Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
One spiritual discipline that I have benefitted from throughout the years is Scripture memory. I have been encouraging my son to memorize Scripture with me as we drive to school. For example, we worked on reviewing Psalm 23. Listening to the verses on repeat has helped me to meditate on what the verses not only say but what they imply.
“Ps. 23:3a – He restores my soul.” A few weeks ago, we talked in Sunday School about the reality of the human soul. In other Psalms, the psalmist asks, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” We experience stress and hard work which depletes our energy and keeps us from being able to do more. Our souls need restoration in those moments. When we face discouragement and fears that cause us to worry or be anxious, our souls are cast down. We need to remember what the Psalmists declares, “Hope in God! For I will yet praise Him, my salvation and my God.” In fact, the Lord is the one who restores our souls.
Where in your life do you need restoration? What is causing you to feel like your soul is cast down? May God grant each of us the restoration and the hope we need to continue the good work that the Lord has given each one of us to do.
Please keep praying for the 3-Year Vision for CPC. The Pastor / Elder / Deacon group has made progress. We plan to have a vision to present during the congregational meeting on 10/26. We still need to work out specific measures to know when we are fulfilling our vision. I expect that you will make it to the congregational meeting since one of the responsibilities of church members is to be present for this annual congregational meeting. If you can’t make it, please complete an absentee ballot from the church office no later than Saturday at 1:30 pm.
Please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine and South Sudan. 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.
Further announcements can be found in the weekly spotlight. And other church wide announcements can be found in our weekly 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 – 9:00 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,
Pastor Nathan Willems
Associate Pastor of CrossPoint Community – A Ministry of CBCGL