Words from Chuck
Crossbridgers,
Even though its 99 degrees outside, we are gearing up for the Fall! School supplies are being bought (they still make Trapper Keepers?!), new clothes are being negotiated for (by my daughters) and Community Group sign-up begins this Sunday! That’s right our new Community Group season is upon and we are very excited.
We just had our annual Leadership Retreat last weekend and I couldn’t be more excited about the possibilities of what God may do in our midst. This fall we will have 16 Community Groups which is more groups than we have ever had as a church!
For those of you new to our church, Community Groups are small groups of people who gather to enjoy and extend the gospel of Jesus Christ as a community. These groups explore the implications of the gospel in the scriptures, care for each other, and serve the city through creative outreach. Community Groups are the primary way to connect to others at Crossbridge. They can be anywhere from 6-15 but can get up to 20 people or so. If you have never been a part of a Crossbridge Community Group I would highly encourage you to jump in this fall with us!
We will be doing a church wide study of the book of Proverbs this fall. I will be preaching on the major themes of the book and the Groups will be discussing those themes as well.
Come to the information table beginning this Sunday and learn where and when these groups will be meeting!
My prayer is that each of you will experience the transforming power of a community centered around the gospel this fall through one of our Community Groups.
See-ya Sunday
Chuck
PS – Remember Opportunity Sunday is August 28th. Go here to learn more and begin/continue praying about your part in this great opportunity in the life of our church!
Chuck’s Thoughts
Hi Everyone!
I have missed you! Over the past three weeks I have been on a Pastor’s Retreat with Kathleen in Vail, Colorado, put on by the Acts 29 Network, took 2 weeks of vacation and have been spending the last three days at a bay house studying, praying and preparing for the rest of the year. It has been a very fruitful time and I feel rested and refreshed. I have missed preaching to you but it has been good for my soul to pull back, rest, play, read fiction, and let God just be my savior and friend and not just a boss I work for during the week. I must confess it was hard leaving 50 degree weather in Vail to come back to 101 here!
This Sunday we will be starting a new message series entitled “PSALMS: Seeking God’s Heart”. We will spend the next 6 weeks looking at various Psalms that show different aspects of a life that seeks to know God deeply. The Psalms has been a book that the people of God have used in their worship services to sing, pray and use as a guide on how to interact with our great God. Over the past month I have been using a Bible reading plan that leads me to read 2-4 Psalms a day and the Lord has been using it to refresh my heart.
I will also be making an important announcement concerning our “Season of Opportunity” that we have been talking about since May. No one has dropped any gold bars by the office so don’t get your hopes up but we are going to talk about our plans as we seek to pay off our construction loan and take the next step in expanding.
Next Sunday we will have our 3rd annual “Floats on the Porch”! This is the Porch event that started it all! After each service you can stay and chat it up over delicious creamy root beer floats! I hope you’ll invite a friend to join you. This will be our last Porch event until the fall. You guys have been using these faithfully to introduce new people to our church and many are getting connected.
You are a privilege to pastor and I look forward to being back with you this Sunday!
Chuck
Words from the Heart
Crossbridge Community,
I am excited to have the opportunity to share with you what God is teaching me during this season of my life. With two young children at home there seems to be many lessons to be learned and not just for our children! Having children is a great mirror of how we are still growing and need the gospel EVERYDAY!
Most of our days lately have been trying to teach our daughter to follow the rules when asked and have a good attitude when doing things she’s asked. She is also learning consequences for when she doesn’t obey. As her teacher this seems very black or white of the basic rules of cause and effect. However, once again I become the student as I am reminded of the gospel.
Just the other day I was telling my daughter she needed to “make the right choice,” (do what I asked her to do, simply follow the rules.) Oh, and that she needed to do it with a good attitude. Well, she did as I asked but I wasn’t happy with the attitude she had while “following the rules.” I really wanted her to do what was asked of her not just because she had to but because she wanted too. So I found myself asking God how I could teach her to follow the rules and do it with a happy heart.
I was reflecting on how I get caught up in just following the rules or making the right choice just because it’s the Christian thing to do, or it’s just the right choice to make. I realized that I am asking my 4 year old to follow the rules and do it with a good attitude but she doesn’t have that ability yet. I don’t even have that ability on my own. I need the power the gospel provides to make good choices and follow the rules.
Following rules can be hard… Forgiving a family member or friend is hard when they have wronged us. Giving money to the building fund or tithing is hard when you could use that amount to pay a bill. Submitting to your husband is hard when you think your way is better. Following the rules is hard and trying to do it with joy is impossible without relying on the power that the gospel gives us.
I love how gracious our Lord is when teaching me of my inability to walk this life perfectly, I was never intended to. I need Jesus and the grace the gospel provides. Realizing that because Jesus made perfect choices, did them in love, without a sense of obligation and because He lives in me, I now have the power to follow the rules with a happy heart.
I encourage you to remember the gospel daily. Remind yourself that making the right choices are not dependant on our will or ability. We need the grace and power that the gospel provides every day in all situations. The gospel changes everything!
Thanks for letting me share a little about how God is working in me and allowing the gospel to change me. How are you allowing the gospel to grow you?
I am looking forward to a fun family worship service this Sunday with you!
Dixie
Meet Real, Live Missionaries This Friday!
That’s right friends! Not just people on a slide show, flannelgraph, or a ten year old video, but real, live normal people who feel called by God to live on mission with Him in Hungary! And you have the chance to meet them, pray for them, and learn how you can help them be a part of God’s redemptive plan for Hungary.
This Friday from 7-9 p.m. in the Elementary Room at 1049, Terry and Christina Cokenour (long time friends of Crossbridge and founding Partners) will be hosting a time for us to learn more about the mission God has called them to. There will be coffee and dessert but no childcare. What an awesome way to spend a Friday night! So call the sitter and make plans not just to watch another movie, but come hear how the Gospel can change a nation.
Terry and Christina have raised 20% of the support they need to go full time to Hungary and are praying to be there by January 2011.
RSVP to ccokenour@gmail.com.
Learn more at www.budapestalive.org.
Saturday Seminars
Depth takes time, and training is intentional. Saturday Seminars provide an opportunity to study a particular topic or issue and get equipped to grow in your faith. The purpose of our Saturday Seminars is to equip us through teaching, practical instruction, and interaction. We will cover various topics from how to Study the Bible to issues in contemporary theology to practical training on parenting. The topics are far-reaching and impactful. The teaching is beyond what is usually available on a weekend or in a group. Come ready to learn, receive training, and grow.
February 5, 2011, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Partnership Class
taught by Lead Pastor Chuck Land
Partnership helps create a sense of belonging, purpose, and unity within our church and gives you the chance to be part of something bigger than yourself. Join us for an overview of the history, beliefs, and vision of Crossbridge, and find out how partnership can make a difference in your life. There is no pressure to join the church, but this class is a prerequisite to join.
Financial Update – February 2010
God is blessing Crossbridge in many ways. There is a tremendously sweet spirit in our fellowship. Our weekly attendance is up 22% over last year at this time. Three-fourths of our adult attendance is in small groups. Our leadership team is growing and the number of attenders who support the church financially has increased as well. However, due to the economic times that we are in, our total giving is down about 25%, which is very significant to our operations. Our building fund gifts have decreased as well.
Please be in prayer for the families of our church as many have lost jobs and incomes have dropped. Also, please pray for the staff and the Pastoral Advisory Team/Elders as we seek to adjust our operations to enable us to live within our means. We trust God for His provision within our families and for our church as a whole. Let’s continue to pray and seek the Lord for His provision and guidance.
Crossbridge Church is Feeling the Effects of the Recession
The first half of 2009 was looking good for our general giving. However, the past few months have been very tight. In September alone we fell below our expenses by more than $14,000. We are watching our expenses very closely.
Our building fund giving has been dropping behind most of the year. We will need to re-address this issue by the first of the year. Please be in prayer for our church family as many have lost jobs or taken pay cuts this year. Also pray for our church ministries that God will continue to provide as He has so faithfully in the past.
Notes from Chuck
Hi Everybody!
The last few Sundays have been such sweet but meaty times worshipping and learning from God’s word. I hope you have been encouraged this week by His word to us Sunday; “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure”. (Philippians 2:13) I hope you will take time this week personally or with your Community Group to celebrate and rest in our God that is working!
I want to make you aware of few things coming up on the calendar!
Next Saturday is Halloween. Don’t be afraid of this day. In fact why not use this as an opportunity to serve our city. In the years past Community Groups have thrown block parties on Halloween night to show their neighbors God’s love in a practical way. Let me encourage you Crossbridge to be a light on this night. Turn your front porch light on and give away the best candy on the street. I try to give our full size candy bars to the kids the come by. We’re not endorsing witches and all the junk about Halloween; we are endorsing loving the people that come to your door. So how can you love your neighbors this Halloween? Full size candy bars, grill and give away free Hot Dogs, rent a bounce house for the neighborhood kids or throw a block party with your group? Be creative and have fun loving people.
November 1st is also time change Sunday! Set your clocks back one hour and enjoy the gift of sleep!
Please mark your calendars for November 15th. We will be having our second “On the Patio” Sunday. This summer we did “Floats on the Patio” and on November 15th we will have “Hot Dogs on the Patio”. Following each service will have free Hot Dogs and drinks for the whole family on the patio of 1049 Eldridge.
These Sundays are designed to introduce your friends and family who don’t have a church home or are outside the faith to Crossbridge. We will have our normal Sunday worship service and continue through Philippians but we will use this little social event to as an opportunity to invite someone who God has put on your heart to Crossbridge. Start praying now that God will open a door for you to invite someone to this special day and that He might do a work in their heart.
I know this might seem a little cheesy to do but let me tell you God uses these specials Sundays in people’s lives. One of the men that will be helping roast the dogs that Sunday was invited by a Crossbridger to our “Floats on the Patio” Sunday. That was his and his wife’s first Sunday with us and now they are regular attendees, going through our Gospel Class and will be serving up some good Hot Dogs on our next Patio Sunday!
I am always blessed by your commitment to advance the gospel Crossbridge.
Thanks for making it a joy to be your pastor!
Chuck
PS – Please remember to join us for First Tuesday – November 3rd!
The Call for Godly Men
This Sunday: “The Call for Godly Men” – Philippians 2:17-30
Crossbridge Men, this Sunday’s message will be aimed at encouraging us to take the next step in living God-Centered lives for the sake of our families, city and world. I would like to ask you to make every effort to be here this Sunday, for our time of worship. Whether you are married or single, you will be encouraged by God’s word this Sunday.
Ladies, there will be a lot for you too in this passage, but I will be specifically addressing our men and encouraging them to take the next step in being all Jesus is calling them to be. Let me encourage you married ladies, to make every effort to get your man (or men if you have teenage sons) here for this service. If you are a single lady, please encourage the men in your life to be here and be praying for the men in our church.
See ya Sunday!
Joy in the City
The book of Philippians is a little book that packs a big punch. It is only 4 chapters but the truth in it can change our lives. It’s really a letter written to them by their founding pastor the Apostle Paul.
One of the main themes of the book is joy that is found in knowing Jesus as our savior and Lord. In our culture there are thousands of books and ideas on how to be happy. Our whole nation is founded on the idea of “the pursuit of happiness,” but despite all our books, ideas and talk shows we continue to be a nation of unhappy people. We still strive for more, better, new, faster and thrilling. Nothing seems to satisfy us.
In the book of Philippians though we don’t find a guy living in his perfect million-dollar home, with his perfect teeth telling us how to think positively and actualize our perfect future. No in this book we find a guy in jail writing a letter not telling how it’s wrong for him to be in there but that it really advances the Gospel (Phil 1:12). He doesn’t write to complain or beg them to break him out. Paul actually says he rejoices (1:18), calls his friends to rejoice, and work toward relational unity for the sake of the Gospel.
We have titled this study, “Joy in the City.” We’re using the word “city” as a metaphor for where we live. The great writer Augustine wrote about the “city of man” and the “city of God.” The “city of man” is where we live now. We live in a place and time where people have rebelled against God and we all live under the curse of the fall (Genesis 4). The values of this city are not the values of God. The end of the Bible speaks of the “city of God,” the place where Jesus rules and reigns and His will is done perfectly and joyfully. This city is described this way…
“1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and there was no longer any sea.
2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3And I heard a loud voice from the
throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men,
and he will live with them. They will be his people,
and God himself will be with them and be their God
4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There
will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:1-4
Jesus entered the city of man and lived a sinless life and then died as payment for the sins of humanity. He was buried and on the third day rose from the dead, defeating Satan, Sin and death. Jesus will one day return and bring the “City of God” down from heaven as it is written in Revelation 21. Right now we live in a time where Jesus reconciles people to His Father by the Holy Spirit yet they still dwell in the “city of man.” God in His sovereign wisdom has chosen to use these redeemed people (the church) to demonstrate and declare the reality of this new city where Jesus is King.
So as we study this great book we are seeking as a church community to ask how do we have “Joy in the City?” How do we live as followers of Jesus whose motto is “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21)? How do we live in the city of man but let our “manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil 1:27)? How do we have the joy of knowing Jesus Christ as the center of our life in the “city of man?”
We are also seeking to learn how we can bring joy to this city. Paul will challenge us to live in such a way to advance the gospel in whatever circumstance we are in. How do we bring the joy of Jesus to the place we live and work? The Church is on a mission to declare and demonstrate the joy of knowing Jesus to the world.
I am so excited to study this book with you and learn from the Holy Spirit how to be a community of people who have “joy in the city” and bring “joy to the city”.
