The Most Precious Treasure!

Dear Crosswalkers,

This past week I had the opportunity to congratulate one of our members on becoming an American citizen.  Over the years, a number of Crosswalkers have been granted citizenship.  It is a time of great joy!  At the same time, I came across a wonderful story written by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in his 2010 memoir, A Journey: My Political Life:

A friend of mine whose parents were immigrants, Jews from Europe who came to America in search of safety, told me this story. His parents lived and worked in New York. They were not well off. His father died when he was young. His mother lived on, and in time my friend succeeded and became wealthy. He often used to offer his mother the chance to travel outside America. She never did. When eventually she died, they went back to recover the safety box where she kept her jewelry. They found there another box. There was no key. So they had to drill it open. They wondered what precious jewel must be in it. They lifted the lid. There was wrapping and more wrapping and finally an envelope. Intrigued, they opened it. In the envelope were her U.S. citizenship papers. Nothing more. That was the jewel, more precious to her than any other possession. That was what she treasured most.

That is quite a story!  This is what the Bible says:

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.  And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior! – Philippians 3:20

So this is our most precious possession:  Citizenship in heaven!  Every Sunday we get to celebrate our new home, our new reality!  This Sunday we will look at “Surprising Stories of Faith.”  It never ceases to amaze me that God delights in using deeply flawed and unlikely people to accomplish his purposes.  So often we want to disqualify ourselves when God delights to use people like us!  See you Sunday, and please remember to help  with our upcoming Community Trick or Treat event by bringing a bag of Halloween candy!

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie

NEW CLASSES NEXT WEDNESDAY!

We resume our wonderful Wednesday evening dinners (from 5:30 – 6:20 p.m.) next week!  The children are rehearsing for their Christmas program entitled “Christmas Around the World!”  Adults have two classes to choose from:

1.  Building Bridges into Your Community: This class is led by Angel Hernandez and will help us practically to be known as people who care about those around us.  Jesus was a bridge builder, and so was the early church.  We can be too.  I personally want Crosswalk to be known as the church in Sunnyvale that connects with the needs of our community.

2.  A Deeper Look into the Trustworthiness of the Bible:  For those who are interested in the evidence for the reliablility of the Bible, this class is for you.

PARKING LOT FUND GOAL HAS BEEN REACHED!!

Many thanks to those who so generously contributed to this project.  Upon completion, this will make Crosswalk a safer and more beautiful environment for our guests, friends, school, and members!  YOUR GIVING IS APPRECIATED!