorrow. I’m looking forward to our fellowship and worship this coming Sunday ! I’ll be preaching more on God’s design and plan for our bodies. This Sunday we’ll consider the sexual nature of the body. What are God’s purposes for human sexuality, and are His expectations reasonable ? I’m trying to scratch out some work on this sermon now, despite the cold. 
We’ve touched on the subject more than once in the past, but it’s always good to be reminded of God’s good plans as recorded in His Word. Given that our laws, our media, and our cultural standards have thrown off any and all guardrails surrounding human sexuality, it’s no wonder we struggle to understand God’s design or that we consider it somehow old-fashioned. I hope you’ll join us Sunday ! It’s good to be part of a church where we can talk frankly about where our faith in Christ intersects with real life. The Scripture will be from 1 Corinthians 5-7.
We can always trust God to give us, and to do for us, what is right and good, can’t we ? I hope you’re in agreement with me on that. It seems that one of our favorite songs recently at Crossroads is “All Things” which contains the line, “Lord, You will accomplish everything You promised, all things for Your glory and my good.” Of course the idea for that lyric comes from Romans 8:28 which says we know God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Someone recently pointed out to me that the “good” promised to us is specified more precisely in the following verse, Romans 8:29, which says we are being conformed into the image of Jesus. So the “all things for my good” isn’t necessarily that things will always work out just the way I wanted them to ; the good God is accomplishing in us is growing us to be more like our Lord Jesus. Amazing !
Reminders …
- Immerse tonight at 7:00. Everyone is welcome.
- Women’s Breakfast & Bible Study this Saturday, 8:00-9:15 am.
- Worship Sunday at 10:00. Children’s church for those interested with children ages 0-7.
- Elders meeting following worship.
- Easter cantata practice Sunday, 12:30 – 1:30 pm.
- Bible Quiz night is coming up March 28 at 6 pm. We’ll meet at First Baptist Church in their fellowship hall.
Please pray for Ethan Rittmiller who is in Nebraska during the next few days for job interviews. Ethan will finish at the Missouri Welding Institute in April. Alex Lewis will begin his new job later this month in O’Fallon, Missouri. Please pray for Alex and Emily and Dean during this transition period. Pray for those expecting babies this spring — Cecilia and Sam, Erica and Miles. Thanks for your ongoing prayers for our church family !
God’s Promises
Apparently a schoolteacher once took the time to record every promise made in the Bible, not just by God to people, but promises of all kinds. Here’s what he found :
- 7487 promises from God to people
- 2 promises made by God the Father to God the Son
- 991 promises made between people to each other
- 290 promises made by people to God (such as Psalm 51:15, for example)
- 28 promises made by angels
- one promise made by a man to an angel
- one promise made by an evil spirit to the Lord
- 9 promises made by Satan, including his deceitful offer to deliver all the kingdoms of the world to Christ if He would worship the devil (Mattthew 4:8-9).
You can read about this man and his quest here, a short article that appeared in Time magazine in 1956.
Here are some of the promises God has made us :
— He promises that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. (Rom 10:9, 11-13)
— He promises us comfort in time of need. (2 Cor 1:3-4)
— He promises to meet all our needs. (Philippians 4:19)
— He promises to provide wisdom. (James 1:5)
— He promises peace. (Matt 11:28-29)
— He promises to complete He work in us. (Philippians 1:6)
— He promises cleansing when we need it. (1 John 1:9)
— He promises victory. (Rom 8:37)
— He promises He will meet us in the air. (1 Thess 4:16-17)
— He promises a future home for us. (John 14:2-4)
These give us hope and encouragement to persevere in the race God has set out for us. He is our loving God and Savior. Have a great second half of the week !
— Tom
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