WELCOME

Pastor Greg & Tamara Dumas Lead Pastor

Welcome to The Crossing Church,

We are less than one week from Christmas! Another year has come and gone, and as we look back at the last 12 months, I am amazed at how God HAS moved and IS moving. It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, but don’t forget to stop and thank God for His blessings. And if you are finding it hard to think of what those blessings are, consider all the things in your life that are good. Stop focusing on the bad, and give thanks!

Your PastorGreg and Tamara Dumas

For more announcement details: www.crossingonline.org/announcements

UPCOMING EVENTS

On Campus LifeGroups are an 18-week discipleship process that will help you discover and apply biblical truths in your everyday life. Join us January 22nd in The Life Center as we learn how God has designed each of us to connect, grow, and go. Register at: www.crossingonline.org/news.

• Warm Up: January 9

Adopt a Need If you or your LifeGroup would like to adopt a need for the Holiday (or any time), go to www.crossingonline.org/serve and select a family or agency to help.

Bulletin Assembly We need you! Bring your LifeGroup, your neighbor, and children 10 years and older to help assemble bulletins for the next fourteen services on Wednesday, Dec. 22 and Thursday, Dec. 23 beginning at 10am. Sign up in the Lobby today!

Marriage Mentor Ministry Mentor couples are standing by to help your marriage be what God intends for it to be. For more information, contact Pastor Dennie Walker at Dwalker@crossingonline.org and 813.626.0783 EXT. 148 or Laurie Weaver at Lweaver@crossingonline.org and 813.626.0783 EXT. 111.

Christmas Eve Tennis Shoes & Sandals On Christmas Eve, at the end of each of the services, we will be asking everyone to leave their tennis shoes or sandals behind. Our goal is to collect 500 pairs to donate to a local charity that will give these shoes away to people in need right here in Central Florida! These shoes and sandals will be a blessing not only to those here, but any surplus will go to Haiti to help the people there. Be a part of the blessing that The Crossing Church will be to our community this Christmas Eve.

Christmas Office HoursThe church offices will be closed the week after Christmas: December 27-31. They will reopen Saturday, Jan. 1 with church services at 5pm and 7pm and Sunday at 9am, 11am, and 1pm permanently.

Sunday Service TimeBeginning Sunday, December 26 service times will permanently change to 9am, 11am, and 1pm. Sign language interpretation will be during the 9am service.

Christmas Eve Services Join us at The Crossing for our Love is Still Alive Christmas Eve services on December 23: 6pm & 8pm and December 24: 11am, 1pm, 3pm & 5pm. We will be having sign language interpretation on December 24 at the 3pm service. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Ryan Frazier at RFrazier@crossingonline.org.

Saturday, December 18Sunday, December 19

LOVE IS STILL ALIVE

John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-8 Lead Pastor: Greg Dumas

WELCOME TO THE CROSSING CHURCH

SCRIPTURE

John 3:16 (NIV) 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 4:7-8 (MSG) 7 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. 8 The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love.

• If you find yourself far away from love and living in the world matrix, it’s time to stop and return to God. Repentance is stopping and changing direction.

• Overexposure to inclement weather can lead to hypothermia. Overexposure to our own ways and the ways of the world can lead to spiritual hypothermia.

• The way of the world and its frenzied pace will eventually lead to exhaustion and the loss of what you love the most.

• If you shut down your heart in order to achieve worldly and fleshly goals, you will dry up the well- spring of your life. You will be living the life you’ve always dreamed of, but you will be terribly alone and unfulfilled.

• The only way to combat a cold and dying love is to get out of the weather of the world – into the shelter of Most High – rest for exhaustion – fan the flame of faith.

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OBSERVATION

Lord, thank you for showing me what love looks like. Thank you for modeling, demonstrating, and teaching me the principles of love. I pray that you would grant me the ability and grace to receive your protection and covering in love so that I don’t have to fear. I am asking you to give me your ‘agape’ love. I know it’s not a human kind of love that can be found on earth. It’s a particular kind of love that only you possess. I also know that it’s within your will for me to ask you for this kind of special and supernatural love. Please give me the ability to love like you love. Give me the ability to believe your words of revelation over what I see on a daily basis. Give me the ability to trust you in the middle of my daily circumstances, and give me the ability to forgive the way you have so graciously forgiven me.

A. Fear

1 John 4:18 (NIV)

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

1. The fear of want; (James 4 and Psalm 23)

2. The fear of death; and (Hosea 13:14; 1 Cor 15:55)

3. The fear or terror of judgment. All these fears bring torment and are inconsistent with this perfect love.

Luke 11:9 (NIV)

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

B. Fire

Matthew 24:12-13 (NIV)

12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

1. Stop and Seek Shelter (2 Corinthians 7:10-11; James 4:1-10; Psalms 91:1-2)

2. Take off what’s wet, and get warm fast! (1 Thessalonians 5:15-22; 2 Timothy 1:6-7)

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PRAYER

APPLICATION