Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
One thing that our Lord has been laying on my heart is that I can ask for Him to do great things. We can pray for a holy discontentment because our God can do incredible, beyond our imagination things. So keep asking God to do great things in and through CPC, CBCGL, and other churches in the Merrimack Valley.
Another thing the Lord has been pointing out is that I need to be doing the small things I know he has called me to do. For example, when a word of encouragement comes to mind, I am to share that word of encouragement, even if it is inconvenient. Or I can take initiative to start conversations with people, I don’t have to wait for them to seek to initiate a conversation with me. I know I can show genuine care and concern for others, but I also need to do so. I don’t want to just leave it as a possibility but I want to make it into an actuality. Am I actually loving others well? What are the things I know that God has told me to do? And am I doing those things by his grace? Also, can I do these things at the Block Party this Saturday?
Even if you didn’t sign up to help, we’d love for you to join us for the Block Party on Saturday from 4:30 to 6:30, following by the Ablaze Night of Worship (put on by Youth worship bands from our church and other areas Chinese-heritage churches), from 7 to 9 pm. We are looking forward to seeing you there!
One thing the Lord has called us to do is to love our neighbors and love our enemies. One practical way that we can do both is to practice civility. Beginning on Sunday, join all of CrossPoint Community for a combined Sunday School in the Community Hall (A202) as we start our study on Christian Civility. We will be gathering all together so that we can have some intentional, intergenerational interaction as well as to be better equipped to have discussions and conversations with others who disagree with us (such as in politics or in issues related to money, etc..) and with others whom we meet for the first time. I hope you can join us for this summer class (11 weeks).
Please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine. Pray that the wars would end. Here is a suggested list of prayers if you are at a loss for words in how to pray: https://send.org/story/hh_pray_for_ukraine. And https://worldrelief.org/blog-prayer-for-israel-and-gaza/ Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
This Week (June 14-20, 2024):
1. Tonight, June 14, 2024, the Living Stones Friday Night Bible Study is meeting from 7:30-9:30 to study the Resurrection of Jesus. You can read Luke 24:1-43 to prepare in advance. Join in person in Room A-218 or online via the following link at 7:30 pm:
https://zoom.us/j/685376249?pwd=cWtyUk1pckJiRHJxZVZCSGdJZWw2UT09
Meeting ID: 685 376 249
Password: 840840
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
Empower Fellowship (A201A) and the Grace Ambassador Bible Study (A216) will also be meeting!
2. CrossPoint Community Summer Sunday School is starting this Sunday – June 16. We will be doing a study on Christian Civility from Richard Mouw’s book – Uncommon Decency. We will meet in the Community Hall (A-202). Those who wish to join online this Sunday can use the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/491248585?pwd=RnpLcnpjQ01nTGZLSmhaZ3l4L3dKQT09
Meeting ID: 491 248 585
Password: 403767
Join by phone: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
3. This Sunday, June 16, 2024, at 11:25 am, our CrossPoint Community Worship Service will start and Pastor Nathan Willems will be preaching. Pray for him! Join us for worship at CBCGL!
Text: Genesis 24 (Read it in advance since its 67 verses!)
Title: Mission: Possible (With the Lord)
Live stream via Youtube: https://www.cbcgl.org/live-stream/
4. Each Wednesday, such as this week (June 19) at 7:45 pm, you are invited, encouraged, and requested to join our weekly prayer meeting. We will not grow in Christ without growing in our dependence on God through prayer. In June, we’re praying for church outreach and missions programs happening. The link is found below in the section on prayer.
Administration / Events
1. We have a missions update (so check out the missions tab in the bulletin)! You can provide support for James Liang (at UConn), or pray for Vivian Mah (an ABC) who is serving in the UK. She is doing a whole lot – like discipleship with teenagers, helping to establish an internship program for COCM (which starts in September), and preparing for the summer camp happening in July. Pray for her!
2. Sunday Lunch Service is available at CBCGL with $5 lunches that are first-come, first-served. Lunch service ends on this Sunday, June 16th and will resume again in September.
3. As summer draws near, we are hosting our annual community Block Party. Please set aside some time to join us as we gather with our neighbors on a summer afternoon, basking in the warm glow of the sun, to enjoy food, music, and heavenly blessings together.
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM (Volunteers, please arrive by 3 pm).
Date: June 15th (Saturday)
Location: CBCGL Church
Activities: BBQ, food, music, games, basketball competition, face painting, balloons, prayer station
Collaboration: Ablaze Worship Concert (7:00-9:00 PM)
Volunteering and food donations: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D45AAA828ABFDC16-49721791-2024#/
4. Beginning June 16 to August 25 – CPC will have a combined Sunday School discussing Christian Civility. If you don’t know what that is, come and learn! And if you do know what that is, come and practice it!
5. All other announcements can be found here (in our CrossPoint Community bulletin).
For Prayer:
1. From Bishop J.C. Ryle – “To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road to destruction…It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small.” Please join our Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 – 9:15 pm) even if you can’t participate the whole time.
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. We’d be glad to pray for you. If you need prayer, you can submit your prayer request via the following link: https://www.cbcgl.org/pray/
In Christ, your servant, SDG,
Rev. Dr. Nathan Willems
Associate Pastor of CrossPoint Community – A Ministry of CBCGL