Church Family and Friends,

I hope each of you are doing well and you continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. Just the other day, I came across the following:

In this desperate time, just remember:



Kindness is not canceled.

Love is not canceled.

Hope is not canceled.

Faith is not canceled.

My mind went immediately to the "Love Chapter" found in 1 Corinthians 13. Specifically, verse 13 that reads: " So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." In this verse, Paul summarizes love's permanence. Love abides forever. Take a moment and read through 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. We discover in verse 13 that the three great pursuits of the Christian life are not "miracles, power, and gifts"; they are "faith, hope, and love." This is not demeaning gifts. Gifts are precious and given by the Holy Spirit to allow us to minister for God's glory. However, gifts were never meant to be the focus or goal of our lives as believers. Instead, we are to pursue and offer faith, hope, and love.

Since faith, hope, and love are essential, it is no surprise how they are emphasized throughout the New Testament. Let me share a few passages:

Remember before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:3

Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

1 Thessalonians 5:8

Through Christ we are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

1 Peter 1:21-22

Now, Paul writes that the greatest between faith, hope, and love, is love. When we enter into eternity with Christ, faith and hope will have fulfilled their purpose. But we will always love the Lord and each other, and even grow with love through eternity. Love is an actual attribute of God. God is love and will always love. The good news is that we don’t need to choose between faith, hope, and love. The point of 1 Corinthians 13:13 is not to make us choose, rather, Paul is emphasizing that without love as the motivator and goal, everything else is meaningless. If we lose love, we lose everything. 

As I consider the lessons for me from 1 Corinthians 13:13 in this uncommon time, I have considered a few things. For one, I am not isolated from God's love. In fact, it's often in times of isolation when we focus on Christ that He washes over us a greater awareness of His love. Second, although love is the greatest, faith and hope are important. I have sought the Lord to help me increase in faith and enrich my hope found in Him. As I read through the promises in Scripture and pray them over me, my family, church family, and community, my faith and hope grow. Lastly, I have been looking for opportunities to share the love and message of Christ. I may be practicing social distancing, but in our high-tech age connecting is possible. I thank God for this and desire to use it for His glory.

I know these times are trying. But, remember that the Lord is with you, and so are we as Crosswinds. We are here for each other. Specifically, call the church office, leave an email, hop on our webpage, and share a prayer request. Also, reach out to one another. Make sure you are taking the time to stop and remember God’s love for you so that your faith and hope will grow, then share Christ’s love and message with others.

Again, know that I love you, I am praying for you, and your Crosswinds family is here for you.

Believing with you,

Craig Cooper

Lead Pastor

This week we were reminded of God's faithfulness in financially providing for His church and we wanted to say thank you for your continued faithful giving through this time. March giving exceeded our expectations during this time of social distancing. Your continued support is appreciated as we continue to reach into our community to share the love and message of Christ. Ministry is continuing to happen in new and creative ways through Crosswinds (as you will see below) and we are simply grateful for God's leadership during this time. As we continue to physically distance ourselves, we will continue to minister through digital means.

You can continue to worship the Lord through the giving of tithes and offerings either through giving online or by sending a check to Crosswinds marked tithes and offering.

We have been receiving some really great stories from the Crosswinds family who is responding to this pandemic in love and service. We would like to pass along a few of the many stories we have heard this week about some good things happening in our community.