Crossroads Church

Nothing new this week. I am guessing you all got the email about Stephen. With that in mind the blog will probably just devotions until after Christmas. Look for some new stuff to come January 2012!

DEVOTIONS 

WEEK: Dec 3 & 4, 2011

PASSAGE: Philemon 1

Are you stuck in the "same old?" "Same old" house you have no chance of ever selling. "Same old" commute...to the "same old" cube...in the "same old" career. Waiting for the "same old" weekend...to sit in the "same old" traffic...to get on the "same old" boat...or, to get to the "same old" cabin. Anybody feel stuck in the "same old?" If you didn't feel it before, you do now...right? “Same
old” devotions!

DEVOTIONAL POINT: Sometimes we find ourselves in these “same old” situations don’t we? We get bogged down with the things life has thrown at us. But the question is, are we going to let it? In the passage that you read, Paul was in prison….still….again. Paul was in prison a lot. He found himself in the same old situation.

But what did Paul do? He used his same old situation to find time to see how God was working through him. He wrote a letter to Philemon to preform a miracle of God—reconciling the slave Onesimus, with his master Philemon.

What sort of everyday miracles can you do for others in your same old situation? Give a smile? Talk to someone you know is going through a hard time? Buying a cup of coffee for two friends or family members who have had trouble reconciling themselves? Everyday miracles are happening all around us, are we willing to acknowledge them and be a part of these miracles? This week pray for God’s leading on what type of everyday miracle you could provide for someone. Share on Thursday if you feel comfortable with us.

MUSIC SUMMARY…Why we picked what we did?
1. Your Love Never Fails—Opener. Declaring God’s faithfulness even in the times of the same old raging oceans of life.

2. Blessed Be Your Name—Song of Proclamation. No matter what situation life throws us, we will still say blessed be God’s name.

3. From The Inside Out—Song of Preparation. Sometimes we just need a paradigm shift from our mundane perspectives our into God’s perspective of our life.

4. Stronger—Song of Proclamation. Whatever same old situation we face, sometimes it is the same old sin that we have struggled with for years. The truth is, Jesus Christ is strong enough to defeat the same old sin. He gives us the power to defeated—even the grave!

5. O Come O Come Emanuel—Song of Response/Christmas Song.