Crossroads - Weekend Messages

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.

Nobody wants to be unhappy––that would be crazy, right? In fact, inside all of us is a deep longing for something more. Something beyond ourselves. Something beautiful. And what’s even crazier is we may have been missing an important truth hidden in plain sight….In one of his most famous teachings, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of the “blessed” person, which can also be translated “happy” person. But Jesus’ description of the happy person sounds crazy to our contemporary way of thinking––which is exactly why it will revolutionize your life.

Nobody wants to be unhappy––that would be crazy, right? In fact, inside all of us is a deep longing for something more. Something beyond ourselves. Something beautiful. And what’s even crazier is we may have been missing an important truth hidden in plain sight….In one of his most famous teachings, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of the “blessed” person, which can also be translated as “happy” person. But Jesus’ description of the happy person sounds crazy to our contemporary way of thinking––which is exactly why it will revolutionize your life.

“Doesn’t God want me to be happy?” Virtually everyone has asked this question at some point. And the answer is...yes! But God’s plan for our fulfillment looks way different than anything we would expect. Join your Crossroads family for a journey through some of the most famous passages of Scripture––the Beatitudes and the fruit of the Spirit––for the key to unlocking God’s definition of true happiness, in our new series Crazy Happy!

We’re all looking for healing in one way or another, and at the tail end of a year like 2020 and the front end of a new year that (so far) feels no different, many of us feel confronted head-on with our own needs in a way we never have been before...What does Jesus say to us in this space? What will he do, and how might he surprise us? When Jesus decides to move in his people to restore them, he never does just one thing at a time. When God restores his people, he multi-tasks, restoring us from the inside out––a reality we’ll see in high-definition in Luke 17.

All of us want to be successful in life...but so often, when we chase our own version of success, we wind up with a huge mess on our hands. That’s why we need to look to God’s Word in the Bible for an eternal definition of success––one that’s never going to backfire and get us or others hurt. In fact, God’s plans for our future are always beyond our craziest dreams, guaranteed to satisfy the longings of our hearts, and sure to glorify God and bless other people too!

Every homeowner spends time making her house uniquely suit her own taste, and the church (God’s house!) is no different...except that God’s house is a community of people. So the unique decorations God wants in his house, then, are qualities that grow in our lives as spiritual fruit. How do we make sure our lives are a welcome home for the Lord? Find out in this message on John 15!

When it seems like everything is changing or shaken up in a way you weren’t expecting, it’s important to go back to the foundation. Back to what you know is true. Back to who you know you are. Back to who you know God is. As we move forward in a new year, with all that happened in 2020 still heavy on our minds and hearts, let’s remind ourselves of our foundation––who God is and who we are as a result.