Crossing Community Church

Off the heels of chapter 1 the Colossians are encouraged to walk and abound in thanksgiving as so are we. The Colossian church was dealing issues of heresy and boredom of God's grace and who He is for them. What we study here in chapter 2 is that Paul encourages the Colossians and the readers of today to grow in intimacy with their Savior, to find Him sufficient for all their needs and to find their ultimate identity. 

Christians, more than anyone else, should be a people defined by thanksgiving. But how can we cultivate that spirit of gratitude? In Colossians 1, the Apostle Paul models three things we can do so we don't slip back into ingratitude or grow bored with God's grace.

Jude's epistle resonates deeply with a missional life. It is a letter about contending for the faith. Contending is missional as we will see. Jude's fight is against the false teachers of his day but it is also a challenge to develop a sound theology. Specifically a sound theology that fuels our worship and our mission!

 In Ruth 4, Naomi's story comes full circle. God takes her from emptiness to fullness, loss to gain, and bitterness to joy as he redeems her through the actions of another -- which is how he redeems us too!

The problem with the future is that we don't know where it's taking us. It's a natural reaction of humans to fear the unknown, but the unknown is a certainty of life. How do we face the uncertainty of our future? What do we do with our fears? Ruth gives us an example to follow in her humility. 

Chapter 2 of Ruth introduces us to Boaz, who seemingly is a good man who exhibits care and generosity towards Ruth as she gleans in his fields. But he is much more than a good man, he's a kinsman, an important relative to Naomi and ultimately the hero of the story. But in chapter 2 we read three times about Ruth finding favor with Boaz. "Finding favor" is an important concept that extends far from the barley fields of Boaz and right into your life. Pastor Tim explains that to us in today's sermon. 

Ruth chapter 1 sets the stage for the rest of the book. We learn about the family, the famine, Moab, the daughters-in-law and Naomi's return to Bethlehem. In all that, Pastor Tim challenged us to watch and learn from Naomi's husband, Elimelech's example -- do I trust God in a famine or do disobey Him and seek refuge in Moab? 

This week we begin a new sermon series from the book of Ruth. As an introduction, Pastor Tim discusses the context of the book as well as two of the major themes -- redemption and God's providence. Where have you seen God at work in your life? What can we learn from His past faithfulness that we can remind ourselves in our current life circumstances? 

Our guest speaker today is Dr. Todd Williams, president of Cairn University. He taught from Colossians 2:6-8 about the need for vigilance and diligence in our spiritual walk. He encouraged us to never allow things of the world to overtake all that Jesus has already done on our behalf.

We are pleased to have Todd Domke, one of our church elders, teaching today. He spoke from the events and experiences of the last year of his life and how God was been at work drawing Ephesians and Paul's writing about spiritual armor. 

Throughout the story of David's life, he has had seasons of great faith and other's of faithlessness. In our study this week, David shows why he is the "man after God's own heart" when he chooses to celebrate and honor Saul upon his death instead of recount his misdeeds through years. David's example should be a challenge to any of us as we consider how our hearts react with someone who opposes us stumbles or falls!!

Midway through chapter 30 David finds himself alone. Far from his family, his nation, his people -- his God. As those who have been most loyal to him grumble against him and threaten to stone him, David hits rock bottom. Feeling totally isolated, he seeks God and finds him waiting to help. 

In our study of 1 Samuel this week, we come to the story of Saul seeking out a medium to learn what to do about the gathering army of the Philistines. What we learn from Saul is the strong motivating force of fear to do the things we know are wrong!

In 1 Samuel 26 & 27 we see two sides of David. One that is inspired by faith. Another that appears to be void of any faith. Today in our study of the life of David, Pastor Tim challenges us to consider two points. #1. In our daily walk with the Lord and being sanctified into His likeness, there are days, even seasons of when we are not growing and perhaps even in rebellion. But no matter what our walk with Him is like, God never changes his mind about you. He loves you with an undying love and compassion. Be encouraged. #2. Not everything is as it appears. Sometimes we think God has opened a door for us but too often that door violates His principles and character. Pay close attention to how we think God is providing. It will never be in opposition to His sinless character!

Life is often more messy then we like to admit. We have lapses in our faith to Christ and when life's messy parts begin to overwhelm us we are tempted to make bad decisions. We often try to work out our messy lives in our own strength, in our own power, and try to control things that are out of our control. In 1 Samuel 25 we learn a simple but difficult truth and it is what David was challenged with, that is, trust in the Lord who is in control because His grace is at work in you. It is an unshakable trust in the Lord's providence and resting in the Lord's grace that guides us through life's most uncertain times. 

Sola Scriptura: Youth SundayDuring Paul's final moments he pens a letter to Timothy with an urgent conviction about the sufficiency of the Scriptures. During their day there was much suffering, death, persecution, defection, errors in belief about right teaching and errors in behavior and Paul's answer was Scripture alone. This is still the case today and the answer is still Scripture Alone, it is sufficient to save lost sinners, it is sufficient to change lost sinners and it is sufficient to declare to a dead and dying world. This is what we learn from Paul's words to Timothy and the confidence we should have in the power of Christ's finished work on the Cross. 

Instead of killing Saul when he had the chance, David showed him kindness — and it brought Saul to repentance. What enabled him to show Saul such mercy? And how does David’s kindness point us to the kindness of an even greater king?

Genesis 24 is the story of Abraham's servant seeking a wife for his son, Isaac. Dr. Breece goes into detail on the specific way God answered the prayer of identifying who Isaac's wife should be!! At the very heart of finding a wife for Issac is one of those incidents of a "God Thing" -- a time when God does something that is undeniable!

Our two chapters in 1 Samuel reveal a change in heart in David. While the text doesn't explicitly say it, the connection between David's deception of chapter 21 and the newfound faith of chapter 23 is the consequences of his sin in chapter 22 on the family of Ahimelech and the entire population of the village of Nob. The outworking of David's faith is seen in his writing in Psalm. Pastor Tim leads us through a study of Psalm 18 where David's wholeheartedly dependance on God is evident!

Chapter 21 marks a turning point in David's story. Thus far he has sought God and been found faithful and rewarded by God for his dependance. But in our text today, David takes his eyes off God and 'leans unto his own understanding' with horrible consequences.