March 18th, 2020.
Based on the information the government and CDC has given, Texas Conference and Crosslink’s church board has decided to move to an online church worship service for now. This means we will not be meeting at the church building for the next few weeks. We don’t know how long we will not be able to meet but we are anticipating anywhere from two to four weeks or perhaps longer if the situation worsens.
The Lord shared these verses with me this morning, and I want to share with all of you: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).
I want to let you know that God is still in charge of this world. These are the times of prayer, fasting, and looking out for one another. And above all, rejoice in the Lord for He is at hand! Jesus is coming soon, y’all! Can’t wait to see Him in the clouds of glory!
In the meantime, here is how we are going to proceed:
1) SATURDAY MORNINGS: Each person/family will be having worship in their own homes Saturday mornings. First, we will be using Zoom Video Conference meetings to hold our Sabbath School Lesson at 11:15am. Secondly, you’ll be receiving a link to either a video sermon or a link for youtube/facebook livestream so you can watch after the lesson. More info coming soon.
2) DISCOVERY REVELATION PROPHECY SEMINAR: We are also moving these meetings to online. Elder Al Lewis, Andrew Acosta, and my self will be leading these meetings this week on Thursday & Friday at 7pm. Starting next week we will begin from Wednesday. I will send out a link so you may join too.
3) TITHES AND OFFERINGS: Thankfully we have our online giving platform, and you can return your tithes and offering using this link: austincrosslink.com/giving Look up the app on the App Store or Google Play on your phone by typing “Adventist Giving.” It’s super easy! Please reach out to me if you have any questions.
4) SMALL GROUPS: If you and your family are willing to form and host a small group with less than nine people in your home either Saturdays or on a weekday, please let me know. It would be great to model the church of the New Testament. The church didn’t meet in church buildings until the 4th century. That’s 300 years! Perhaps God is calling us back to it.
5) WHAT CAN WE DO? We need to look out for each other. Please, let’s make phone calls, text messages, checking up on each other to see if everything is ok and/or if there is a special need. If someone is in need of groceries, or has gotten hurt, or simply needs a special favor. Please reach out to one of our elders or myself or other church members. This is the time to also care for one another. This is biblical! Philippians 2:4, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
6) FASTING AND PRAYER: This coming Saturday March 21st has been declared as a day for fasting and prayer by the Conference. Let’s pray and fast and humble our selves to the Lord.
I want to say that the elders and myself will be available through text message and phone calls. Please feel free to reach out. We are here for you.
Blessings, everybody, stay safe and close to Jesus. Look up! He is coming soon