Membership Class Our next membership class will be on Sundays, February 7, 21, & 28 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.  All adults and students 14 and up are welcome to come.  If you’re interested, contact Joan at jbuss@aboutccc.com.

Men’s Fraternity All men ages 18 and up are welcome to join us for our Men’s group meeting every Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m.

Winter Fun Night for Families Join the fun as we co-sponsor a night with funny guy Keith Coast on February 21 at 4:00 p.m. at Faith Church.  Crossroads has only 150 tickets, so don’t wait to pick up your ticket!  The cost is $3.00 per ticket.

Baptism Our next baptism date will be February 21.  If you are a member of Crossroads and would like to have your child baptized, please contact Joan at jbuss@aboutccc.com.

Brickhouse SuperBowl Party Sunday, February 7^th all jr and sr high students are invited to watch the BIG game on BIG Screen at Brickhouse! Bring your friends and some of your favorite snacks to share! We’ll supply the soda! Just show up to Brickhouse at regular time (5:15 PM) and hang out until the game is over. There is no cost associated with this event but we do ask that you bring something eatable to share with the rest of us! Painted faces, Sports Jerseys and temporary tattoos (or permanent…whatever) are welcome! Have fun supporting your team! 5:15 — until the game ends!

Brickhouse Winter Sr High Retreat(WinterXtreme) Don’t wait to sign up – we only have 10 spots left.  The sr high retreat to Timber-lee is February 12 -14.  We will leave on Friday at 4:00 p.m. and return Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  Cost is $140.00.  For more information go to http://www.timber-lee.com/youth_programs/winterXtreme/index.html There is also a video from our jr high retreat with some of our students in it!

Snow Removal Help Needed! If you are available on Saturday or Sunday before the church services to snow blow (we own a snow blower!) and salt the sidewalks, please email Joan at jbuss@aboutccc.com.

Opportunity to Give to Haiti If you are looking for ways to contribute to the needs in Haiti, you can go to our denomination’s website at www.crwrc.org and make a donation.

Prom Alternative The Christian Prom is a black-tie event held every year in the month of April.  This year’s date will be April 23 from 6:00 – Midnight.   It is open to all high school students. It is intended to be a fun-filled evening of dinner, dancing, and fellowship.  This year, it will be at the Halls of St. George.  Cost is $35.  See more information at www.christianpromrocks.com

Crown Point Christian Breakfast Please join Crown Point Christian School for a delicious hot waffle breakfast on Saturday, February 27 from 7 – 10:30 AM in the CPCS gymnasium. Donations will be accepted at the door.  Proceeds will defer expenses for the 8th grade class trip and any excess funds will be given to the CPCS operating fund.

I Hope I Never Have to Deal With That! – Parent Workshop at Highland Christian School:  You may HOPE that you never have to discuss sex, racism, or substance abuse with your child, but sooner or later, your child will face these issues.  Join us for a parent workshop in the Highland Christian School Gymnasium at 7:00 pm on February 10 to learn principles and strategies to help your child navigate the difficult issues they will face in their lifetime.  Dr. Bill Sytsma, pastor of Second Highland CRC will lead our evening workshop. Childcare for children under the age of 11 will be available at Second Highland Christian Reformed Church (next door to the school).  Refreshments will be provided, and there will be resources available for purchase following the workshop.

Sermon Based Small Group Questions – January 23 & 24 Messages

Ice Breaker: Tell your best “ticket” story (or other run-ins with the law!). What traffic law did you violate? Did you talk your way out of it? What were your feelings following the episode? Were you thankful for the law and those who enforce it? What was the approach of the police officer?

Note to the Leader: Before you dive into the questions below. Take some time to ask your group what their impressions were from the message. Did they have questions? Did they write any highlights in their notes?

1. Why do you think Leviticus 19 starts with the respecting parents and observing Sabbaths?

2. What significance was there in not wearing clothing of woven of two kinds of material? V. 19 Is there an eternal principle we can take from a command like this?

3. The phrase “love your neighbor” looks like a footnote on not holding a grudge and yet Pastor Kris made it a centerpiece of the chapter. Do you think that is accurate and why? (Matthew 22:34-39)

4. Do you think there is a legitimate link between Leviticus 19:1 and 1 John 4:8? Describe the connection between holiness and love. Give examples of people in our world you would describe as holy.

5. We have an “ancient hunger”. We want to see the power of God revealed. We want to see God Himself break through into the natural world. We want to see splashes of glory in a world that is scarred by suffering and shame. Those who display God’s power to overcome what burdens us most are called “holy.” They are holy because they are the power of God revealed in this world.

As you read this quote from Gary Thomas (Holy Available) what comes to mind? How has God’s power come through you in the past and how will it in the future?

My daughter just rolls her eyes at me and says, “Whatever, dad.”

She knows I don’t really love cleaning the bathroom.  She sees through my shallow ploy to get her motivated to do her chores.  But, she cleans the bathroom.  That look of accomplishment in her eyes when she displays the sparkling results of her hard work is unmistakable: she loves it!

Maybe you were rolling your eyes a little as I introduced our new series on Leviticus last weekend.  I told you how excited I was about diving into Leviticus.  I’ll admit it is not an easy book.  When it says that a priest’s daughter who turns to prostitution should be burned to death, it’s a little hard to swallow!  At times it seems repetitious about trivial details (how many times do we need to know that the offering should have no physical defects), gross (do we really need the details of cleansing from contagious skin diseases, yuk!) and at other times extremely harsh (fire blazes forth from the Lord’s presence and burns up Aarons sons for disobeying God’s instructions).  In spite of all the difficult aspects of Leviticus I really do love uncovering its riches!

When I think about how hard the Israelites worked to remind themselves of God’s presence in their lives it challenges me to think about how meager my spiritual life looks in comparison.  When I think about the role of the priest in Israel and his responsibility to represent the people to God and God to the people I wonder if I am worthy of that same role as 1 Peter 2:9 says all of us are!

Last night I sat in a meeting with community leaders thinking about Leviticus.  Most of them in the room have probably never read Leviticus.  Many of them are probably not aware of the closeness of God.  As a priest I pondered how I was representing God in that meeting.  Did my attitude, my actions, my words give some indication of God’s presence?  Did I represent those people to God?

If Leviticus tells us anything it is that we must design our lives in such a way that we have reminders of God’s presence and power in everything we do.   As we begin a NEW YEAR, I hope you will take some ideas from Leviticus and find some ways you can set up reminders of God in your everyday life.  Maybe it’s post-it notes with verses, prayer time in the morning, a song every night, reading through the Bible in a year, praying for your co-workers during every meeting or tuning your radio to 89.7 or 90.1.  Only your imagination limits the ways you can connect with God every day!