We have heard a lot of talk recently about how the federal government can force you to buy a product that maybe you don’t want to buy, and they do that by extracting money from you if you don’t comply. Is it a “mandate”? Is it a “penalty”? Is it a “fine”? No, the Supreme Court ruled, it’s a “tax.” Well, it’s still compulsion and coercion and force. That’s how government operates. But the church operates differently. We do not compel, force, or coerce giving a certain amount of our money to the church. It’s not a mandate, a penalty, a fine, or a tax. It’s a gift. Yes, you read it right. The opportunity to give and the inclination to do so are God’s gifts. Many tend to think that calls for service or money are troublesome obligations to be gotten out of as easily as possible, but they are not just financial issues; they’re spiritual issues too. This week Pastor will lead us through a passage of Scripture that teaches us what should drive our giving. He will point us to the only thing that can change our hearts—the Gospel. The more we understand the Gospel, the better we can give. Then we, too, can “excel in this grace also.” Join us as we allow the glories of what Christ has done for us move us on to compassion and generosity through Crosspointe Church.

The Bible has about 500 verses on prayer and over 2000 verses on money and income. While both prayer and finances are important to God, money probably gets more verses because we have more trouble with it—particularly giving it away. O.S. Hawkins said, “The principle hindrance to the advancement of the kingdom of God is greed. It is the chief obstacle to heaven sent revival. It seems that when the back of greed is broken, the human spirit soars into regions of unselfishness. I believe that it is safe to say there can be no continuous revival without ‘hilarious’ giving. And I fear no contradiction: where there is ‘hilarious’ giving there will soon be revival. “ The sad reality is that there are many in our churches that will never be convinced of their need to give to God’s work. The truth is that the foundation and essence of the Christian life is to follow Jesus with all that we are and hold nothing back. To be a disciple means that my financial life will be inseparably connected to my worship. To be a lover of God is to be a giver; to be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the very essence of our generous God. In other words, when we get saved our wallets must be converted as well!! This month our goal is that every person that calls Crosspointe his home would learn to give. We want everyone to know the spiritual discipline of giving and that acknowledging God with the first and the best brings His blessing. We are serious about our vision, the great commission, and seeing people grow in their faith. So this week, Pastor will share the whys and hows behind giving from the giver’s perspective and encourage us to live life with an open hand, be a consistent giver, bring our gifts to the local church, and watch what God does over the long haul.

What would happen to a community if there were no churches? Sure, the local governments have their reasons: from the “not in my back yard” complaints of non-believing neighbors to the loss of real estate tax revenue due to the church’s non-profit status. But what of caring for the poor; counseling broken marriages, suicide prevention, and giving of hope, purpose and direction to people of the community. Churches address these kinds of issues in ways government cannot. Let’s bring it down even more. What’s so important about this local church—here at Crosspointe? At a time when there’s more Bible teaching than you could ever consume available through radio, television, and the Internet, why should it matter where and how you’re taking in God’s truth? Why can’t your IPod be your worship leader, your tablet be your pastor, and your friends your fellowship and connection? The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the importance of local assemblies. In fact, it was the pattern of Paul’s ministry to establish local congregations in the cities where he preached the gospel and scripture commands every believer to be a part of such a local body and reveals why it is necessary (Hebrews 10:24-25). Over the next few weeks, Pastor will take a closer look at some of the fundamental teachings for the church and how they have a direct impact on spiritual growth and how they stimulate fellow believers “to love and good deeds.” Be in your seat to learn how God just might use you in the tapestry of community He is weaving here at Crosspointe!

According to the Scripture Pastor will be teaching this week, it is the task of the Church to carry out the Great Commission. We do this by proclaiming the good news of “reconciliation” and trusting God to use it in His own time and in His own way. According to J.I. Packer, “It is a work of communication in which Christians make themselves mouthpieces for God’s message of mercy to sinners.” We are tools in the Master’s hands. He could have used donkeys or stones to preach the gospel if He so chose (which He has). But in His infinite wisdom, He chose us! Over the next year, how is Crosspointe going to participate in this ministry? Every church hopes for a year of growth: numerically, financially, and in maturity; a year in which more men and women will hear and respond to call of God on their lives; a year where the church is constantly being poured out and thus constantly being re-filled. We all want Crosspointe to be a church that is alive and exporting life, sharing the fire of His love. But the truth is, encouraging people to come to church must be preceded by disciples going out to engage the world with the love of Jesus Christ. Be in your place this week as we see what lies ahead in the coming year and how serving and engaging the community can be a ministry of reconciliation. With this in mind, it is sure to be a year full of promise and possibility because He is a great and gracious God!

Mickey Mantle was an incredible baseball player. He died of cancer at the age of 63. The former New York Yankees Center fielder and a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame was haunted by self-recrimination and said at a news conference that he had squandered a gifted life and warned admirers he was no role model. “God gave me the ability to play baseball. God gave me everything,” he said. “For the kids out here, don’t be like me.” All of us are a product, in part of those we imitate. God knows we are like this. We have a natural built in system that imitates. That’s how we learn to talk and do nearly everything we do. It’s not the only factor in our nature, but it is an important one. As Christians, we desperately need Godly examples to imitate. We need people who can show others what it means to live a Christian life. Here is where Christians often fall short. We don’t mind looking to someone more mature than us and following their example, but being willing to step up and “be the example” for others is more difficult. It requires humility, courage and boldness that makes us more like Christ than we feel comfortable with. This week Pastor will take us to a great example in Scripture, the apostle Paul. Although he had real struggles and real difficulties, he was able to say to others, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” Be in your seat this week to grow your faith and head toward being mature enough to help someone else as they follow Jesus.

Often the word prodigal is commonly mistaken for a synonym of wayward, and thus is almost always applied to the son in the story that we have been studying for the last couple of weeks. But the word, prodigal, actually means “one who spends or gives lavishly; limitlessly extravagant.” Sure it speaks of the younger son who demands his inheritance and runs off, completely wasting all of it on partying. He ends up hungry and degraded doing manual labor, feeding pigs. Finally, he decides to return home and ask his father if he can be a servant—a wonderful story of redemption and forgiveness. It is also the story of the kid who never left home. The one who has always done everything right. The kid who feels entitled. The kid who can’t stomach going to a party to celebrate the return of his screw-up kid brother. Typically we fall into one of these two categories: Either we feel that we’re not good enough for grace or that grace isn’t good enough for us. However, as we will see this week, The Prodigal Son story is more about a father’s love and cry for intimacy than it is about either son. This week we will take a look at the “limitless, extravagant” grace offered by the Father. We’ll learn that our relationship to the Father is not determined by our virtue or how much we do, but it is simply determined by the limitless, extravagant love of God. In the same way, the father ran down literal roads to greet his wayward boy, God runs down the hallways of time and eternity towards us--an eternal, forward motion compelled by love to meet us saying “all that is mine is yours”.

Last week we shared the parable of a young man who was restless and found life at home boring, so he demanded his inheritance and took off for the far country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living. It is easy enough to view ourselves as the prodigal son. We all know enough about loss, about mistakes made and roads chosen that led to ruin and heartache. We can identify with waking up one day and realizing we have wandered so far from who we are, who we hoped to be, and who we belong to, that it seems we are lost and unable to be found. But the parable is a story about two sons, the older just as lost as the younger. He is angry. He is the one who stayed at home, did all the chores, all the work in fields. He was there to watch his father’s heart break afresh each night, weary from watching down the road. His anger grows each time he comes in, tired, sweaty and sore-muscled from the fields, hoping for eyes that appreciate his homecoming. If anyone deserved a party, he did. After all, he was the good and responsible son. This week we will learn that the heart of the two brothers were the same. One- because he was so very bad, the other- because he was extremely good. How often have we fallen into the trap of focusing on how unfair our life is? We see others getting the breaks we feel we’ve earned? We question why the other person got that, and we didn’t? It’s a shocking message but one where we must confess that we are the older brother more often than we want to be. In this week's podcast, we will learn how Jesus offers hope…when our goodness fails.

At different times in our lives, most of have played each of the roles in the story that we will look at in the lessons of "All In the Family". Are we the prodigal, the father, the citizens of the country, the brother, the slave, or perhaps the pigs? This week we will take a look at the person of the Prodigal Son. We'll see ourselves as the person who has decided to do things on their own accord, went off in our own direction, wasted our time and resources only to realize the mistake we have made. We have presumed to know best when others have tried to tell us otherwise. Have we not all been guilty of thinking our elders were silly or 'not cool' when they warned us of a certain behavior, to only afterward see their wisdom? The question is will we repent and return or will we lay down in the mud of life and miss the feast that awaits? In this podcast, we will learn it's never too late to return, to repent, and to be received by the heavenly Father!

Two men were marooned on a tiny island. One man paced back and forth worried and dreadfully frightened, while the other man sat back, whistling and sunning himself. The first man said, “Aren’t you afraid we’re going to die here?” To which the second man replied, “Nope, I make $100,000 a month and I tithe faithfully to my church….My pastor will find me!” This humorous story identifies one of the key reasons why many pastors and churches avoid the financial teaching of scriptures. But as you examine Scripture, you find that stewardship is not fund-raising; it’s basic discipleship. Giving is actually a deep personal indicator of our spiritual maturity as well as our love for God. If we understand Jesus’ words that our “treasure” is an indication of our “heart,” how can churches and pastors avoid teaching on the important issue of giving? Jack Graham, who pastors Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, said “The purpose of giving is to teach us to put God first in our lives. God doesn’t need our money. Instead, He wants what our money represents: our priorities, passions, and purposes. “ This week, Pastor will challenge us with the message “When We Give”. We will explore how giving spreads the gospel message, meets people needs, assists people in growing spiritually and enables our church to shine as God’s lights in the world. Be in your seat ready to grow!

The life of King Saul could be summed up in a modern cliché: It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Saul started out very well only to see his subsequent disobedient actions derail what could have been a stellar, God-honoring rule over the nation of Israel. Through a series of very serious SPIRITUAL blunders, Saul’s spiral downward ended in his own destruction. While he would be allowed to serve out the rest of his life as king, he was plagued by an evil spirit that tormented him and brought about waves of madness. Saul’s final years were profoundly tragic as he endured periods of deep manic depression and ended in the taking of his own life. How is it possible that a man can be at the pinnacle at one moment and totally destroyed the next? Be in your seats this Sunday as a voice from the grave of Saul screams loudly warning us not to make the same mistakes he made -- LEST WE REPEAT THEM!