THE CROSSING WEELKY
LOOKING AHEAD
THURSDAY, JANUARY 13TH
NEW First Principles Cohorts starting Thursday January 13th at 6:30 PM. The First Principles Series is a set of 13, six-session Bible study guides used to establish believers and churches in the Christian faith. To sign up contact Amy Donnelly at donnelly.amyr@gmail.com or visit the Welcome Center on Sundays. Childcare is provided.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH
Financial Peace University is a nine-lesson course that teaches you how to save for emergencies, pay off debt fast, spend wisely, and invest for your future. Classes are every Sunday night from 5-7 PM for 9 weeks, starting February 20th. Contact Laura Langlois for more details at Lauralanglois@comcast.net or sign up below. Must order materials by February 13th.
JOIN US WEEKLY
EY (Emerging Youth) 6:30 PM, is a gathering of ages of 12 – 18. Contact Josiah Armstrong to get involved jarmstrong@lifealliance.org
Prayer Furnace 7 PM in the sanctuary, come pray and worship with us!
Young Adult Group 7 PM, contact Laura to get involved messinanc@gmail.com
Life Groups are at the core of our community expression and are the primary place for connecting with people in our community at a personal level. Find one near you!
Life Groups are at the core of our community expression and are the primary place for connecting with people in our community at a personal level. Find one near you!
(Currently on winter break, new cohorts starting back up 1/13, existing cohorts starting back up 1/21)
First Principles classes are at 6:30 PM. The First Principles Series is a set of 13, six-session Bible study guides used to establish believers and churches in the Christian faith. New enrollment occurs in fall and spring. Learn more about First Principles!
Coffee and Conversation Women join us every third Saturday morning of the month from 9 AM – 12 PM, contact Anna Benedict Anna.benedict@gmail.com
Worship Service 10 AM. Find our messages HERE.
Children’s Church drop off times are from 9:40 AM – 10:15 AM. Kingdom Kids (age 1-5) is across the street at the Daycare. Power Kids (ages 6-11) is in the main building’s hall. Learn more about Children’s Church.
Café Kerygma is our very own cafe which opens at 9 – 10 AM & 12 – 1 PM for coffee and fellowship.
Dreamers’ Ranch sells their products from 12-12:30, or directly after service. Come buy our beef, lamb, pork, and eggs as available.
PLANT DEEP
By Ashley Cook
Every great tree has grown from a seed planted in earth.
When seeds are planted, they have four possible outcomes. Some seed can be spread and eaten by the animals walking by. Some can fall on rocky ground and grow quickly where the soil is shallow, but the sun will burn and wither it away. Other seed, still, can fall among thorns; but the flower will choke because thorns are sharp. And the last kind will fall on good soil where it sinks deep and produces a crop ten thousand-fold what it’s expected to produce.
In the book of Matthew, the disciples are a little confused as to what Jesus means by this. Later, he goes on to tell them what it means.
“When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:19-23)
When looking at this parable, there are so many angles to look at, but really, it warns the disciples of what can happen if they do not intentionally plant their seed in good soil and what happens if they do not live in alignment with the Spirit.
Josiah Armstrong spoke about this on Sunday (find the message here), encouraging the body to remain steadfast, to sink deep into the soil of going low, and as a result, producing something far greater than we can ask or imagine in that process. In our Life Groups we contemplated the underlined questions in response to the message. Josiah said, “God is always doing two things: maturing His church, and adding to it” What is our role in this? How does God, and how IS God, using us to accomplish this mission?
“We are His house. God dwells by the Spirit within our midst and our job is to learn how to live in-step with the Spirit. We are alive in the Spirit and we are meant to walk by the Spirit… It changes everything.” This ultimately requires us to consecrate ourselves. Why is it so important that we consecrate ourselves and our speech? What is God preparing us for?
He exhorted the body to go back to the basics, to be firmly rooted in the faith because “you never graduate from the basics…” You build from and upon them. How are you working on the basics of “winning each other over” by provoking one another to love and good deeds? How does the way that we live win over the lost?
In the same way a good seed is planted deep, it must be watered with discipline to see change. If you water seed once it will never sprout, but if you continue water that seed daily, then the seed will come alive and produce something from beneath the soil. Meaning that when we are faithful with little (showing up to cultivate intimacy with Him, learning the First Principles, etc…), God will sprout from that so much more than we could ever know.
Armstrong encouraged the body to be faithful, remain steadfast, follow through, and build upon the basics and live a life worthy of the gospel.
What does it mean to live your life worthy of the gospel? Examine your own life – are you? Let’s till the soil of our hearts.
We’d love to know… Is God on the move in your life? If you have a testimony, click the button below to share in an upcoming edition of The Crossing Weekly!