Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Do we care about the people whom God cares about? Do you care about the people whom God cares about?
Our God, the Lord Almighty, cares for the lowly. He cares for the widow and the orphan. He cares for the sojourner and calls us to care for the sojourner. In Deuteronomy 10:17-19, God says through Moses: “17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”
Now, you may think that this applies only to the people of Israel, as they were entering the promised land. But God doesn’t change. He is the same God today. He is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. That is still true today. He is the one who executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. This is still true today.
We need to be people who care for the sojourners in our midst. I understand a sojourner to be someone who is in our country temporarily. And who is a sojourner if not a student on a visa. We cannot sit idly by as if it is not our concern when people like Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar from Turkey who is studying for her doctorate at Tufts University, are detained and transported illegally by ICE. This happened Tuesday Night (March 25). For more information, you can watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYDCUnMEzsI
If you don’t know what to do, pray and ask God for wisdom for how to respond. You can also look up information on immigrant detention, such as can be found here: https://www.freedomforimmigrants.org/the-problem (Note: I can’t say that I endorse everything on this website, but I do want you to be informed.) We need to speak up for the sojourners (those in our country for a short period of time), because God loves the sojourner.
The Keeping It Vertical Bible Study (Ladies Tuesday Study) will be meeting online (via Zoom) on April 1. Here is the login information for that:
Time: Apr 1, 2025; 1 PM Eastern Time
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84749660553?pwd=RUmKd86JhgRbBgRYbXba0Nwzs8QTEo.1
Meeting ID: 847 4966 0553
Passcode: 114398
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 would be reinstated. 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/ And here are other prayers for peace in general: https://worldrelief.org/prayers-for-peace-in-the-world/ 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 (Mar. 28-Apr. 3, 2025):
1. Tonight, Mar. 28, 2025, the Living Stones Friday Night Bible Study is meeting from 7:30-9:30 to study “The Gathering for Worship”. Marina and Jeanne are leading. You can read Hebrews 10:19-25 and 13:12-15 if you want a sneak peek of the content! 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 – Mar. 30 in the Koinonia Room (A-216). We will be on our first session of Introduction to Apologetics led by Marina Lam. 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, Mar. 30, 2025, at 11:25 am, our CrossPoint Community Worship Service will start and Elder Wu 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 3:8-22
Title: Living for Christ in Adversity
Live stream via Youtube: https://www.cbcgl.org/live-stream/
4. Each Wednesday, such as this coming week (Apr. 2) 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 April, we will be praying with a focus on our friends. 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 James Liang. His recent update is from his time in Panama (about an hour outside of Panama City) working with students, staff and alumni of CRU alongside Filter of Hope. For more information, check out the missions tab of the bulletin. 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. 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. We will have our next baptism service on Palm Sunday (April 13). To be baptized, you must attend baptism class. If you are interested in being baptized, please contact Pastor Nathan Willems. Come to baptism class to learn why we baptize people, what is necessary for baptism, and what rights and responsibilities you have as someone who is baptized.
We also will have child dedication. If you’re interested in dedicating your child(ren), talk with Pastor Nathan!
4. 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).
5. 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 (Please note, on April 1, this will be online! See above.)
6. 15+ spots are still available! 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 began 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). For more info or to register as a group, please contact: Pat Fung (patriciafung5 AT gmail.com)
7. Calling all you who are crafty (in the good sense): The Hobby Bunch will be tomorrow on Saturday March 29th, 1:30-4:30PM. Help make Easter decorations for Church, learn how to make cards, or bring your own craft to work on.
8. 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)
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