Crossroads

Yesterday (1/22) was the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a monumental decision that legalized abortion in America. The estimated number of abortions performed in the United States since 1973 is 46,000,000. This is a stunningly sad reality. Let’s remember to pray for our nation that God would have mercy and that He would restrain this evil. 

Just a friendly reminder, all CG meetings have been canceled for Thursday, 1/17 due to snow/freezing rain… Have a wonderful evening.  

Reilly is playing at Jammin’ Java in Vienna tomorrow night. They’re a band from a Sovereign Grace church in PA, and they’ll be playing songs from their new album, "Let June Decide". I’ve been listening to their new album and enjoying it a lot. Invite your friends and enjoy great music tomorrow night!

Many of you probably know already, but our friend Jessica Garber will be going to India on a medical ‘e-team’ with a group of doctors and nurses in the network of Sovereign Grace churches. She’ll be leaving this coming Sunday for the state of Gujirat in north-western India and will be there a little over a week. She told us that this region of India can be hostile to Christians and asked us to pray for the health and safety of the team. 

But I want you to note what Jessica wants us to pray for the most:

"My hope is that though our medical work and our mere presence there, we will promote the Gospel and extend the hope of Jesus Christ to the people of this region… Please pray:

• that the Lord would go before us and prepare the hearts of those we touch to hear and be receptive to the gospel.
• that we would be bold and courageous in proclaiming the gospel.

We’ll be praying for you, Jessica. Thanks for exemplifying the heart of the Lord for the poor and needy in India!

New Attitude registration is now open online. For more information or to register, click HERE.  

Just a friendly reminder… We have our monthly Crossroads meeting tomorrow night at 7:30pm in the Basement Auditorium. We are continuing our series on the book of James called "Devoted", and we have the privilege of having our senior pastor Mark Mullery come and teach us from James 2:14-26. Historically this passage has caused people to scratch their heads because it says, "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." You might have wondered, "Wait a minute, aren’t we justified by faith alone, as Paul says in other parts of the Bible?" Is this a contradiction? Maybe your non-Christian friends who know a little about the Bible have pointed this out as a justification for their claim that the Bible is full of contradictions. What does James mean? How do we understand this passage? Come and find out the answers to these question as Mark walks us through a detailed study of this passage! Come early for coffee at 7pm…

We’re holding a 4-part Sunday School Class on prayer starting this Sunday, 1/13 through Sunday, 2/3, at 8:30am in the basement auditorium. We’ll be going through the book A Guide to Prayer by Isaac Watts, available at the church bookstore for $5. Also, we’ll be covering A Call to Prayer by J.C. Ryle, which is available for FREE at the Welcome Center. If you want to grow in your understanding of prayer and your practice of praying to God, this is the class for you. To sign up or for more information, please call Christine Hawes at the church office. 

A Happy New Year! It is now 2008, and many things will happen this year, Lord willing. The 2008 Summer Olympics will take place in August in Beijing, China. In November, the presidential election will be held to elect the 44th President of the United States. And on a much smaller note, I will turn 31 this year.

But what I’m most looking forward to this year is how God is going to meet me this year as I seek to faithfully read His Word daily. Mark Mullery gave a message this past Sunday on prayerful meditation on God’s Word and encouraged us to have a defined plan for our devotions. He created a Bible reading plan that coincides with the preaching schedule for the church, which is now available online on the church website. Whatever plan you choose, the most important thing is to have a plan and actually use the plan to help you meet with God daily. This year Emma and I will be using D.A. Carson’s For the Love of God to help us read through the Bible in a year. What plan are you going to use this year? Let’s keep encouraging and asking each other how God is meeting us as we seek Him in His Word!