What It Means to Trust God

I have five minutes to jot a few thoughts down. God is teaching me, again, these days, about trusting Him. We at Crossroads have grieved as several key individuals and families have chosen to move on to other area churches. Some of us who remain at Crossroads have been tempted by discouragement, but instead of allowing us to sink, God has lifted us through his wonderful promises. We are learning, once again, what it means to trust God. And that will be the theme of our teaching at Crossroads for the next few weeks. Pray that we will trust Him for everything and that we will share a solid faith with all.

Here are a few of the wonderful promises of God. Let's just trust him.

Psalm 34:17-20 

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

1 Peter 5:7 

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Corinthians 10:13 

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Philippians 4:19 

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Romans 15:13 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

2 Corinthians 12:9 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Psalm 91:1-16 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

John 5:24 

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Revelation 21:4 

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

2 Corinthians 4:8 

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;

Romans 12:2 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Psalm 23:1-6 

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Hebrews 4:15-16 

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Philippians 4:6-7 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

James 4:7 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Psalm 147:3

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

John 3:16 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Psalm 55:22 

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Hebrews 7:25

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Psalm 40:1-3 

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18 

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Proverbs 30:5 

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Psalm 130:1-2 

A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

1 Peter 4:12

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Isaiah 61:3 

To grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

John 10:10 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Isaiah 40:30-31 

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 18:1-3 

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

Psalm 94:18-19 

When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

Romans 8:1 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 12:20 

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;

Psalm 34:1-22 

Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away. I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

Isaiah 46:10 

Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

Job 2:10 

But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Psalm 121:1-8 

A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 

And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

Job 1:21 

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Psalm 57:10 

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

Job 11:18-19 

And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security. You will lie down, and none will make you afraid; many will court your favor.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Luke 22:44 

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Mark 16:16 

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Matthew 6:24-34

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,

Exodus 14:13 

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

Isaiah 9:1 

But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

Exodus 6:9 

Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

www.equalsharing.com

Not A Distraction

Too often we "church people" get so involved in our "church activities" that we don't PAY ATTENTION to the needs around us.

This isn't only true with "church people" of course, but "church people" should know better because we follow a Savior who says that when we help those in need, we are actually ministering to him. (Mt 25:13-46). Even worse, we can think of people's needs as a distraction or an interruption of more important work.

A couple hours ago as I was working on my message for tomorrow, I got a phone call from someone who has volunteered to help locate a missing person. Flyers needed to be printed. I didn't know much about the situation but I decided to go and print them.  Here's a version of the flyer:

I said "yes" to printing these especially today because I can see a connection between the passage I'm studying in advance of tomorrow (Nehemiah 5) and the need that came to me a few minutes ago.

I hope I will always see the needs of others as a part of God's call on my lives, and not simply an interruption. To paraphrase Marley's Ghost from A Christmas Carol:

“Mankind is my business. The common welfare is my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, are all my business. The dealings of my trade (in this case, the work I am doing to get ready for tomorrow's message) is but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!" 

A person might think that preparing to preach the Word is much more important than printing flyers, but it's my belief, as I have studied God's Word and prayed, that God often brings into our lives exactly what God desires that we do. That's what happened to Nehemiah in chapter 5 as people brought the needs and injustices of the poor to his attention. Nehemiah was called by God to step away from the important and holy business of building the wall around Jerusalem so that the poor would not be ignored.

I'm looking forward to sharing more about this tomorrow.  Join us tomorrow at Crossroads if you can, or listen the recording we hope to post afterward.

www.equalsharing.com

Spiritual Friendship

I encountered this via twitter this morning. How important are your spiritual friendships beyond family? Jesus' command to "love one another" is all about spiritual friendships that last.

"...I imagine Christian communities in which friendships are celebrated and honored—where it’s normal for families to live near or with single people; where it’s expected that celibate gay people would form significant attachments to other single people, families, and pastors; where it’s standard practice for friends to spend holidays together or share vacations; where it’s not out of the ordinary for friends to consider staying put, resisting the allure of constant mobility, for the sake of their friendships. I imagine a church where genuine love isn’t located exclusively or even primarily in marriage, but where marriage and friendship and other bonds of affection are all seen as different forms of the same love we all are called to pursue.

"By shifting our practice of friendship to a more committed, honored form of love, we can witness—above all—to a kingdom in which the ties between spiritual siblings are the strongest ties of all. Marriage, Jesus tells us, will be entirely transformed in the future, barely recognizable to those who know it in its present form (Matt. 22:30). Bonds of biology, likewise, are relativized in Jesus’ world (Mark 3:31–35). But the loves that unite Christians to each other across marital, racial, and familial lines are loves that will last. More than that, they are loves that witness that Christ’s love is available to all. Not everyone can be a parent or a spouse, but anyone and everyone can be a friend..."

This is from a longer article from Christianity Today that is previewed at http://spiritualfriendship.org/2014/08/29/til-death-do-us-part-and-why-thats-about-friendship-too/

Even as a married person, I long for spiritual friendships that are deep and significant, where prayers can be shared and where Romans 12:15 becomes a real part of life.  Where no one needs to weep or rejoice alone.

www.equalsharing.com

True Stories Wanted

God's peace to all of you.

I'm studying in advance of this Sunday, August 31 --

As a part of our "ReBuild" series I'm planning a message that I've titled "NOT A DISTRACTION: Remembering the poor and oppressed." The title comes from the fact that many times, as literal or figurative building projects go on, that some would say that the complaints and needs of those who are in the worst conditions should be ignored or at least shuttled to the side so the "building" can go on. Or, if they don't say that, that's what is done.

Nehemiah chapter 5 gives a positive, good example of how such needs should be handled.  The books namesake listens to the complaints of the poor and oppressed. He doesn't ignore them. He allows the cries of the poor to affect him, he then "takes counsel with himself" (which I'm sure included prayer and reflection on the Word of God). He then confronts the leaders and officials of the people because they have been benefiting from a [mini] economic system that is said to have caused the common folks of Jerusalem to beg, go into debt and sell their children into slavery--to simply survive. 

In the case of the nobles and elders that Nehemiah confronts, they react in a very good way. "They were silent and could not find words to say." Nehemiah then instructs them further and warns them about what will happen if they do not listen--and they change their ways, returning their mortgaged lands and the children who had been sold into slavery.

(Nehemiah also sets a good example, not using his privileged position to enrich himself but instead using all he has to bless those who are in need.)

What poignant story or stories are you aware of that would drive home the point that this is not just ancient history but something that goes on today? The stories could be either negative examples (stories of exploitation) or positive ones (stories of those who confront the self-centered powers and/or set good examples in the face of need).

FYI - The early church, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed these issues in Acts 2, 4 and 6... and in other ways as well.

Thank you.

Good Work Under God

The building that Crossroads Church meets in has a large insulated garage door in the area where we gather for worship. That large door has been helpful in some practical ways. It's also been fun to use in messages and sermons now and then.

One of the times we used that big garage door was as we very quickly illustrated the concept of "teamwork" last Sunday.  (This was part of our "Re:Build" series.)

Here are a few things that were said (for a recording go here).

"We've been doing a series here based on the book of Nehemiah over the past couple weeks and I want to do a little children's piece based on that -- but I'd like to turn your attention to this little piece in the bulletin where it talks about what we've done so far in that series.

"When we come to Jesus we get built up into a spiritual house -- into a place of protection for all who need protection. So today I'd like to invite and ask you to go home from here and read chapters 3 and 4 of Nehemiah... Spiritually, the teachings in Nehemiah are not about a city in the middle east. The teachings of Nehemiah are about the spiritual family of God which spans all denominations and all around the world--and about the work that's needed to keep that family of God protected from the evil one. We're going to do a little piece now that will apply to that.

"So, I'd like kids to come over here... "

We then opened the big garage on the south side of the building, and we handed out some colorful interlocking mat squares that the kids use in our children's area. They're about two feet wide and about 3/4 inch thick.

I wish I had a photo of the kids at work! Some took the task quite seriously, doing their best to interlock the squares. We only had a few minutes for our little "Time for Children" so we couldn't actually build the "wall" of floor mat squares... but we did discover that we needed more than just young children. We added older youth and then some adults to "seal up" the entrance, the gap in the wall of the building made when the garage door opened up.

As a dozen children and adults were doing their best to play along with my illustration, I said something like this:

"In the book of Nehemiah there are a lot of families that get involved in the building of the wall... Nehemiah inspects the wall and he sees that there are gaps...  The lesson of chapters 3 and 4 is that it takes a lot of folks. It takes the whole community as they build this wall. Spiritually what that means all of us who are people of God have a role to play. When part of that goes away all of a sudden there is a gap. But we do need to depend on the Lord because--Can we make this complete? Absolutely not! But God does give us all a role.

"That is the story of the book of Nehemiah. It's about building the wall around the city of Jerusalem, about taking our place in building the spiritual protection that is needed in the city of God."

And then we prayed:

"Father, we want to do what you want us to do. You know where the proper places are in the wall where each of us is to be working. Whether it's "over there, in that particular area" or over "here..." We want to release control to you, so that we're not the ones who are in charge of determining which piece of the wall, which part of your kingdom we are to be working in. We want to let you determine that. So come Holy Spirit and lead us. You need to lead us so we are doing the proper work at the proper time. In Jesus' name."

The rest of the worship hour was led by this summer's "YouthWorks" team. I plan to post more about their presentation on our "Re:Build" page later. 

The YouthWorks team is ONE example of ONE group that took responsibility for ONE part of the "spiritual building" that God is doing, both in the city they traveled to (Chicago's south side) and in the Dassel-Cokato area. There are many more parts, many more gaps to fill and gates to build. 

So let's submit the needs to God, asking him to lead each of us to the place he would have us build, and then doing just what He says.


www.equalsharing.com

Love INC

Note added Oct. 6 - since this was posted we've moved ahead with the preliminary steps toward discerning whether it makes sense to move toward developing a Love INC affiliate in the Dassel-Cokato area. I encourage you to take a look at a little webpage dedicated to the discernment process.

----------
Written August 20:

The following email was sent out a few moments ago to our Crossroads email list.  One of the links below is for a video that explains what "LOVE INC" is all about.  In our Dassel-Cokato area we are blessed blessed with food shelves and thrift stores. Let's pray about a next step and a DC area "Love INC" affiliate!  Let me know if you're interested in looking into this alongside others in our community.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Love INC Digital Information Kit
From: "Crossroads Community Church"
Date: Wed, August 20, 2014 7:45 pm
To: Crossroads Community Church

Crossroads Friends -

Who would like to join me in looking into this?  (See below.)  I believe that our area would greatly benefit by having a Love Inc. affiliate in our community.  (I'm sending the same message out to the other churches in the DC area.)

Please reply or otherwise let me know.

Thank you.

Pastor Steve

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Love INC Digital Information Kit
From: "New Affiliate Development Team" <NewLoveINC@loveinc.org>
Date: Mon, July 14, 2014 6:50 pm
To: "Steve Thorson" <steve@equalsharing.com>

Dear Pastor Thorson,

Thank you for your interest in Love In the Name of Christ. For more than 30 years, Love INC has been mobilizing local churches to transform lives and communities In the Name of Christ.

There are approximately 150 Love INC affiliates meeting over 1 million needs each year through more than 10,000 churches, 9,200 community agencies, and 100,000 volunteers.

We have gone to a digital format of sending out our materials. Please follow the links below to access informational materials about the Love INC ministry. You can also learn more at our website, www.loveinc.org.

May God bless you as you seek to help meet needs In the Name of Christ in the Dassel-Cakato, Minnesota area!

Love In the Name of Christ - Love INC
PO Box 270305 | St. Paul, MN 55127
NewLoveINC@loveinc.org | www.loveinc.org

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love,
so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding,
in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:2-3 (NIV) 

LINKS:

2011 Annual Report

Company Brochure

Helping Churches Help People In Need

How does Love INC form in the community?

Love INC Video (Best viewed in Firefox or Google Chrome)

Frequently Asked Questions 

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Love INC National: New Affiliate
From: Love INC National <info@loveinc.org>
Date: Mon, July 14, 2014 9:17 am
To: info@loveinc.org

This is an enquiry email via http://www.loveinc.org/ from:
Steve Thorson <steve@equalsharing.com>

I am interested in helping start a new Love Inc affiliate in my community. I serve as pastor of Crossroads Community Church in Cokato, MN. There are two Love Inc affiliates nearby, one based out of Delano, the other in Buffalo, MN. Neither of them serve our "Dassel-Cokato" community, roughly determined by the boundaries of the DC school district - http://www.dc.k12.mn.us/district/images/districtmap.jpg

I'd love to share more about this dream so please contact me by email or by phone - 763-291-3499 (cell).

------------------------------------------

This is sent from a central emailing system at Crossroads Community Church. 

www.crossroadscokato.com

You may reply to this email.

Clicking reply will reply to the one sending the original message.  If you would like to be taken off this email list please reply and let us know!

To contact the Crossroads office leave a message at 320-286-2100.

To contact Pastor Steve Thorson call 763-291-3499 or email steve@equalsharing.com

To contact others at Crossroads please check the Crossroads Contact webpage.

Our administrative assistant is normally at the church office from 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday (as of July 15, 2014).

Thank you.

www.equalsharing.com

Where's Your Focus?

One of my goals, actually a pretty important one, is to do my best to stay out of the way of other people's relationship with God.  I find my pattern in this as I read from First Corinthians chapters 1-4, where the Lord cautions us to avoid putting too much attention on spiritual "leaders" (a better term would be spiritual "servants").

Please take 15 minutes to read those chapters and to ask God to examine your attitudes... Are you focused on your relationship with God or are you distracted by the names and reputations of the "servants" (1 Cor 3:5) who the Lord assigns to each one of us.

Here are links to the chapters - clicking on each will open a new window.

First Corinthians
chapter 1 - chapter 2 - chapter 3 - chapter 4

Here are a few lines from chapter 3:

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷ So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹ For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

Our enemy and all spiritual forces of evil want all of us to take our attention off of the Lord.  So the devil tempts both those who are recognized as spiritual "leaders" (actually not leaders but servants of God) and others.

• The devil tempts (1) the recognized spiritual leaders to put a lot of emphasis on themselves (being joyful or offended depending on people's response to them)
• The devil also tempts (2) the rest of the people to spend too much time thinking about their relationships, whether good or difficult, with "pastors" and others who have spiritual leadership responsibilities in their churches, Bible study groups, prayer groups, etc. 

As this applies to most believers, when you focus too much on the successes or failings of leaders (or how easy or hard our relationship is going with them) you can, if you're not prayerfully careful, you can end up

• isolating yourself spiritually or moving from one fellowship to another in a way that does not honor God (and thereby disobey the command of God that we "love one another" within the Christian fellowship)
• avoiding close fellowships and staying only in large assemblies of believers where the relationships are less personal.

I'm not sure I did a good job of explaining this, so please take time to read the first four chapters of First Corinthians and ask God to examine you in regard to your attitudes and relationships with the "servants" of God in your life.  And please respond and let me know whether or not you think this reflection on God's Word is helpful--or not.  This has been perking in me for a long time

www.equalsharing.com

Church and Family

A dear friend recently challenged me about how church and family fit together.

The assumption is often that church should fit the standard way that each of us does family--but there is another way to think about this, a way summarized by the phrase "Family On Mission."

Here are two video presentations from Community of Hope church in Rosemount that I think are helpful in explaining what this is about -- presentations that are a part of the "Re:Build" series on the book of Nehemiah that we are using parts of at Crossroads.  At this link you can learn more about that, plus listen to our versions of messages in the series that we've shared so far.

On August 24th at Crossroads the plan is that some of our youth, particularly our youth who have been part of the YouthWorks mission trip, will be planning and leading worship as an example of the TEAMWORK that families can engage in as mission partners with the Lord.


Rebuild: A Study of Nehemiah | “Family On Mission” Nehemiah 3 (Jason Lovold) from Community of Hope on Vimeo.


Rebuild: A Study of Nehemiah | “Fighting For Family” Nehemiah 4 (Per Nilsen) from Community of Hope on Vimeo.

www.equalsharing.com

Do Not Hold Back

Jack Aamot put this on facebook this morning.  It's worth a read:

Once in a while I feel I have to express my deep feelings and convictions. This facebook way seems to work:

I believe that most Christians have a reluctance, perhaps a fear to share the good news of God's love, Jesus' death for our sins and the resurrection as an exclamation point that all sins were paid for, and we have an alive Jesus who is empowering his followers by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit- who according to Jesus gives us the power to "witness."

In fact Jesus commission to the 11 was they were to go and make disciples.

There is a growing number of people who love Jesus but do not want to help the pre-Christians experience the presence and power that comes with salvation, shalom, via a turning to Jesus and experiencing new life in him.

Rom 1:16 is Paul saying I am not ashamed of the gospel: Jesus is the Christ, he died for our sins, he rose from the grave and is alive today so we can have a unity with him as powerful and rewarding as his unity with the Father. Paul goes on to say: it, the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.

Later on in Romans Paul says you have to hear this good news in order to believe, and to hear it someone has to tell you the gospel so no it's not enuf to give a poor child a pair of socks (as I heard the other night)...

Now I think that God will use all the kind deeds, the listening ears, the smiles, to prepare the person to hear the gospel and respond by faith to what they have heard -- in scripture we read about those who sow the seed, others water the seed - only God gives the growth - and there are workers for the harvest time - [but] someone needs to share the gospel - the good news - and then God moves to help them say yes to Jesus -

So Jesus asked us to pray to the lord of the harvest - always there are those ready to respond - for laborers to go to harvest - those God has ready to repent and believe and receive his gift of eternal life.

There I got some of it out there - do not hold back from those you encounter - tell them about Jesus - it just may be that God has prepared them for you to "evangelize."

*** To learn more about the evangelistic movement that was founded in Brazil by Jack Aamot and others, go to Movimento Encontrão (automatic google translation from the Portuguese).  I met the "BIG ENCOUNTER" movement when I was in Brasil 1983-84. ***

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Thursday's JAM (Jesus and Me)

On Thursday at LQ, during our extended "JAM" time (from about 11 AM until about 4:00 PM), God led me from the book "DO HARD THINGS" (chapters posted on the Leadership Quest webpage) and the book of Second Timothy (which we studied all week during JAM) and Nehemiah (which God laid in front of me/us in 2013 for the "Re:Build" theme) and finally to Jeremiah 42. 

I got some brief napping done too--part of the time on a footbridge in a more or less deserted area of Split Rock Lighthouse state park.  Yes, right there on the bridge.  It wasn't easy to find a quiet place because lots of heavy equipment was being used to reconstruct some of the main pathways and park areas.

Jeremiah 42 spoke with much power--especially verses 10-12:

"If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land."

When I have the time and energy I will share more about what all of this said to me. 

God's perfect peace be with you today.

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First Scary Steps

Imagine the scene at right -- at night.  The photo is from 2013 but Aaron, Matt, Brenden, Quinnton, Kendall and I were there again each night last week, with a bunch of LQ1 students and adults.  We worshiped God and had great discussions.  Our young men led the discussions and did a great job.

The whole week was very good.  It met, and exceeded, the expectations we shared on our Leadership Quest webpage (here).

On Sunday night (Aug 3) I led off our campfire discussions by standing on my hands on the platform.  I didn't do it on my own.  The four I mentioned above picked up my feet.  Today at Crossroads we did it again -- except this time not in the dark.

I didn't do this as a stunt.  It was a part of demonstrating the theme of the book Do Hard Things.  It might not seem hard to you, but for me, who has had a fear of having his heels over his head since childhood, it was a big deal.  Honestly.  But it is important for us, at whatever age, to be prepared to move outside our comfort zone when the Lord calls.  Standing on my hands on a wilderness stage in the dark, even with help, was, for me, a Scary First Step.

This morning we began a new message series at Crossroads.  Info, and a recording, can be found by clicking here.  It's a series based on the Old Testament book of Nehemiah -- a series that we're calling "Re:Build."   Take a look.  It's worth your time.

I'm certain that God has led us to this series.  It's not something I came up with on my own.  The series connects so closely with what God is calling us to do at Crossroads -- especially in terms of our ministry with children and youth.

We're needing to "rebuild," in part, because at least one of our key youth leaders has been called by God to make a change, a change that will not have her involved with our youth program this year.  Also our long time Sunday School superintendent is likewise being called by God to make a change.  Her hope is to be more involved with our Adult Bible Study.

Any changes bring both opportunities and fears.  The book of Nehemiah leads us to a good way of handling these things.  In chapter 1 Nehemiah hears the troubling news, weeps, and then prays in faith, confessing his sins and claiming God's promises.  Then, at the beginning of chapter 2, Nehemiah goes to the king of Babylon, using his position to get the permission and the materials needed for the Re:Build.

Tomorrow evening our church's board of directors will pray and ask God how we should proceed.  Please be in prayer that we will hear our Lord's call and obey.

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Late Note

Good morning.  Just a quick note before I go back to bed.  This week has been a full one, mostly doing preparation for what's coming up next.  To see what the "next" is you can look at our church website "Leadership Quest" page and "Re:Build" -- the clever name that someone in our church network came up with for the message series that we're planning to start on August 10.  (On Thursday I met with network partners to begin work on a fall series -- based on the first half of the Gospel of Mark.)

At the beginning of last week we hosted a "families with young children cookout."  We're also looking for responses to a "Children and Youth Ministry Survey" (download here) so we can better prepare for fall programming that traditionally begins at the beginning of September.

In the midst of this Toni and I are expecting our first grandchild!  Exciting times!

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