This Week at Cross Church | See You on Sunday
Looking Forward to Seeing You in Worship on Sunday
This Sunday, I will be preaching God’s Word at Cross Church. On Saturday evening, I will return from Israel with great anticipation and will be speaking on Sunday from the book of Romans. Our series, BY FAITH, has been splendid. I know last week in our absence, the Word was well-received. Always thank those who stand and proclaim the Scripture. We are so blessed to have these men of God.
Israel Has Been Special
A week ago as we left for Israel, we knew coming to this Land is always special. This time has been no exception. I am not sure how many times Jeana and I have been, but each time we are challenged, learn, grow, and fall in love with the Lord and His Word again in a fresh way. Today, we conclude the Epicenter Prayer Summit with Joel Rosenberg and Anne Graham Lotz. On Friday, we conclude our last day of touring in Israel. Please pray for this final day here as well as for safety and protection as our entire group travels back to Northwest Arkansas.
Reports from Our Vacation Bible Extreme
Over the years, God has been faithful to draw children to Himself using the avenue of our Vacation Bible School, and this year has been no different. We are praising God that across our four campuses, we have seen record-breaking attendance with over 2,300 children and Dream Teamers, hundreds of seeds of the Gospel planted, and dozens of children come to know Jesus as their Savior! Thank you to the many volunteers who have given a week to this worthy and magnificent task. Tonight, we conclude this incredible week as our Children’s Ministry staff and Dream Teamers will once again bring the gospel before both children and families at family night. Be in prayer as your church, BY FAITH, continues to reach the next generation for Jesus.
So Much is Before Us at Cross Church
As we invest in this ministry with our life, service, commitment, and resources entrusted to us by the Lord, I want to remind us we have so much more before us at Cross Church. Thank you for all you have done and are doing. Thank you in advance for what you will do in the future. As we are now mid-way through the summer, it is a good time to check out where you are in your financial giving to the Lord weekly. Now is the time to evaluate as we move toward our real goals of:
- Each member honoring the Lord weekly with at least the first tenth of all God provides financially.
- Each member demonstrating this kind of faithfulness for thirteen weeks of the summer from Memorial Day Sunday through Labor Day Sunday, regardless of where they may be.
- Our church will flourish in all the ministries of this summer as well as our most important ministry, which is day-to-day all year, reaching Northwest Arkansas, America, and the world for Jesus Christ.
This is only possible with God’s blessing and leadership in our lives personally. Thank you again.
Pray for This Sunday at Cross Church
As we enter into the final day of this week, let’s pray for the worship services on each campus at Cross Church this Sunday. As well, pray for our people to invite others to worship. Finally, ask the Lord to open up gospel conversations through our people even before Sunday, and pray we see these conversations turn into strong personal commitments to Jesus Christ.
See You Sunday,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Life is Not Easy, But God Uses Everything
There have been times in my life that I have struggled with my own identity. I have felt the pressure that I must have a title or assignment to feel significant. There were times in my younger years where I struggled with not living in a metropolitan region of America. I felt reduced. I felt insignificant. I felt like others did not recognize the value of where I served.
At times, this created a discontentment that was unhealthy. While the struggle was real, it became apparent that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks relating to these kinds of things. What matters is that you know and live out God’s purpose for your life. When you choose to live out God’s purpose for your life, while titles and assignments and opportunities are nice, you will find joy and happiness regardless of the specifics, because you are living purposefully.
Finding Purpose
Recently, we conducted a professional survey with our entire church. One of the many questions we asked our congregation that day was the following: What topic would be of most interest to you during a Sunday sermon? We received responses from several thousand people. Other than teaching through books of the Bible, as I have done regularly through the years, there were two topics people asked us to address: finding purpose and marriage.
You cannot live fit spiritually if you do not live purposefully. Without purpose, people live aimlessly. I have become convinced the need to live with purpose is greater than the survey may have revealed. People want to know their life matters.
Yes, God is at work in your life. Did you know that Romans 8:28 informs us that in each and every part of your life, God is at work? These things work together or cooperate to produce a greater effect than they could individually. God works through all things in concert together.
God is always orchestrating everything in your life to work together for your benefit. He sets His heart toward all of us who love Him intimately and pursue Him passionately. God’s intention and will is always good and always best for you.
I have to stop and qualify this, because it is very important for us to understand. Everything that happens to you is not good, but God uses everything for your ultimate good.
God’s Purpose for You
Regardless of who you are, where you are, or what you do in your life, if you are a Christian, God is always moving you to His eternal high purpose: Making you more like Jesus Christ. He created you to live your life with God’s purpose always on your mind, becoming like Jesus Christ.
The only way you will ever feel fulfilled is to know that God is always sovereignly and lovingly using everything in your life to make you more like Jesus Christ, for His glory.
Whoever you are and whatever your current circumstances, pursue God’s purpose for your life. Through every season of your life, from good to bad to mediocre, pursue God’s purpose. Now and in the future, pursue God’s purpose with a great expectation that God is working in your life, believe Him for your future with hope.
Life is not easy; it is full of challenges and even some losses. Job deeply believed what we need to believe: I believe nothing can hinder God’s purpose for my life! He trusted this because he knew God could do anything. Do you? While some people may experience a level of restoration as Job did, others may live to the end faithfully yet lose their lives as mentioned in Hebrews 11. For both groups, the ultimate promise is that God’s eternal purposes will come to fruition. The way you view God will determine how you view everything else in your life, including your problems, challenges, and even losses.
Please understand this clearly—what God wants to do, He will do. God is unstoppable! Therefore, each of us should declare this personally: I believe nothing can hinder God’s purpose for my life! Yes, God is able! He is unstoppable!
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
President, National Day of Prayer
This article is an adapted excerpt from Living Fit: Make Your Life Count by Pursuing a Healthy You by Ronnie W. Floyd.
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.