Cross Point Church Podcast

What do you do when following Jesus gets harder than you expected?

In Acts 14, we see that obedience doesn’t always lead to an easy road. Paul and Barnabas faced opposition, criticism and even persecution as they continued sharing the Gospel. But through it all, they remained faithful to the calling God had placed on their lives.

Dustin Aagaard walks us through three important reminders for following Jesus when life gets difficult:

Following Jesus doesn’t mean you won’t face resistance or suffering. It means you don’t have to face it alone. Because Jesus rose from the grave, what knocked you down doesn’t get the final word.

Your pain doesn’t get to cancel your calling. Keep getting back up and following Jesus.

What happens when we truly recognize who Jesus is and make Him the main thing in our lives?

In Acts 13, Paul reminds us of God’s promise, points us to Jesus as the promised Savior, and challenges us to respond to the Gospel. Jesus is not simply another chapter in Israel’s story; Jesus is the story. Through His death and resurrection, our past can be forgiven, our present can be justified, and our future can be changed.

The question remains: What will you do with Jesus?

As Dave Stone walks through Acts 13:13-52, we’ll see three important responses to the Gospel:

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. May Jesus be the focus of our lives, and may the people around us see Jesus through us.

Have you ever had a moment where things didn’t go to plan? It can be frustrating, but God’s plan is much better than ours. As Pastor Daran shared in Acts 13:1-12, it’s important to trust His plan like the church in Antioch did. What are you doing to let go and trust God?

Do you like getting compliments? There’s nothing wrong with receiving one, but it’s important to not let a compliment get to your head! As Pastor Kevin shared in Acts 12:19 to 13:3 in week 25 of our series on the book of Acts, Herod was killed because he took what belonged to God and didn’t thank and give Him glory in return. If given a compliment, it’s important to also praise God and make Jesus the famous one, not ourselves. What are you bringing to Jesus today?

Have you ever hoped for something, but something different happened? As Pastor Kevin shows us in week 24 of our series on the book of Acts, following Jesus doesn’t mean we won’t suffer – it means we will never suffer alone. Prayer is the best way the church can respond to disappointment, like we see in Acts 12:1-19 when the church prayed for Peter before he was rescued from jail. They used that initial disappointment to be drawn toward God instead of away from Him. Christ already knows our suffering since He suffered for us. How are you using your disappointment for good?

In Acts 11, we see a picture of what it looks like when our faith becomes visible. The early church didn’t just talk about the Gospel. They shared Jesus, encouraged what God was doing, met the needs of others and invested in people who were still growing.

Barnabas especially shows us the power of believing in someone before everyone else can see their potential. He was willing to take a chance on Saul, and the right word at the right time from the right person changed the trajectory of his life.

As we follow Jesus, our faith should become visible in the way we love, encourage, serve and invest in the people around us. What would it look like for your life to shine the love of Jesus wherever God has placed you?

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Have you ever had a relationship that felt too broken to repair? Sometimes the distance between us and another person grows so slowly that it starts to feel normal. We don’t know how to close the gap, so we leave it alone. But underneath the distance, there can still be a desire for reconciliation.

In Acts 11:1-18, Peter faces criticism after welcoming Gentiles into the family of God. What begins as resistance eventually becomes worship as the believers realize God is doing something bigger than what they expected.

In this message, Pastor Kevin Queen explores what happens when fear becomes criticism, how God confirms His direction through His providence, Spirit, people and Word, and what it looks like to stop resisting what God is doing.

Because sometimes the question isn’t, “What is God doing?” It’s “Who am I to stand in God’s way?” The grace we’ve received from Jesus should make us the quickest to extend that same grace to others. Where might God be asking you to forgive, heal, surrender or extend grace?

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It’s easy to divide people into categories, decide who belongs and keep those who are different from us at a distance. But through Acts 10, God challenges us to see people differently.

Acts 10 tells the story of Cornelius, a Gentile seeking God, and Peter, a Jewish follower of Jesus learning that God’s table is bigger than he imagined. Peter thought he knew who was clean and unclean, who belonged and who didn’t. But God shows him that the gospel is bigger than the categories he had created. What begins with distance ends with fellowship, as the Holy Spirit falls on people Peter never expected to welcome.

Sometimes God isn’t asking us to change what we believe. He’s asking us to change how we love. Nobody is too far gone. Nobody is beyond the reach of redemption. Nobody is disqualified from grace.

Every object has a story. And so does every life. The question is: what is your life pointing people toward? It’s possible to believe in Jesus and still remain spiritually stationary. But Jesus didn’t simply call us to believe in Him. He called us to follow Him. Peter didn’t have a perfect story. He struggled to follow Jesus, made mistakes and had plenty of reasons to believe his past disqualified him. But Jesus wasn’t finished writing his story. In Acts 9:32-43, Peter is used by God to perform miracles and lead people to Jesus. His story had been redeemed, and God was now using it to impact the stories of other people around him. Following Jesus means becoming more like Jesus. You can’t follow Jesus and stand still. You may not know every step ahead, but you can take the next one. Jesus can redeem even the most broken parts of your story and use your life to point others to Him. You just have to let Him write the next chapter… – – – – – – – – – – What stood out to you from this message? Let us know in the comments. If this message encouraged you, share it with someone who needs to know their story isn’t over. Study the book of Acts with us: crosspoint.tv/acts Find a Cross Point campus in Middle Tennessee: crosspoint.tv/locations

Do you ever feel like you’re trying to figure out life by yourself? Our culture celebrates independence. We’re told to self-define, build our own lives and handle things ourselves. But what if the pressure to do everything alone is actually causing us to drift? As Christians, we may have a relationship with Christ, but following Jesus was never meant to be something we do alone. 

In Acts 9:19-31, Saul has a life-changing encounter with Jesus and immediately begins telling others about Him. But even with his new faith and passion for Christ, Saul still needs other people in his life; to support, encourage and assist.

Following Jesus is personal, but it was never meant to be private. You need people who will help you grow. People who will show up when life gets hard. People who believe in what God is doing in you. People who tell you the truth and pray with you. What kind of person do you need most in your life right now?

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