Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is appropriate to be shocked to hear news of the atrocities that took place last Saturday and have been taking place since last Saturday in Israel and in Gaza. It is true that both sides of this conflict between Israel and Hamas have escalated tensions in a conflict that is as old as the nation of Israel (1948). But there is no excuse or justification for the brutality and the indiscriminate massacre of hundreds of individuals and families near Gaza on October 7, 2023.
The reports of Israel’s retaliatory actions have only worsened conditions for the average Palestinian living in the West Bank. But Hamas has refused to give up its hostages and is threatening violence against them.
As I have said before, there are no winners in war. The typical action/reaction pattern begins with a wrong done. Then you react with greater retaliation to try to intimidate or to punish the initial wrongdoing. Then I respond with greater animosity and hatred for the retaliation, and continue to offend and seek to harm. It’s an increasing cycle of violence and doesn’t improve the situation. It only makes things worse.
Pray for a peaceful resolution to this conflict. If you don’t know how to pray, just be silent before God, as you mourn the loss of life in the initial attack and in the retaliatory attacks that have followed. If you want to know how to pray, you can use this suggested prayer guide: https://worldrelief.org/blog-prayer-for-israel-and-gaza/.
Also, please continue to pray for the nation of Ukraine. Pray that the war 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. Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
This Week (Oct. 13 - Oct. 19, 2023):
1. Tonight, Oct. 13, 2023, the Living Stones Friday Night Bible Study is meeting from 7:30-9:30 to study how to live a life set apart for the Journey. You can read Philippians 3 to prepare. Join in person in Room A-216 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. The Living Stones Sunday School and Grace Ambassadors Sunday School are meeting this Sunday. The Grace Ambassadors will continue a discussion of “The Pilgrim’s Progress” in the Community Hall (A-202). The Living Stones will be studying an Overview of the NT in the Koinonia Room (A-216). They will use the following link for those who wish to join online:
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, Oct. 15, 2023, at 11:25 am, Pastor Nathan Willems will be preaching. Pray for him! Join us for worship at CBCGL!
Text: Mark 8:27-9:1
Title: 3 Things You Simply Must Do
Live stream via Youtube: https://www.cbcgl.org/live-stream/
4. Each Wednesday, such as this week (Oct. 18) 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. The link is found below in the section on prayer.
Administration / Events
1. We have a missions update (so check out the missions tab from the bulletin)! You can provide support for COCM (in England), for James Liang (at UConn), or Corey and Amy serving the Lord in Bible Translation work in Oaxaca, Mexico.
2. Did you know that our buildings have been named/renamed? Check out the church announcement tab in the bulletin for more information.
3. This Sunday, October 15, from 1:30 to 4 pm, CrossPoint Community will host a training facilitated by the Gideon’s International called “Conversations: A Simple Approach to Sharing the Gospel.” We will meet in Room A-213 for a time of learning and discussion. We do need you to sign-up (just so that we can ask for an additional facilitator if we have more than 25 people signed up). It would be great if every participant in CrossPoint Community could join. Here is the link to sign-up: https://forms.office.com/r/v0GZLpBq7E
4. Sunday Lunch Service is available at CBCGL with $5 lunchboxes. To place an order, please use the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/nCwQnMruKv Orders are preferred to be placed as soon as you know, but need to be placed by Saturday night so that the kitchen can prepare the correct amount of food. Note: The selection which states “Number of Meals” refers to the cooked food/lunch box/Chinese food option.
5. All other announcements can be found here (in our CrossPoint Community bulletin).
For Prayer:
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