TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
May 21, 2019
www.nevadacrossroadschurch.org
Crossroads Family —
Just a quick note before the kids and I leave tomorrow for South Carolina and the wedding of my son Andrew to Molly Lewis.
This Sunday’s worship service will be a good one with Shane McCasslin, who is a friend of Crossroads and who has preached for us several times previously, bringing the morning message. Erin Reedy will be leading worship. Thanks, Shane, Erin, and everyone who will be serving this Sunday morning! Don’t forget that the service will take place in the lobby of the YMCA due to a pickleball tournament happening in the gym. Meet at the usual time, 10:00.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve come through another school year together! It has been a good year for us at Crossroads! Not only have we continued on our journey as individuals growing in spiritual maturity, but together we’ve…
… invested time, energy, and prayer in rebuilding ministry gates and walls which allow us to serve the Lord more effectively,
… experienced another good year of home group, youth group, and Children’s Church ministries,
… grown in our discipleship experience,
… got in on the ground-floor level of a new Young Life ministry in Nevada !
We’ve been blessed by Cottey students, new friends, and old friends from Nevada and beyond.
We’ve walked with each other through times of grief, anxiety, and victory!
Some highlights for me included a great message on Jonah last fall from Dale Losch, President of Crossworld Mission; a joyful and intimate Christmas Eve service; a cheerful and fun Easter morning; building four new ministry teams; the baptism of Marie Roberts; having the privilege of delivering the Senior Sermon at Nevada High School; and the graduation of Ebony, Natalie, and Hannah from Cottey College! What are your favorite moments at Crossroads from the past school year?
I believe the Lord has been honored, and that should always be our goal. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory” (Psalm 115:1).
I count over 50 people, young and old, for whom Crossroads Church is currently their church home. That’s very exciting! I plan to have a Crossroads 101 Course this summer for anyone who is a relative newcomer to the church, or who is interested in church membership. Time and date to be announced.
Unseen Realities
I want you to be encouraged by something I read recently in Robert J Morgan’s new book, Always Near. In a chapter called “The Unseen Friend,” he quotes from a 19th-century writer by the name of Lucy Larcom:
“There is no life so poor as that which has lost all conscious hold upon unseen realities. . . . When we are aware of an Eternal Life encircling us, of which we are a part; of a Loving Presence within us to whom we belong; simply to be alive is almost an overpowering blessedness. Our life is fed from unseen sources.”
While Christians are realists – we’re aware of the problems all around us – we nevertheless center our attention on the unseen:
- Our invisible Father. According to John 1:18, no one has ever seen God. Yet Jesus told us, “Pray to your Father who is unseen” (Matthew 6:6). He hears us.
- Our unseen Savior. Jesus told his disciples, “I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer” (John 16:10). He’s currently out of our range of vision, but we love him and one day will see him face to face.
- The Holy Spirit. In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is likened to the wind. Though he’s invisible, it is he who helps us in our weakness, and intercedes for us (Romans 8:26).
- God’s attributes. Many of God’s attributes are invisible – things like love, holiness, changelessness, faithfulness, and mercy. (Read, for example, Romans 1:20) This will be part of our Sunday morning sermons in June and July (“What is God Really Like?”).
- Our heavenly home. We can’t see heaven, but it’s a real place. Jesus said, “I’m going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
- The angels of God. God’s angels are “ministering spirits” sent to serve those who love Christ (Hebrews 1:14). Thirty-nine books of the Bible contain a reference to them.
- The fulfillment of God’s promises. Faith is trusting God to fulfill his promises. He has given us promises that can apply to every situation in life.
Morgan concludes: “We are deluged by the visible – a world in chaos, a nation divided, financial struggles, family problems, physical ailments. We never know what a day will bring. When our focus is limited to the visible, we grow frightened. But when we realize invisible realities are at play, we don’t lose heart. These unseen realities are greater than the negative realities that surround us day by day.”
Keep looking up! “Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).
Church Night at the Griffons
Sunday evening, June 2, is Church Night and Fan Appreciation Night at the Griffons’ game. The game starts at 7:00. If you’d like to sit with your friends from Crossroads, let’s meet at the YMCA parking lot at 6:30! Bring a Sunday morning bulletin, and we’ll have a chance to win $75 for our youth group!
God bless you as you finish this week and gather to worship the Lord this Sunday!
— Tom
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