Crossroads - Weekend Messages

It’s been said, “All you need is someone to love, something to do, and something to wish for.” This kind of anticipatory thinking can be quite helpful to our mental and emotional health, but what happens when we finally obtain the thing for which we longed? Jesus spoke to his disciples about a greater gift than anything they could hope for on earth, but it wasn't heaven. It was the indwelling of his Holy Spirit. The Apostle John captures an inspiring moment in the life of Jesus from which we can draw many hope-filled insights.

Every birth is special. A new child is born. Into a family. Into this world. With unique gifts and talents. But the birth of Jesus is the most special of births. Why? Because Jesus was the Promised King. The children of Israel, and the world, were waiting for this child to be born. As we reflect on the birth of Jesus this Christmas, let us open our hearts to the King of kings.

Everyone knows that love is important. Books and songs are written about it. People long and search for it. Deep in our souls, we know that we were created by love, for love and to give love. Yet, love can be very challenging. Whom should we love? How should we love? Why should we love? These are big questions of life. But as we are on this Advent journey, preparing our hearts for the birth of Jesus, we must reflect on love because Jesus is the definitive definition of love.

In a world where sorrow, depression and fear of the unknown are imminent, JOY comes on the scene and changes everything. Jesus is the true source of joy and the bible shows us that His birth brought joy to the world. Join us this advent season as we are reminded of the joy that can only be found in Jesus, the great exchange He fulfilled for us and are challenged to be ambassadors of joy to those around us.

"If I could just find a little peace.” Unfortunately, we’ve all spoken these words before. Life is full of issues, trials and troubles. No matter how hard we try, human effort cannot fix everything in this broken world. Yet, Jesus comes to bring the very thing that we are longing for… peace. The peace that Jesus offers is absolutely necessary for our wholeness and flourishing in this life.

"I sure hope we get some snow for Christmas."
"I hope this pandemic will be over soon."
"I hope I get a Lexus with a bow on it."
Hope. We all deal with it for better or worse. Sometimes we seem to have it, and other times we seem to lose it. But what is it? Is it possible that it's a whole lot different than we think, maybe far better? God thinks so. That's why he tells us such great things about it in his Word.

Much of the victory we find in Christ comes from trusting the Lord and seeing our circumstances through the lens of the Spirit. Without this deeply Biblical perspective, we are left trying to understand a confusing world with our very limited resources. The victorious life is not about having different circumstances as much as it is about having a heavenly mindset. James desires to help us understand the oftentimes we just need to hang in there while God is working things out.

There are two sides to wisdom. One side is knowing what to do...this is a positive understanding that we should do something specific. The other side of wisdom is knowing what not to do...these are specific behaviors that we want to avoid. Wisdom is both doing the right things and also not doing the wrong things. James wants to deepen our understanding of wisdom by teaching us three important things that we shouldn’t do.

Every year people come together to celebrate Halloween. Many of us get dressed up and decorate our homes all to celebrate a day when we can pretend to be someone else. This speaks to a deeper need for identity. Why do we try so hard to fit in when God has called us “out” of the norm? The one thing that’s always missing is the outfit of truth found in the armor of God. Today we will discuss the central elements of the daily outfit we must strive to wear daily.