Crossroads Church

Today we worshiped at Crossroads Church, 1000 Crossroads Drive, Oakdale, PA 15071, 412.494.9999, www.crossroadsumc.org, Steve Cordle, Lead Pastor.

Scripture – Psalm 73 NIV

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?”

This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.

If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.

Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

Bob’s thoughts:

It always makes me feel welcome when I come into a church and find a substantial cross in the sanctuary.

Other than the obligatory greeting during the service, the only welcoming was at the door, likely due to multiple services.

There were about a dozen people on the stage for worship but the voice of the lead was the only one I heard; I could not detect harmony with any others.

I believe we all experience a stumbling block to our faith when we try to be “good” Christians and then something bad happens. This is compounded by watching the faithless seemingly prosper while we suffer. We live with an assumed reciprocity: we live being good and God will be good to us by our standards. Sometimes the lesson is extremely painful, as ours was. God is patient with us and helps us through the low point and, like Asaph, we awaken to the big picture.

Following the message we watched a short video witness from the mother of an autistic child. Her all-too-familiar experience supported the message.

It is humbling to realize the Creator of everything knows you and loves you, and I would wish for all believers that moment of understanding that “God knows even me.”

Jan’s thoughts:

We enjoyed our previous visit here, so today we returned to hear the lead pastor preach.

A gentleman greeted us as he held the door for us to enter and another gentleman greeted us with a handshake inside. Signage was good so we found the restrooms easily. We bought a cup of coffee and found seats in the back of the worship area.

The lead singer has a beautiful, strong voice and led well. Possibly some tuning would have made her voice sound a bit softer to my ears, but it could have just been my ears. Scripture was displayed on the screens during the musical bridge of the first song, which is a lovely complement I don’t recall seeing before.

The message was kicked off with video of a conversation between Bono and Eugene Peterson in which they discussed the importance of the Psalms to them personally. Bono’s comment made me chuckle: he said his first impression was “Great words, it’s a shame about the tunes.” He then proceeded to sing part of the 23^rd Psalm. It was quite touching.

The current sermon series is called Honest to God: Praying the Psalms in which they have been looking at how writers of the Psalms poured out their hearts honestly to God. Today’s part 4 was called Questioning When Life is Unfair and is based on Psalm 73. In that Psalm, the author, Asaph, talked with God when he noticed that the faithless prospered while the faithful didn’t.

The proposed answers began with: Rip up the “contract”…the conscious or unconscious agreement we have with God that says if we serve Him, He won’t let anything bad happen to us…because God never signs that contract to begin with.

The next answer is to see the big picture, where we can see that God is good because He gives us Himself, He is with us, He supports us, He guides us, and He gives us eternity with Him. If we take an eternal perspective, watching a faithless person prosper in this life is a small matter. This life is very short compared to eternity.

He pointed out that Psalm 37:4 tells us to “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” If He is the desire of our hearts, then He gives us Himself. What more could we ask for?

We appreciated the time taken for conversation and prayer after the service.

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we pray this congregation rips up their “contract” so they can come to know Your love more fully. Amen.

Crossroads Church

Today we worshiped at Crossroads Church, 1000 Crossroads Drive, Oakdale, PA 15071, 412.494.9999, www.crossroadsumc.org, Steve Cordl, Lead Pastor.

Scripture – NLT

Genesis 1:26 –

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

Proverbs 14:12 –

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.

Romans 8:6-8 –

So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

Psalm 55:2 –

Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

Philippians 2:5 –

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Galatians 2:20 –

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 5:22-23 –

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Zechariah 4:6 –

Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Bob’s thoughts:

Most of those we passed on the way in said hello and someone directed us to the restrooms and the Chapel. A few people near us also said hello during the Passing of Christ’s Peace.

The Chapel was pleasant with wood paneled ceiling and a large wooden cross with a purple drape. I noticed some large banners on the wall and smaller wooden crosses across the face of the stage.

The praise team was enjoyable with bearable volume; I appreciated the enthusiasm and smiles.

The congregation was requested to fill out the connection card inside the bulletin or alternatively to use the Crossroads app on their cell phone. This was one of the few times when the time allowance for personal confession was adequate for what I remembered the need to confess.

Later, during Communion, the elements were offered verbally and served after a time of confession.

The sermon, “How to Deal with how we Feel,” developed well and was supported scripturally. The pastor shared some personal experiences on how easily we can be led to trust our feelings before consulting God.

For the first time I realized the value of an outline of the message to work through. Most times, if I tried to take enough notes on the sermon, I missed too much of what was said and would end up with a lot of notes but little that I could put back together. Today I was free to follow God’s leading a little closer.

We have had very rewarding experiences when the opportunity came to minister to someone who was grieving; the message today was divinely inspired to encourage us to be more receptive to those God puts in our path who are grieving.

The hymn “It is Well” was also God-inspired today. Our son was killed on a Saturday, and when Sunday morning came, we didn’t know what else to do so we went to church. “It is Well” was what was sung as we were relying on good friends and Jesus to be able to stand. It will forever evoke strong memories.

Jan’s thoughts:

I have enjoyed listening to Pastor Steve via podcast, but today we got to hear a different pastor at this Crossroads location.

This large campus is meticulously designed with mostly muted colors and plenty of signage. A greeter held the door open for us, and others were posted in various locations in the entranceway. Upon asking the direction for this service, we were pointed in the direction beyond the refreshment table, and while there two Marines noticed Bob’s shirt and extended a warm greeting.

After preparing a cup of coffee (with a lid), we entered the Chapel for the early contemporary service and the first thing I saw was a huge wooden cross beautifully draped correctly in purple.

I am always amazed when a contemporary service starts and I look around to see maybe 10 people, and most of the chairs are filled by the time the first song has ended…and that was the experience today also.

The praise band was energetic, I enjoyed the lead singer’s voice, and the back-up vocalists provided excellent, harmonious support.

The message was presented by Executive Pastor James Roberts and was part of a series (which I have been following) entitled “Transformed: How God Changes Us.” The series is based on Rick Warren’s series of the same name, and this third week the focus was on “How to Deal with how we Feel.”

After establishing that our emotions are a gift from God (Genesis 1:26), and that it is best to avoid the extremes of emotionalism (“all that matters is how I feel”) and stoicism (“feelings aren’t important at all”), he stated that we must learn to manage our emotions because feelings are often unreliable, not always true, and can cause us to feel wrongly. God can’t be God of our life if we put our emotions on the throne.

When it comes to unwanted feelings, he said there are two steps: name the feelings that are causing us an issue, and tame it…allow God to shape and change our feelings. Sometimes we need to channel unwanted feelings, find a way to use them to help others. Our greatest ministry is often born from our greatest pain.

His final - and best – suggestion for managing our feelings was, every day before getting out of bed, ask God to fill us with His Spirit and guide us through our day.

Communion is celebrated weekly at this service, and I was grateful for the time of confession beforehand as well as the verbal offering of the elements.

Our prayer for this church:

Father, we pray this congregation always remembers Christ when they deal with how they feel. Amen.

The Bible Chapel in Robinson

Today we worshiped at The Bible Chapel in Robinson, (at Pittsburgh Technical Institute,) 1111 McKee Road, Oakdale, PA 15071, 724.941.8990, www.biblechapel.org, Mike McCormick, Campus Pastor.

Scripture: Exodus 3:9-4:15 (NIV)

“And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites – a land flowing with milk and honey.’

“The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.

“And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”

“A staff,” he replied.

The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has appeared to you.”

Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous – it had become as white as snow.

“Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.

Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”

Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.”

Bob’s thoughts:

I clip any notice I see of churches in the general area and see if God leads us there.

The worship is held in a room at PTI, and although some additional signage would have been helpful, we followed traffic in; getting out was a little tricky.

We were welcomed by people who asked if we were visitors and first-time visitors. A woman guided us to seats and sat with us.

There was an exquisite wooden cross with a drape and crown of thorns in the front. I noticed a good age mix among the congregation and, like most contemporary services, a lot of people straggled in after the singing started. Efforts were quickly made to accommodate with extra chairs.

It was interesting that even a new song was sung with passion and I got through with no ear plugs although the bass almost overwhelmed me.

Just before it came time to play the streaming sermon, some of the power went out. The on-site pastor deftly handled things while the crew hurried to string extension cords.

The message was for Mother’s Day and dealt with the fear of inadequacy. He reiterated some of the traps moms are led into where they question their value and their God. I liked his comment that “on the few days that you are feeling good about yourself, your children will quickly remind you of your shortcomings.”

Another excerpt: “Even when you have your mom suit on” the pastor, like me, wonders if you will ever hear a story on a local Christian radio station that doesn’t work out? From personal experience I would say that sometimes when you place your child in God’s care, He takes him home. Not your choice, but a new normal begins.

One of the most encouraging things I heard today was from the pastor after the service, that the church, for now at least, is not burdened with a building so there is no confusion about what/who the real church is.

Jan’s thoughts:

I appreciated the signs leading toward the parking and entrance at the Pittsburgh Technical Institute, but would suggest directional signs to exit the building also since first time visitors can get lost easily.

In a church with several services – not to mention several campuses – I was surprised at the number of people who asked if we were visitors. We were greeted warmly almost from the time we arrived and candidly engaged in conversation before and after the service. As we entered the worship area we were invited to sit with some folks at the back wall, which was perfect for us with our hearing issues, and we truly appreciated the invitation as things like that are often not forthcoming.

As in most contemporary services, many folks arrived during the first song. I witnessed one group of several enter and a woman sitting in the back row immediately gathered her belongings and waved her hand to the new arrivals indicating they could sit there. Almost immediately 10-15 more people arrived but there simply were not enough seats by that time, so several male members jumped into action and quickly and efficiently set up enough seating for the new group. It’s always nice to have such an issue, but what tells the tale is how it’s handled, and this was handled very well.

The music was excellent although, as is almost always the case for me, on the loud side. I always marvel that it sounds so loud to me but everyone else seems to be handling it just fine… I know it’s my ears, and there is nothing I can do about it. I appreciated the words on the screen in yellow, making them very easy to read.

I caught a glimpse of a woman interpreting the service in sign language, which touched me as it reminded me of when our daughter used to do that.

The message series is entitled “Fear: What Are You Afraid Of?” and this week the focus was on the fear of inadequacy. He pointed out that this particular fear is epidemic among mothers: whether they stay at home to raise their children or they are employed outside the home, many moms feel just plain inadequate.

Moses believed 40 years prior to his call that he would be the one to deliver Israel out of slavery, but his first attempt was based on his own power so he failed. However the pastor pointed out that “yesterday’s failure is never an excuse for today’s calling.”

He examined fear of inadequacy as exhibited by Moses when God called him to deliver Israel out of Egypt and came to the following conclusions:

1 – Fear of inadequacy causes us to question our value, to ask “Who am I?” Since God agreed with Moses that he was inadequate for the task at hand, it seems that is the wrong question. Since God promised to be with Moses, the question to ask is, “Who is my God?”

2 – Fear of inadequacy is fueled by belief in an inadequate God. God is more than adequate; since He is with us, we cannot be inadequate for a task to which He has called us.

3 – Fear of inadequacy continually asks the question, “What will people think?” Fear of inadequacy causes parents to want to be their kid’s friend, facilitator, enabler, and taxi driver, but moms/parents sometimes make decisions that are unpopular with their kids as well as with their kid’s friend’s parents.

4 – Fear of inadequacy produces a feeling of incompetence. We feel weak but do not want to admit it so we blame God, our parents, or anyone else we can think of. But Scripture tells us that only when we confess our weakness to God and lean on Him are we (finally) strong.

5 – Fear of inadequacy will lead us to places of unhealthy disobedience. We reach the point where we have no choice but to admit to God, as Moses did, that we simply don’t want to do what He is asking of us. But God is not happy with disobedience, and our fear of inadequacy is addressed when we admit it.

He then had a message for the women of the church: we need to step it up…we are called to be more than we are; the “mature women can’t just slide for home,” we need to disciple younger women and help them learn what it means to be a woman of Christ; he instructed us to guard our hearts and tend to our marriages.

This was a powerful message that addressed a topic I’ve been focusing on for quite a while in my personal devotions. I believe fear is a favorite tactic of our true enemy, Satan, who will whisper fearful reminders of mistakes past, echoing messages of foreboding joy that steal our happiness. The next time I begin to feel the weight of this fear as the Enemy tries to use it against me, I pray I remember to confess and recall that Christ is always more than enough.

Our prayer for this church:
Dear Lord, we pray You quell the human “fears.” May the faith of this congregation grow that they will trust You completely. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Oakdale United Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Oakdale United Presbyterian Church, 62 Hastings Avenue, Oakdale, PA 15071, 724.693.8950, Rev. Mark Simonds, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

Today I experienced Christ in an interesting Sanctuary: the ceiling is wood paneled with an interior dormer effect to the side windows. There are a number of woods/finishes that work well together.

Signage at the entry stair identified the ladies room downstairs, but the men’s was much more of an adventure.

The cross on the Communion table was the standard brass cross but was partially blocked from my vision and seemed diminutive in its surroundings.

The whole rear wall of the Sanctuary is stained glass, which I didn’t see until we turned to leave.

To me, the most impressive thing about the facility was the audio system. The amplification was excellent, with the most unobtrusive speakers I’ve never seen. I don’t know where they were located, but the voice seemed to come directly from the Pastor, and without echo.

We were welcomed by a few people before the service, and during the Passing of Christ’s Peace the Pastor even made his way to the back to greet us.

I was impressed by the Pastor’s unstructured, comfortable prayers, like son to father, Abba.

The sermon developed around the promises of God’s truth then, as for us now. The church struggles to be welcoming and share God’s truth, but our stories need to be shared as much as we need to share them. I thought the message was well presented by this Teaching Elder.

The church was encouraged to write their stories of faith to share, and I pray they will share beyond their walls.

It was a joy to lift this Pastor and congregation in prayer. I look forward to hearing of their impact for Christ in this community.

Jan’s thoughts:

The Sanctuary walls are yellow with a dark wooden ceiling and lots of woodwork all around. The stained glass windows are exceptionally intricate in beautiful jewel tones.

Many people greeted us prior to worship as well as during the service.

The bulletin was user-friendly, by which I mean I could fold it in half to hold non-worship-related materials, making it easy to follow the Order of Worship.

I was not expecting a praise team or contemporary music, but found both here. The music was sung with enthusiasm and an unexpected volume from the congregation, making it truly uplifting. The Pastor is part of the praise team and has an excellent voice.

There was also passion from the pulpit. I appreciated hearing so much Scripture read, which is always a wonderful thing in my opinion. Today we read Genesis 28:10-22, John 18:33-37, and 3 John (although it was supposed to be the first four verses, he read the whole book). The Sermon was the first part of a series: “True Fellowship: 1. Connected by Truth.”

He pointed out that in the passage from Genesis God used the vision to get Jacob’s attention, and in His message to Jacob he reaffirmed His covenant with Abraham and Isaac and made it clear that His promises also applied to Jacob. The promise of God is the truth, and in the John passage Jesus stated that His purpose was to testify to the truth. Through faith in Christ we belong to God and each other (which is a point that is new to me), and because of our faith in Christ we set aside our differences. This common faith in our Savior overrides any differences we may have.

Montours Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Montours Presbyterian Church, 3151 Montour Church Road, Oakdale, PA 15071, 412.787.1050, www.montourschurch.org, Rev. James A. Evans, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

We are used to churches with little signage, but this was the first time I had to step in and look around to see if I had the correct restroom.

We were warmly welcomed and were offered instruction on Communion. I was so pleased that the symbolism of the elements was stated aloud by the servers.

There were few children in attendance but a young man nearby made a point of coming back to greet us with Christ’s peace. There is a chrome cross on the Communion table, another on a banner, and a large wood cross on the opposite side.

The sermon started with an anecdote about Robert who drank and smoked, whose brother died of a heart attack at 52, a second brother died from the same cause at the same age Robert changed his ways, but when he reached 53 he slipped back to what he had been before.

I haven’t always been Bob, I was also called Robert; my father died from a heart attack at 52, his brother from a heart attack at 36, one of my brothers from a heart attack at 48. I guess 52 was a magic number to get past. I was in my 60s when I had a quadruple bypass and assessed that I had been six months from a massive heart attack. I have since celebrated three “not dead” anniversaries, but needless to say, it got my attention.

I was talking with a pastor recently who said she had not found a reason to refuse a child baptism. We talked of the vows we take in the child’s behalf and how fragile and worthless those vows are when we fail. God knows our inability to change. My guess is when we think we are pretty good is when we are at our worst for Him. The very things I try so hard not to do or be are where I slip the easiest. Our best is but a filthy rag without Christ.

I noticed in the bulletin that there was a healing ministry study group but forgot to ask about it.

I was pleased to pray for this church and pastor. I sensed God calling them to a greater mission involvement. I hope they will prayerfully consider this.

Jan’s thoughts:

We arrived with little time to spare, but a couple members of the congregation stopped to greet us prior to the service nonetheless. Numerous people greeted us during the Passing of the Peace.

The Sanctuary was larger than expected with sunshiny stained glass windows. I noticed some signage downstairs, but none on the Sanctuary floor. The bulletin was wonderfully user-friendly.

I appreciated the opportunity to partake of Communion, which was offered verbally.

The Call to Worship came prior to the Processional Hymn, so it was spoken from the rear of the Sanctuary, which was different in my experience. And as the Pastor spoke the Assurance of Pardon he dipped his hand into the Baptismal font and let some water trickle back down into the font. What a beautiful wordless reminder of the power of that Sacrament.

The choir was seated facing the congregation and sounded pleasing.

The sermon, entitled “A New Way,” was based on Genesis 6:5-8 and 8:20-22 and Romans 1:14-17 and 3:21-31. It was an interesting consideration of the parallels and differences between the Flood and the Cross. Essentially, the human heart was evil before and after the Flood; the Flood did not fix the problem of sin. I appreciated the observation that in the Flood all but one died, and on the cross One died for all.

After worship, the first woman to introduce herself continued to make us feel welcome by showing us the chapel building. It’s small-ish but beautifully constructed with stunning stained glass. It’s used for smaller worship services such as Good Friday, as well as other events. A very special place.