The Attitude of Gratitude

Dear Crosswalkers,

This Sunday we begin a new series of three messages entitled, “Three Powerful Blessings”. In these messages, we will look at three blessings God has given us that will enable us to live with his power and purpose in the face of life’s challenges. We begin this Sunday with “The Power of Thanksgiving.” It is more than just a national holiday featuring Turkey and football. In the Bible, thanksgiving is a lifestyle. The attitude of gratitude is a hallmark of those who follow Jesus. And this Sunday, we’ll discover its power in our lives!

The Bible says,

Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts. – Psalm 107:21-22 (NLT) What were the “sacrifices of thanksgiving” that were offered because of the great and glorious things God had done? Interestingly, they were offerings, usually of animals (but it could be a monetary offering); and a portion of the animal was dedicated to God and the rest was used as a meal of thanksgiving! I wonder if this isn’t an appropriate model for us to follow as well. So I invite you to give an offering of thanksgiving for the way God has blessed your life in 2009, and then celebrate with a wonderful dinner next Thursday.

As I look at our church finances, I am extremely grateful to God for the generosity of our church family. Through the month of October, we were only $610.00 in the red for our General Fund. In times of economic recession and high unemployment, this is a wonderful testimony about the dedication our church family. However, as we look to our end of year expenses, if you could bless your church family with a thanksgiving offering it would be greatly appreciated. In fact, we would return tremendous thanks to God! Simply designate your special offering with the word “Thanksgiving” so we can join you in praising God about his glorious acts. Has God blessed your life? Have you experienced his grace and truth during our 40 Days of Love spiritual growth journey? Then please consider a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and join us Sunday as we sing joyfully about his glorious acts.

On Monday, Leanna and I travel to Paraguay for family time and some wonderful ministry opportunities with the Hernandez family. Please pray for us. I plan to send you this memo from the field, so we will keep in touch.

Affectionately in the Lord,

Pastor John

Message in a Bottle

Dear Crosswalkers,

Here is a fascinating true story: During a 1979 cruise to Hawaii, Dorothy and John Peckham wrote some notes and threw them overboard inside empty champagne bottles. They asked anyone who found one of their bottles to write them back, and even went so far as to include a $1 bill to cover the postage!

 Remarkably, on March 4, 1983, the couple received a letter from Hoa Van Nguyen. Nguyen, a former soldier in the Vietnamese Army, said he and his younger brother had found one of the Peckhams’ bottles as the two men were floating 15 kilometers from the shore of Songkhla Province in Thailand. They were braving the waters of the Pacific in a small, shallow riverboat in order to escape the Communist regime in Vietnam. When they saw the bottle, they felt as though a prayer had been answered, giving them the strength to carry on. After reading the letter, the Peckhams looked for Songkhla on a map and were shocked to find that the bottle had traveled 9,000 miles from Hawaii!

The Peckhams corresponded with Hoa for years, sharing in his joy when they received a photo from his wedding, then again nine months later when they saw his newborn son. But most of all, they empathized with Hoa’s desire to give his family the best life he could. So when Hoa asked if the Peckhams could help his family move to the U.S., they didn’t hesitate. After months of working with U.S. Immigration, the two families finally did meet in 1985, when a plane from Thailand landed in Los Angeles — the Nguyens’ new home.

Many of us have been floating through life, perhaps trying to escape hurts and rejection and loneliness. And then, by the amazing grace of God, we found a message, not it a bottle, but in a Bible; the message of God’s love for us through Jesus Christ. As a result of receiving that message and accepting it, we have a new purpose for living and a new home in the family of God!

For the past six weeks, we’ve been on journey together called 40 DAYS OF LOVE. We’ve learned, and hopefully experienced, the love of God and the joys of living a life of love for God and for others.

This Sunday we will celebrate our journey together. After our worship services we will share in a catered lunch in our Gym. Please plan to join us as we celebrate together (and please bring a dessert to share)!

Brief reminder: We are serving at Las Palmas Park this Saturday from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.; and we are collecting food for City Team’s Thanksgiving Food Drive beginning this Sunday!

Love in Jesus,
Pastor John Christie

Important Announcement

Dear Crosswalkers,

Greetings! Last Sunday Leanna and I enjoyed a wonderful time of worship with our son and his family at a Calvary Chapel in South Florida. It was a great family time, but it is also good to come back to 40 Days of Love where we are always being challenged to “Let love be your highest goal” (1 Cor. 14:1 NLT)!

This week I have a very blessed but bittersweet announcement to share. Our Associate Pastor, Jerry Ingalls, has accepted a call to be the Senior Pastor at the First Baptist Church of New Castle, Indiana. Many of you knew Jerry was planning to be launched from Crosswalk into the Military Chaplaincy this January. That call has shifted and he will now begin his new ministry in Indiana with his last Sunday here being December 20. I am proud of Jerry and pleased at this call on his life. It is a wonderful opportunity for him to continue the journey to which God has called him, and we thank God for his time with us. Jerry and Kimberly have been a part of Crosswalk since August of 2001. During that time, they became involved in many ministries, and on Easter Sunday of 2003, Jerry experienced God’s call to resign from the Army and enter full time vocational ministry. In the next many years, Jerry and Kimberly have served with grace and distinction. After graduating from seminary, Jerry was ordained here at Crosswalk and became our Associate Pastor. Prior to that, he had served in many capacities, most notably as the Principal of Sunnyvale Christian School, leader of our Men’s ministry, and Pastor of Ministry Involvement. We will certainly miss Jerry, Kimberly and Beorn. At the same time, it is a wonderful testimony of Crosswalk Church that we prepared one of our own for pastoral ministry and together we will launch him into this Kingdom work with our prayers and our blessings! On December 20 we will have a farewell celebration! More information will follow in the weeks to come.

Please pray for the transition of the Ingalls’ family to a new ministry in a different part of the country. And pray too for the Lord to give us wisdom as we will soon begin to search for a new person to join our pastoral staff.

This weekend will feature our Community Trick or Treat outreach event on our campus! We are grateful for the many Crosswalkers who will join us this Saturday for a blessed time of serving the kids from our church and from our community! You will be rewarded with an extra hour of sleep, as Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday in the early morning. Remember to set your clocks back one hour before going to bed Saturday evening! Sunday will be a great day of worship and praise as we enter our “Be the Church” week and continue with 40 days of Love!

Affectionately in Christ,

Pastor John

Kingdom Plunder

Dear Crosswalkers,

 

I praise God for our continued journey together called 40 Days of Love!  This week, Pastor Jerry will be leading us in"The Marks of True Love," a powerful message that you won't want to miss!  

 

Here is a fascinating verse from 2 Samuel 23:21, about a man name Benaiah:  "Once, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it."  Here, one of King David's "mighty men" performs a heroic act.  Interestingly, in taking his enemy's weapon and using it against him, he is showing us the principle known as Kingdom Plunder, which is taught in the NT.  Jesus said this:  "But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. For when a strong man like Satan is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe— until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings"(Luke 11:20-22).  Here, Jesus likens himself to one stronger than Satan who can plunder his goods and use them for godly purposes!  We've seen that happen over and over again in the Biblical history and the history of the church. 

 

I know many well meaning believers have trouble with Halloween.  Our goal at Crosswalk is to plunder something worldly and use it to benefit the Kingdom of God.  That's why we are hosting an outreach event called "Community Trick or Treat."  We will provide a safe environment for kids to have fun on Halloween and to reach them with good news about Jesus.  To make this a success, we need two things from you:  Your time and your candy!  We need many volunteers to help with arcade like games and give away candy, and we need candy to give away!  Please, as the Lord leads, bring a bag or two of candy to worship on Sunday or drop it by at the church office.  And please volunteer this Sunday by signing up to help us during this event.

 

Another great opportunity is our Jail ministry.  If you want to be guaranteed a "captive audience", this ministry is for you!  Jesus said, "I was in prison and you visited me."  Please consider this worthy ministry.  This Sunday, we will be presented with many ways to demonstrate our love for our community.  Let's join the Love train and get on board!!

 

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John 

Words of Love!

Dear Crosswalkers,

40 Days of Love boldly moves forward! In the news this morning I read something the government of Malaysia is offering its citizens who are in troubled marriages: Free honeymoons! Yes, for marriages that are troubled by the recession and global turmoil, the government will give a free “second honeymoon” at one of the country’s scenic islands or beach resorts. The only catch is this: The couples also have to go to counseling. This country knows the importance of strong marriages and is investing in them!

I wish we could offer second honeymoons to everyone, but we can offer a great seminar on marriage by some of the top Christian marriage experts. It’s called “The Heart of a Great Marriage,” and it’s tomorrow at Crosswalk church from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. I urge you to invest in your marriage by attending this quality event! Seeya tomorrow!

This Sunday our theme is “Loving with Your Words”. Here’s something interesting: The average American speaks enough words in one week to fill a 500-page book! Yikes! In our lifetimes, we speak enough words to fill 3,000 volumes. That’s 1.5 million pages of verbiage! From experience, we all know how hurtful words can be. But we also know how words have blessed and encouraged us. The Bible has a lot to say about how we can love other people with our words. I hope to see you Sunday!

Have you remembered to do a random act of love today?

Love in Jesus,
Pastor John