 |
|
|
|
The purpose of Crossroad Community Church is to glorify God
by enjoying a Christ-centered worship, walk, work and witness.
Worship
“exalting God in every area of our lives"
- Private worship – the individual’s personal devotional time with God. It should entail: prayer, praise, reading and meditating on God’s Word, and confession of sin. Your private worship greatly affects your public worship. It comes before your public worship. Jesus modeled this for us. In Mark 1:35 it says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Jesus also taught his followers to be private in certain areas of life such as prayer, fasting, and giving to those in need. (Matt.6:1-18).
- Public Worship – the gathering of believers in Christ for the purpose of expressing their love for Jesus in a public manner. Public worship should be “done in a fitting and orderly way” (1Cor.14:40). The purpose of public worship is “for the strengthening of the church” (1Cor.14:26b). Paul wrote his apprentice Timothy a letter and said, “I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1Tim. 3:15). There is a proper way to worship God in his house.
What should we do when we come to worship? “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1Tim.2:1-4). Paul says prayer. Jesus confirms that truth when He said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (Matt.21:13).
Second, and traditionally, we have come together to express our worship in praise. To lift our voices in one accord and sing with gratitude in our hearts to the Lord. Look at (Ps.100, 1Cor.14:26, Col. 3:16, Eph.5:19). There is no doubt that God inhabits the praises of His people and that there is power in praise.
Third, there is the reading, preaching, and teaching of God’s Word to His people. Paul stated to Timothy, the pastor, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1Tim.4:13, 2Tim.3:15-4:2, Titus 1:9-11, 2:1). This ministry is done by the elders of the church (1Tim.5:17)
Fourth, there is the act of giving to support the local church in its mission and ministry. We do it in a private way by putting your monies in a box outside the sanctuary. We only take monies during the service for the collection of the deacon’s fund to help out those in need in our church body and in the ommunity. (1Cor.16:1-4; 2 Cor.8:1-15, 9:6-12, 1Tim.6:17-19, Romans 12:10-13))
- Preferred Worship – we see in the Scriptures that God does not prefer a certain style of worship (traditional vs. contemporary). He prefers “substance” over “style”. We worship Him and Him alone so He is our substance of worship. Col.3:16 and Eph. 5:19 gives us a blended song selection “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” and we are to “sing with gratitude in our hearts to the Lord”. Any instrument played can only enhance the song, and more importantly, worship is to be done in the Spirit of God. Paul says, “we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3). Also see Jn.4:23-24. These verses give us the how and the substance of worship. Our Father seeks true worshippers who worship in spirit and in truth. We celebrate Communion (the Lord’s Table) once a month together.
WALK
“our daily spiritual life with God"
- Positive Walk - Your personal walk with God is mentioned quite often in the Bible. For example, Adam and Eve “walked with God in the cool of the day”, Enoch and Noah “walked with God”. Not only do we get the privilege of worshipping our God, but we get the honor of walking with Him everyday of our lives. How should we walk with an Awesome God? Mic.6:8 says, “to walk humbly with your God”. 1 Jn. 2:3 says, to “walk in obedience” to His commands”. 1 Jn. 1:7 says, to “walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another”. Other verses tell us to “walk in love”, to “walk in the truth”, and to “walk in the control of the Holy Spirit”.
Our walk in the Spirit should be our main priority, because if we walk in His power we will exhibit Jesus’ likeness and qualities (Gal.5:16-ff). Plus we won’t fulfill the desires of the flesh. Our great responsibility as followers of Jesus is to “walk as He did” (1Jn.2:6). We are called to follow in the footsteps of our Master and to simply walk with Him day to day. (Rom.12:1-3, Eph.4:1-3, 13-16, 22-5:2, 5:8-20; Col. 2:6-8, 3:1-4, 8-17; 1 Thess. 4:1-12; 1Pet.1:13-16; 2:1-5, 9-12; 2Pet.1:3-11).
- Negative Walk - We are also called not to walk in a certain way as believers. We are not to “walk in the flesh”, “walk not as the Gentiles walk”, or “walk in darkness”. Look as passages such as: (Eph.4:17-21, 5:3-7 Phil.3:18-19, Col 2:-3:5-7, James
4:1-7. Such a walk only brings misery and disappointment to your life.
Work
“using our spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities to edify the church body and to serve others”
- Body Life – using what God has given you (spiritual gifts) to build up and strengthen the body of Christ. God has equipped and shaped you for ministry. Look at (Acts 2:42-47, Rom.12:6-13, Eph. 4:16. 1Pet.4:8-11, 1Cor.12, Gal.6:1-10, Phil. 2:1-5,Col. 3:12-17)
- Service Life – using what God has given you (resources and abilities) to help others outside the body of Christ. How? By loving your neighbor as yourself (Matt.22:39). Look at Rom.12:10-ch.13, 1Pet.2:11-17, Titus 3:1-2, 14, Eph.2:10, Acts 10:38, James 2:14-18. God wants us to be “eager to do what is good” and “remember the poor” in our community (Gal.2:10) and to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city and pray for it, for if it prospers, you too will prosper”(Jeremiah 29:7) See (Acts 10:38)
Witness
“testifying to God’s work of grace in our lives to others”
- Lifestyle evangelism – letting your personal walk with Jesus (above) speak louder than your words (character). By being salt and light (Matt.5:13-16) and by building relationships with unsaved people in order to gain a hearing from them. See (Philippians 1:27, 1Peter 2:12)
- Active Evangelism – “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creatures” (Mark 16:15, Matt.28:18-20). The good news is “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). We should pray for open doors to tell others about Jesus (Col.4:2-4). We should be ready to give an answer to those who ask us (1Pet.3:15) doing it with gentleness and respect. Our prayer is along with Paul’s in Philemon 6 “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Look at (Acts 1:8, read all of Acts, Romans 1:14-17, 10:1-17
|
|
