WELCOME Thank you for joining us today, We are in the midst of a series of messages which we base our values on as a church body. Today we are learning what the Bible says about maturity. For many of us it has different meanings. For God it boils down to something pretty simple: faith and trust. Do we trust God in every situation in our lives? Do we have the faith to react in a godly manner when we face trials? I pray that today you would learn something special from God’s word! Your Pastor, Greg and Tamara Dumas Pastor Greg & Tamara Dumas Lead Pastor
UPCOMING EVENTS Baptism Class Our next baptism class for elementary-aged children (1st through 5th grade) is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 13 at 3pm in Room 229. All children are required to attend a baptism class before they can be baptized. Forms are available at the check-in desks upstairs and must be turned in one week prior to attending the class. For more information, please contact Kim Gore at kgore@crossingonline.org or 813.626.0783, ext. 123.
Women’s Christmas Coffee Benevolence Event Women’s Benevolence Christmas Coffee Event is Dec. 9 at 6:30pm. Tickets are available for this event Nov. 13-14 and Nov. 20-21. Tickets are limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please contact Jennifer Crum at crummiej@tampabay.rr.com
Surviving the Holidays Care Ministries will be offering a workshop entitled, “Surviving the Holidays” on Saturday, Nov. 20 from 6:45-8:30pm. The course will feature video instruction and group discussion full of practical tips on how to survive the holidays, and participants will receive a personal Holiday Survival Guide. There are two sessions available: DivorceCare helps deal with the intense pain of separation and divorce during the holiday season; GriefShare will help participants deal with the intense pain of grief during the holiday season. Sign up online at www.crossingonline.org/news.
Before You Say Your Vows … Whether you’re engaged or dating, we want to help you establish a foundation for an enduring union. This two-day, pre-marriage class will provide practical tools to maintain a strong, successful marriage. Each class consists of a Friday night session, 7-9pm and a Saturday session, 9am-2pm. The fall session begins on Friday, Nov. 12 and Saturday, Nov. 13. The cost to participate is $60 per couple. Childcare is NOT available for this class. Please register online at www.crossingonline.org/news.
The 26.2 Discipleship Process is an 18-week process that will help you discover and apply biblical truths in your everyday life and learn how God has designed you to connect, serve, grow, give, and reach. We encourage everyone to join in the race. Register for the 26.2 Discipleship Process at: www.crossingonline.org/262DP. •
Warm up: November 7
For more announcement details: www.crossingonline.org/announcements
Saturday, November 6 Sunday, November 7
WELCOME TO THE
CROSSING CHURCH
is it in you? Love Ephesians 4:1-16; Mark 12:29-33
Lead Pastor: Greg Dumas
SCRIPTURE Ephesians 4:1-16 (NIV) Instead, speaking the truth in love (Atmosphere of Love), we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. 15
Mark 12:29-33 (NIV) 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” 32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
OBSERVATION • • • • • •
Worship that God welcomes isn’t primarily or essentially intellectual, (though it’s not unintelligent by any means) but it’s effectual and takes place at the heart level. God’s primary focus in giving us access to worship Him is to provide an exposure and experience intended for our benefit, not His (though He delights in our coming to Him). God isn’t looking for something brilliant, but He promises to respond to one who come broken (Psalm 51:17). God’s presence is the focus of all of our praise, and our humility helps us loosen the chains of pride while preserving our personal dignity. Our sacrifice is our spiritual act of worship; we give something of ourselves to Him upon giving it; God is faithful to return favor and His manifest blessings. Worship that originates in the heart of man always finds its expression in hands of man. God empowers, blesses and changes our hearts through encounter, and then He causes us to love that which He loves.
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APPLICATION 1. A hungry Heart (Exodus 33:13-15; Phil 3:7-1) 2. A humbled Heart (Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 18:3, 10) 3. A sacrificial Heart (Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 11:6) 4. A servant Heart (Mark 12:29-33) •
Forgiveness toward others, with peacemaking and reconciling efforts evident in our daily agenda for living.
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Gracious, lifestyle evangelism characterizing our conduct and communication, so that the glory found in His presence is manifest in our shedding the warm, attractive “light” – a believable, winsome witness.
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Unselfish, servant-minded availability to assist in human need through the strength of hands –seen in a heart of care for victims of neglect and injustice, nourished by a merciful mindset toward those whose cheapened values reveal their blindness.
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PRAYER Lord, thank you for giving me the opportunity to express my love to you. Thank you for giving me the ability to praise you and the experience of worshipping you. I want to be in your ever-constant presence. Jesus, you are the way, the truth and the life. Thank you for giving me the ability to see. I come confidently before your throne to find grace in times of need, knowing that you have gone before me. You have opened the way, and through you I have gained access to the Father. I worship you in spirit and in truth, knowing that you see the hidden things, deep in the corners of my heart and mind. Search me and see if there is any wicked way in me. I am willing to yield Lord; I am willing to lay down my pride, and I humbly seek your works of grace. I lay down my body, my soul and my mind on the altar of sacrificial grace. I pick up the life of Christ, having been crucified with Him; He now lives in me. I reconcile my old man dead, yet I live. But the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. How could I ever repay you, Lord? Your sacrifice is unspeakable. I have given myself to you, Lord – not in part – but in whole. My eyes have seen the King; I am undone, but then I am cleaned. Now it’s my turn to serve the King. Here am I. Send me.