Crossing Family, Love is in the air! Thank you for taking the time to join us for the last weekend in our marriage series. In honor of the weekend of love, we are having a clear and straight forward dialogue about intimacy. We get all sorts of questions from people in our church about what is appropriate and what is not. Hopefully you will leave here today with a crystal clear understanding of what God’s Word says about intimacy and sex. Loving God & others, Greg & Tamara Dumas
FEBRUARY’S KP3 FOCUS: KINGDOM For the month of February, we are teaching elementary children about God’s Kingdom. The one big idea we want them to learn is: When I become who God wants me to be, I will change the world. Week 2 Big Idea: When I do the right things, others may not like it. Scripture: Acts 25:7-8 Mom & Dad… Mom & dad…Wow! What an important truth to learn at a young age. Doing the right thing doesn’t always make you popular, but it pleases God. Encourage your kids when they do the right things. WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY Me, Myself, and Lies: A Thought Closet Makeover is a video-driven Bible study for women, designed to encourage us to clean out the junk in our thoughts and replace the hidden negativities with positive truths from God’s Word. The class begins March 4th 9:15am11:30am and 7pm-9pm. Register online at www.crossingonline.org/news. Childcare available. Contact Debbie Price dprice65@verizon.net for the AM class or Melinda Abston mindaab@hotmail.com for the PM class with any questions.
CHOIR AUDITIONS Church wide auditions for Easter Choir will be held on Monday, February 15th, at 6pm in the church lobby. Please listen to the end of track 5 from The Crossing Live CD (Holy, Wonderful) and be prepared to sing your part with a group, no solo necessary. For further information, please contact Morgan Burch at mburch@crossingonline.org or (813) 626-0783 ext. 124 AMAZING LOVE MINISTRIES Help Crossing Kids collect loose change to donate to Amazing Love’s “Heaven Cent” fundraiser and help feed the homeless! Donation containers will be located in the BreakAway room during weekend services beginning February 6 and ending February 21, 2010. Thank you for your support! WANT TO IMPACT A GENERATION? We’re looking for potential LifeGroup leaders for our new twenty-somethings ministry! For more information, contact Scott McIntosh at smcintosh@crossingonline.org or call 813-626-0783 ext. 136.
The 26.2 Spiritual Race is intricately designed with you in mind! Through the different 26.2 Experiences, you can learn more about The Crossing and its leadership, become involved in a LifeGroup, and understand more about your spiritual gifts. We encourage everyone to join in the race! Register for all the 26.2 Experiences at www.crossingonline.org. The next experience dates are: • Warm-Up: February 21, registration closes February 14 • Starting Line: May 22 and 23, registration closes May 15 • Mile One: March 7, registration closes February 27 • Pushing Through: March 30, registration closes March 14 • Momentum: February 20, registration closes February 14 WWW.TWITTER.COM/CROSSINGOINLINE
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.CROSSINGONLINE.ORG/ANNOUNCEMENTS
CARE CLASSES HAVE BEGUN We at The Crossing Church have cultivated a community of caring individuals who desire to help people learn how to cast their cares on Jesus through a multi-faceted ministry focused on caring for people. The CARE Classes are here to help you grow in these critical areas and experience the life God intends for you to live. Registration is available at www.crossingonline.org/care-ministries
Saturday, February 13 WELCOME TO THE Sunday, February 14 CROSSING CHURCH Epic Journey: Through the Bible The Book of Song of Songs week 3
Lead Pastor: Greg Dumas
Song of Songs 7:10
SCRIPTURE Song of Songs 7:10 (NIV) I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me.
OBSERVATION Attraction and passion for the opposite sex are God given gifts The gifts of attraction, passion and sex are to be explored within the fidelity of the marriage bed The little things are the things that steal passion and dull the joy of partnership and love Christians should be the most satisfied and sexually fulfilled people on the planet
APPLICATION Sex Outside of Marriage 1 Corinthians 6:9-20 Intimacy: The Marriage Bed Hebrews 13:4
Pornography, Other People, Drugs and Alcohol Safety Mutual Respect
Frequency: Not Withholding 1 Corinthians 7:4-5
Counting Physical Rest Preparation
PRAYER Lord Jesus, help me to understand your love, to know how much you long for me and how you desire my love in return. Give me understanding, wisdom and freedom in regard to my own sexuality. Show me how to live from your decrees and direct me in your divine pathways of righteousness. Teach me your statutes and show me my freedom, guard me from sinning against you as I learn to express my love to my lover.
LIFEGROUPS Use the following as a resource for your LifeGroup to go deeper with this week’s message. We hope this helps you as you “do life together”. Opener: If you are married, tell everyone about your wedding day. If you are not married, tell everyone about your dream wedding day. If either of these is not relevant, tell everyone about the best vacation you’ve ever had. There’s something for everyone! Digging Deeper: Take some time to reflect on the past three weeks of messages from Pastor Greg and Tamara. What are some of the nuggets you’ve gleaned from their teaching? If you’ve tried to implement anything you learned, be honest, how did it go? In the end, what is God’s purpose for marriage as you see it in Scripture? Dig into the Word together for some answers. You can start by looking at: Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:18-24, Proverbs 12:4, Matthew 18:19-20, Ephesians 5:21-33. Application: Wear it out in prayer! Have each couple or single person sit in the middle of a circle. Pray that God will flourish within the midst of this couple/person in regards to marriage. If the single person so desires, pray over a suitable, Godly marriage partner to come forth as God leads. For the couple, pray they find new and increasing ways to be before the Lord together that their house may be a house of prayer and faithfulness to the Lord and each other. Save plenty of time to do this right.