Crossroads - Weekend Messages

We often forget that great endeavors involve even greater risk. This is true spiritually as well. Right as Nehemiah began his work of restoration, the opposition started immediately. And the greatest leaders respond to opposition with even greater resolve. We will see Nehemiah leading with passion and wisdom.

Before anything can change in our lives, we have to be willing, to be honest with ourselves: honest about our shortcomings, honest about the nature of our circumstances, honest about who we are and who God is, honest about what God is asking of us. The amazing story of Nehemiah hinges on his honesty and integrity––he was willing to acknowledge not only the amount of work it would take to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity but to admit his sins and the sins of his people. He came clean before God and led his people back to pure and honest worship––the beginning of true restoration (for them and for us).

Hellen Keller once wrote, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” One of the key moments in life is when you realize the desires God has put in you are more important than the fear that shouts at you. Yes, the fear is real: the fear of failure, of what others think, of an unknown future…But deep down, you know you can’t remain dormant or passive. You need to step out in faith, trust the Lord, and say “yes” to his best for your life. Join us as we look at Scripture to see what steps of faith look like, how to take them, and how to grow into our calling.

Every time we learn something new, we’re faced with a decision: will we allow what we’ve learned to change us for the better? As we wrap up our crazy happy journey, we have choices to make and a will to exercise. Will we choose to walk in the Spirit and practice Jesus’ teachings in the Beatitudes? Will we let the Spirit bear his fruit in our lives? Let’s conclude our journey as a family of faith with decisions that reflect holy intentionality.

One of the most amazing things about Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes is that Jesus gives us a system of ethics that should define our lives...and it’s an ethic that’s completely different from how our world sees ethics. It’s the ethics of the kingdom of God! As we press further into the kingdom of heaven, the Spirit begins to grow beautiful fruit in our lives. When we live into Jesus’ kingdom, not only does it make a totally counter-cultural statement to our world, it transforms our lives from the inside out.

God’s got a plan for our lives...but God didn’t create us to be robots. He allows us all to make our own choices! And those choices carry powerful consequences –– good and not-so-good ones. How do we know the difference between good choices and better choices? How do we make the best choices? As we continue on our journey toward God’s definition of happiness, we all have some important choices to make.

Happiness is born from the inside-out...Most of us would embrace that sentiment, right? But more often than not, we live like we’re waiting for an outward change of circumstances to propel us into happiness, only to find that once we arrive at the desired destination, while we may like the new reality, we are still left unfulfilled. So we keep getting back on the hamster wheel. That’s why Jesus’ teachings about true satisfaction are so revolutionary! He taught that there’s a way our deepest longings can actually be satisfied––and that’s the secret to true joy that transcends all our circumstances.