Things I Learned Living on the Roof

Living on the roof of the church for 30hrs gives you lots of time to think and observe thing. So, I though I would share some of the things I learned with you.

1. There are a lot of roosters near the church and they start crowing well before sunrise.
2. Tents leak. Particular the old one I was using.
3. The steeple needs painting.
4. When you are setting up “house” on top of a church and the Sherriff’s Deputy asks if you are “OK”, he is talking about your mental state and not your overall comfort level.
5. Thermoses full of hot chocolate break when they fall off the roof, both times.
6. Fat guy on a roof in December, not that unusual. Fat guy on a roof in December without a sleigh and reindeer gets some looks.
7. When you are sleeping in a tent shorter than you it leads to cramps, lots of cramps.
8. You have two kinds of friends – those who will join you on the roof and those who won’t. Not sure which ones are the smarter ones.
9. Thunder sounds a lot closer when you are on the roof.

And, the final thing I learned while on the roof was…

10. I would do it all over again even if it meant only one more soul being saved.

Free Spaghetti Dinner

This Thursday, December 3rd, from 6pm to 8pm, or as long as the food lasts, we will be offering a free spaghetti dinner for those in need in our community. Come on over and enjoy a great meal and some wonderful fellowship. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend! We know how tough things can get financially during the Christmas season and we want to do what we can to make your Christmas a little easier. Location of meal is Crossroads Baptist Church, 3797 Edsel Ave, St. Cloud, FL 34772

Thank you, Pastor Jay McCaig

Did You Know...

Did you know that the Blog of Crossroads Baptist Church is one of the most listened to Baptist Blogs online? See what your missing and share with your friends; www.crossroadschurch.podbean.com/

Twas the month before Christmas

Twas the month before Christmas*
When all through our land,*
Not a Christian was praying*
Nor taking a stand.*
See the PC Police had taken away,*
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
Something was changing, something quite odd! *
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday !*

Friend Day Sermon Online

Click HERE to listen to last Sunday's sermon.

Spiritual Triathlon - Part 6

Well, so now you are praying, reading your Bible, and meditating for 5 min each day, for a total of 15min of intensive time with God. Most importantly you are doing it all with faith in God!

Now, slowly start increasing the time of each “event”. When you increase the duration, strive to keep them balanced. Soon you will be spending 10min on each “event” for 30mins of powerful, concentrated time with God. When you are praying talk with God about how much He wants you to increase your times as ultimately this is between you and Him. Remember to keep a log of your times and look back on it periodically. I find it energizing to add up the time at the end of each month. For my log I have a simple three column Excel form that I put my times on. If you would like a copy of the spread sheet let me know and I would be happy to send you one.

I hope that you have found this time as refreshing and exciting as I have. I would love to hear how God is working in your lives through the Spiritual Triathlon. You can email me privately at Jay_McCaig@juno.com .Keep praying for me as I pray for you!

Thank you and God Bless You!

Spiritual Triathlon - Part 5

… If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Mathew 17:20

Today we are going to examine a component that must be present in each of our events for them to be effective. That component is faith. Without faith prayer is just words, without faith the Bible is just a book, without faith meditation is just daydreaming.

In Matthew 17 is the record of a child who is possessed by a demon, the disciples have tried to cast it out of the boy and failed. Jesus arrives and refers to the disciples, with a sorrowful voice, as “a faithless generation”. You see, the disciples had been trained by Jesus and had access to all of the power needed to accomplish the task – but they lacked faith. If you lack faith, your Spiritual Triathlon will be waste of time.

Jesus later tells the disciples “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting”. Both prayer and fasting are symptoms of faith. Faith expresses itself in communication. If we have little faith then we have little communication because we feel “what is the point?” Fasting is self-denial and surrender to the work of God If we want to do anything significant with God it is going to take spending some time with God and sacrificing some things for Him. Those who do not believe will not pray. They will think it is foolish to spend time with God. Those who do not pray will certainly not sacrifice.

How is your faith? Ask yourself this question “Do I believe God can do anything?” You may have quickly answered yes, but do you live your life like you believe? Are you worried about what tomorrow brings? Are you worried about how you are going to pay your bills? Do things of this world keep you awake at night? Whatever you fear or whatever worries you shows a weakness in your faith. Go to God right now and give it all to Him. Remind yourself everyday that God is God and He is still in control. He is all-powerful and can do anything. When you pray do it with the expectation that God will answer. When you read the Bible, do so with the knowledge that every jot and tittle is blessed, true, and written by the hand of God. When you meditate keep close to your mind that God is answering your prayers, visualizes what that will be like and prepare for his answer.

Pray for me as I pray for you.

Spiritual Triathlon - Part 4

My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. Psalm 119:48

Today we are going to look at the third “event” in our Spiritual Triathlon, Meditation. Since meditation is often associated with eastern religions, you may be wondering if meditation is an activity that Christians should participate. The answer is yes – it is Christian and it is biblical. Meditation is mentioned several times in the Bible; Isaac is recorded meditating in Genesis 24:36, Joshua is commanded by God to meditate in Joshua 1:8 and the Psalms are full of references to meditation.

Christian meditation is different from the eastern religion type of meditation. The goal of eastern meditation is to empty the mind and create a vacuum. Unfortunately, nature abhors a vacuum and your mind will quickly be filled with something worldly. Christian Meditation is the emptying of the mind and filling it with something from God.

For our Spiritual Triathlon we will be meditating immediately after our Prayer and Scripture Reading, so we will be meditating on the Scripture we just read. So how do you meditate? Well if you know how to worry then you know how to meditate. Worry is meditating on our problems (not productive), Christian Meditation is “worrying” on God’s Word (very productive). There are many ways to meditate on God’s Word, I have listed some of my favorites for you;

1. Memorizing Scripture is an excellent way to meditate on The Word.

2. Re-read and concentrate on those portions of scripture that caused you discomfort or confused you.

3. Imagine the story read and recreate it in your head. What did it look like to someone watching? What did it smell like? What did it sound like?

4. Play “If you were there” what was going on in the persons mind when he/she was involved in the events described? What did they see and feel?

Try meditating for 5 min after you prayer and Bible reading – you are now spending just 15 minutes of your day intensely focused on God, easy. Tomorrow we are going to talk about something that must be present in all three events in order for them to be the most effective. Keep praying for me as I pray for you.

Spiritual Triathlon - Part 3

2 Timothy 3:16: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Today we are going to look at the second event in our Spiritual Triathlon – Scripture Reading. While most Christians I know do pray at least a little to God, most only read their Bibles on Sunday when directed by their Pastor. The Bible is food for your spirit. If the only time your spirit eats is when it is spoon fed at church it will starve and will never grow to its full potential. The spirit that God gave you at the point of salvation must be fed regularly so that it can grow inside of you.

When we pray we are talking to God. When we read our Bibles we are letting God talk back. What good would a telephone without an ear piece be? That, in affect, is what we have when we pray without reading the Bible.

So, where in the Bible do we start? That is really up to you and God. The books of John and Romans are excellent for new Bible readers. Proverbs and Psalms are also good choices for new readers. Or maybe you want to start at the beginning and read to the end. Wherever you start keep track of what you read and try to read in an orderly manner. Don’t worry if you do not understand everything at first. God describes His book as “living” meaning that the more you read it the more it will reveal to you. Things that are unclear today will be clear and profitable to you a year from know when you read it again.

How much should we read? Try and keep your reading balanced with your prayer so if you are praying for 5mins then read for 5mins.

What Bible version should we use? I study, teach, and preach from the King James Bible. I have yet to find another English version of the Scripture that is closer to the original Greek & Hebrew text than the KJV so that is what I recommend for you to use.

So now we are praying for five minutes and reading our Bibles for five minutes everyday. Only ten minutes total. No sweat!

Tomorrow we are going to look at our next event Meditation. Keep praying for me as I pray for you.

Spiritual Triathlon - Part 2

Welcome to Day 2 of your Spiritual Triathlon. Today we are going to look at our first event – Prayer. Often times I believe that we as Christians take prayer for granted. Think about it 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year we can go before the creator of the universe with out needs, desires, questions, fears, and praises. Nowhere else do we have this type of access. Try waking your spouse up every hour on the hour just to talk and see what happens. But with God when I wake up at three in the morning worried about an upcoming expense or decision I can go to Him in prayer and give Him all my worry so I can go back to sleep! How awesome is our God!?!

There are several examples of prayers given in the Bible. For the sake of our Spiritual Triathlon, we are going to focus on individual, private prayer the type shown to us by Jesus in Matthew Chapter 6. This gives us the simplest of outlines for prayer. Read the passage and the review the notes I have made below.

Vs 9 Recognize God for who he is – The one and only God of creation, the God of Abraham, The God of Paul, The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Vs 10 Pray that His will be done. Often that means setting aside our desires and focusing on what it is that He wants. As you grow spiritually you will start to see that your will and His are becoming the same.

Vs 11 Pray for our needs. This is harder than it sounds. In America we have become so spoiled it is difficult to pray for our daily bread when we have a refrigerator full of food. We have become so self reliant that we easily deceive ourselves into thinking that we don’t need God any more. God wants us to pray to him about everything we need and want, no matter how big or small. Start making a list of things that you need or those around you need and pull it out as a reminder when you pray. And don’t forget to say “thank you” when He meets those needs!

Vs 12 If we expect God to forgive us then we should be willing to forgive those who have offended us. Easy to say, hard to do. Remember forgiveness always benefits the forgiver more than the person being forgiven

Vs 13 Ask for deliverance from evil. As we travel through this world we will travel through some valleys, it is God who can free us from them.

This is a time of concentrated prayer, not the unceasing prayers that many of us do through out the day. If you are not currently praying daily start by spending just 5 minuets alone with God in simple prayer each day. You can and will increase it as time goes by. Start small and build. Find a quiet place free of distractions where you can be alone with God. Don’t worry about your wording or “flowery” speech just talk to God. Tell Him what scares you. Tell Him what you love about Him. Ask Him what he wants from you. Ask Him for his help with what ever it is you are going through. Go to Him as a child goes to their parent. You will find out very quickly that 5 min is not enough time.

Spiritual Triathlon - Part 1

Do you want to a relationship with Jesus that is closer than you could ever imagine? Then “run” with me as I “run” my Spiritual Triathlon! A traditional triathlon is comprised of running, swimming, and biking our Spiritual Triathlon will comprise three spiritual events, prayer, scripture reading, and meditation.

The first step to running a successful triathlon is to get your heart checked out by a doctor and in our Spiritual Triathlon it will be necessary to have the Great Physician take a close look at the condition of your heart as well. What is the condition of your heart? In order to successfully run the race you will need a heart that has been totally turned over to Jesus, meaning you have allowed him to come into your heart and forgive you of you sins. If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior I encourage you to email me at Jay_McCaig@juno.com so I can give you the information you need to make an informed decision about your relationship with Christ.

With that taken care of some other things to keep in mind as you train are;

1. Start slow and build – Most of us could not get up right now and go run a marathon, we recognize that we are not physically able without lots of training to complete such an endeavor. The same is true with our spiritual events. If you are not already an avid Bible reader it is impractical to think that you can sit down and read it for an hour on your first day.

2. Monitor you progress – Keep a diary of you progress as you go. This is good for looking back on you progress and keeping you motivated when the going gets tough.

3. Don’t quit – Persistence is what separates the successful from weak. What would have happened if Noah had gotten tired of building the ark and quit halfway through? Or if Paul had given up planting churches because he was tired of the persecutions?

4. When you stumble get back up – Notice I said when not if. There will come a day when something keeps you from your training, don’t let this be the end of your training, just start again where you left off the next day.

Good luck, I am praying for you to be successful. Tomorrow we will look at our first event – Prayer.

Movie Night Tonight!

Meet us here at The Crossroads at 7pm for Family Movie Night. Everyone is welcome! To go along with the start of Football Season we will be watching Facing The Giants. See you there!

12th Anniversary Celebration Featuring Dave McVay!

On September 27th we will be celebrating the 12th anniversary of Crossroads Baptist Church! We are blessed to have as our special musical guest Dave McVay. Please take some time and check out his website HERE. Worship starts at 11am. Those attending Worship are encouraged to join us for a potluck dinner on the grounds. We will be cooking up some burgers and hotdogs and ask each family to bring a side to share. Come on out and meet your neighbors, share some old memories or make some new ones!

1 in 100 living behind bars

It is now reported that 1 in 100 persons in the United States is living in a correctional institute of some kind. When you factor in that each of these has a family in crisis due to the incarceration of their loved one and you begin to get the picture of the need. These people are locked away because society has determined that their sin is so great that they can not live out in society with the rest of us. God has a very different view of sin. He says that we have all sinned and come short of His Glory. When he looks down, he does not see big sin and little sin he only sees sin. Those behind bars are no more needing of a redeemer than the rest of us. We have all fallen short.

There are many ways that you can reach those behind bars with the gospel and start a ripple that will not only change their lives but generations to come. The most direct way is to volunteer, contact your local jail or prison and enquire about opportunities to share the gospel with those living there. Secondly encourage your church to start a jail ministry. Thirdly support an existing ministry, we saw 18 men saved last week in the Osceola County Jail. This is only possible because of the prayers and financial support of people like you. I encourage you to pray and see what part God would have you to take in this important area of outreach.

Pastor Jay McCaig

97 years of blessings

A friend of our recently became the caregiver for her 97 yr old “Grams”. She is documenting the wisdom being shared with her by her grams on a blog for everyone to enjoy. I encourage you to visit “97 years of blessings” and partake of wisdom she ids sharing. I know it will be as much of a blessing to you as it has been for me.

Ben & Jerry choose homosexuality

Ice Cream giant, Ben & Jerry, has decided to throw its support behind the homosexual rights movement by renaming its popular “Chubby-Hubby” to “Hubby-Hubby” to celebrate the legalization of homosexual marriage in their home state of Vermont. Apparently, Ben & Jerry and its parent company, Unilever, are more concerned with promoting the homosexual agenda than they are making profits. This move deliberately shuns the good, moral values that so many of their customers hold. It is a shame that an international company like Unilever would actively promote a sinful lifestyle at the expense of there shareholders profit.

The Bible makes very clear that the act of homosexuality is sinful and should be avoided not glorified. See Romans chapter 1

Unilever markets products under many different brand names including, Slim-fast, Lipton, Vaseline, Dove, & Surf to name a few. Unilever may be contacted at comments@unilever.com if you would like to share your thoughts on this subject with them.

Do you Love Jesus?

John 14:15 If ye love me keep my commandments.

Such a simple statement made by our Lord but the implications are huge. Most Christians claim a love for Jesus but do we truly love him? We evidence our lack of love for Jesus when we fail to keep His commandments. When we engage in destructive behavior, smoking, drinking, overeating, drugs use, we are failing to show our love for Him and the precious gift of life that he has given us. When we allow our thoughts or our deeds to descend it to immoral sexual behavior, fornication, homosexuality, adultery, we are failing in our love for Jesus. When we lie, cheat and steal we are telling Jesus that we do not love Him. He sacrificed all for us but most Christians do not want to be inconvenienced by his commandments. Preferring instead to interpret their own form of righteousness. Jesus makes it simple “If ye love me keep my commandments” which conversely means if you don’t keep His commandments you do not love Him. That is your choice but don’t be a hypocrite and claim love that does not exist. Remember your actions speak louder than your words.

Thank you for allowing me to ramble. Pastor Jay.

Two Special Guests This Sunday!

We are very blessed to have two special guests with us this Sunday, August 2nd, during our Morning Worship Service!

Our special Guest Speaker will be Missionary Greg Kent. The Kents have been missionaries to the Dominican Republic for the past 10 years. They are back in the states raising additional support and reporting to their supporting churches. Come hear how this work has progressed by the Grace of God.

Stan Shuman will be our special musical guest on Sunday. Stan is co-founder of Mercy's Way. Stan has been singing Gospel music for a number of years, having sung with many notable quartets and TV personalities. God has also blessed Stan with a talent to write gospel music. He has written over 100 songs for groups such as, Gold City, The Kingsmen, The Anchormen, The Carolina Boys, Mercy's Way and the list goes on.

Join us at 11am as we worship God and get to know our special guests!

New LifeGroup Class - To Seek And To Save

This course of Biblical direction, practical suggestions, and organizational philosophy will help you to be more effective and balanced in fulfilling the entire Great Commission – to win souls, to baptize them, and to disciple them to become fully committed to Jesus Christ. In this study you will find that these Christ-honoring, time-tested principles still work on the cutting edge of Christianity into the 21st century. May God bless you as you follow Christ in reaching out “to seek and to save.”

Learn to share Jesus clearly and simply!

This class will start on Monday June 22nd at 7pm. Materials are limited so if you want to attend contact Pastor Jay ASAP. There is a $5 matierial charge per student.

Real Church...Real People...Real Simple...

Crossroads is a Real Church…

We were not born out of strife or disagreement; we were lovingly founded by Winter Haven Baptist Church. Crossroads is a church that is built on the Word of God – not man. A place where you can learn and grow without all the man made rules and complications.

Crossroads is full of Real People…

At Crossroads you will find people just like yourself, Real. We know what life is like: Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's a drag. Sometimes you're strong and successful, and sometimes you feel like disappearing. What's cool is that God understands. At Crossroads we're not about "having it all together" or acting like we do. We are simply growing together toward a God who really understands us and can put all the pieces of this often bizarre world into perspective. Come visit. There's a place for you.

Crossroads keeps it Real Simple…

Man has a way of making God, well, complicated. While we know that God is infinitely complex, the directions He gave us to live and grow by are Real Simple.

Step 1 - Join us this Sunday for Worship @ 11:00am.

Step 2 – Get involved with one of our Life Groups.

Step 3 – Come and pray with us during one of our POP (Power Of Prayer) Times.

Step 4 – Serve. Let us help you find your place in the family of Christ!

It just doesn't get any simpler than that!

The Sad State of Pastors Today

Last week I was contacted by one of my cousins in So. Florida who was going through a very stressful time in his life and needed someone to pray with. After we prayed and I shared some scripture he expressed that he wanted to get back in church and asked if I could help him find a good church in his area. I contacted three Pastors in the area and explained the situation to them; all three promised to follow-up with my cousin and help him get back into church. Only one actually followed through and contacted him.

At first this bothered me, even made me a little angry. However, as I prayed God called to mind the study we have been doing in the book of Jude on Sunday nights. Jude warned of a coming age of apostasy where many who claim Jesus only know him in their minds and not their hearts. The surest way to know an apostate is through their deeds. The deeds of an apostate rarely match up with their words. One of the lying pastors was quick to brag about his work and the speeches he gives to the men’s group “Iron sharpens Iron”. He travels across the state to stand in front of large groups to hear their applause but will not drive around the corner to help a hurting soul.

The other lying pastor is a man whose church I attended when I lived in So. Florida. He was confused as to why his ministry had not grown in the past 10 years and blamed it on people moving away. People can sense sincerity. To stand in the pulpit tell people to reach out to your neighbors when you will not pick up the phone sends a conflicted message. People want a pastor who does what he says and is willing to lead by example.

The comfort I drew from this is that the book of Jude is the doorstep to the book of Revelation. We are living in the days that Jude described; we are living in the days of apostasy.

Revalation 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

By the way, the pastor that did respond was Pastor Frank with Grace Fellowship Church of West Palm Beach. I know very little about him or his church but I do know he cares about those who are hurting and he does what he says he will do. Apparently, those are rare traits among pastors today.

Pastor Jay McCaig

Obama Needs Jesus

We have started a new Facebook Group called “Obama needs Jesus”. Please join us as we pray for our President. Whether you like him or not you are commanded to pray for those in authority in I Timothy chapter 2. President Obama desperately needs Jesus in his life. We do not claim to be able to judge a man’s heart, but from his actions, Obama has either never accepted Christ as his Savior or has walked away from Jesus. Either way he needs our prayers. Pray is the one tool we have to change a man’s heart. Let’s use it for our President and those who are advising him.

Join Facebook group by clicking HERE.

Obama Cancels Day of Prayer

It was reported today that our President has decided to cancel the annual White House celebration of the day of prayer. The reason given is that Obama does not like to pray publicly. We can only speculate why he feels uncomfortable praying in public. Perhaps it is because he cannot read the teleprompter with his eyes closed or because the rose garden does not face Mecca, we don’t know. What we do know is that with his continued attacks on the sanctity of life and other Christian values, our president continues to show that he is one of the most ungodly men ever to lead our country.

I find it very telling that President Obama refuses to pray to God but has no qualms bowing to the King of Saudi in public (Picture) and has not canceled the annual White House dinner to celebrate Ramadan.

I Timothy 2:1-3 tells us that we should pray for those who have authority over us. Our President and Congress need our prayers as they rush headlong into the same path that has resulted in destruction so many times before. Earnestly pray for these men and women that They will turn their hearts to Jesus before it is to late.

New Website!

Our much anticipated website is up and running! Please take a minute and tell me what you think. LifeAtTheCrossroads.com

Easter Baptism Pictures

The pictures for the eight new believers baptized on Easter Sunday are now online and posted on our Facebook page. Check them out by clicking HERE!

Updates…Updates…Updates…

Sunday Worship was incredible (as always) and the afternoon leadership meeting went very well. After being part of the corporate culture for so long, I am humbled by how smoothly things operate when God’s people are in one accord. A new vision was cast and you will be seeing some changes coming very soon!

Tuesday saw two more souls saved through the jail ministry and two “wandering sheep” located. Both are struggling and desperately need your prayers, one is back in jail and the other has turned back to his old life of drugs and alcohol. Both are tearful and repentant. Please pray for them.

Wednesday’s prayer time was very productive. Our list of answered prayers grows each week and is getting as large as our prayer request list. Praise God for His faithfulness to always respond when we cry out.

See you on Sunday!

25 Men Saved

What an awesome time we had at the Osceola Jail on Tuesday. Over 40 men attended to worship God and learn more about what He has for and expects from each one of us. In addition to the wonderful time of fellowship, we saw 25 men come to know the Lord! The feeling you get when that many men cry out to the Lord for salvation at the same time is indescribable. Please pray for these men that they will continue to grow in Christ and serve Him where they are and where God sends them upon their release.

Guess What You Missed...

You never know who may show up for church while you’re away. In the book of John, chapter 20, we see where Thomas missed seeing Jesus because he was not where he should be when the church doors were opened. Recently we had a very special guest during our morning service; a wild pig blessed us with his visit. OK it’s not quite the same the thing but the point is, what are you missing when you are not in church? This Sunday morning we saw three come forward for salvation, one baby dedicated and several first and second time visitors, but if you weren’t here you missed it all because you weren’t where you were supposed to be, in church. As far as the pig goes…I think it’s about time we had another luau!

Why is Pastor Jay Happy That His Car Broke Down?

By most measures yesterday started out as any other day. As the pastor of a small church, much of the day is consumed doing visits and running errands and yesterday was no exception. My day started with a quick trip to Celebration, Fl and from there I was up into Orlando to pickup some much needed and hard to find parts for our sanctuary lighting. The lighting company was just off of Orange Blossom Trail and Gore Street, those of you familiar with the area may know that it is part of the neighborhood that help Orlando break it’s own record in murders last year.

After leaving Orlando, I traveled north to Altamonte Springs, which is where the fun started. Traveling on I-4 is an adventure in and of itself but it is made even more so when your clutch pedal suddenly sinks to the floor and won’t return. Fortunately, I was close enough to the Altamonte exit that I was able to coast off the interstate and onto a side street before losing momentum. A quick look under the hood revealed that the clutch slave cylinder had ruptured and I was stranded.

I called my wife, Vee, who offered to come and “rescue” me. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my wife, but she is not the best at following directions and I was afraid that if she started for Altamonte Springs I may never see her again. So I started walking.

Now you may be thinking why all of this would make me happy. Well, I’m glad you asked! You see God never promised us that we wouldn’t have storms in our live He actually tells us repeatedly that we will have storms, persecution, & turmoil. However, He also promises to be with us when we have our storms of life and yesterday was no exception! After praying, accessing the situation and asking directions, I found I was only about 1 mile from an auto parts store. I walked to the store and told the clerk what part I needed. At this point, I must tell you that I drive a Daewoo, while they are good little cars, Daewoo went out of business several years ago and parts for their cars are very hard to come by. The clerk informed me that there was only one of the slave cylinders that I needed in Central Florida and it was in their main warehouse. I inquired as to how long it would take to have the part delivered to the store, thinking that I was going to be spending the night in my car, he looked up from his computer and said “Oh, about 10 minutes”. I asked him where the warehouse was and he pointed to a counter on the other side of the store. You see I could have broken down in the “murder capital” of Orlando but instead God allowed my clutch to fail with-in walking distance of the needed supplies. Well to make a long story short, about two hours, $30 and a ruined shirt I was back on the road again. Isn’t God wonderful? As if that wasn’t enough, the slave cylinder uses the same reservoir that the breaks use and it was emptied when the cylinder ruptured. The only thing I can attribute my not losing breaks as well is the power of God or one of his Angels. After all of that, I still made it home in time for dinner and Vee had my favorite meal waiting for me, since I had had such a “tough day”. Days aren’t so “tough” when you’re walking them with God :) It’s nice to be reminded of that from time to time.

Psalms:46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Fireproofing Your Marriage

We are in week two of our Fireproofing You Marriage series of workshops. Attendance from week one has doubled with four new couples joining us for week two. What an encouragement it is to see couples desire to make their good marriages even better! This week we explored the true source of love, Jesus Christ. We looked at how any love outside of Jesus’ love is just artificial love. And, asked the question “How are going to give true love to someone else if we have never experienced true love from Jesus ourselves?” If I can borrow a phrase from my friend Dr. Travis Wells, true love comes from “above, down & inside, out.” Please be praying for these couples as they seek a deeper relationship with their creator and in turn a deeper relationship with each other. Be Blessed, Pastor Jay McCaig.

The Dartts In Concert - One Night Only!

If Variety is the spice of life then the Dartts are the perfect seasoning for the appetites of gospel music fans. Tracy Dartt is the author of the very popular “God on the Mountain” as well as hundreds of other gospel songs. The Dartts, now in their 14th year, consist of Tracy, his wife Sharon, son Stone Mountain and BJ Speer.

Join us on Friday, February 6th @ 7pm at Crossroads Baptist Church. This is a FREE concert! (a love offering will be taken)

Prize drawings for everyone! Special drawing for those bringing a guest.

Everyone is Welcome. Hope to see you here!

*Due to health concerns Tracy will not be performing with the group.

Three New Sermons Online!

We have added three new sermons from Pastor Jay McCaig are now on the Podbean site. Click HERE to listen to all three for free! If you like what you hear be sure to leave a comment.

Stan Shuman In Concert!

Stan Shuman is co-founder of Mercy's Way. Stan has been singing Gospel music for a number of years, having sung with many notable quartets and TV personalities. God has also blessed Stan with a talent to write gospel music. He's written over 100 songs for groups such as, Gold City, The Kingsmen, The Anchormen, The Carolina Boys, Mercy's Way and the list goes on.

Join us this Friday, January 30th, 7pm at Crossroads Baptist Church (3797 Edsel Ave, St. Cloud, Fl 34772. Stan will be performing 1 show only and seating is first come first seated.

The Puffers Are Coming!

Join us this Friday, the 23rd, for the second week of the Crossroads Gospel Concert Series when we welcome The Puffers! The concert starts at 7pm and is FREE. The concert will be at Crossroads Baptist Church, 3797 Edsel Ave, St. Cloud, FL 34772.

Bob and Darleen Puffer’s music is varied and includes traditional Gospel, as well as Southern Gospel, country, folk and humorous songs (which are often requested). Their current hit “The Boat Cannot Sink” reached #1 on the international charts! In addition to being a talented song writer, Bob plays a multitude of instruments including guitar, five-string banjo, violin, mandolin, dobro, gretch (Chet Atkins) guitar, ukulele, and flute.

See you here!

Upcoming acts in the Crossroads Gospel Concert Series include;

January 30th - Stan Shuman
February 6th – The Dartts

Hearts of Harmony - FREE Gospel Concert

Hearts of Harmony uses its special brand of Southern Gospel Music in the most effective manner to spread the mighty message of God's great love. You’ll enjoy hearing this group whose desire is to preserve the great tradition of four-part harmony as quartets in the earlier days. The members consist of Dee Cooper, baritone; Ryan Johns, bass; Gary Franklin, tenor; and Bob Fleming, lead. All members are excited and claim to be living a dream by getting to sing for all of God's people.

When: Friday, January 16th @ 7pm

Where: Crossroads Baptist Church 3797 Edsel Ave, St. Cloud, FL 34772

Who: Everyone is Always Welcome at The Crossroads!

For more information call 407-891-8688