Why Family Matters

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem.

Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo. Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer.

  • Donec posuere vulputate arcu.
  • Phasellus accumsan cursus velit.
  • Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae;
  • Sed aliquam, nisi quis porttitor congue

Read more

Prayer Focus for Portugal – Sunday, May 25

Portugal, Europe: Pray for:

a) The seven northern and northeastern provinces, which are strongly traditional Catholic; relatively few evangelical churches exist. Brethren, Baptists, AoG, GEM, TEAM, ECM, Missão Antioquia and several other missions all have church-planting programmes in the area.

b) Ethnic minorities. Large numbers of immigrants continue to flow into Portugal. The earlier waves of Portuguese-speaking West Africans and Brazilians are joined by Chinese, Macanese and Eastern Europeans – especially Ukrainians, who now comprise Portugal’s second-largest community. Many of these are unevangelized but open to the gospel; pray for the churches (both Portuguese and foreign) to gain a vision to reach them.

Young people are often spiritually neglected.

a) Drug abuse is a growing problem – over 50% have experimented with drugs. Teen Challenge, Betel-Spain as well as TEAM and ECM have ministries rehabilitating and discipling addicts.

b) Student work is still in a pioneer stage. GBUP(IFES) has a ministry in eight universities and some high schools. CCCI (Agape) and Navigators also have ministries on several campuses. www.operationworld.org

 

port-MMAP-sm

Justice League of Heaven – Genesis 18:16-33

Justice_League_of_America_(FOUNDERS)Did you ever read comic books or enjoy watching one of the recent Avengers movies? If so you are probably also familiar with The Justice League of America. The Justice League was made up of all the DC Comic Books greats: Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, Superman and others. Their whole mission was about bringing justice and righteousness into the world. With some modifications the same can be said of the Church of Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham – we are the Justice League of Heaven.

As those who know that they are secured a home in the new heavens and earth by grace through faith in Jesus we may wonder how living lives of justice and righteousness fits into the life of the Church. Maybe we are even tempted to think that justice and righteousness are for people caught up with being self-righteous. Certainly humans, in their rebellion against God, have shown the propensity for using their good works to turn their nose up at the world. But, when understood in the right way we see that justice and righteousness are simply the right response to  God’s mercy towards us. Living lives of justice and righteousness, God says, is what God called Abraham to do so that all the nations would be blessed. For you and I who have trusted in Jesus Christ, the Offspring of Abraham, we too have been ingrafted into the people of Abraham; through faith in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf we have been given redemptive roles. As God says in Genesis 18:17-19, the nations will be blessed when Abraham and his household live up to their calling – to live lives of justice and righteousness.

So, suit up Wonder Woman! Get your tights on Green Lantern! The Just and Righteous Lord of Heaven has forgiven you, adopted you and gifted you with his Holy Spirit so that you can help further the work of the greatest bunch of superheros ever – the Justice League of Heaven.

Questions for Conversation

– We learned about how God displays justice and righteousness through being non-prejudiced in his judgments of others, through hearing out the oppressed and correcting the oppressor, and by being more concerned to bless the world than to condemn. Which of these makes you admire God most? Why?

– Who were your heros growing up? Why? Did they display aspects of justice and righteousness?

– Where have you experienced injustice in life? Does that motivate you to want to address that injustice in life?

– We learned that Abraham demonstrated the way of the Lord by interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah. Who do you have a hard time loving but need to begin praying for their good?

Prayer Focus for Poland – Sunday, May 18

 

Poland, Europe: There is a great need for witness in Poland, with 90% of municipalities having no evangelical church. There are more evangelicals in Saudi Arabia than in Poland. Most Poles are resistant to the gospel due to either their cultural Catholicism or their spiritual apathy. Proecclesia, Proem Ministries, RealnaNadzieja.pl and Life and Mission Ministry are among the local evangelistic ministries, supplemented by SGA, ECM (Project Poland), International Messengers and the Baptists. There is certainly a need and an open door for missionaries to come and serve alongside the national church. Pray for evangelicals to rise to this great challenge and catch a vision for the salvation of their countrymen as well as of their European neighbours.

The younger generation are caught up in the secular materialism that has rapidly emerged in Poland, although many are spiritually responsive. CCC, with almost 100 full-time staff, works in several major cities. The IFES-linked student movement has 30 groups with 330 students served by six full-time staff and 20 volunteers. SU and CEF focus their ministries on younger students and children. Summer camps are a major ministry for nearly all evangelical denominations and agencies. Pray that Polish youth and children might have plentiful opportunities to meet the living Christ.www.operationworld.orgpola-MMAP-sm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pola-MMAP-sm

Gods Mysterious Ways

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem.

Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo. Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer.

  • Donec posuere vulputate arcu.
  • Phasellus accumsan cursus velit.
  • Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae;
  • Sed aliquam, nisi quis porttitor congue

Read more

Communion Diet Plan – John 6

take-and-eatYou’ve got to eat to live, and some diets promote life better than others. For example, the all-fried-chicken-and-cake diet isn’t going to leave you as fresh and healthy as the all-cabbage-and-low-fat diet (although you may be happier on the other). For as long as I can remember there has been a yearly frenzy about one new diet or another. Our hope at Crossroads is to be part of a movement to make a different diet all the frenzy: the Communion Diet.

Jesus advocates this diet plan in John 6. Here is a short breakdown:

  • The meal plan consists of Jesus’ flesh and blood.
  • The food is absolutely free, provided at the expense of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  • The food never goes bad – it is imperishable.
  • The benefits are eternal life beginning now and a perfect body at the resurrection.
  • It energizes you to live life for the right reasons.
  • 100% satisfaction is guaranteed.

The reason it is called the “communion” diet plan is because of the relational nature of it. It is actually a feeding upon Jesus in the deepest of intimate relations. Or, to put it in other terms, by trusting in Jesus, we enter into a moment-by-moment daily transaction of receiving life from the Father through the Son and by the Holy Spirit. This is what it means to feed on Jesus.

Of course, if you have been around church long enough, you are thinking of the Lord’s Supper or Communion. You should. Those who first read the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John would’ve been thinking of it also. During our faithful participation in the Lord’s Supper, we actually are fed the living and resurrected Christ by the mysterious power of the Holy Spirit. Although God’s people are always in union with Jesus Christ, there is a special way in which the Church communes with Jesus at the Table. Maybe it’s something like living in your family’s home all year but really deeply relating with everyone over Thanksgiving dinner.

Not only do we deeply commune with the Triune God at the Lord’s Table, eucharistbut we also keep the main thing the main thing. A church can easily become centered around lots of peripheral issues, but the Communion Diet keeps us focused on what’s important: the Trinity, the Incarnation, the atonement and forgiveness, the resurrection and eternal life, salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone.

QUESTIONS FOR CONVERSATION

  • Have you ever become bored with diets you’ve been on? Why?
  • Can one become bored with God’s Diet Plan? How come?
  • What kinds of emotions well up when you hear Jesus say that you must eat his flesh and blood (John 6:53)?
  • Put in your own words what Jesus means by feeding upon his flesh and blood based on 6:56-57.
  • Think of a neighbor, co-worker, or family member who is not on this Diet Plan. If you were to tell them about how to get on this Diet Plan, what would be the most important element to emphasize for them?

Prayer Focus for Philippines – Sunday, May 11, 2014

phil-MMAP-sm

Challenges for Prayer

Special ministry challenges:

a) Students, over 2.5 million in 1,800 tertiary colleges and universities. Many agencies are involved: CCCI with vision for Christian movements on 125 campuses nationwide, IVCF(IFES) with 42 staff in ministry on 125 campus chapters, Navigators, AoG and others. There are also many locally initiated student ministries such as Student Missionary Outreach and Student Movement for Christ International. Pray for effective evangelical cooperation, multiplication of conversions and the development of a nationwide student missions movement.

b) Children. More than half of the population are under age 20. CEF has over 120 workers with ministry for school children in 55 areas. However, 24% of school-aged children are unable to attend school; most either work or have no local school. There are 75,000 street kids in Manila alone. Action International, International Teams and World Vision are just three of dozens of ministries focused on children.

c) Sex trade workers. Up to 100,000 children and 400,000 women are involved, many of them trafficked to other countries. The sex industry is apparently the fourth largest source of income. Pray for all involved (YWAM, Jubilee Action and others) in rescuing, rehabilitating and discipling these tragic victims of sin.

The major export of the Philippines is people. Filipinos are rich in skills but work opportunities are few, even for university graduates. Over 8.1 million live abroad. Of those, over four million work in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, often as nurses, engineers, seamen, domestic servants, nannies and menial workers. Many go to difficult and “closed” countries to be witnesses for Christ, and some suffer much for the gospel. Pray that all Christians may shine for Him. Pray that the unconverted may hear the gospel; especially pray for the 245,000 Filipino seamen scattered around the world (the largest number from any nation).

 

 

Prayer Focus for Peru – Sunday, May 4, 2014

Peru, Latin America: Pray for: a) Unity. Evangelicals have become a significant source of leadership, stability, social aid and hope since 1980. There are sharp divisions within and between some denominations, and with recent “success” has also come pride. Countless congregations are springing up with little or no wider accountability or fellowship. b) Ministry to the poor. Political and economic upheaval, climate change and urbanization add pressure to years of entrenched poverty. Many Christian ministries (WVI, Food for the Hungry, Compassion International, Agape Network, Tearfund) have contributed to programmes for both rural and urban slum areas. www.operationworld.org

 

peru-MMAP-sm