Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This morning, in my devotions, the Lord impressed on me the glorious truth that He does not, will not, cannot lie. For starters, our Lord does not deceive or mislead. He speaks true and reliable words. In God there is no darkness at all. He never lies (Titus 1:2). Moreover, He will not lie because a lie is a perversion of the truth. He will not tell a half-truth or a fib or a bold-faced lie because He is the source of truth. He is not a man that he should lie, or like a son of man that He should change his mind (Numbers 23:19). What he says will happen does happen. He will not lie. Moreover, He cannot lie. Sometimes, we make promises we can’t keep because we can’t control the circumstances for the fulfillment of our words. For example, we tell our kids that we will help them in a minute, but in that minute, we get an important phone call and it’s 15 minutes before we help our kids. Or we planned the Soup and Bread Luncheon for Feb. 9, but two weekend snowstorms delayed our gustatory gathering. But such never happens to the Lord. There is no circumstance or situation or power that can prevent him from keeping his word. He cannot lie.
So when God tells us that He is for us, that He is with us, that He will not leave or forsake us – we can rest secure in these truths, because God does not, will not, cannot lie.
By the Grace of God, this Sunday (February 23rd), CrossPoint Community is hosting its Annual Soup and Bread Luncheon. The luncheon is open to all CrossPoint Community members, their families and friends. Come and sample the many varieties of soups, breads and desserts we have to offer. At the same time, learn about our CrossPoint Community and make new friends! We’d love to see you in the Main Cafeteria on February 23rd at 1:00pm. Bring your family and friends! Sign-up via the QR code in the poster above or this link.
Please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine and South Sudan. Pray that the wars would end and the ceasefire in Gaza will hold. 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 (Feb. 21-27, 2025):
1. Tonight, Feb. 21, 2025, the Living Stones Friday Night Bible Study is meeting from 7:30-9:30 to study “The Focus of Our Worship” You can read Isaiah 40:21-31 to prepare. 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)
2. CrossPoint Community Sunday School meets this Sunday – Feb. 23 in the Koinonia Room (A-216). We will have our third lesson of Theology and Economics, led by Julie Mo and/or Jeremy Wu. We will use the following link for those who wish to join online this Sunday:
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)
There will also be a connection hour, a time for conversation and prayer, in A-202.
3. This Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, at 11:25 am, our CrossPoint Community Worship Service will start and Minister Charles Wang will be preaching. Pray for him! Join us for worship at CBCGL and take communion with other brothers and sisters in Christ.
Text: 1 Peter 1:13-2:3
Title: Are You Living in the Hope of Jesus’ Return?
Live stream via Youtube: https://www.cbcgl.org/live-stream/
4. Each Wednesday, such as this coming week (Feb. 26) 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 February, we will be praying with a focus on the love of God. 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 pray for the Panama STM team. They are working to prepare and plan for their time with students in March. For more information, you can talk with Pat Fung. Also, if you’d like to help with providing mission updates for CPC – let Pastor Nathan know!
2. CPCM has reserved the Multi-Purpose Room on Saturday’s from 1:30 to 4PM for sports (We are back on this week!). In general, we can play any game: Ping-pong, badminton, pickleball, volleyball, basketball; we can do it all. The room is reserved only for CPCM members and their guests, 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). But not this week. Attend the Soup and Bread luncheon for free this week!
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. The Ladies Fellowship (Keeping in Vertical) invites you to register to attend a one-day women’s retreat at Calvary Bible Church in Derry, NH either Fri, May 16 or Sat, May 17, 2025 (a one-day event held on two separate days).
Online registration begins on Monday, February 24, 2025 via https://www.cbcderry.org/lda25
Cost is $45 which includes breakfast, lunch and registration details.
EVENT DETAILS including the event schedule, a short bio on the speaker (Katie Davis Majors) and important things to know can be found on the website noted above. PLEASE NOTE Tickets are NONREFUNDABLE AND NONRETURNABLE (Feel free to sell or give your ticket to a friend if you register and can’t make it). Also, plan to register ASAP as a WAITING LIST WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR. Registration starts on the website February 24th. For more info or to register as a group, please contact: Pat Fung (patriciafung5 AT gmail.com)
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