Crossroads United Methodist Church

08/11/2020

Philippians 4:13 I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength.

Morning Prayer: God, I wake to this reassuring scripture. It seems like there has been a lot to endure. There are so many challenges for everyone, especially at this time for families with school age children, college students facing an uncertain year and teachers learning new methods to reach and teach their students. Sometimes it becomes overwhelming. It is at those moments of feeling overwhelmed that I must remind myself that I am not in this alone. You are with me always. Your strength becomes evident through the help of friends and family or the kind words of strangers. As I draw on You for my own strength to face the uncertainties of life, help me also to be Your strength to others who are struggling, especially those on the margins who have limited resources. Remind me to stop when I feel overwhelmed and sit with You and be reassured that I can get through this. May it be so.

Morning Focus: I remind myself that in the midst of the many challenges I face, God is with me.

08/10/2020

2 Corinthians 4:8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Morning Prayer: God of hope, I draw strength from Your overflowing well of spiritual strength and renewal. These challenges and struggles are all part of being human, and at times they test me to the limits of endurance. I trust that You do not cause them, or bring them into my life. Instead, I know that You are right here with me through every moment of trial and struggle. Although at times my body is weak and my spirit grows disheartened, You hold my life and my spirit in Your hands, and in Your heart. They cannot be destroyed, but will live on wrapped in Your everlasting love.This assurance of Your of eternal hope keeps me from being crushed or destroyed. I draw strength from this promise, knowing that Your love is greater than anything I may face today.

Morning Focus: Today I am safe, and safely held by Your eternal love and light.

08/09/2020

Deep Way Down

Deep Way Down is one of our favorite spirituals at Crossroads. This was a joy for our worship team to put together this week.
Do you have a favorite spiritual, gospel song, or hymn? Let us know!

08/09/2020

Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.

Morning Prayer: Thank you God for Your hope-filled promises. I rise with my own plan for each day. My lists and calendar quickly fill up with tasks, projects, chores, and obligations, some more life-giving than others. When I consider the future, fear can cause me to over plan and seek control or to shut down and just resign. Rarely do I look at my physical schedule or mental to-do list and see plans for peace. Rarely do I think about the hours, days, or weeks to come and feel a powerful sense of hope. Help me to trust in the plans You have in mind for me. Be with me, God, as I balance steadfast faith and letting go. I know that through both the challenges and the triumphs, You offer the same peace and the same hope everyday. May it be so.

Morning Focus: As you consider the day ahead, look at it through a lens of peace. Approach the day with a spirit full of hope.

08/08/2020

Be Still My Soul

Here is a beautiful rendition of Be Still My Soul from last week's online gathering. Many thanks to our wonderful worship team for their dedication in leading praise and worship.

All are welcome to join us tomorrow and every Sunday at 10 am here:
https://www.crossroadsnova.org/watch-live

08/08/2020

Isaiah 58:11 The Lord will guide you always; You will be like a well-watered garden like a spring whose waters never fail.

Morning Prayer: I used to be so curious, God, envious really, of people who espoused their every move as being guided by You. How are they talking to You? I pray but it’s not like I’m sitting down with You having a conversation. Over time You introduced me to healthy mindfulness and prayerful strategies to incorporate into my daily life that have allowed me to tap into You, the God within. Who knew You were literally with me all the time? It wasn’t just some Christian-ease thing people say. If only I’d stopped long enough to hear You! You live inside my heart and soul. You are the very essence of my every breath. I’ve learned that to tap into You I must be still, pause and listen, to give Your voice room to speak above the noise created when what I’ve not so affectionately called ‘The Committee’ that lives in my head endlessly debates the issue(s) at hand. “Be Still and Know that I am God.” When I’m able to do this (for I must admit, I do forget and force ahead at times like a bull in a China shop), using the many tools You’ve provided me, I see your guidance and it’s never once failed me. May it always be so.

Morning Focus: As you open your eyes resist the temptation to hit the pavement running. Slowly breathe in “Be still and know…,” hold, slowly release “… that I am God.”

08/07/2020

James 1:5-6 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you.

Morning prayer: God, sometimes it seems like I am floundering about, not sure what to do or where to go. Where I can go physically is limited so I have to figure out what to do in the spaces in which I am confined. It is all too easy to spend my time idly rather than with meaning. Help me to use my time wisely, even when I am limited in where I can go and what I can do. There is much I can do from my own home, learning to be a better advocate for those who are unfairly affected by the pandemic or by the systemic racism that continues to be revealed in our world. I can use my times of solitude to be still and listen for Your voice, Your wisdom, Your guidance. Let me listen and respond to Your call on my life. Especially during these times of separation help me be present to others, to share their burdens and listen to their stories and share Your love with them. Let me be as generous with my love as You are with Yours. May it be so.

Morning Focus: I will take time to be still with God, to listen and respond to what God is calling me to do this day.

08/06/2020

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God.

Morning Prayer: God, I wake this morning with my mind racing about what I am going to do to make things better. I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders in these times. I realize I am not relying on You to help me to know my part. When I see this scripture it reminds me that though I am disturbed and I feel that the problems of the world are too much to ever overcome, that I need to be still and know that You are bigger. I need to know that my faith can only operate in trust and belief. The problems of the world and my own problems will become less overwhelming when I have belief beyond belief and an unshakeable faith that though I may not get what I want, my work is in living and teaching the ways of faith and hope. God, help us all to have the inner peace and assurance of knowing that Your great love will triumph over the problems of our creation and that there is good in all of the things we see as bad. I pray that I can let go of outcomes and spend my energy in personal growth of compassion and love. May it be so.

Morning Focus: I will make sure that today I am vigilant in recognizing when I am feeling overwhelmed because I think I am the answer. I will take a moment to be still and know that You are God.

08/05/2020

Hebrews 3:15 Today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts.

Morning Prayer: God, there is so much happening in our world making me feel cynical, judgmental, and at worst, hopeless. The constant barrage of news and updates leaves me both over-stimulated yet numb, informed yet helpless. My heart feels heavy. In the midst of it all, I know Your Presence is always with me, God. Help me to not lose sight of You and Your promises. I will seek Your voice above all the other noise, and pray that I will always receive it with openness and peace. May it be so.

Morning Focus: God’s loving voice is soft, compassionate, and inviting. Quiet your mind and listen for what God might be saying to you.

08/04/2020

Sails

Here is Sails sung and played by the Crossroads Worship Team.
Thank you to all the musicians who continue to work diligently in leading praise and worship each Sunday. You are a blessing to us all!

08/04/2020

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Morning prayer: God, I welcome Your instruction and am grateful for Your teaching. At times I feel adrift and always need Your direction in my life. In a time of much uncertainty, it is reassuring to be reminded that Your loving eye is on me. Wherever I am You are there. Give me courage and strength to mindfully share the wisdom of Your teachings and of Your love and grace with others who are struggling. Help me to be present to those on the margins who are affected even more than I by the pandemics of disease and of racism in our world. May it be so.

Morning focus: Today I open my heart, my mind and my spirit to receive the loving guidance of God.

08/03/2020

Job 33: 14-15 God always answers, one way or another, even when people don’t recognize God’s presence. In a dream, for instance, a vision at night, when men and women are deep in sleep, fast asleep in their beds - God opens their ears.

Morning Prayer: God, I begin this day with many questions and few answers. This verse reminds me that You are always with me, calling me, communicating with me, helping me, even when I am not aware of it. I know You speak in many ways and through many circumstances. I trust Your promise that tells me You are always working on my behalf, to guide me, to comfort me, to help me find my way through the many confusing and conflicting circumstances I face. Even when I rest, You are with me, still reaching for me and wrapping me in love. I am grateful for Your persistent voice rising within me at all times. I pray for open ears to hear and an open heart to receive Your guiding word and Your love.

Morning Focus: Find the still place in the center of your heart and listen for the gentle voice of God.

08/02/2020

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; God is the one who will keep you on track.

Morning Prayer: God, I often wake up with my to-do list already pulsing in my mind, my thoughts loud and crowded with what needs to be done in the day ahead. This leaves me feeling behind, ill equipped, and burnt out from the moment I open my eyes. Instead of starting my day with rush, hurry, and plans, help me to begin with trust in You. May this trust fill my heart from top to bottom, filling me with assurance and peace. I can’t figure out everything on my own. I can’t know the right answers, predict the path, or navigate the track alone. I am so grateful that I do not have to. Instead, I can lean into Your presence and promises, leading me with love. Thank you God! May it be so.

Morning Focus: Take a slow, deep breath, filling your lungs as deeply as possible. Imagine this breath as a physical manifestation of your trust in God, overflowing from the bottom of your heart.

08/01/2020

Isaiah 28:16-17 But the Master, God, has something to say to this: “Watch closely. I’m laying a foundation in Zion, a solid granite foundation, squared and true. And this is the meaning of the stone: a trusting life won’t topple. I’ll make justice the measuring stick and righteousness the plumb line for the building. A hailstorm will knock down the shantytown of lies, and a flash flood will wash out the rubble.”

Morning Prayer: The scripture reads that ‘You’ are laying a foundation, that ‘You’ will make justice the measuring stick and ‘You’ will make righteousness the plumb line. You gave us Jesus to lead the way, to be our model for how to be his hands and feet in the mission of love. I can’t help but think how disheartening it is then, for all Your efforts, to see us continue to struggle with injustice as a global society. But time and time again, love and justice eventually prevail. So how can I as one person affect the change that needs to occur in my own heart so that I can then be Your partner to affect change in others’ hearts? I’m reminded of the saying “what would Jesus do?” Help me to model and live my life in the way of Jesus that contributes to the Kindom of God. Help me, God, to begin my day, all of my days, by remembering that I am a child of God. As such, I am a child of love and that Jesus’ life is my guide. What would Jesus do? May it be so.

Morning Focus: I start this day, God, building on the foundation You provided by offering a few minutes of silent breath prayer meditating on “What would Jesus do?”

07/31/2020

Matthew 7:24-27 These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”

Morning Prayer: God, I wake to this very familiar scripture. I can remember hearing it many times as a child from my parents or in Sunday school so I have taken it to heart. As I have grown older I realize that even the most solid of foundations needs shoring up. Every morning as I wake I need to pause and reassess the foundation of my life and of my faith and shore it up before I head out for the day. The way I can do this is by taking time to be with You, reading Your Word, sitting in silence, listening for Your voice. Help me to take the time to spend those moments with You so I can be assured that my foundation remains solid. May it be so.

Morning Focus: I will evaluate the foundations on which my life and my faith are standing. Where it needs shoring up I will be deliberate with my time to do so.

07/30/2020

Psalm 127: 3-43-44 Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift, the fruit of the womb God’s generous legacy? Like warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children!

Morning Prayer: God, my heart is full this morning as I wake. I find that though I have been blessed with only one child, this one has brought a deep understanding of Your love for all of Your children. That the arrows that are plentiful are all the children we are given to teach and love. God let us all see that we are all Your children and that the ones You entrust to us are the gifts of the future and the now. We must treat each other with the same great care and love as our own children. Let us see that ours is but the role of teacher and student to our children. Help us to see what we are learning from them as we teach them about Your all inclusive love and that they are loved and whole and always enough. May it be so.

Morning Focus: I will remember to be grateful and thoughtful with all the children that God has blessed me with in my life.

07/29/2020

You Are Here [pre-registration]

The UMC General Commission on Religion and Race offers this four-session curriculum as a first step for white Christians, in particular, who are unsure about what racism is and unclear about its relevance to individuals, the church, and society as a whole. This resource is designed for individuals who are ready to learn about how racism operates, how it affects Christian communities, and how people of faith can recognize and resist racism.

The course starts on August 1 and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.

https://gcorr.teachable.com/p/youarehere-preregistration

First Steps for White Christians on Race and Racism

07/29/2020

Psalm 127: 1-2 If God doesn’t build the house, the builders only build shacks. If God doesn’t guard the city, the night watchman might as well take a nap. It is useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your fingers to the bone. Don’t you know God enjoys giving rest to those God loves?

Morning Prayer: God, thank you for this reminder to place my trust in Your good work. Sometimes it feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. Every task becomes heavy, every decision is made from fatigue. Becoming fixated on all I think there is to do causes me to forget that I am not facing the world alone. I am not in control. This world is Your kingdom and what I do alone can neither heal nor destroy it. It is also Your kin-dom, an interwoven family where all are included, called, and equipped to creatively partner with You and one another. I face this day with a posture of humility and gratitude. Help me seek out opportunities to rest and delight in all You have given. May it be so.

Morning Focus: Today, I will point out and celebrate God’s beautiful work.