Crossing Community Church

How can you and I have peace amidst turmoil? By coming to a deeper understanding that the One who fulfills ancient promises is the one that stands with us when life's circumstances are worrisome and threatening. Michael Breece does a great job of showing the relevance of ancient prophecy to our lives today. 

Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds and the Magi -- all of them had to travel from somewhere to be in Bethlehem for the event we know as The Nativity. The Magi had to travel a great distance. The shepherds not so far. But on this Christmas Eve Pastor Tim challenges us to consider how far we are from Jesus. He is always near. We only have to answer his call to ask Him for the forgivenss of our sins and be reconciled to God. 

In Luke 2 the angels announce to the shepherds that they "bring good news of great joy" as they tell them of the birth of Christ. That's great news! But when is good news not good? When it's not delivered. This week Pastor Tim challenges us to consider if we are faith in proclaiming the Good News. 

Imagine there's a gift under the tree with your name on it. Would you leave it there unopened? No, everyone wants to open a gift with their name on it! Unless the gift is Jesus. People throughout the ages have rejected the gift of God in the form of Jesus His Son. Today Pastor Tim discusses the reasons why people reject the gift off God. 

From Genesis 3 to Isaiah 7 to Micah 5 the ancient prophets spoke of one that would come to save the people. When arrived he was rejected. Today, by faith, we look back on Christ's first appearance with saving faith that causes us to look forward ourselves at his second coming when we shall see him face to face. 

The Gospel of Luke tells us that the angel tells Mary twice that she is "highly favored." We typically translate favor as meaning preferential treatment. But in God's economy, His favor often equates the world's disfavor. How do we reconcile this truth? 

Chapters 35-36 wrap up the story lines of Jacob & Esau as God sends Jacob to Bethel. These chapters name the children of each of the brothers and set the stage for the story of Joseph. Throughout these two chapters we find God's patience with Jacob -- over 30 years to bring him to the place of actually becoming the father of the nation of Israel. We see God's forgiveness of Jacob's deception and manipulation as He fulfills ancient promises originally given to Abraham, We see God give Jacob a new beginning with a new name, Israel. But we also see consequences for our actions. 

Luke 7 records the story of the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume that cleans Jesus's feet with her tears and hair while a pharisee looks on with disdain. The woman felt the full burden of her sin. The pharisee was well aware of her sin also, but not his own. So Jesus shares a parable that dramatically compares the woman's gratitude to the pharisee's and reveals she is the one that is truly more righteous. In his sermon, Pastor Tim asked us to look inside and see how much like the pharisee we might be. 

From the brink of divorce and a shipwrecked life, Greg shares how God patiently waited and worked with him to renew his life. Greg says it best when he shares, "The best part of my story is that God has delivered me from my addictions." Greg's story is a great example of how God not only cleans us up from our addictions and destructive behaviors but actually transforms our life. 

This week we were pleased to welcome an old friend and co-laborer in the Gospel to Crossing as Val A. provided an update on her ministry and how God is at work not only in the city where she lives but also around the world.