TMG
Tom’s Midweek Greeting
Crossroads Community Church
Nevada MO
September 12, 2018
www.nevadacrossroadschurch.org
Dear Crossroads Family:
Tonight (Wednesday): Home Group, Prayer Group, Youth Group
Happy Wednesday! The three “group” night. Thanks to Cris & Donna for hosting us on a busy day of theirs **contact us for location**.
Here’s the schedule for the evening. I hope you can join us for part or all of it:
6:00 – 6:30 Early bird prayer group. Join a few others for a time of sharing, prayer, and praise.
6:30 – 7:00 Pizza! A chance to catch up with each other and enjoy some company.
7:00 – 8:00 Sermon discussion and sharing for adults; fun activities for the youth, Middle School & High School age.
I hope to see you this evening!
Fasting & Prayer
Several at Crossroads have a heart to set aside some time each day this week to fast and pray for personal and church-wide spiritual renewal. This may seem like a big task for you, but it really just involves designating some segment of time (maybe 15 minutes, maybe 30 minutes, maybe an hour or more ?) to quiet yourself, take a break from other preoccupations of the day (food, electronics, busy schedule) and to pray or read the Bible. I hope you might try to do that during the days that remain of this week.
Sometimes all we need to have a good time of personal prayer are a few helps to guide us through it. Sometimes breaking prayer down into smaller parts can be a help. Try this guide I used this morning and see if it might help you. It comes from a book given to Diana and me years ago by missionary friends. The book is called Drawing Near. Maybe these verses and hints will help you draw nearer to God in prayer. First of all, pray the verses themselves out loud or silently to the Lord; then use the suggestions that follow to formulate your own prayers.
Prayers of Praise
Psalm 147:1 – “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.”
Daniel 2:20-22 — “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever. For wisdom and might are His, and He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.”
Now pause to express any thoughts of praise you have of your own.
Prayers for Forgiveness
Psalm 6:1-13 — “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled.”
Now pause here to ask the Spirit of God to bring to your mind specific sins for which you need forgiveness. Confess them to the Lord.
Prayers for Renewal
2 Peter 1:5-7 – “Giving all diligence, may I add to my faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”
Romans 6:13 – “May I not go on presenting the members of my body as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but may I present myself to You as being alive from the dead, and my members as instruments of righteousness to You.”
1 Peter 2:11 – “Father, as a sojourner and pilgrim, grant that I may abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against my soul.”
Pause here for any additional prayers for renewal.
Add prayers for other personal needs you have.
Continue by bringing before the Lord needs of other people that you’re aware of.
Prayers of Affirmation
1 Corinthians 6:19 – “My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in me, whom I have from God, and I am not my own. For I have been bought with a price; therefore I will glorify God in my body and in my spirit, which are God’s.”
Pause here to add any other personal affirmations you wish to make to the Lord.
Prayers of Thanksgiving
Lamentations 3:22-23 – “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
Pause and tell the Lord about other things you’re thankful for.
Closing Prayer
Numbers 6:24-26 — “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
Looking Ahead
Sunday morning:
• Adult Bible Study in Leviticus, 9:00 – 9:45
• Youth Bible Study, 9:00 – 9:45
• Worship, 10:00 – 11:15 Our sermon will be from 1 Corinthians 3, “Growing Up Spiritually.” The Corinthian Christians were in need of growing up spiritually. Are you? Would you like to grow more spiritually this year?
If you’re free after the worship service and would like to have lunch with others from Crossroads, some will be eating together after the service. Check with Hannah Cameron for details.
Men’s Fellowship, next Monday evening, Sept 17 :
Our first monthly men’s fellowship group, at Buzz’s BBQ, starting at 6:30. Come for a good time of food and just getting together as men. We’ll have a short lesson from one of our discipleship studies. Hope to see several of you!
How important it is for Christian men to connect! Recently I came across a list of prayer requests I had made for men in a previous church I served. I don’t remember the date or the context, but here’s what I listed for those men:
• confession of wrong attitudes toward women and children
• men who can lead in worship
• men who can teach, organize, and pray.
What powerful ministry roles we can have as men if we seek the Lord, individually and together! I look forward to Monday evening!
Walk the Walls, next Wednesday, Sept 19:
We’ll meet again with Joe Chenoweth who is facilitating discussion on ministry vision for Crossroads, following the example of Nehemiah who led the Jews in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Anyone is welcome to attend. We’ll meet at Cris and Donna’s at 6:30. If you were part of the meeting last August 29, we especially hope you’ll be back for this next step in “walking the walls” at Crossroads.
Hayride – Saturday, October 13.
Reserve the evening of October 13th for a fun time at the Reedys’ farm in Moundville! More details coming soon.
Women’s Day of Fellowship at The Lavender Patch Farm, near Ft Scott, on Saturday, October 27.
A fun, informal time of connecting as women at the end of October. More details coming, or speak with Erlinda Reichard.
Prayer for Young Life initiative.
Several from Crossroads are involved in laying the groundwork for a Young Life ministry in Nevada, both to college students and to Nevada public school students. Would you please add this ministry initiative to the list of things you’re praying for? There is a need for servant-leaders who would commit time and talents to the work of a Young Life ministry, and for funding to get the ministry started. Thank you!
“The Rock! His work is perfect, and all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He!” — Deuteronomy 32:4
-Tom
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