Don't Believe the Big Screen

Dear Crosswalkers,

Last week I wrote about some of the books I've been reading.  One of them was chock full of amazing stories of faith.  Philip Yancey, in his book, What Good is God? writes about what it is like to listen to the words of Jesus in today's world.  He illustrates his point by telling about the 2004 Ukraine election in which the reformer Victor Yushchenko challenged the entrenched party. On election-day the exit polls showed Yushchenko with a comfortable lead, but through outright fraud, the government had reversed those results.

Yancey writes:

That evening the state-run television reported, "Ladies and gentlemen, we announce that the challenger Victor Yushchenko has been decisively defeated." However, government authorities had not taken into account one feature of Ukrainian television, the translation it provides for the hearing-impaired. On the small screen insert in the lower right-hand corner of the television screen a brave woman raised by deaf-mute parents gave a different message in sign language. "I am addressing all the deaf citizens of Ukraine. Don't believe what they say. They are lying, and I am ashamed to translate these lies. Yushchenko is our President!" No one in the studio understood her radical sign-language message.

Inspired by that courageous translator, deaf people led what became known as the Orange Revolution. Yancey continues:

They (the deaf community) text-messaged their friends on mobile phones about the fraudulent elections, and soon other journalists took courage … and likewise refused to broadcast the party line. Over the next few weeks as many as a million people wearing orange flooded the capital city of Kiev to demand new elections. The government finally buckled under the pressure, consenting to new elections, and this time Yushchenko emerged as the undisputed winner.

Yancey makes the following point:

Our society is hardly unique … like the sign language translator in the lower right-hand corner of the screen, along comes a person named Jesus who says in effect, "Don't believe the big screen—they're lying. It's the poor who are blessed, not the rich. Mourners are blessed too, as well as those who hunger and thirst, and the persecuted. Those who go through life thinking they're on top will end up on the bottom. And those who go through life feeling they're at the very bottom will end up on top. After all, what does it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose his soul?"

In our series, "Healthy Habits:  The Life God Blesses," we are being challenged to listen to the small screen and the life changing truth of our Lord Jesus.  We've seen how God wants to bless us spiritually, intellectually, financially, and this week we will look at what the Bible says about blessing us with physical health.  This will be a very practical study.  We will look at what God says about our bodies, and issues related to longevity, and the healing ministry of Jesus. I hope to see you in church, but if you can't come to church our Sunday messages are available for podcast on iTunes or can be downloaded from our website, crosswalkchurch.com.

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie

Pastor’s Top 10 Predictions for 2011!

Dear Crosswalkers,

Here they are!!  My top 10 predictions for the New Year:
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on Earth.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still honor the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross for all who want to follow Jesus.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

At the end of the year we will review this to see how accurate my predications were, but I have a strong feeling these are rock solid predictions that cannot fail, because ultimately I’m not the one who made them, but God did in the Bible!
“But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you. – 1 Peter 1:25

This Sunday we are starting the New Year with a great new series of studies called, HEALTHY HABITS – THE LIFE GOD BLESSES. This will be a 2 month series of messages on how to cultivate healthy habits that will lead to a blessed life.  Over and over the Bible speaks of God blessing the lives of those who love him.  But many seem to miss out on those blessings.  Why?  This series will explore the keys to living a life God blesses!  And this first Sunday of the New Year is a crucial kickoff to this series.  We will also renew our covenant with God and celebrate the Lord’s Supper together!

See you in church!

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie

Soul Food

Dear Crosswalkers,Last Sunday we got off to a great start on our series, “Healthy Habits:  The Life God Blesses.”  In the future we will be looking at the various ways God wants to bless our lives.  This Sunday pastor Ed Taylor is going to help us get focused on becoming spiritually healthy with a message entitled, “All I Have is a Little Prayer” from Matthew 6: 9-11.  I encourage you to read this passage before coming to worship! Leanna and I will be off this week and next to visit our family in Costa Rica.  God has given grandparents a wonderful role in blessing their grandchildren with godly wisdom and spiritual values.  This is a role we enjoy thoroughly! I am praying that 2011 will be a year of blessing for Crosswalk Community Church.  Please join me in that prayer.  Here are some goals for 2011 for you to consider in your quiet time this week: 1.     Trust in the Power of Prayer So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord…‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty." (Zechariah 4:6, NIV) 2.     Get more intentional about sharing my faith. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (I Corinthians 9:22, NIV) 3.     Take time to care for my soul. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (Philippians 3:12, NIV) 4.     Confront bad habits and ingrained patterns of sin. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1, NIV) 5.     Do the hard work needed to have healthy relationships. If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. (Matthew 18:15, NIV) 6.     Quit comparing myself to others. Turning his head, Peter noticed the disciple Jesus loved following right behind.  When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, “Master, what’s going to happen to him?” Jesus said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you? You—follow me.” That is how the rumor got out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. But that is not what Jesus said. He simply said, “If I want him to live until I come again, what’s that to you?” (John 21:20-23, Msg) 7.   Prioritize my family. A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife… attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? (I Timothy 3:2-5, Msg) 8.   Stay focused on the vision of a Spirit-filled community. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47, NIV) “O God, may these values fill my heart and mind!” Love in Jesus, Pastor John Christie

JOHN WESLEY'S PRAYER FOR COVENANT RENEWALHere is the prayer we prayed together last Sunday: Lord, Let me be your servant, under your command. I will no longer be my own. I will give up myself to your will in all things. Lord, make me what you will. I put myself fully into your hands: put me to doing, put me to suffering, let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, let me be full, let me be empty, let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and with a willing heart give it all to your pleasure and disposal. Before all heaven and earth, I here acknowledge you as my Lord and God. I take you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for my portion, and vow to give up myself, body and soul, as your servant, to serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life. Father, I do here on bended knees accept Christ as the only new and living Way, and sincerely join myself in a covenant with Him. O blessed Jesus, I come to you, hungry, sinful, miserable, blind, and naked, unworthy even to wash the feet of your servants. I do here, with all my power, accept you as my Lord. I renounce my own worthiness, and vow that you are the Lord, my righteousness. I renounce my own wisdom, and take you for my only guide. I renounce my own will, and take your will as my law. I renew my covenant with you, Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus my Lord, Amen.

Why Christmas Eve is So Important!

Dear Crosswalkers,

According to recent reports, Toys “R” Us wants to take over Christmas!  Well, maybe not replace Jesus or anything crazy like that, but according to USA Today they do plan to “invade the mall this holiday season, opening 600 ‘Express’ stores in malls and other shopping centers around the country, more than six times last year’s count, and hiring 10,000 seasonal workers.” CEO Gerald Storch said, “We’ve been very aggressive during the economic downturn, and this is another aggressive action.”

Consumerism is by nature aggressive.  How aggressive should the church of Jesus be in sharing good news at Christmas?

Here’s something to think about:  There are really two big Christian holidays:  Easter and Christmas.  Easter always falls on a Sunday.  Christmas has never been Sunday-specific.  Following a tradition that goes back to the Puritans, Christmas is only celebrated on Sunday when the calendar dictates it.  But Evangelical churches have by tradition and practice chosen Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Christ.

One writer put it like this: “Christmas Eve services are a last bastion against the rampant materialism and secularism that threatens to overwhelm the true meaning of the season, keeping the birth of Christ in the center of our hearts and celebrations.”

Given these cultural realities, it is imperative for us to prioritize keeping Christ in Christmas and worshiping the Lord on Christmas Eve.  It is a way for us to leverage the positive pull of the season to glorify the Lord.  That’s why we make invitation cards for our Christmas Eve service.  Would you please invite friends and family to join you in church on Christmas Eve?  You can trust it will be a lovely and elegant service, and the gospel will be presented in a compelling manner.  The service will be on Friday evening, December 24, at 5:00 p.m.   We will conclude within an hour.  See you there!

Here is a lovely Christmas prayer I found, written by an anonymous believer from the 10th century:

Lord Jesus Christ,

You are our eternal salvation,

The unfailing light of the world.

Light everlasting,

You are truly our redemption.

Grieving that the human race was perishing through the tempter’s power,
without leaving the heights You came to the depths in your loving kindness.

Readily taking our humanity by Your gracious will,
You saved all earthly creatures, long since lost,

Restoring joy to the world.

Redeem our souls and bodies, O Christ,
and so possess us as Your shining dwellings.

By Your first coming, make us righteous;
At your second coming, set us free:
So that, when the world is filled with light
and you judge all things,
We may be clad in Your spotless robes
and follow in Your steps, O King,
into the heavenly hall.

May God possess us as his shining dwellings!!!

Merry Christmas!

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie

Good for Goodness Sake?

Dear Crosswalkers,
Are we to be “good for goodness sake,” as the Christmas carol implores, or is there something deeper behind the goodness we see in the world, especially around Christmas time?

Chuck Colson wrote an article entitled “The Problem of Goodness,” in which he explores this theme.   He writes, “The same person who cut you off in traffic last month may be ladling soup at the local homeless shelter …  Our favorite Christmas movies and stories are rife with examples of generosity.” He goes on to struggle with the reason behind the goodness of the season.  Why do we do good?  Here’s an example he gives from his own life:

“I was struck by this when attending a special-needs basketball game for my autistic grandson, Max. He played alongside about 30 children who suffered from autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other conditions. The gym was filled not just with parents, but with volunteers and coaches who donated their time for these kids on a regular basis. But why are they doing this?”

He then draws from Darwin’s theory of natural selection to question our goodness by noting that natural selection can’t explain why we’re kind to others with special needs.  ”According to this theory,” He writes, “so-called weaker ones like these children would have been eliminated.” Instead, Colson notes:

“Christians understand that while all of us are born with the capacity to selfishness and cruelty, we are also capable of caring for others. Because we are created in the image of God, we not only don’t have to struggle against our neighbors for survival, we can love them and even willingly die for them.”

Along the same lines, what explains our generosity, especially at Christmas time?  Research conducted by Harris Interactive in the last quarter of 2010 shows that while Americans are continuing to tighten their financial belts, they are still finding ways to give where it counts. For example:

Nearly 7 in 10 adults (69%) say they will spend less money on holiday presents this year. In 2009, only 57%said they would be spending less.
Yet 48% of Americans are still willing to donate their time and money to causes they believe in.
31% say they will give smaller amounts to charities this year.
About half of Americans (51%) say they are now more likely to give a charitable gift as a holiday present.
71% say they plan to increase their giving once the economy improves.
This report is clearly a mixed bag.  However, the point is that we are inclined to give financially as well as do good at Christmastime.  Why?

Could it be that, as the Bible says, we are created to be like God?  Could it be that our culture is still influenced by the one whose birthday Christmas celebrates?  Could it be that our call is to give and do good deeds, not for goodness’ sake but for Jesus’ sake?    About Jesus, the Bible says,

“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,  to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace (Luke 1:78-79).”

Please consider two things:

1)   Invite someone to church with you, especially on Christmas Eve.  We have Christmas songs, a devotional, and a wonderful candle lighting ceremony.  No offering will be taken.  Invite your friends and family to come, and come early because this tends to be a full house.

2)  Give a special Christmas gift to honor the Lord.  At Crosswalk, we have been able to barely stay in the black through November this year.   The emphasis is on BARELY!  December brings a lot of end of year expenses.  If you could give a Christmas gift to the Lord through his church, it would help us immensely as we continue to reach out to a needy world in the name of Jesus!

This Sunday we will see that Christmas is a time to rebuild family relationships, and then Christmas Eve will show us that Christmas is a time to renew our faith.

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie

MENS MINISTRY EXCELS!
Last Tuesday, the Crosswalk men served at Sunnyvale Community Center by stocking pantries, distributing food, and greeting needy families.  We had 20 men participate in this service, and the director of SCC had nothing but glowing admiration and appreciation to the enthusiasm our men brought to the task.  Thank you, men!!!  Our men will be meeting for breakfast this Saturday, Dec 18 at 8:30 a.m. for the best darn breakfast in town, plus an inspiring program! I hope to see you there!!