Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today is All-Hallows Eve, or the day before All Hallows Day, where “Hallows” is an older word which means Saints. The word Halloween has modified the phrase All-Hallows Eve, to be the name of the holiday that is celebrated across many countries in the world. Tonight, as kids go to “Trick-or-treat” they are expecting neighbors to be generous and to give them a treat (not a trick).
Tonight, in our Bible Study on Christian character, we are talking about being Generous. We’ll be considering our motives for generosity and how we can be consistently generous. Hope you can join us either online or in-person for Bible Study beginning at 7:30 pm. But if you do drive in, please be cautious and drive safely around those families/kids who are trick or treating.
One main reason we can be generous is that we are made in the image of God. Our God is, and has always been, and will always be a generous God. In fact, just consider what is likely the most famous verse, John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his One and Only Son…” Because of God’s love, he gave us his Son to be our Savior. God’s generosity motivates our generosity – so that we aren’t worried or concerned about not having enough (though this fear often creeps in due to relative poverty). Instead, we are called to and are able to live generous lives because having Jesus, we have all we need for this life and the next. So, consider your generosity. What motivates you to give? Are you able to give sacrificially? What has God given to you and for you which moves you to be generous?
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