Crossing Community Church

Crossing has supported the ministry of Joe & Laurie Darrow in the Kensington section of Philadelphia for nearly 30 years. So it's always great to have Joe with us teaching us from the Word on a Sunday morning. This week he taught from Ephesians 1:1-14. He used the story of his own salvation as well as stories from their ministry in Philadelphia to help us better understand the amazing, mind-boggling scope of God's grace and mercy. God's grace extends to us not because we are special or talented or better but because of God's love for us and his forgiveness does not mean that he forgets our sin. It means he chooses not to remember it. Wonderful news!

The reign of King Saul was marked with poor decisions that he made based on fear. Each time fear compelled him to act, his actions were in disobedience to God. Isn't that how it works out for you and I as well? So how does God instruct us to deal with our fear? Time adn time again, God says the same three words, "I am with you." God never promises to remove us from danger. He never promises to give us a solution. But He always promises to be with us in every circumstance we encounter in life. The antidote for fear is God Himself!

This week Joan Harris shared how prayer has made a remarkable difference in her life. She was raised in a Christian home and believed in Christ at the age of 14. Her story emphasizes the role prayer has played in her life and how she has come to understand how God works through prayer -- although not as she always expected. She has seen how God used hard thing to teach her the truth of Romans 8:28 and how when prayer was answered with "No" that wasn't a bad thing because God is always at work -- even when we can't see it. 

Linda Brescia recently shared how her faith in Christ influenced her perspective on having cancer and the treatments that followed her diagnosis. With wit and humor, humility and honesty, she did an excellent job of communicating her thoughts and struggles and victories since her diagnosis. 

Scott Brubaker makes four great points about evangelism and closes with a strong encouragement to all of us! 

• Evangelism is a process superintendent by God but impacted by people.
• God desires my obedience in evangelism, not my opinion.
• As God's servants we must move from apathy to action.
• Perform your role in the process of evangelism, not God's.

"If we order our lives to focus on the role God has given us in evangelism and be clear on the gospel -- what God is asking people to do to become His children -- we can be sure that God will honor His word, and our obedience in evangelism will not only be successful but an adventure of seeing Him work in the lives of others he has called us to!"

In the course of 24 hours Jesus was betrayed time and again! Betrayed by one of his own disciples. Denied three times by Peter. Ultimately, all of his disciples abandoned him in the Garden. The masses of people who had welcomed him to the city only days before demanded his death on this day. Finally, as the day was ending and his life was draining from Him, God the Father turned away as well as the sin of humanity was laid on the Lamb of God. And in all that, Jesus remained faithful! No matter how unfaithful we may be, Jesus will never fail us or forsake us. 

Scott Brubaker recently shared his story of how everyting on the outside of life was great but on the inside he was insecure and wanted to know if there was more to life. Everything he tried never overcame the doubts and fears of his heart. It was only after he understood the free gift of Christ that those fears and doubts were put to rest. Since then, his faith in Christ as carried him through more than the typical circumstances of life as he has dealt with the loss of a teenage child and brain cancer. 

What will your funeral be like? Funerals always have a sense of sadness about them. We grieve the loss of our loved ones. But for a Christian, a funeral can also be highlighted by hope and anticipation as we know that our loved one is with Christ and we will see them again. But that is only made possible because Christ defeated death and rose from the grave. It was in that unique moment that had never happened before and will never happen again that mankind was given the hope of resurrection. 

As we near the observaton of Good Friday and Easter Sunday our sermon this week helped us prepare our minds and hearts for the mystery and glory that God packed into the unthinkable sacrifice of Jesus. All the Old Testament points toward Him and the fulfillment of prophecies through the centuries. In particular this week, Pastor Tim discusses how the Leviticus sacrificial system and the tabernacle and temple pointed to the death of Christ and all that was accomplished in that. 

Why is the resurrection of Christ necessary? What does it accomplish? This week Pastor Tim addresses that question as we prepare to observe the Easter holiday. Sin has separated us from God and resurrection is the only way to provide an remedy to that problem!