Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Yesterday morning, in my daily Bible reading, the Lord impressed on me two ideas that both have to do with ourselves and the analogy of a house. First, Jesus was talking with the religious leaders of the day and telling them that is a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand. We talked about this last week in our Bible Study. We walk by the Spirit, but the Spirit desires what is contrary to the sinful nature so that we cannot do anything we want to do. Sometimes, we want to sin. But since we live by the Spirit, we are to keep in step with the Spirit of God. Otherwise, we will be ruined from the inside out – living a life with an ever-widening divide until we are destroyed by our own duplicitous folly. Let us keep in step with the Spirit!
One of the main ways to keep in step with the Spirit is to do what Jesus says. Jesus says that anyone who hears his words, but doesn’t do them is like a house built on sand. When the rain falls and the waters rise, that house will be ruined, since it has no foundation. So too, for us, if we don’t do what Jesus says, then when the difficult circumstances of life come (and come they will!), we will be ruined from the outside in – living a life with no firm foundation until we are destroyed by circumstances beyond our control. Let us hold firm to Christ by doing what He says.
After all, God’s promises mean more and do more for us when we obey him.
Please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine and South Sudan. 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 Lebanon, Sudan and South Sudan, and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
This Week (Oct. 4 - 10, 2024):
1. Tonight, Oct. 4, 2024, the Living Stones Friday Night Bible Study is meeting from 7:30-9:30 to study the topic of “Purpose Expressed”. You can read Galatians 6 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)
Also, the Bible Study group John is leading will be meeting this week (Oct. 4)
2. CrossPoint Community Sunday School will be taking a break to attend our bi-annual Town Hall meeting this Sunday – October 6 in the Community Hall (A-202). We will have some reports.
3. This Sunday, Oct. 6, 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 37:1-11
Title: Family and Future Expectations
Live stream via Youtube: https://www.cbcgl.org/live-stream/
4. Each Wednesday, such as this coming week (October 9) 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 October, we will be praying with a focus on caring for others. 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), and pray for Candy Zhang who is serving with COCM in England and who has seen God provide in some incredible ways – such as being able to go to the 4th Lausanne Congress.
2. CPCM has reserved the Multi-Purpose Room this Saturday from 1:30 to 4PM for sports. We can play any game, from Ping-pong, badminton, pickleball, volleyball, basketball; we can do it all. The room is reserved only for CPCM members, so it is highly likely you will have lots of space and time to play whatever you want. The goal is to build deeper bonds through shared interest and activity. The contact person is Joshua Zhang.
3. Sunday Lunch Service is available at CBCGL with $5 lunches that are first-come, first-served. Pizza is $2 per slice and Ramen is available (priced variously according to size).
4. Women’s Bible Study – “KEEPING IT VERTICAL” meets the first and third Tuesday of each month to learn, share and grow in the Lord. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit. Come join us and meet new friends and bring more friends along! Contact jeannemic50 (at) icloud.com
5. Save the Date: October 6 is our bi-annual townhall meeting during the Sunday School hour. We look forward to hearing from you anytime, but also seeing you then! If you have questions, you can submit them in advance here: https://forms.office.com/r/ecMdPxf41P
6. 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