Back to School Drive: Last Sunday to bring Supplies
Don’t forget, the last Sunday for our Back to SchoolDRIVE is THIS Sunday!
Get the whole family involved and be the hands, and feet of Christ this Summer! Pick up a list of needed supplies at the Children’s Check-In, or print the list below. You can drop them off this Sunday!
Back to SchoolDrive List*:
pencils
pens
yellow highlighters
folders with brads
rulers
scissors
notebook paper
composition notebooks
colored pencils
colored markers
elmer’s glue
glue sticks
pencil boxes
notebooks
* don’t forget that the Dollar Store is an affordable place to buy these things!
Preparation for Sunday, 8/1/2010
Song Preparation: I encourage you listen to these songs each week so that you are familiar with them by the time we sing on Sunday. I always find that becoming more familiar with the lyrics to a song gives me more freedom to be led by the Holy Spirit as I worship. We won’t play these song exactly as they sound below but this is a good start! I would encourage you to go to itunes or any other music download site and purchase these songs for your music library. That way you can spend more time listening to them and learning the lyrics!
Here is some scripture that goes well with the songs we will sing this Sunday. Greater than we can Imagine: Psalm 145:2-3; No not One: 1 John 4:9-10; Thy Mercy: Psalm 145:8-9.
Songs:
We will also say this reading together based on scripture form Colossians 2:3 and Revelation 5:12. Meditate on these words to prepare yourself for worship this week.
The Lord who calls us to worship today is the same Jesus
who refused the temptation to worship the evil one.
Rather than receive the glorious kingdoms of this world,
he endured the shame of the cross,
and today is Lord of lords and King of kings.
Now are gathered in him
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, glory and power.
With the saints of all ages we say,
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
I look forward to worshipping the Risen Lamb with you this Sunday!
Ben
Note from Chuck
What a day Sunday was! It was very refreshing to worship with you, watch you learn from God’s word, and meet many new people invited by you! ”Floats on the Porch” was a blast! Special thanks to Adrian and Shelia Garcia and their team for serving floats, and all the other effort they put into making this Porch Event a great success.
There are three items I would like to update you on:
1. EPIC Campaign Update
As of this week we have raised $189,097.00 in new and renewed pledges toward our construction loan. Thank you to everyone who prayed and is sacrificing for this important part of our church life. We will update you again this fall on where we are with pledges and give those of you who weren’t ready to make a pledge commitment yet a chance to make one. If you would like to go ahead and make a pledge commitment to the Epic Campaign go here and start today!
2. Children Ministry Staff Changes
The Elders and I are excited to announce the hiring of Dixie Moreau as our new Pre-School Ministry Director. Dixie will oversee all ministries at Crossbridge from birth to Kindergarten! Tisha Rich will move to more of a part-time role as Elementary Ministry Director.
Tisha came to me a while back with this idea of taking her salary and breaking it up into two positions. She wants to focus more on the Elementary area (an area that is thriving and growing) and prepare as she and Scott begin the process of seeking to adopt another child. Dixie has been praying about a part time job for while to spend more time with her family and has desired to increase her role with the church. After interviewing her for the position and praying about it, I feel she is God’s provision for us during this next season of our church.
Dixie and her husband, JP, are long time Crossbridgers and I couldn’t be more excited about the direction our entire children’s ministry is heading under Dixie’s and Tisha’s leadership. Be sure to tell both ladies how excited you are about this!
3. Acts 29 Regional Meeting hosted by Crossbridge
We are hosting the Texas Regional Meeting for Acts 29 churches this Wednesday and Thursday. Please pray for the 50 pastors that will be in 1049 as we seek the Lord on how to best advance the gospel in this great state. I love being in this network. If you would like to learn more about the Acts 29 Network go here.
See-ya Sunday!
Chuck
Preparation for Sunday, 7/25/2010
Song Preparation: I encourage you listen to these songs each week so that you are familiar with them by the time we sing on Sunday. I always find that becoming more familiar with the lyrics to a song gives me more freedom to be led by the Holy Spirit as I worship. We won’t play these song exactly as they sound below but this is a good start! I would encourage you to go to itunes or any other music download site and purchase these songs for your music library. That way you can spend more time listening to them and learning the lyrics!
Here is some scripture that goes well with the songs we will sing this Sunday. Christ is Risen: Luke 24:5-7; Only Your Blood: Hebrews 10:4, 9:14; In Christ Alone: Acts 4:11-12; Abide with Me: John 15:4-5
Songs:
We will also read in succession Romans 5:8, Colossians 1:13-14 and Romans 5:1. Spend some time with these verses of scripture and see how the flow so well together. I look forward to worshipping Christ with you this Sunday.
Ben
The Coins Drop: Getting the Gospel Deep in You
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thanksgiving in your hearts to God.”
~Colossians 3:16
As I planned out my lunch period during my High School days, I always made sure I had enough coins to get myself the beloved nectar from heaven that would get me through the rest of day: Dr. Pepper. Now this was before the days of having to put bills in the machine for the 20oz bottle that blew up in your face when you opened it (Seriously, was that planned as a cruel joke? “We get their money, then shake the bottle as it goes down, and when they open it, BOOM. Bwhahahaha!”).
One of the more frustrating moments was when you put your first coin in and hear the click-clack of it going down the machine, and then you would put your last coin in the machine and hear “click-CLUNK!” The coin wouldn’t drop. It was stuck somewhere in the machine, and without the coin dropping, I would have to eat my Hot Pocket and Star Crunch with…gasp, water! I would “lay hands” on the machine, pray to unknown gods, use some kung-fu, shake it wildly hoping I would hear the click-clack of the coin dropping so my beloved would come out.
Over the years I have taken in the truth of the gospel, many of its truths and implications have dropped deep into my heart producing life change that is staggering to me. When I find I am struggling with a certain sin during a certain time, it seems my heart has gone “click-CLUNK” with the gospel. It is not dropping into this deep part of my heart. To make the gospel drop, I must continually repent of my sin and put my trust and treasure in the person and work of Jesus. I find that it’s the implications of the gospel that need to drop in my heart. And they don’t just drop once, this is an ongoing process for me.
Here are some of the gospel implications/promises/truths that need to drop in our hearts:
(adapted from materials from Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky)
- Instead of believing you are estranged from God, you must learn to claim the gospel promise that you are now chosen by God in Christ. (Election, Ephesians 1:3-6)
- Instead of believing God condemns you, you must learn to claim the gospel promise that you are now forgiven by God in Christ. (Propitiation, Romans 3:23-26; 1 John 4:10)
- Instead of believing God rejects you, you must learn to claim the gospel promise that God in Christ now accepts you. You are declared not guilty. (Justification, Romans 3:24, 5:1, 9)
- Instead of believing you are unloved by God, you must learn to claim the gospel promise that God in Christ now adopts you. (Adoption, Romans 8:15, Ephesians 1:5)
- Instead of believing you are spiritually powerless, you must learn to claim the gospel promise that God has made you spiritually alive in Christ. (Regeneration, Titus 3:5)
- Instead of believing you are in bondage to sin, you must learn to claim the gospel promise that God has delivered you from sin’s power in Christ. (Redemption, Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:7)
- Instead of believing you must be unholy because of sin, you must learn to claim the gospel promise that God has set you apart from sin and for holiness in Christ. (Sanctification, Romans 6:22)
- Instead of believing you are without hope, you must learn to claim the gospel promise that all things will be restored by God in Christ. (Glorification, Romans 8:30)
Where in your life do you feel the “click, CLUNK” of the gospel? What gospel coin do you need to repent of not believing and, by faith, live by? Which one do you need to pray that the Holy Spirit would let catch fire in your heart?
What coins need to drop so that the life Jesus came to give us can come out of us for the sake of others and His glory?
Note from Chuck
Hi Everybody,
It’s been a few weeks since I have written to you. I am excited about this Sunday, and there are three reasons why:
- It will be my first Sunday to preach in three weeks! I love my calling to shepherd and preach the Bible to Crossbridge. So I’m just excited to be back doing that.
- Mark 6:14-29. This is one of the saddest passages in the book of Mark. And it’s not sad for the reasons you might think. Read the passage before Sunday. We will unpack it together. So far my working title is “The Things That Lead to Another: How to push God out of your life.”
- FLOATS ON THE PORCH! This is our second annual “Floats on the Porch Sunday.” Following each service, we will enjoy a time of community building on the porch of 1049 Eldridge over the creamy bubbly of a Root Beer Float. A nice refreshing treat on a hot, summer day and a good appetizer before lunch!
We continually want to be an inclusive community at Crossbridge. If the Gospel is working in us, then it will be propelling us outward toward our neighbors and friends who don’t know Jesus. Not only is this a natural outworking of the Holy Spirit applying the Gospel to our lives but it is also what Jesus has called us to do (Matthew 28:19-20).
Floats on the Porch is an opportunity to introduce our friends to the Crossbridge Community. Many times people need to belong before they will believe, so I make no apology about encouraging you to invite and include people on Sunday!
A recent survey says that 82% of people who say they are not Christians would respond favorably to an invitation from a friend to church! That means that most likely they will not be offended and might even say YES!
The sad thing is that same survey said that 98% of churchgoers will never invite someone to church! Friends, this should not be! If the love of God is a fire in our heart, then we should be opening up our lives and mouths to include people in our community so they might see and hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ!
So here are four tips that we believe will help you see your friends come to church this Sunday:
1. Pray and ask God that the subject of church would come up naturally in conversation.
I regularly pray and ask God to guide my conversations with people I want to invite to church. I am amazed by how often someone will say, “I’m just praying that God will work it out.” It’s in moments like these that wise people see the open door that God is giving us. It’s very natural to say, “Speaking of prayer, my church is moving to a new location this weekend and I think you’d really enjoy the topic we’re going to be discussing.”
2. Give them an invite card.
The reason we give you invite cards is so that you’ll always have one to give a friend. The invite cards give them all the information they need to make a decision to attend one of our services. This way, they can check out our website and see what Crossbridge is all about and get some of their questions answered.
3. Invite them to lunch after church.
I have used this tip for years. I know it sounds funny, but no one can resist a free lunch. Plus, if they’re a friend, they’d enjoy spending time with you and your family. So invite them to come to the same service you’re attending and then to join you for lunch afterwards so you can talk about the service. It’s amazing how God can use you after a service to reinforce what God has been speaking to them during the service.
4. Pray for them even after they have said yes to attending.
I am amazed at the crazy situations the Devil throws at people when they decide to come to church. Pray that God would wake them up on Sunday, that their kids would behave, that the whole family would come to church, and that their heart would be open to hear God.
I know that God wants to use you to reach your friends and family. Just think, the reason you and I are Christians is because someone reached out to us. I pray we would return the favor by reaching out to someone else and watching what God can do in the life of someone we care about.
See-ya Sunday.
Excited to see what God will do in us and through us!
Chuck
Preparation for Sunday, 7/18/2010
Song Preparation: I encourage you listen to these songs each week so that you are familiar with them by the time we sing on Sunday. I always find that becoming more familiar with the lyrics to a song gives me more freedom to be led by the Holy Spirit as I worship. We won’t play these song exactly as they sound below but this is a good start! I would encourage you to go to itunes or any other music download site and purchase these songs for your music library. That way you can spend more time listening to them and learning the lyrics!
Here is some scripture that goes well with the songs we will sing this Sunday. Our Glorious God: Exodus 15:11; Hands of the Healer: Isaiah 53:5; At the cross: Galatians 6:14; Thy Mercy: Psalm 145:8-9.
Songs:
We will also read Psalm 105:1-7 together. Spend some time reading and meditating on this scripture before Sunday.
Ben
Preparation for Sunday, 7/11/2010
Song Preparation: I encourage you listen to these songs each week so that you are familiar with them by the time we sing on Sunday. I always find that becoming more familiar with the lyrics to a song gives me more freedom to be led by the Holy Spirit as I worship. We won’t play these song exactly as they sound below but this is a good start! I would encourage you to go to itunes or any other music download site and purchase these songs for your music library. That way you can spend more time listening to them and learning the lyrics!
Here is some scripture that goes well with the songs we will sing this Sunday. Awesome is the Lord most High: Psalm 47:1-2; Hands of the Healer: Isaiah 53:5; How Great is Our God: Acts 4:12
Songs:
Please spend some time reading and meditating on 1 Peter 2: 4-10. We will read this scripture together on Sunday.
I look forward to worshipping the our God the cornerstone with you this week!
Ben
