I hope you are all looking forward to coming together to worship our great God this Sunday. I hope that it is a culmination of the relationship and communion that you've shared with God this entire week. That's certainly the goal...
But how much of our life is spent aiming for the goal...and consistently falling short? Do you ever come to the end of a week and look back and wonder where it all went? You ask yourself how there is so much you weren't able to get done, and why you spent so little time with the Lord. I have been there many times, disappointed that the only time I could really get away to be with the Lord was when I was stuck in traffic on a long drive, remembering how my mornings got swept up in chores and errands, and my evenings went who-knows-where.
These types of weeks are a part of life, and we won't always be able to spend lots of time in God's Word, and in really focused prayer. The good news is that we can still worship, and bring glory to God's name by living our lives in the power of His Spirit. The fact that God-very-God resides no longer in a tabernacle, nor does He sit around in the worship center at Crossroads. The Spirit of the all-powerful, living God dwells in the new temple...each of us! This should drastically affect the way we live. However, too often we dismiss it, and forget about it! I am in the midst of rethinking the presence of the Spirit in my life, and how I can better acknowledge Him and live by His strength. To help me, I've just started Francis Chan's new book "Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit." (Click the title to check out the book on Amazon.com). Check it out, I think this is a tragic reality in the church (the church as a whole, not just Crossroads), and we need to do something about it!
Anyway, I suppose I'll end my sermon there, and let Todd do the real preaching on Sunday. He'll be preaching from Ephesians 2:17-22 and finish up chapter two. Be sure you've read the passage, and are ready to study it together with us!
As always, we'll sing together and express our responses to God through lyrics and music. We'll start by acknowledging our dependence on the Spirit to be among us, and to direct us and empower our worship: "Come Thou Fount." Then we turn to the Psalms where David declares the beauty and perfection of being in the courts of the Lord, and proclaims that "Better Is One Day" in his courts than thousands at any other great place.
We have a short video to encourage us to be a part of Crossroads' ministry to the Union Rescue Mission this Christmas. Let's worship God by responding with love to the needs of those at the URM, and being involved in whatever ways we can. Tim Campbell will fill us in on the opportunities. Mark off the days on your calendar: Friday and Saturday, December 18th and 19th.
We'll continue singing as we learn the new song I posted earlier this week: "The Father's Love." Dwelling on how God brought us back to a right relationship with him, and has made us part of his household, will point our brains in the right direction to fully soak up the truth of the sermon text! We'll sing "Draw Me Close" right before Pastor Todd comes up, but hopefully we will sing it a little differently, understanding that we don't have to continually ask God to "draw us close" because HE ALREADY HAS! I think the Spirit will remind us of this truth very powerfully.
Then Todd will come and preach God's Word to us. I want to remind us all to not just be consumers, but to interact with the preaching. Prepare your heart and mind (remember, you have the same Spirit of God as Pastor Todd does in you to teach you and help you understand His Word)! Then as Todd preaches, seek the Spirit's conviction and encouragement in your life. If you disagree with something Todd says, tell him! We as leadership would love to talk about anything you hear (whether in a sermon, song, video, etc.) that raises a red flag in your mind or seems to be different than what God's Word says! So CLICK HERE to read Ephesians 2:17-22.
We'll respond to the message with "Marvelous Light" that focuses on the new life we have, having formerly been strangers with no hope!
That's what's going on this Sunday; see you then!
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