Crossroads Baptist - Sermons

Watch Your Step

Psalm 73

Our heart condition is the key to faithful living

1. We are in danger of slipping when our hearts are impure. Psalm 73:1–2

Psalm 51:10–12

Only time with the Lord changes our heart condition for good

Our heart condition affects all areas-- Leading, loving, serving, caring, patience, worship, and missional living.

Eventually, our hearts will tell on us!!

2. We are in danger of slipping when we begin to covet.

Psalm 73:3

Coveting blinds us to God’s goodness and poisons our perspective.

Proverbs 6:27–29

Coveting only leads to our destruction!

Is your attitude telling on you?

3. We are in danger of slipping when we view the lost with disdain instead of compassion.

Psalm 73:4–7 worldly perspective— valuing worldly things

We see their worldly wealth instead of their spiritual poverty.

How are you viewing people right now?

What keeps us stable?

1. Remembering the responsibility of our influence.

Psalm 73:15

2. Truly worshipping the Lord with the desire for Him to changes our perspective.

Psalm 73:16–17

Have you come into this place with the desire for God to change your perspective and to gain His understanding?

3. Remember God is the only hope for our stability.

Psalm 73:18–24

Yet God responds not with punishment but with presence, he holds guides, counsels, and receives us.

Habakkuk 3:19 4.

Remember the Lord is our greatest treasure.

Psalm 73:25–28

Psalm 73:1–2

Where you’re at, is not where you have to stay.

God will provide opportunity for deliverance to His children, look for the off ramp.

Building a Legacy

Part 3 “Lasting Legacy”

Exodus; Joshua 1:1-3

1. Lasting legacy recognizes that God has preserved our lives for His purpose. 

Exodus 1:22; Exodus 2:1–10 

1. Lasting legacy trust that God can redeem our failures and misdirected passions.

Exodus 2:11–15; Romans 8:28–29 

1. Lasting legacy turns aside and responds to God’s call. 

Exodus 3:1–6; Exodus 3:10–12 

1. Lasting legacy depends on God’s power working through us. 

Exodus 4:10–12

1. Lasting legacy requires God’s presence to go with us. 

Exodus 33:2–3; Exodus 33:14–16 

1. Lasting legacy is a life lived for God’s purpose, which will continue long after we are gone. 

Deuteronomy 34:4–5; Joshua 1:1–3 

Building a Legacy

Pt 2

2 Corinthians 8

1. Inspiring love is a result of God’s grace activated in and through our lives.

2 Corinthians 8:1

- Is God’s working in our lives a testimony for others?

Romans 5:2–5

2. Inspiring love is a supernatural response to events and circumstances.

2 Corinthians 8:2

- God’s grace doesn’t make natural sense…Severe affliction → abundance of joy

Extreme poverty → wealth of generosity

Only God can produce those kinds of results.


That’s why Paul calls it a “grace of God.”

- Are your decisions determined by feelings and circumstances or the Spirit and obedience?

- Do people get from you what is natural or supernatural?

3. Inspiring love goes beyond expectation and partners with God’s kingdom work.

2 Corinthians 8:3–4

- Am I giving as an obligation, or as a delight in worship to God?

* God’s grace inspires more

* God’s grace cares more

4. Inspiring love flows from a life fully surrendered to the Lord. 2 Corinthians 8:5

- The foundation of inspiring love:


Total surrender → Total availability which results in Total usefulness

“A life fully surrendered is a life fully available to love like Christ.”

- Remember:

*We cannot give what you haven’t surrendered

*God desires our hearts, not just resources

*When surrendered, love flows naturally

5. Inspiring love is our response to the life-giving and sacrificial love of Christ.

2 Corinthians 8:6–9

-Am I willing to give of myself—even at personal cost—to serve others?

- His love equips us and also is an example!

Christ-like love is:

*Other-focused

*Self-giving

*Costly

*Joyful

*Redemptive

* Act of worship to our Holy God

Don’t wait for a feeling or love in order to share Christ with a stranger. You already love your heavenly Father, and you know that this stranger is created by Him, but separated from Him, so take those first steps in evangelism because you love God. It is not primarily out of compassion for humanity that we share our faith or pray for the lost; it is first of all, love for God.”
― John Piper

Building a Legacy

Pt 1

Philippians 3

Faith isn’t just a belief—it’s an exchange.


We give up what is temporary to gain what is eternal.

TRUE FAITH COSTS

1. True faith costs what we once rejoice in.

Philippians 3:1

“Rejoicing in the Lord”

-Gives us clarity

-Changes priority

-Anchors our joy

-Steadies us in the storm

When we don’t

-We lack clarity

-We have worldly priorities

-We have no anchor for joy

-We live in fear and panic in the storm

2. True faith costs our old perspective and our identities. Philippians 3:2–7

“We cannot become who God calls us to be while clinging to who we used to be.”

3. True faith costs what we value.

Philippians 3:8–11

“Faith doesn’t just change what you believe; it changes what you treasure.”

4. True faith costs our comfort and our daily pursuits. Philippians 3:12–16

“Comfort is enemy of spiritual growth; it lulls the soul to sleep when God is calling it to rise.”

5. True faith costs the examples we follow.

Philippians 3:17–21

What did faith cost Paul?

Friends, future, comfort, security, safety, freedom, his life. Following Christ will Cost you—But the reward will be worth it!

-What legacy are our leaving?

-How is God calling you to His Kingdom purpose?

-What cost is He calling you to make?

Guest speaker Brian JenningsACTS 16:16-34God does His greatest work when life does its worst.Trouble BrewingActs 16:16-18Paul’s plans in Philippi were disrupted by a possessed slave girl. Sometimes God interrupts our plans for greater purpose.Resistance FormingActs 16:19-24Life doesn’t go as planned but God has a plan in every circumstance.Breakthrough ComingActs 16:25-34We respond differently to difficulties when we have Jesus. He wants to step into our situation.For Further Thought:Is life easy? Why do we think it’s going to be?In what ways does God get our attention?How should we respond when life gets hard? How can God use difficulties in our life for something bigger?

Seek 2026

Part 4 “First Priority”

What we seek first reveals what we truly trust and value.

Jesus calls His disciples to a God-centered life where a relationship with His Father and His glory—is the driving priority—not worldly recognition or personal gain.

1. Keep watch over your motivations.

Matthew 6:1

Beware means--- pay close attention, be on guard, warning of surrounding danger.

Hypocrites = Actors / Performers

Public applause is a poor substitute for the Father’s approval.

2.Keep watch over your prayer life.

Matthew 6:7–15

Pray in this model

Reverence – Hallowed be

Purpose – Your kingdom come

Dependency—give us our daily

Spiritual need—forgive us

Responsibility—as we forgive

Directions—lead us

Our prayer life reflects our spiritual heart—frequency and content.

Prayer is not performance or persuasion—it is relational dependence on a good Father.Is my prayer life shaped more by intimacy or by anxiety?

3. Keep watch over what you’re treasuring.

Matthew 6:19–24

Worldly treasure is venerable and temporary

Spiritual treasure is secure and eternal

What we treasure directs our hearts, shapes our vision, and determines our loyalty.

4. Keep watch over your trust in the Lord.

Matthew 6:25–30

Worry reveals misplaced trust and a distorted view of the Father’s care.

What are you anxious about?

What are you thinking is important?

Are you trusting in God?

5. Keep watch over what you’re daily seeking.

Matthew 6:31–34

The Christian life is not about chasing provision, but prioritizing Him and His Kingdom.

“Seek first” speaks to order, not exclusion.

When God’s kingdom is first, God’s provision follows.

Each day requires fresh dependence—tomorrow’s grace comes tomorrow.

Seek

Part 3 “Time and Space”

Time with Lord

1. Respond to His invitation and see your spiritual need.  

Isaiah 55:1–2; Matthew 11:28–29 

2. Listen diligently to what He says and trust Him.

Isaiah 55:2–3; Matthew 13:14–16

3. Look for His revealed truth  

Isaiah 55:4–5; Revelation 3:20 

4. Seek the Lord while He is near. 

Isaiah 55:6; 2 Corinthians 6:1–2 

Make space for Lord

1. Desire the Lord to add, remove, and reorder your life. 

Isaiah 55:7–9; Ephesians 4:22–24 

2. Trust God knows and has a better plan. 

Isaiah 55:8–9

3. Believe God will provide what you really need. 

Isaiah 55:10–11 

4. Know the result will be a beautiful life. 

Isaiah 55:12–13; Genesis 3:17–18 

Seek 2026 - Part 2

1 Kings 19When we stop listening to God-

1. We accept worldly information as ultimate truth.

1 Kings 19:1-2

2. We respond out of fear and emotion rather than faith.

1 Kings 19:3

3. We seek to isolate and sit in despair.

1 Kings 19:3-4

What God provides in our exhaustion-

1. He provides rest and resources in desert places.

1 Kings 19:5-6

2. He provides direction and strength for the journey back to Him.

1 Kings 1-:7-8

When we listen to the Lord-

1. He helps us understand our condition.

1 Kings 19:9-102. He reveals who He is.

1 Kings 19:11-14

3. He reveals what He is doing and our part in it.

1 Kings 19:17-18

Seek 2026 - Part 1

What do you need to seek the Lord for this year?

Fasting expresses humility and repentance“I need God more than I need comfort.”

Fasting exposes what controls us true fasting reveals and reshapes the heart.

Fasting trains us to deny the flesh

Not led by cravings

Fasting sharpens prayer and dependence

Fasting doesn’t force God’s hand; it focuses ours.

Fasting prepares us to hear and obey God

Fasting creates space to listen, not leverage to control outcomes.

Warnings

1. Don’t perform religious actions to manipulate God’s favor.

2. Don’t seek the Lord merely for your own pleasure or self-fulfillment.

What do you want the end result to be? Better question, what does He want the end result to be?

-We reduce God to a means, not the Master

-We confuse God’s will with our preferences

-Instead of a transformational relationship we try to have a transactional relationship with God.

What reveals our motivations?

Time with God will change us-

- 1. Our treatment of others.

Is your devotion to God locational or a life?

2. Whether our devotion is an event we attend or a life we live.

What happens when we seek Him in the right way?

1. Our hearts are changed to have His compassion for others in need.

We become generous

2. We see our resource as tools to be used to bless others.

When we seek Him, We get what we need

3. We receive what we truly need, His presence.

Seek - Introduction

Pastor Jeff Ford