Crosspointe Church of Christ

The church needs to develop a theology of party. Everyone, including Jesus loves a good party, so the people of God need to throw more! 

We're going to deal with question 1 of 5 on making better decisions and having fewer regrets.  This question is called "the INTEGRITY question." Since the easiest person to deceive is the person in the mirror, we can make bad decisions pretty easily. But, when we do the hard work of being honest with ourselves, we're on our way to not selling ourselves on a potential regret. The first question we should ask is: "Am I being honest with myself, really? 

We finish our "One" Series this week by recapping what we've learned, evaluating our own hearts, nd closing with prayer that will lead us to the night of prayer. 

This week we go back to our One. series.  We're going to zero in on how we, individually, must work with God to become one with Him, and to become unified with each other. If we aren't doing this ourselves, individually, then it does no good to speak about it. We must ask God to do the work, and if we commit to following Him, we will not fail. We're also going to look at critical parts of Church history that begin all this splitting and dividing that we've never recovered from. Ultimately, God makes us a spark, that we may set the world around us on fire with His glory. The challenge to the congregation is: Be the church you want to to be a part of.

The series "One." continues this week with the emphasis that to achieve biblical unity and oneness as a global Church, we're going to have to fight for it. It may seem contradictory, but sometimes to make peace, you have to go to war. We must also realize that different parts of the Body of Christ are passionate about different things than we are, and that's okay. We don't all have to fight for the same important things, but we do have to fight for holiness and unity.  Sometimes that means we have to leave some behind in order to show them a glimmer of what God has in store just around the bend. 

Most of us live our Christian lives addressing only 10% of our being.  The other 90% goes unaddressed, and as a result we remain unchanged by Jesus.  This series will teach us how to integrate emotional health into our spiritual life, that we may live out emotionally healthy spirituality. 

The Gospel isn't meant to be held onto. It passes to you to pass through you to others.  The Church exists to pass it on - the good news that Jesus has risen from the grave!  Than news is for everyone, always. 

How does belief in the resurrection of Jesus change your life?  Ask Stephen. His faith was focused on Jesus.  He knew not even death would stop him.  And He triumphed through Christ. May we do the same!

Jesus walks with two disciples away from Jerusalem after His resurrection. They, however, do not recognize Him.  Why?  Perhaps it could be that they thought they knew how the story ended; that it was over. That Jesus was gone.  Yet, Jesus takes time to explain His story and then reveals Himself to the two.  How often do we not recognize Jesus because we assume we know the story?  

The resurrection of Jesus is the reason for everything. It is the thing that changed everything. And that power is made manifest every week as we gather around Jesus' table to take the Lord's Supper. He is not here, He is risen! 

As Jesus approaches Jerusalem for the last time before His death there is a celebration.  Yet, we find Jesus crying over the city. Why?  Because they didn't understand who Jesus was or what it meant. If we're not careful, we can do the same thing today. 

Our familiar story of the "wee little man," Zacchaeus, is one filled with hope.  It shows us the impossible is now possible. It shows us that forgiveness changes everything. It gives us hope that God will use us, just like He did Zacchaeus.  

What does a parable about a no-name rich man and a poor guy named Lazarus have to do with us today? We learn the importance of loving and serving our neighbor and not putting ourselves first. 

The story of the Prodigal son teaches us that God is for us!  He isn't mad at us. He isn't waiting to throw us into hell.  He waits and watches - scanning the horizon - waiting for us to come home.  He can't wait to hug us! Run to Him!

Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem. He is on mission. He is focused. He will not be stopped. Yet, He mourns over Jerusalem because they refused to comforted by God and will pay the price. They would not repent, and so they would die in their sins.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan shows the need for us to pay attention to the world around us. We often develop the art of "looking away," but Christ cautions us to step in and help whenever the opportunity presents itself.

The account of Jesus' transfiguration on the mountain is amazing. It has a lot to teach us. It is the place where we see Moses and Elijah giving their final witness (on behalf of the Law and the Prophets). There on Mt. Tabor, the old witness (testament) yields to the new witness (testament). The torch is passed on to Jesus - the only One who could fulfill it and bring God's grand work of redemption to completion.

The disruption of a funeral in the town of Nain is our next stop on Jesus' ministry. He displays His ultimate power and authority by raising the widow's son from the dead. Let us not miss the hope that we have in Christ - that He can do anything, and it often doesn't look like the way the world would do it.

Is there a time to break religious traditions? Is there a different way to interpret the intent of the commands of God? Jesus thought so, and He gets in some trouble for "breaking the Sabbath" in Luke's Gospel. Yet, the original intent of a command should be sought, as Jesus shows us through His actions.

On the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus addresses a crowd, then turns to Simon Peter. He asks Simon to do something Jesus asks us all to do: take a risk. Would Jesus come through? What does all this mean? Follow along to find out.

An angry crowd proves to be one of the most diabolical things on the planet. Jesus, as a hometown hero, finds out just how quickly things go from good to bad when an entire synagogue turns against him. We are called about the angry crowds, to be light - not to be swallowed up in darkness.

The moment of Jesus' baptism is a defining moment in His life. In that moment, we see the Holy Trinity all in one place. This is the inauguration of Jesus' ministry. Yet, for a moment that should focus on Jesus, Luke places it at the end of the episode as almost an afterthought. Almost. What can we learn? We can learn that we, Like Jesus, can be God's beloved.

Daniel is thrown into the lion's den for his faith. While in there, he is surrounded by darkness. He can hear the lions all around him, but instead of panicking, he falls to his knees in prayer. He embraces the darkness to find the light.

Jeremiah faced a lot of criticism and was forced into hiding for speaking God's truth. When the rulers of the day catch wind of what his message is they attempt to destroy the scrolls it was written on. God knows his good, written word is important - we need it. But he was about about to do something much more drastic. The word would leap off the pages of ancient scrolls and into a New Covenant through Jesus Christ.

In a time of crazy instability, Isaiah sees God. He is faced with the holiness of God. He's also faced with his own sin. When we are placed in the Presence of God it wrecks us - ruins us. And maybe...just maybe...that isn't a bad thing.

Jonah is not a kid's story about a Bible hero. It's a raw story about a reluctant prophet who hated his enemies. It's about a man who got mad at God for giving grace to those he didn't think deserved it. It is the story of you.

Are you willing to put your faith filter before your political filter? We've got to learn how to disagree politically, yet love each other unconditionally!

After the Passover, Israel moves through the Red Sea and the wilderness to camp out at Mt. Sinai. Moses is gone too long, and the people decide to make a god for themselves. We're not so different, you know. We often replace God with other things and sell out hearts to the lowest bidder. Thank God for grace!

In the story of the first Passover, we find God beginning to form a nation. That nation would go on to give birth to the Messiah, Jesus Christ - our Passover lamb.

The story of Joseph shows us that God works through flawed, dysfunctional people and families. That's great news for anyone! We see God turn evil into good through Joseph's life, and He will do the same for us!

When we run from God, we think we're hiding - but He knows everything. Our first ancestors found out the hard way what it meant to be "naked and afraid."

We are called to be different in the way we respond when the world throws evil at us. We are to forgive. We are to love our enemies. We are to be a blessing. This isn't easy, but if you call yourself a Christian, it's mandatory.

The Church is the place where love reigns supreme. As followers of Jesus, we will love one another, just like Jesus loved us!

The Church is a united body, working together for a great purpose!

When we follow Christ we become different. We are different in the way we offer our lives to God. We are living sacrifices following after Him and refusing to be transformed by this world.

Giving isn't a bad thing! In fact, Paul talks about it as a grace! Whether it's time, money, or yourself, we give because Jesus gave.

If you are in Christ you are brand-new! The old has gone, the new has come!

God answers Job in a way he wasn't expecting. Instead of answering his questions, God enlarges Job's view of the world. God shows Job he is in control.

Even in the darkness, Job still finds hope in his Redeemer.

Last week we saw the faith of Job. This week, we see the humanity of Job. His reaction to God's action in his life is raw, honest, and real. Let us sit with Job while his soul is in anguish.

The Story of Job is a descent into human suffering. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do bad things happen at all? IN this first chapter, we'll see Job lose everything and how he copes in the meantime.

What's the greatest thing in the world? The greatest gift? The greatest possession? Why, it's love!

What does it look like to be united as a church? What are the things that divide us? How do we overcome them? Paul clues us in in 1 Corinthians 1.

Sometimes it's best to sit back and thank God for the Church, and all the good she does in the world. Paul did this with the Thessalonians, and Scott does it for Crosspointe

Peter and John heal a lame man at the Beautiful Gate. They were open to God's divine interruptions. Are you?

Sometimes we're called by God to wait. Just like the disciples had to wait on the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. It's in those times of waiting, where we may just see God at His most powerful.

Out of the darkness comes the greatest news of all-time: Jesus is Risen!

Bartimaeus had something others didn't. Faith. He throws off his most prized possession - his cloak - and asks Jesus to heal him. In Mark's Gospel, we find that it is often the blind who are sighted, and the sighted who are blinded.