10 prayer points for Sanctity of Life
In light of Sanctity of Life Sunday, Stephen Prescott shared 10 prayer points for us to pray about this week.
1. Pray for a softening of the hearts of U.S. governors, State lawmakers, and members of Congress to the gospel. Pray for them to see babies in the womb and their mothers as valuable people made in the image of God.
2. Pray for women around the world who feel as if they have no other option than to end the life of their unborn child.
3. Pray for the fathers of unborn children to encourage women to choose life for their child and that they would get involved with appropriate support for life.
4. Pray for the Church. Pray that she will be able to show love and compassion to women in unexpected pregnancies. Pray that she will continue this love and compassion for women that choose life or an abortion.
5. Pray for the Christ-exalting pregnancy resource centers throughout the U.S. and the world. Pray for their protection. Pray that women in unexpected pregnancies will be connected with them.
6. Pray for the abortion providers in the U.S. and around the world. Pray for their salvation, and for their eyes to be opened to the precious lives they are seeking to abort.
7. Pray for those providing abortion recovery services. Pray that women will connect to them and will learn about forgiveness and redemption through Christ.
8. Pray for OBGYNs. Pray that pro-life OBGYNs will flourish, and women will be led to these practices divinely.
9. Pray that the Lord will use whatever means necessary to give women truthful information about the adoption option.
10. Pray that, in God’s miraculous way, women will connect with Lifeline Children’s Services and other Christ-exalting pregnancy counseling ministries so that we will have an opportunity to share the gospel with them.
P.S. Prayer points taken from Image Bearers: Shifting from pro-birth to pro-life. lifelinechild.org/nextsteps
Why are CGs Important?
The Shoffeitt Family
Why do we love and encourage CGs at Cross of Grace? Alec shared a bit about what CGs mean to our church family.
"I love Community Groups at Cross of Grace because it's all about family discipleship. We gather across our city, throughout the week, to help one another follow Jesus as brothers and sisters in Christ. We need one another! We are better together in community than we could ever be alone. I thank God for my community group because God has used them to help me grow as a husband, father, and follower of Jesus."
- Alec
This weekend we are having a Community Group fair in between services to help you get connected with a CG. Come meet some of the leaders and get plugged in!
P.S. Want to learn more about CGs? Visit https://crossofgrace.net/ministries
COG’s Top 15
Colossians 3:16
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
Each week, when we gather, we seek to follow God's desire that his people sing to Him together for the benefit of one another! Looking back over the last year, I was really encouraged to see the list of the top 15 songs that we've sung as the gathered body of Christ. I have a friend who likes to say, "The doxology of the church today is the theology of the church tomorrow." Basically, the songs we sing have a significant influence on what we believe about God. These top 15 songs represent not only a breadth of theological topics, but a depth of theological truth. The content of these songs helps us see the character of God, the grace, forgiveness, and mercy found in Jesus, and the help and conviction found through the Holy Spirit! These songs have helped us shout for joy at all that God has done, these songs have allowed us to boldly proclaim the gospel, and these songs have helped us walk through seasons of grief and look forward to the day when sin, pain, and death will be no more! These songs continue to help us hide the truths of God's Word in our hearts as we teach and admonish one another through our singing each Sunday.
As we navigate the joys and sorrows that 2024 will surely bring, let us continue to sing boldly, with thankfulness in our hearts to God, every time we gather!
- Jon Vogan
P.S. To listen to the playlists, see the following links:
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/51oJmD1vizQJuXtswhBQ7i?si=c4a66f55b57c4dc0
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/cog-top-15-2023/pl.u-Aekei7197MZ
YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY5aTBdyK3DL_trUvK7h2QI-ngLVoF14m&feature=shared
RELAY Young Adult Conference 2024
This past weekend was the first-ever Sovereign Grace RELAY Conference! Over 700 young adults from across the U.S. attended, including a group from COG. It was an incredible time of teaching, worship, and fun, all for the glory of God.
Let us continue to pray that young adults in the church will continue to grow a fire in their hearts for Jesus!
P.S. At the conference, Ricky discussed the Christian life in the power of the Spirit and addressed two key reasons we receive gifts. You can read it at https://jralcantar.substack.com/p/carry-the-fire-breakout-outline
A New Years Challenge
As we kick off the year many of us make resolutions like “I’m going to get fit this year” or “I’ll only eat one donut a week” or “I’m going to read a book every month.” Good resolutions can be helpful but I’ve found that often that resolving to start patterns is better than any one specific goal. Patterns tend to shape our life day to day, month to month, and beyond. So with that in mind here’s my new years challenge.
1) Read a book on the cross in January
The gospel is of “first importance” according to 1 Cor 15. If so, what better way to start the year than with what is of first importance? Read a book on the cross this month.
Here are a few to start with:
What did the cross achieve? — Packer // A short punchy introduction to the cross.
FREE — 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die — Piper // This one is short and punchy and perfect for reading a handful each day in January. And you can download it completely for free.
Living the Cross-Centered Life — Mahaney // This set of teachings changed the way I thought about the cross — not just as something I believed in one, but something that changes me every day.
The Cross of Christ — Stott // This is a challenging read but so rewarding. Stott helps us see the cross as a diamond in its beauty and complexity.
2) Find a worship anthem for the year
I love the line in the hymn “Come Thou Fount” that says “tune my hear to sing thy praise.” It’s helpful to “tune” our hearts to where they should be and I’ve found that starting the year with a worship anthem (louder the better) serves my soul.
Find some great anthems recommended by Jon Vogan (our music team lead) here
3) Get outside
Nature declares the glory of God according to Psalm 19 and starting the year spending time in creation is a key practice for me. It reminds me that I’m small, that God is big, and that he is glorious. Find a trail near you.
4) Set a time a place to meet with God
This might be the most important one. Rather than focusing on a big goal, focus on setting a pattern for the year. Find a specific time to meet with God every day. Have a plan. Get consistent. Read the word. Pray. It can be as simple as starting with reading one Psalm per day and praying the Lord’s prayer, or involve a whole plan to read through the Bible in a year. But start a pattern this month and carry it forward.
Prize?
Achieving the challenge is its own reward but if you complete the 4 for 2024 challenge you’ll get a victory sticker at the end of the month. I love free stickers.
Now get after it.
-Ricky