Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I don’t know if you know, so I’m just going to tell you… There is a lot going on in the next few days! For starters, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day – named after a church leader who performed marriages at a time when they were banned. Love, as you know, comes from God. You can love like God loves by giving your undivided attention to the person you’re with. It’s not easy to do, and may even feel uncomfortable, but attention is limited, so it is loving and sacrificial to give it freely.
On Sunday, if you ordered from the Youth STM Fundraiser, you’ll need to pick-up your order, likely in the foyer. Also, because Lent (the period of 40 days before Easter) starts on Wednesday, you’re welcome to pick-up a Lenten Devotional – which has devotions for each Sunday leading up to Holy Week and then devotions for each day of the week before Easter.
Monday is President’s Day – hopefully you get the day off or that you get to do something that is relaxing. But maybe you’ll be preparing for Tuesday.
Tuesday is Chinese (Lunar) New Year’s Day. If you have the time, and you are a lady, you are welcome and encouraged to attend Keeping It Vertical (the Ladies Fellowship) at 10 am. But Tuesday isn’t only Ladies Bible Study, or Chinese New Year, it is also Shrove Tuesday, aka, Mardi Gras.
Wednesday is the start of Lent. It’s Ash Wednesday. We will have a special time of prayer at the beginning of our Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting.
Finally, I want to remind you this month of what we are aiming at as a congregation. Our mission (as a church) is to glorify God, love people, transform lives through Christ. Our Vision (as a congregation) is “Equipping the Next Generation to Advance God’s Kingdom.” Our measures help us to know that we are doing those things.
So this week, here are the measures in relation to family members:
a. Who am I allowing to know me openly and honestly?
b. How am I living a hospitable life at home and at church?
c. How are my words and actions pointing my family members to Christ?
What are your answers?
Please continue to pray for the nations of Israel/Gaza and Ukraine/Russia and 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, and 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