The Lord is doing unique things here at Crossroads. As we simply respond to Jesus, we are constantly seeking to align our will with God’s will. In this weekend’s special message, we will take some time to look at what Jesus is doing in our midst and the fresh steps of faith He is inviting us to take in our Year of Uniqueness.

One of the best parts of life is the relationships we have. God created each of us to be hard-wired for relationships. Humans, like God Himself, are relational at the essence of our being. And there is much to learn from the people in our lives. Sometimes we see bright shining examples of how we want to be. Other times, we see how we don’t want to act. In either situation, God’s desire is that we continue to mature as we move through life. As we bring our Uncharted series to a close, we will learn unique lessons from different people in the book of Acts.

Everyone loves a good story and the Gospel of Jesus is the greatest story ever told! As we continue in the Uncharted series, today we will see how Paul and Silas move forward with their mission of bringing the message of Jesus to varying people groups. Though they press on with this Godsent assignment, we learn that the people in each city have a different response to their efforts. Regardless of the unique challenges they continue to face, their hearts were set on sharing this lifesaving message with everyone who would listen. May we be encouraged to do our part in turning our communities right side up for the cause of Christ.

The Bible says that “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9). This is one of the challenging parts of the human condition. God expects us to make our own plans. It is a gift that God has given us. But we need to remember that God has His own plans as well. And God’s will is better and higher than others. The apostle Paul learned this in Acts 16. His plan was to go to Asia with the gospel of Jesus. But the Lord directed Him to Europe instead. And what a work the Lord did!

People often disagree. Do you agree? Because we all have different ideas and opinions about what matters we will often find points of disagreement even with people we love. In Acts 15, we find several examples of key leaders in the early church arguing and discussing what they consider to be the most necessary things, but what we find at the very end is that Jesus is the most necessary thing and His work of the gospel the most pressing. 

We have a tendency to believe that when God calls us to something, everything will be easy. But that is rarely the case. God’s ultimate goal in our lives is not just ease and comfort. Instead, God wants us to grow, mature, and bear much fruit. And oftentimes, it is through conflict and struggle that God’s work is accomplished. This weekend at Crossroads, we will see this as Paul and Barnabas continue on their first missionary journey.

It is truly amazing to think about the church of Jesus Christ. In every nation, in every language, in every generation, there are people worshiping Jesus. The people of God surpass every human boundary. But what is even more amazing is to see how God took the message of Jesus from Israel and brought it around the world. It took courageous men and women, who were filled with the Holy Spirit, to simply respond to Jesus and bring the good news to others. This weekend, we will take a look at the very first cross-cultural missions trip of the early church.

Jesus said that this parable is the key to unlocking all the other parables. Simply put, it’s all about the condition of your heart! The heart of every issue is an issue of your heart. Mark 4 will help us keep our hearts ready!

There are soooooooo many things to adjust to and learn as we begin our new life in Christ. This series is about “ESSENTIALS”…that which is absolutely necessary; extremely important… Nothing …ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is more essential than what the Amplified Bible calls your “vital union” with Christ. John uses the metaphor of a vine and branches to give us a picture that communicates what our relationship with Christ looks like. There are ESSENTIAL truths to be drawn out from the vine and branch metaphor that will help us live a more fruitful life in Christ.

Jesus is always extending an invitation for us to trust Him in greater ways. Whether it’s with our relationships, our finances, work, health, or family needs, His call of trustful surrender remains the same. The passage we will be unpacking today reveals how Jesus used a young Simon Peter’s hesitant yes, to change Simon’s life in unexpected ways. When we see the power and love of Jesus displayed in our lives, we can’t help but be transformed. Because of this, our prayer for today’s message is that we would see how Essential our yes to God is when He calls us into the deep.