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!
No comments:
Post a Comment