Crossroads - Weekend Messages

Although we’re embarking on a new year (and let’s be real –– we’re relieved to head into 2021, right?),  we can’t deny how much the events of 2020 disrupted all of our lives in tons of different ways. We’re still dealing with the effects of all that happened! At Crossroads, we know God wants to do a unique work of restoration in us individually and as a church family in this new year, and we’re seeking his heart and his will for what’s next. Are you in?

In every great story of fiction, we find a few key characters: there’s always a hero trying to head home, and there are always characters trying to help or hinder the hero. In the same way, our own choices can either help or hinder our journeys forward. Reliving the past makes us our own worst enemies––it keeps us stuck, often in shame or regret, and unable to progress! As 2020 winds down, if we look ahead and keep our eyes fixed on the one who holds our futures, we can move forward without anxiety. And that’s the journey we want to get going on, together as a family of faith!

In a year as tumultuous as 2020 has been, it can be hard to see where God has been at work. As we pick up where we left off in the Christmas story, we’ll find encouragement for all the problems we face, no matter how big or small––because it’s in some of the humblest circumstances that God works in the most unexpected and powerful ways. And when Mary saw God at work, it inspired her to write a beautiful song of praise.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her she would give birth to the Messiah, the news was both wonderful...and terrifying. Mary would have been publicly shamed and humiliated and probably disowned by a lot of people in her community. So what did she do? She jumped right into humble service on behalf of someone else. Crazy, right? If we follow her example, we just might find a joy we never could have dreamed of on our own.

Because we’re so familiar with the Christmas story, it’s easy to forget Mary was probably a teenager when Gabriel showed up and told her she would give birth to the Messiah. She wasn’t wealthy. Nazareth was a small town. No one in the Christmas story was “special” by worldly standards. God’s majesty and sacred presence came to a very humble place. Part of the hope of the Christmas story is that God entered into the details of the lives of people who were just faithfully going about their business. As we near the end of a tumultuous year, join us this weekend as we encounter the God who shows up right in the details of our messy lives.

It’s a funny law of the universe––as we thank God for what we have, we naturally start to become less greedy and more generous. Thanksgiving isn’t just a holiday we celebrate in the United States, it’s a way of life and the “antidote” to some of our deepest issues! As we study Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 9 together, we’ll find the key to our own cheerfulness and our generosity to others lies in the same place: a life of gratitude.

You always know when someone smells either really good or really bad, right? What’s funny (and cool) is, as Christians, we’re supposed to carry the “fragrance” of Christ into the world. The idea is, wherever we go, we “smell like” Jesus––we make people think of God when they observe how we live! To do that in the best way possible means we have to let Jesus lead our lives, both individually and as a church family. When we do that, we’ll give people a glimpse of Jesus, and we might just encounter a life more beautiful than we could have imagined along the way.

Most of us are never just satisfied with our lives “as is.” Sometimes that means we need to practice contentment...but other times, this is actually a good thing, because on some level we’re all longing for transformation. The beautiful news is that Jesus wants to transform us as we walk with him! And that takes shape in lives that produce beautiful results––more on this in our next message from Colossians 3!