TMG
Hello, Crossroads Family!
Here comes, for many of us, a sudden shift from the school-year routine to a summer routine. What will that look like for you … and for our church? How can we, as a group of people who love God and each other, capitalize on this new part of the year?
For me, this seems like a major change following such a busy school year and, more recently, several days spent with all eight of my children, two of my daughters-in-law, and three of my grandchildren! We had a great time together! Thanks for making my family feel so welcome last Sunday!
I’m looking forward this summer to being involved in one-on-one discipleship with at least three different people. Personal discipleship and small group ministry have been highlights over the years at Crossroads, and a way by which God has strengthened relationships and equipped for ministry. Small group Bible studies, Sunday School classes, and one-on-one discipleship are at the center of spiritually healthy lives and relationships. Some at Crossroads will also be involved in camp ministry this summer.
If you would like to be involved in personal discipleship, or if you would like to be trained as a disciplemaker, please let me know. We must all learn to “reproduce” spiritually. It’s one of our main purposes for being on the earth, and it’s the core work of the church. The best way to start being a disciplemaker, or small group leader, is to pray for an opportunity. Pray for a person or small group of people you would like to be with or would like to help influence positively. God will honor that request and will lead you in the next step to take.
It was great to see so many little ones in the nursery last Sunday morning. Here’s another area of spiritual reproduction we must be involved in as a church. Those little ones are growing up fast, and we need to be ready, not only to play with them, but to teach them. Is God calling you to be a part of that work as Crossroads moves forward? Thanks for considering it!
This Sunday morning, we’ll have a special focus on prayer, using Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as a help. Prayer is a key part of our worship and work as Christians. I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday at 10:00 at the Community Center. Invite a friend to join us! We’re having a good time on Sunday mornings! Thanks to our set-up crew and to all who help tear down after worship! Thanks to nursery teams, worship teams, and many others who do the nuts-and-bolts things necessary for making Sunday morning happen!
Calendar Reminders
Church Night at the Griffons Game
Sunday, June 5, 7 pm, at Lyons Field. Attendance is free. Church affiliation will be tallied at the gate, and a prize will be given to the winning church’s youth group program.
Gospel Night at Bushwhackers
Thursday, June 9, on the square in Nevada. The singer this year is Jason Crabb, formerly with the Gaither Vocal Band. If you would like to help in the concession stand, from either 5:30-7:30 or 7:30-9:30, please contact Julie Kemper. A chance for good fellowship and a presence in the community. Crossroads is one of the sponsors of Gospel Night.
Recent Journal Entries
Here are some recent entries in my personal journal. All are short and, taken out of the context of the moment in which they were written they may not seem to make much sense. But I hope there might be in them some food for thought or word of encouragement for you as you finish out the week!
- “The lovingkindness of God endures all day long” (Psalm 52:1). “I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever” (Psalm 52:8).
- Jesus died not just to save us from the punishment for sin but to save us from sin.
- Many times in life we must go through the “Tunnel of Chaos” (not the Tunnel of Love, but the Tunnel of Chaos). In addition, some people take trips to what we might call the “Land of Stupid.”
- Is my relationship with Jesus institutional (simply a matter of going to church), or supernatural (John 1:12 — “But as many as believed Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.”)
- “Trauma Brain” : There is a part of your brain that remembers / retains trauma. “Resentment” = re-sentiment, or re-feel. To resent something (or someone) is to re-feel things.
- “The light of the righteous rejoices ; but the lamp of the wicked goes out” (Proverbs 13:9).
- “Pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified” (2 Thessalonians 3:1).
- BLAST. It’s at these times that men, especially, are susceptible to temptation : Bored … Lonely … Angry … Stressed-out … Tired.
- “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it ; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
- Adrian Rogers on assurance of salvation : “A faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the first.”
More on that last statement this Sunday, as we dig into Ephesians ! I hope to see you then !
— Tom
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