All In, with Kirk Crossing

In this week’s message we look at the hopes and fears of Mary, Jesus’ mother.  Mary is, perhaps, one of the most surprising people to be used by God and to become a hero of faith.  A very young woman in the first century from a very small village seems an unlikely candidate to play […]

In this message, we consider the hopes and fears of Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father.  Joseph was, by any measure, an ordinary guy with normal hopes and fears.  An extraordinary circumstance arose, however, when Mary, his betrothed wife, was discovered to be pregnant before they had consummated their marriage.  His hopes for a family legacy, his righteous standing […]

“The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”  This line from the old Christmas song O Little Town In Bethlehem captures a profound truth: Jesus is both the fulfillment of every hope of the human heart and also the One who is able to drive away every fear. In this […]

In this final message of the series, we consider Essential #6 which centers on the doctrine of Christ’s return: Jesus Christ will come again to the earth personally, visibly, and bodily—to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). Every […]

In this message we look at the fifth ‘Essential Of Our Faith’ which centers on the doctrine of the Church: The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her […]

In this week’s message we look at the Doctrines of Sin and Salvation.  The essential states: Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God's free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby […]

This week’s message focuses on the person and work of the Holy Spirit.  The ‘Essentials Of Our Faith’ states: The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior, indwelling our hearts. He gives new […]

The second essential in our ‘Essentials of Faith’ centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ.  The essential states: Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on […]

This message is the first in a series called Essential: The World-Changing Power Of Our Basic Beliefs.  The outline for this series is the EPC’s Essentials Of Our Faith.  Each week we’ll examine the Scriptural support for these most essential teachings of the Christian faith. The first essential of our faith centers on our understanding of […]

This message features a presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ based on John 6.25-40 and utilizes the ‘3 Circles’ tool for presenting the Good News.  The ‘3 Circles’ tool can be found in the book Turning Everyday Conversations Into Gospel Conversations. In John 6, Jesus used the image of bread to communicate to his audience about […]

In this week’s message, we look at three objections Moses raised after the Lord called him to go into Egypt.  The first was an objection based on credibility: “What if they don’t believe me?”  The second was an objection based on ability: “I am slow of speech and tongue.”  The third was an objection related […]

As we continue to look at Moses’ call to serve, we discover three aspects of his encounter with the Lord that help us answer God’s call to share our faith with others.  First, like Moses, we have seen God’s glory.  We haven’t seen a burning bush but, by faith, we’ve seen the glory of God in […]

In this week’s Scripture, we see Moses go from living in the heights of privilege in Egypt to the depths of fleeing for his life and starting all over again.  Little did he know, the Lord was preparing him for a great work. Before Moses would undertake that work, the Lord would turn his heart […]

Ephesians 2.10 tells us that we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to good works which God prepared beforehand.  In other words, God’s intent was not just to save us but also for us to do the works he planned for us before the creation of the world.  The ‘good works’ we are called […]

Jesus concludes His sermon with an analogy comparing two builders.  One is the wise builder who hears Jesus’ words and puts them into practice.  That builder’s life will be like a house built on rock, able to withstand life’s storms, the pressure of persecution, and even God’s final judgement.  The other is the foolish builder […]

In this part of the Sermon, Jesus continues his conclusion with the third ‘pair’ of things for us to consider: true and false disciples.  Jesus reveals that, in the end, there will be those who have proven to be true disciples because they put into practice the things that God wills.  On the other hand, […]

In this part of the Sermon, Jesus begins his conclusion.  The conclusion begins with two pairs of things: two kinds of gates/roads and two kinds of prophets.  As Jesus brings his sermon to an end, he calls for a response from us.  First, he wants us to understand that there are only two ultimate destinations […]

In this part of the Sermon, Jesus delivers some of his most well-known words: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”  While many people are familiar with this teaching of Jesus, fewer truly understand what he means.  Jesus isn’t forbidding making any kind of judgments altogether, rather he’s forbidding his disciples to make […]

In this part of the Sermon, Jesus teaches us that wealth and possessions are far more than material or worldly concerns.  Wealth and the pursuit of it can become a God-replacement; an alternative form of worship.  It can become a master that demands our efforts and attention.  God, in his grace, knows that we need […]

In this part of the Sermon, Jesus begins teaching the nature of true religious practice.  As strange as it sounds, t’s possible to do religious things with a selfish motivation rather than a God-centered motivation. Jesus’ disciples must learn how to be genuine in all of their offerings to God.

In this part of the Sermon, Jesus challenges disciples to learn a different way of responding when affronted or offended.  Instead of retaliating in kind, he teaches us to not give in to vengeance but, instead, to love our enemies.

In this passage, Jesus continues his message on true righteousness. Once again we learn that there’s more to God’s law than simply refraining to do bad things.  While everyone agrees that adultery is sinful and tragic, far fewer would see lust that way.  In addition, Jesus reaffirms that marriage is not, ultimately, a legal reality […]

In this passage, Jesus continues his teaching on righteousness with the first of six examples.  Each of the six helps us understand a common misunderstanding or incomplete understanding of the law that many in Jesus’ day lived with.  Jesus not only corrects those misunderstandings but also reveals the spirit and intent of the Law.  Kingdom […]

In this part of the Sermon, Jesus introduces the importance of righteousness and righteous living for people in the Kingdom.  Some might think that because we focus on God’s grace in saving us, Jesus was not as concerned about how we meet God’s righteous demands.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Unless, Jesus said, […]

Jesus’ next lesson in the Sermon on the Mount has to do with disciples’ posture in the world.  We are not called to withdraw from the world but are called to engage it.  Jesus calls us both salt and light.  Both these images teach us about how we are to relate to the world for […]

Jesus began the greatest sermon ever preached talking about blessing.  Every culture and every person who has ever lived have some idea of blessing which they carry around with them.  Often, our sense of blessing is tied to material goods, key relationships, and important experiences.  Speaking to a crowd of people under the oppression of […]

The last deeper dynamic of membership we cover in this series is ministry.  The Lord is clear that everyone who is a part of the Body of Christ also has a ministry.  This ministry is a ‘grace’ given by God for the purpose of “building up” the Church so that we are unified in our […]

The next dynamic in terms of membership in the Church is accountability.  Accountability is something we desire for others but rarely for ourselves.  In Galatians 6.1-5, Paul teaches us that accountability is at the heart of Christian community because we all bear a mutual responsibility to safeguard not only the standards of God’s community, but […]

The next dynamic in terms of what it means to be a member of the Church is submission. Our culture often views the subject of submission as taboo or even a dirty word but this is not how God views the subject. As part of God's created order we all have authorities in our lives […]

What does it mean to truly belong to the Church, the Body of Christ?  Most of us have a sense of belonging in terms of relationships and most churches have a formal membership process.  But is that what belonging truly is?  There is actually far more to it.  In the Bible, there are two foundational […]

In this last message of the series we consider the fact that Jesus visibly ascended from the earth to return to His Father.  Jesus had told his disciples several times that he would be going away.  But it still must have shocked them when the moment came.  It was necessary for him to go away, […]

In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul had to remind the church what was at stake with respect to the doctrine of the resurrection.  Some in the church were actually teaching that there was no resurrection of the dead.  And for Paul, this was a tragic state of affairs.  In this message, we are reminded […]

John 11 is a dramatic chapter in which Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.  While not a resurrection in the same way Jesus would be resurrected, it was a miracle that clearly foreshadowed it.  Jesus’ indignation with the grief, pain, and loss he found when he arrived at the scene is an important part of […]

As we continue the story of God bringing life out of death, we learn that praise is an important part of our new life.  As God raises us to new life, we understand that He is at the center of all things and that our rightful response to Him is worship and devotion.  The Psalms […]

The glorious story of death turned to life continues with a special vision given to the prophet Ezekiel.  In it, a valley full of dry bones are brought to life as Ezekiel declares God’s Word to them.  While this is certainly a prophesy regarding God’s restoration of the people of Israel, it’s also something bigger. […]

While Jesus' resurrection from death is the ultimate from death to life story there are several resurrection stories in the Bible. We are currently looking at a few of these passages and seeing what areas God is rising us from. This week we take a look at how God makes us rise in hope. In […]

When sin entered the world, death came along with it. Fortunately, that's not the end of the story. Long before Jesus walked the earth, the Scriptures show us that God was at work, undoing the curse of sin and defeating the power of death. We rejoice because, ultimately, Jesus would rise…. and so will we! […]

The final church we meet in this series was found in the city of Laodicea.  This is a church that received a very challenging message from Jesus.  Like the city in which they lived, they considered themselves wealthy, well taken care of, and secure in life.  Therefore, they were not faithfully looking to the Lord. […]

The next church Jesus addressed was in the city of Philadelphia.  According to Jesus, this church had suffered and was in a state of weakness, at least from an earthly perspective.  Jesus introduced himself as the one who holds the key of David.  In other words, he is the one who grants access to the […]

The next message from Jesus is to the church in Sardis.  Sardis was a city that prided itself on being virtually unconquerable because of its physical location.  It was conquered, however, on two occasions when the watchman failed to detect encroaching forces.  It’s likely that because they thought they were invincible, they became complacent.  Jesus […]

The next church to receive a message from Jesus was the church in Thyatira.  Unlike the church in Ephesus, they were excelling at love and in spiritual growth but were tolerating false teaching.  A false prophet whom Jesus called Jezebel was leading some people in the church into idol worship.  He named her after Jezebel […]

The next church Jesus speaks to in Revelation is the church at Pergamum.  It was a large city, home to the worship of many different gods (and emperors), including Aesculapius, the god of healing.  It was the city, Jesus said, where Satan has his throne.  The church seems to have withstood an intense time of […]

There’s no way around it, Jesus’ words to the ancient church in Smyrna are difficult to hear.  They are difficult because they confront the fact that the church will undergo a time of great distress.  Some, in fact, will be called to give their very lives for the name of Jesus.  He will not prevent […]

The first of Jesus’ letters in Revelation is to the church in Ephesus.  Ephesus was the leading city of the region, the center of worship of the goddess Artemis.  Her temple was a wonder of the ancient world and a great source of pride for the city.  In addition, Ephesus was an important city in […]

In the first three chapters of the book of Revelation, Jesus spoke directly to seven churches.  Each message begins the same way, saying “These are the words…”.  What follows are words of both comfort and challenge.  Before John tells us what Jesus said, he describes what he saw when he looked and saw Jesus standing […]

The beginning of a new year is a natural time to examine our hearts and faith.  It’s a natural time to consider how we will follow the Lord in the year ahead.  Join us as we reflect on Psalm 8 and consider some important truths about how God has made us and ask ourselves how […]

The end of the year is a natural time to reflect on how we’ve seen the Lord at work.  There have been both joyous and difficult things that have taken place be He is the Sovereign One over everything.  Join us as Psalm 90 guides our reflection on the nature and character of God.  Join […]

Jesus was born into a time and place that, from the world’s perspective, was ruled over by one man: Caesar Augustus.  As the most powerful and one of the most celebrated people in the world, Caesar cast a shadow over all the events we read about in Luke 2.  Yet, it wasn’t at Caesar’s birth […]

The next song of adoration in the Christmas story is the song of Zechariah.  Zechariah was informed by the angel Gabriel that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child, even though they were quite old.  He expressed doubt to Gabriel and was stricken with the inability to speak until the child was born. […]

Mary’s whole life was turned upside down with the news that she would bear a special child.  The angel told her that her child would be an eternal king.  She was now at the very center of God’s grand plan of redemption.  So, how would she respond?  Her’s is one of three songs of praise […]

While the Christmas season is familiar and even comfortable for us, it was anything but for the people who experienced the events around Jesus’ birth.  They became aware, though, that God was doing something so amazing that they responded in faith and praise.  Three times in the Gospel of Luke a song of praise bursts […]