TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
March 8, 2018
Hello Crossroads Family & Friends!
Several things to catch up on, starting with this coming Sunday’s activities:
We will worship at 10:00 at the Y. I hope you’ll plan to join us,… and bring someone with you ! We’re having a good time working through an exciting part of the book of Acts. The sermon this Sunday will be from Acts 16, “How Does God Work?” How did God work in Paul’s journey to Europe? How can you expect God to work in your own life? Are you needing God to work in your life? See you at 10:00! Children’s Church & nursery are available during the sermon time.
There will be no Adult Bible Study at 9:00 this Sunday morning. We’ll resume our studies on Sunday, March 25.
There will be no Youth Group this Sunday evening.
Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour Saturday night! Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend!
Easter Plans
We have some exciting plans for Easter morning (April 1), and I hope you can join us for a fun morning of fellowship and celebration of the Lord’s resurrection. We will not meet at the Y on Easter morning. Instead, we will have both breakfast and Easter worship at the Enchanted Prairie Farm venue, just south of Nevada (where we had a winter fellowship dinner earlier this year). Enchanted Prairie Farm is located at 17557 East Stockade Road, Nevada (www.enchantedprairiefarm.com).
We’ll have breakfast together at 9:00 Easter morning. If you’re interested in preparing a dish for the breakfast, you may contact Angi Dahmer. Otherwise, everything necessary for the breakfast will be provided.
We’ll worship at 10:00 that morning. Hope you can join us for part or all of the morning!
Church Financial Manager
The church Elder Board has asked Judi Edwards to fill the role of Church Finance Manager, as required in our church by-laws. Judi will be responsible for keeping records of church income and expenses; also, she will be overseeing the counting of offerings. She’s going to be a tremendous asset to the church family and to the Elder Board in helping us all to be good and generous stewards of God’s gifts. Please pray for Judi as she transitions into this role.
Tom on vacation
The kids and I will be taking some time off March 12-18. There will be a guest speaker, Shane McCasslin, bringing the message on Sunday morning, March 18. Thank you for the many ways you support and love me and my family. We are looking forward to some family time together.
Young Life Jumpstart Meeting
Looking forward to the series of Young Life “Jumpstart” meetings coming up on Tuesday, March 27. As you know, God has led several at Crossroads, and others in the Nevada community, to explore the possibility of starting a Young Life ministry in Nevada, at Cottey College and/or among high school and middle school students in Nevada. All of this at the initiative of our own Natalie Sexton! If you’re still not familiar with Young Life, check it out at www.younglife.org.
On the 27th, three of our area’s Young Life staff will meet with anyone interested to discuss what Young Life is, and what would be needed to implement such a ministry in Nevada. There will be three meetings, open to anyone wanting to find out more!
March 27 at 4:00 pm – a meeting especially for educators and other school personnel. The meeting will take place at Nevada High School (most likely in the library).
March 27 at 6:00 pm – a meeting for parents, pastors, business people, and anyone else who is curious ! This meeting will also take place in the Nevada High School library.
March 27 at 7:00 pm – a meeting for Cottey College students and others connected with Cottey. This meeting will take place on campus at Cottey.
If you have questions, please feel free to ask me, Donna Rodriguez, or Heather Hall. It would be awesome to have even a few more from Crossroads get in on the ground-floor of this ministry!
A Great Way to Grow Spiritually
At our home group last night, Donna led us in an encouraging discussion about memorizing Scripture. Many people get scared about the prospect of memorizing Scripture, yet, as we discovered last night, we all memorize many things throughout our lives! Most in the group last night could remember phone numbers they had back when they were four- or five- years old. And apparently, scientists have estimated that the human brain can store 2.5 Petabytes of information … which is about 300 years worth of television programming. That’s a lot of TV! There is room in our brain (and heart) for God’s Word.
Here are seven benefits of scripture memory that were discussed last night (taken from Robert J. Morgan’s book 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart):
• Clearer Thoughts. Internalized scripture keeps our minds in good working order.
• Steadier Nerves. Bible verses stored in our mind serve as “shock absorbers” in life, giving us steady nerves and calm spirits.
• Healthier Emotions. Memory verses are good medicine for sustained emotional health.
• Purer Habits. Scripture memory accelerates other habits that deepen our spiritual growth.
• Happier Homes. As we internalize God’s transformational truths, we become wiser and more loving people.
• Enhanced Reputations. Our ability to wisely dispense needed words to other people is directly proportional to our knowledge of God’s words.
• Eternal Optimism. There is a promise in the Bible for every contingency of life. Our faith grows as we find – and learn – specific promises that meet specific needs !
If you aren’t in the habit of memorizing Scripture, why not try starting with two of the “beginning” verses in the Bible:
• “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
If you have memorized Scripture in the past, take some time today to review some verses you know or used to know. You’ll find they will change your outlook on the day.
A Prayer
In our Ten Steps discipleship course, and in other settings, many of us have been deepening our understanding of the Holy Spirit – who He is, what His role is in our lives, how to be under the influence of God’s Spirit. I hope this prayer, adapted from a prayer in The Valley of Vision, will be a help and encouragement to you today.
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday morning at 10:00 Daylight Savings Time!
–Tom
Lord Jesus Christ,
Fill me with your Spirit, that I may be occupied with his presence.
I am blind – send him to make me see ; dark – let him say, “Let there be light!”
May he give me faith to behold my name engraved in your hand; my soul and body redeemed by your blood.
Replenish me by his revealing grace, that I may realize my indissoluble union with you;
that I may know that you have espoused me to yourself forever, in righteousness, love, mercy, and faithfulness;
that I am one with you, as a branch with its stock, as a building with its foundation.
May his comforts cheer me in my sorrows;
his strength sustain me in my trials;
his blessings revive me in my weariness;
his presence render me a fruitful tree of holines ;
his might establish me in peace and joy;
his incitements make me ceaseless in prayer;
his animation kindle in me undying devotion.
Send him as the searcher of my heart, to show me more of my corruptions and helplessness, that I may flee to thee, cling to thee, rest on thee, as the beginning and end of my salvation.
May I never vex him by my indifference and waywardness; grieve him by my cold welcome; resist him by my hard rebellion.
Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your great name’s sake.
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