Preparing for Worship: January 24th, 2010

Hey everyone; I hope you are enjoying the rain more than I am. I can only truly enjoy the rain when I am inside by the fire with my wife and a hot cup of coffee. Once I have to go out INTO the rain, it's not quite as enjoyable.

I suppose this week of non-stop rain is completely unusual though, and I should remember that we suffer from droughts almost every year from the normal California LACK of rain.

So with that fresh perspective in mind, let's look at what's going on at Crossroads this Sunday!

Try this: click HERE to check out our Order of Worship directly from our Online Planning Center!

This is what Pastor Todd and I craft during the week as we consider the sermon text/theme, any special announcements or videos we are showing, and all the songs we'll sing together.

Pastor Todd has invited Pastor Jeff Noe of Oak Hill Bible Church in Castaic to come and preach God's Word to us this week. Pastor Todd likes to try and bring in guest speakers semi-frequently because as he says: "it gives people a break from me!"

Whether you need a break from Pastor Todd or not; why not let him know how thankful you are for his constant care and ministry to the body here at Crossroads? He spends a LOT of hours studying and preparing to preach and teach us on Sunday mornings, but he also spends a LOT of hours on the phone with people and meeting with people in his office as he shepherds and cares for people on a personal and individual basis. Whether he is up on the stage preaching, or stacking chairs in the worship center (we are both Pros at this), he loves Crossroads, and more importantly he loves the PEOPLE of Crossroads. So make sure he knows that you appreciate him whether you catch him after church, shoot him an email (tsmith@lifeatcrossroads.org), or call him at the church office (661-775-9502).

So yeah, Pastor Todd is giving everyone a break from his preaching this week as Jeff comes and teaches us from the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel. He's preaching from all of chapter 27 (it's short), and the choice of text may seem strange to you, so CLICK HERE to read it and prepare for what God will teach you from this "road less travelled" text.

We'll kick off our morning with a pair of songs that express our joyful confidence in the never-changing, never-failing character of God with "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" and "Everlasting God."

From there, Pastor Todd will come and pray, welcome everyone, and introduce a short promo video for the next Financial Peace University course we're offering at Crossroads starting on February 11th. CLICK HERE to go to our calendar page for more information on being a part of this life changing class.

After a short greeting time to shake a few hands and give a few hugs, we'll take it up a notch as we sing and teach each other to be joyful and excited about the hope that we have because of Christ's death and resurrection by singing "I Have a Hope." The funny thing about us humans is that we need to constantly be reminded of this hope because we have such tendency to forget it and to doubt it. We will help ourselves in the area of doubt by singing "Completely Done"(follow the directions for a FREE download of this great song!) which reminds us that the work of the cross is not dependent on how perfect we can become (since we CAN'T become perfect), but that Jesus completed the work of redemption once and for all, and it cannot be added to or undone by any thing or anyone!!

Pastor Jeff will come and preach from 1 Samuel at this point in our meeting, and he will help us realize when we are falling into spiritual depression due to doubting God, and how we can fight spiritual discouragement in the face of difficulty in life. Have you ever experienced this? If you answered "No" then you're LYING!! This is going to be a timely and helpful message, so don't miss it!

We'll respond with a song that is straight from a key passage of scripture that relates to this idea: "Psalm 62" where David confronts his own soul, and commands it to find rest and shelter in God alone amidst the trials and temptations of the world. May it become stuck in all our heads this week as we seek to apply the message to our lives outside the walls of Crossroads!

That's what's going on so check out all the songs, and read up on the biblical text. See you Sunday!

Preparing for Worship: January 17th, 2010

Well last Sunday was yet another "first" for Crossroads, as Pastor Todd led in singing! After our opening set, he led our people in a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" in celebration of my, not 18th as he "guessed," but 27th birthday. What a cool church family! THANK YOU!

I'm sure most of you have heard by now of the catastrophic earthquake that shook the country of Haiti earlier this week. What grace we were shown in that our short-term missions team returned from there just two days before the quake! Still, we mourn the destruction and havoc that has turned the country on its head. Even before the quake, Haiti was in shambles; weak, corrupted government; extreme poverty (Haiti is among the poorest countries in the world!); and a deep, deep need for the love of the Savior both in the knowledge of the gospel, and through his people as we reach out to meet their needs.

We are going to take a special offering on Sunday for the relief efforts that are being mobilized to get medical supplies and other necessities to the Haitian people. Please consider giving sacrificially to help bless these people who, for the small percentage that have jobs, live on about $2 a day, and who are even more in need now.

As you prepare to come and worship God with the body at Crossroads, here's what we'll be sharing together Sunday morning.

We'll start with joyful singing to help get us all on the same page. This is an important time in the service, as we all come in with different things on our minds, some having had great weeks, some having had terrible weeks, some dealing with great trial, etc. The beginning of the service is where we remind ourselves of the God that we serve, and that as we worship him corporately, we seek his will to be done both in our lives as individuals, and as a local body of believers. In many churches over the years, it's been called the "Call to Worship." I think that's an okay term to use but I prefer to think of it as a "Refocusing of Worship."

Every Sunday, we sing songs filled with truth about God, and we sit under teaching about God, and what he has to say to us. We leave with our thoughts and lives focused on him; living out our worship as a lifestyle.

Throughout the week, our minds are pushed and pulled in every direction, and we often lose focus on God. We still may have our "quiet times" or remember to pray before meals, but so often life just gets so busy that our "worship" refocused on our jobs, or our families, or our _____ (fill in the blank with the things you find take your mind off of God; the Bible calls these things IDOLS!!).

When we come together as a corporate body we often need a bit of a "Spiritual Realignment" so that our minds might be renewed by the Spirit to recognize the supremacy of God in Christ in all things!

So DON'T BE LATE!! Church starts at 9:00 and 10:30, and we need YOU, as a vital part of God's body, to be there with us!

Okay, now that we got that out of the way...

We'll "refocus" our worship together back to the One to whom it rightfully belongs as we share music and melody together with "Holy is the Lord" and "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty."

We have our yearly financial update as we reflect on God's goodness and faithfulness displayed in the faithful giving of his people! We'll talk about the budget for the coming year, and thank God together for blessing Crossroads so immensely. We'll also talk about our "iServe" program and how to get involved in ministry at Crossroads. We'll finish with a few minutes focused on Haiti, and how we can get involved to be God's hands and feet there in the coming weeks as they recover from the disaster. Also, our team that was just there will be sharing a recap of the trip on Sunday, the 31st, for which they will supply the details on Sunday morning.

After a few minutes to greet and encourage each other, we'll resume corporate singing that helps us remember God's sovereignty even in light of the events in Haiti: "We Will Remember" and the old hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness."

Pastor Todd will share his message from Ephesians 4:1-6 where the Apostle Paul calls us to live worthy of the calling we've received as children of God in Christ. The Spirit who dwells in us enables us to live with humility, gentleness, and patience. He calls the church to live in unity with peace, recalling the truth that we all serve the same One God as a part of One Body and One Faith and Baptism. READ (CLICK HERE) the passage Todd's preaching from, and ask the Spirit to teach YOU how to live in this way that none of us are truly capable of apart from Him!

At the end of his message, Todd will invite us to do something NOW about Haiti, and give towards relief efforts there. Will will be setting up more ways to help in the coming weeks, but instead of just waiting around, we thought we should give towards efforts that are already being mobilized.

We'll close with the new song we learned a few weeks ago called "All I Have is Christ." I thought this would be a good way to close, because this perspective is so foreign to us in America: that ALL we have is Christ, and that we're HAPPY about that??? To us, Christ is often something we list (consciously or unconsciously) among other "stuff" that we have that gives us joy and security in life: family, spouse, house, car, etc.

The people in Haiti truly have next to NOTHING. In a sense, they are in the best position to understand that Christ is ALL we need, and that which we should want the most!

"Hallelujah! ALL I have is CHRIST!"

That's what's happening Sunday, see you then!

Preparing for Worship: January 10th, 2010

I received lots of positive feedback from doing a more acoustic, "unplugged" vibe this past Sunday during our worship singing; thank you! That was a planned for a while beforehand, but it ended up being part of God's perfect plan.

Friday evening I came down with a dreaded stomach flu; something that prior to last weekend, I can't ever really remember having, which made it worse. I spent all of Friday night waking up every hour as my body wrenched itself of all water. I spent Saturday sleeping and recovering but by Sunday morning I was still really weak so a mellow worship set while I sat on a stool was an example of God's kindness to me! :)

I also really enjoyed teaching you our new song "All I Have is Christ" and everyone seemed grateful for its truth and power. Looking forward to incorporating that song again often in the coming weeks!

So I feel almost 100% percent again, and am excited to worship with you guys again this weekend!

Here's what's happening:

We'll call our souls to worship with an old faithful: "Open the Eyes of my Heart" and corporately ask God to allow us to experience himself high and lifted up, shining in the light of his glory! Next we'll obediently and joyfully ascribe to the Lord glory and strength (Psalm 29:1) by singing the hymn "To God be the Glory."

Pastor Todd will lead us in prayer for the morning, that it would be done in the power of the Spirit, through the blood of Christ, for the glory of the Father. Then we have a bittersweet portion of morning to share together.

The Penberthy family (Jon, our 1st-6th grade coordinator; his wife Kerri; and their 4 girls) have received the call to a youth pastor position in Washington! We want to take some time as a church to pray for them, and commission them to the work the Lord's calling them to. We'll miss them!

Then we'll have a chance to meet Jon's replacement: Kari Pendleton (who knew there were so many ways to spell that first name??). She'll share her heart for children's ministry with us, and give us a face to go with the name. She's already been very active in our kids ministry by coordinating and directing our kids Christmas program.

Next we'll have a short group announcement for our Life Stage Groups that will be launching/resuming next Sunday, January 17th. Some of these ministries have already been established, but they are moving their meeting time to Sunday morning at our North campus to expand our "Church" experience. Corporate worship is a good and necessary part of the life of the believer, but it's not intensely personal, and you can't minister very much to your brothers and sisters in the Lord just by singing with them and listening to a sermon with them.

These groups will help make our church a little smaller (when do ever hear THAT as a desire of a church?? It SHOULD be!). They are structured to general age demographics, and for more information, you can check out the "Ministries" page of our website. (Click HERE to go there)

Then we'll have a short greeting time, and jump back into worship singing as we continue to reflect on God's glory with "Glorious and Mighty" and then meditate on the profound truth that a glorious and mighty God, whose judgments reign over all nations, would exercise his Kingship not by sentencing us to our just punishment for sin, but by substituting his Son in our place: "You Are My King." What a King he is!

Pastor Todd will then preach God's Word from Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Click HERE to read this week's passage where Paul prays for the Ephesian church. Come with soft hearts, ready to apply God's unchanging word to your own life for his glory!

We'll respond with "From the Inside Out" as we process and internalize what it means to be strengthened in the "inner being" Paul talks about in his prayer.

That's what's happening; see you Sunday!