CrossPoint Fellowship Messages

How are we empowered to stand against a world that is ready to reject us?

• The world is sick.
• The Gospel is the cure.
• We are called to be ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.
• We are all called to go and take the cure for sin to the world.
• God cares.
• We aren’t the authors of the message, we’re simply delivering it.
• We have a responsibility to the world around us.

We can walk the walk but do we talk the talk? Those who don’t know Jesus will only learn about him if we tell them. Are we verbalizing our faith?

• If your faith isn’t important enough for you to discuss, do you truly value your faith? 
• We have a Gospel message and it is worth delivering that message to others.
• People can't believe in a message that hasn't been delivered to them.
• We must walk the walk, so that people don’t automatically disregard what we have to say when we try to talk the talk.

What about our lives gives those around us a curiosity for the Hope living in us?

• Our lives will either will either support or undermine our claims for Christ.
• We must always be prepared to share the hope we have in Christ. 
• Theologian Alexander McClaren states, “Only he who can say 'the Lord is the strength of my life' can go on to say, 'of whom shall I be afraid?'".
• Holding Christ in the proper regard removes the fear of promoting our faith.
• Any chance that we have to point others to Christ that is not taken pushes them closer to the entryway of hell.  
• Part of Christian life is facing persecution. Being above reproach is a necessity if we want our lives to testify to Christ. 
• Jesus washing feet ain’t about feet. It’s about setting a precedent of humility and servitude. 
• If you are about you, you aren’t about Jesus and people won’t see him in you. 
• Living a life of love and servitude, is living a life that is an offering to God. 

The Church is the human representation of the Kingdom of God. The Church is a vital piece of any believer’s walk. This week we look at what the Church should be.

• The Church is the human representation of the kingdom of God. We talk about two different “churches” in Christianity, the global Church and the local church. The global Church is the body of Christ and encompassing all believers around the world. Together, we do the work of God’s Kingdom. The local church exists to provide a family of believers with fellowship, encouragement, accountability, strength, teaching for biblical instruction, and corporate worship. The local church is also called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in its local community, fulfilling the Great Commission. At CrossPoint, we seek to be a family that loves each other as Jesus loves us, living our lives as brothers and sisters, building each other up at every opportunity and growing in our relationship with God. Together we strive to serve our local community, both by supporting our mission partners and directly helping where we can.
• Church isn't a place, it's a people.
• Church is better when you are here.
• God has put the body together.
• Church is where the "one anothers" take place.

The Lord’s Supper is the representation of Jesus’ final meal with his closest followers. We take the Lord’s Supper to remember the sacrifice that was made on our behalf.

• The Lord’s Supper is the representation of Jesus’ final meal with His closest followers. As believers, we partake in the Lord’s Supper of bread and fruit of the vine, as Jesus did, which symbolize His broken body and blood spilt at the cross. When we do this, we do so in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice. As Christians, this is also a time of reflection and self-examination of our relationship and standing with God. At CrossPoint, we invite all followers of Jesus to participate in the Lord’s Supper with us.
• The Lord's Supper isn't for everyone.
• The Lord’s Supper isn’t just some cracker and juice. This is sustainment, which comes through Christ taking our place in crucifixion.
• We partake in the Lord's Supper to remember Jesus.
• The Lord's Supper is a call to repentance. 

We submit to baptism because Christ submitted to baptism. It is a chance to publicly proclaim that we are a new creation in him.

• Jesus submitted to baptism, signifying the beginning of His ministry. Likewise, He asks us to be baptized as a public profession of faith, as the next right step following Salvation. Believers are baptized by water in order to reflect the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. If you choose to be baptized at CrossPoint Fellowship, it occurs through full immersion.
• Baptism represents the rebirth that Jesus says is required in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
• By submitting to Baptism, we are following Jesus’ example.
• Baptism is a testimony to the power of God. 
• Baptism is a testimony that we can be cleansed.
• Baptism is a testimony that we are in right relationship with God.
• Every person that takes the step of faith into baptism tells the world the God is able, willing, and faithful to save.
• Baptism also testifies to Christ's work on the cross and in the grave.
• Every time someone submits to baptism, they tell the story of what Christ did on the cross.
• Baptism is the start of something, not the end.

The Scripture is God’s revelation to man. It’s the Christian guidebook. We need it, we need to know it, we need to follow it.

• The Bible is the Word of God. The 66 books encompassed by the Old and New Testaments were all inspired by God to instruct and lead people to Him and to righteous living. Though multiple translations are available in multiple languages, God’s truth is made apparent to all people by guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer and study. Therefore, the Bible is faultless and the highest physical authority to any believer and church. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
• Paul was referring to the Scriptures before the revelation of Christ without forsaking the writings that we would consider Scripture today. 
• If not explicitly stated in the New Testament, the Old Testament is as authoritative as any word uttered by Christ. 
• If all Scripture is God-breathed, then it is without error and therefore cannot be ignored or cast aside.
• Scriptures, I would argue, were written by man but divinely inspired by God.

Who needs salvation? Everyone. What is Salvation? Forgiveness. Why do we need salvation? Sin. When should we accept salvation? Immediately. 

• All people have sinned and will sin. The due punishment for this rebellion against God is eternal death, which is separation from God. The only way to restore our relationship with God is by accepting the gift of grace, through faith, that Christ provided through His death and resurrection. Therefore, anyone who accepts this free gift by submitting their life to Christ, His teachings, and repenting from their sins, shall inherit eternal life.
• The Jews clung to their distinction from the rest of the world like Christians today cling to their distinction from the rest of the world. 
• We all sin. We can’t avoid sin. The wages of sin is death. Therefore we need salvation. 
• Salvation is a free gift of grace won for us on the cross by Jesus Christ, the son of God. 

 The Holy Spirit was a gift from Jesus to his disciples and all future believers. A promise of his presence is what comes with the Spirit. The Spirit emboldens us and encourages us to follow Christ.

• The Holy Spirit is the final person of the Trinity, God with us. The Spirit calls all people to repent of their sin and is gifted to everyone who has repented and surrendered their life to Jesus. Through the Spirit, God equips His believers and guides them to truth so they can fulfill the plan God has for them. As Christians, it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that gives us power, boldness, comfort, security, and resistance to sin.
• Those who submit themselves to Jesus receive the Spirit.
• One of the Spirit’s main roles is to convict believers and unbelievers of sin.
• The Spirit testifies to the true, real existence of Christ. 
• 1. The Spirit reveals the Truth.
• 2. The Spirit sustains us.
• 3. The Spirit instills confidence in us.
• 4. The Spirit gives us the Courage to fight the good fight.

Jesus is God the Son. He received his authority from YHWH his father. He is the perfecter of our faith and our salvation. He lovingly went to the cross to die for our sins and the perfect life he lived meant that his gift of sacrifice was sufficient to bring about the forgiveness of our sins.

• Jesus Christ, the Son, is God born as a man. He is the second person of the Trinity and the only way to salvation. Born of a virgin, He lived a perfect life. Through this perfect life and His willingness to take our punishment on the cross, He provided the only way for our sins to be forgiven. Through His resurrection, He conquered death, paving the way for eternal life with God. He now sits at the right hand of the Father where He mediates on our behalf until His promised return.
• Necessity dictates that Jesus be born of the Spirit by a virgin if he was to be the Son of God.
• God declares Christ the Son, but the gifting of his Spirit solidifies him as his equal. 
• Christ's perfection in the face of imperfection makes him the perfect and necessary sacrifice to allow him to be the atonement for sins.