Church Family Time etc.

The following email went out a few moments ago to folks on an email list.  If you'd like to be on the list for future Crossroads emails just let us know -- email steve at equalsharing.com or call 320-286-2100.

Good morning Crossroads Friends -

On Sunday morning several people shared some good updates and some invitations - you can listen to an unedited recording of all these at this link or, for several links to other parts of Sunday' July 13th worship go HERE.

If you couldn't make it on Sunday, or if you would like a reminder of these things, we encourage you to take 15 minutes to listen.  There's no substitute for gathering with brothers and sisters in the Lord, and we aren't polished speakers, but the Holy Spirit is at work through this.

Here are the updates and invitations that were shared - several people spoke:

1. Thanks to God for His Faithfulness!
2. The "DIY" series ("Do It Yourself")
3. Youth & Children's Ministry Interest Survey (since Sunday there has been a special invitation to a cookout for the families with children of Sunday school age children.  If you didn't get an email invitation let us know, we had a "bounce back" on one or more email addresses)
4. Major upcoming High School outreach event
5. Thanks to God for a wedding
6. Matthew Dahlseng's Eagle Award board of review approval and upcoming court of honor
7. Sat., July 19 Franklin Avenue Mission (Please come! Since Ron gave that announcement we heard there will probably be more people to feed and talk with than we first thought!  Last Saturday, even though it was "raining cats and dogs" they still had people under tents).
8. Baptism opportunity on Sunday at noon (contact Ron Olson)
9. Testimony about 6 men coming to Christ through jail ministry
10. Prayer for Muslims, that as they fast and pray and seek God now during Ramadan that they would actually find God
11. Prayer for young people who are at Bible camp this week
12. Prayer for family of Ryan Pettit and financial help for his family (As of very early today $6,820 has been raised for the family at THIS LINK.)

You can see the bulletin from Sunday HERE. 

Since Sunday morning your board of directors met.  For the last three months we've started our meeting with about an hour of scripture and prayer time.  Here are the scriptures that were shared this Monday evening by the board members present:

• Isaiah 40:31 (a verse remembered from Bible Study Fellowship studies of a few years ago) "those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
• Joshua 1:8-9 "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
• Second Corinthians 8:7 and 9:6 "since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving" and "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."
• Acts 27:33-37 (from last Sunday morning's 9 AM Bible Study) "take some food... they were all encouraged."  This was just before the shipwreck that Paul knew would happen and the God had told Paul that all would survive.
• First Peter 2:3 about grace, that is, we have "tasted and seen that he Lord is good."
• First Samuel 17:26b "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy..." and then, two verses later, part of David's reply to his oldest brother who is angry that David has left home to come down to the battle, the King James Version of First Samuel 17:29 has David saying "Is there not a cause?" ... That KJV verse was significant as we prayed that we would know God's good and strong and "fighting" PURPOSE for our lives, as in "isn't there a cause for which we can stand up and give our lives?"  (Other versions don't translate the verse that way but the sense is still there, David does not back down when his older brother scorns him by saying, in effect, go home and take care of the sheep.)

One of the board's actions was to slightly increase the amount that we are giving to missions beyond our own work locally.  Every dollar that we give personally to Crossroads is dedicated to God's mission work, but these dollars will be given to support the work of others.  We'll make available a list of those mission projects as soon as the board minutes have been prepared.

Confident that God's peace and purpose reign in your life today as we pray, in Jesus' name.

www.equalsharing.com