Sermon Reflections from Embracing Grace | Alex Hardt | February 25,2024
Pastor Alex addressed the last rhythm for staying close to God which is service. When you draw close to God with prayer, study and reading the Word, try to cultivate Love for others sincerely, seek to witness to the transforming power of Christ, it leads you to service. What do you do with your faith? Now that you know God, desire to commune with Him, are practicing His love when with others and telling others about Jesus, you may ask what more do I need to do? All of these things leads you to love God more deeply, have a genuine love for others and desire to see them with you in the kingdom of God. But, not everyone is ready and willing to listen. Service is a way of showing others the love of God in a tangible way- no words required – just smiles and an open hand. Reaching out to others in love with food, a kind email, cookies, a welcoming smile and words of greeting are ways of showing God’s love. Nothing is expected in return. You aren’t doing the kind deed to ‘get’ something, only to give. This something very foreign to the world’s system of getting, doing and working for gain. How does this happen? Paul tells us in Colossians 2:6-7 “ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Our actions are a direct result of Christ being in our lives, indwelling and motivating us to love the world as He did. Pastor Alex had many scriptures of Jesus’ actions as He modeled this while here on Earth. Being rooted in Christ leads us to reflect God’s goodness to the world. Are you overflowing with grace and love because of your faith in Christ? Are you rooted and grounded in our faith? This is not something you get quickly but it grows over time as you allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. The sanctification process of becoming more and more like Jesus begins at the moment of belief in Jesus and continues growing throughout your life. It is truly a life changing process made possible only in Christ. Christ alone is the reason for our change. Without Christ, good deeds are just good deeds and have no eternal value. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can be rooted and grounded in Christ producing a life that is abundant and filled to overflowing with thanksgiving, hope and love. A life motivated by Jesus is one that loves to serve others and express His love for them. Deeds are done out of love and gratitude. It is the process of giving out the love of God. As you made the bags with goodies to give to someone in need, you were motivated by the desire to help someone else and show them a bit of God’s love. Lianna got the blessing of leading and helping others to do something nice, possibly creating an opportunity for someone to talk of Jesus and His love, and showed others a tangible way they could act. Lianna also got the joy of giving and being able to participate in God’s kingdom. You get the blessing of participating, giving out and possibly talking to someone about Jesus. You also get joy in giving out and participating in God’s kingdom. A win-win with blessings and joy for all in service to our King. Thanks Lianna for this great lesson in tangible love. Linda MESSAGE LINK Click Here to View the Message on Youtube Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am. Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass. CROSSROADS COVENANT MISSIONS
For further information, contact us and we will put you in touch with Linda Knight who provides oversight of our missions. Crossroads continues to support several missions, both foreign, local and regional. Currently we are supporting these missions:
Email received from Nathanael and Darla Gregoriev Dear Prayer Partners, We are grateful for your prayers. Thank you for investing in our Wycliffe ministry. God is good. We are thankful for all he has done and is doing. If you want more ideas on how to pray for us, we resonated with the suggestions at this link: https://hungryformore.org/prayer-for-returning-missionaries Your prayers matter. We recently took our car in for regular maintenance. The mechanic found that a rodent had some fun chewing on stuff under the hood so that was good to get fixed. Another item we wanted to get checked out was the hood. We could raise it a bit when it was latched. The mechanic said the hood certainly could have disconnected and flew into the windshield. We are so grateful for your prayers for our safety!! Thankfully, that is fixed and Lord willing we won’t need to worry about it causing an accident any time soon. Our car sounds great and is ready for the next road trip that starts on Monday. Upcoming Travel Schedule September 25 – Altamont, Kansas October 2 – Buckeye Lake, Ohio October 9 - Bedford, Virginia October 16 – Merritt Island, Florida October 23 – Rockledge, Florida October 2022 – January 2023 – Florida/Arizona/Missouri Please pray for these ongoing needs:
Nathanael, Darla and Eliana UPDATE - OPTIONS HEALTH Celebrate Life Gala Join Options Health for the 2022 Celebrate Life Annual Fundraising Gala Friday, October 7, 2022 at the Bay Church in Concord. Dinner & Program 6:30 pm Throughout the program, you will hear how Options Health has impacted the lives of women, men, and their families in our community. Questions: Call 925-827-0100 Info@optionshealth.org Options Health is looking for volunteers. To learn about opportunities, call their Concord Center at 925-827-0100 or email info@optionshealth.org. Training is provided! ---------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE - Bridges of Hope We were pleased to have a surprise visit from Karin Sorensen in September. She shared from her heart about the extreme needs both physically and mentally and spiritually in Micronesia. Please continue to pray for the young people at Pacific Island University for spiritual growth, strength and that the outreach to the islands to recruit for students would not be hampered by Covid. Pray for an opening of both hearts and minds in this closed off area of the world. Check out Karyn Sorenson's amazing story about Guam and what God is doing there: wearecrossroads.church ---------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE - Bay Area Chaplains Chaplain John will be sharing information at Crossroads on Sunday, October 2. Delivered Out Of Darkness - Chaplain’s Celebration Dinner We are pleased to announce that in lieu of our annual benefit dinner we will host a dinner to celebrate God's faithfulness through 20 years of ministry including the legacy of Chaplain Harold Albert. Contact Linda Knight if you would like to join her and others from Crossroads attending this event. When: Friday October 28th, 2022, 6:30 PM Price $30.00 per person Location: Oak Park Christian Center 2073 Oak Park Bl., Pleasant Hill Your heart will be blessed. Hearing the testimonies of former inmates who have been at the very bottom of social ladder, and who through Christ have put their lives back together, will bless you and your church. Lance Marshall, Chaplain lmars@so.cccounty.us CHANGING LIVES and BUILDING HOMES through Spiritual Guidance of the Incarcerated |
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