The Crossing Church Sermons

Paul continues his prayer asking for us to be established in love, to comprehend the incomprehensible measureless love of God and for this to fill us with God's presence as we savor and enjoy Him and His love.

Paul returns to his prayer and falls on his knees in humble dependence for God to deepen His communion with His people by asking the Spirit to help them see that Jesus has come to dwell forever with them. 

Paul again refers to our union with Christ that gives us boldness and confidence as we live in the presence of God which also helps us have courage as we endure suffering. 

In Ephesians 3:8-11 we see the boundless riches of Christ and His beautiful church in how He is bringing in Gentiles to be a part of His revealed mystery. 

Paul saw the disappointing circumstances of imprisonment in light of God's sovereign goodness, for the good of others and His global mission to bring Gentiles into the church.

The 3rd metaphor for the church at the end of Ephesians 2 is that God has made us a living holy temple where God's presence dwells. This temple is built on the cornerstone that is Jesus Christ and those who have declared His gospel. 

Paul ends Chapter 2 of Ephesians with giving us 3 powerful metaphors to help us understand who we are as a church. Verse 19 reveals 2 of those images - we are citizens of the same kingdom and members of the same family. 

Through His work on the cross, Jesus provides the foundation for peace between all believers and the realization of peace between God and sinful humanity. Jesus proclaimed and proclaims this peace as well as provides access for us to God. 

In a shocking creation, Jesus takes Jews and Gentiles and makes something new - the Church. By His sacrifice, He accomplishes the impossible. 

After exploring the depths of the glory of our individual reconciliation with God in the first 10 verses of Ephesians 2, Paul now digs into the corporate reconciliation between Jew and Gentile and how they both needed to be brought near to God by the blood of Jesus. 

God has accomplished His good work in us so much that we, as part of the new creation, are a work of His that can display God's grace as we do His good works. 

How do we move from those who are spiritually dead, more allegient to Satan than God, under God's wrath to made alive by Christ, seated and raised with Christ? We are shown grace that leads to faith in Christ. This is all a gift of God for which we can worship and not boast.

We are not only made alive by Christ, we are also raised and seated with Christ so that God can display His grace and kindess through our salvation.

Before and without Christ, our natural spiritual human condition is bleak. Spiritually dead. More aligned with the kingdom of Satan than God. Humanity's greatest problem is this spiritual separation from God and thankfully God also provides His greatest remedy. 

On this Resurrection Sunday see the reality of God's Power as seen in Jesus' resurrection that is now in us because of our union with Christ. This is power enough to raise the dead, power that Jesus exerts as He rules over every earthly and spiritual ruler and it's a power that Jesus exerts FOR the church. So that we, His body, would accomplish our mission - to fill the earth with the fullness of Christ. 

As we celebrate Palm Sunday and enter Holy Week, we celebrate the coming Redeemer who has come to pay the price to make us His own through His blood and also provide forgiveness of sin all in accordance with God's rich and lavish grace. 

God's work of salvation in us is real as seen in faith in Jesus and love for all the Saints. But we can pray for a growing grasp of who we are that leads to a deeper intimacy and enjoyment of God.

When we hear the gospel and believe, the Spirit seals us as God's and becomes in the reality of our current and future redemption. God is to be praised and glorified in how He does this in us. 

God has created and executed a perfect plan that factored in everything necessary to make us His own possession, his children, through the work of Christ as we put our hope in Christ that we might live to praise His glory and grace!

In Ephesians 1:9-10 we see another amazing aspect of Paul's opening doxology - in His perfect timing Christ displayed a new reality, a mystery, the church. Made up of Jews and Gentiles. We are brought in, in Him, and are sent out to grow the family. This is part of God bringing all things together in Him - in Christ. 

Because of our bondage to sin, Satan and death we need to be redeemed. Because of our inherent sin nature that leads to our sinfulness, we need to be forgiven. What has Christ done to make all of that possible and our new reality? 

God has chosen His people before the foundation of the world, adopted them into His family, and lavished His grace on them in love, according to His will and good pleasure for the praise of His name. Let your mind be blown and your heart rejoice!

Learning to Lament, Rejoice, and be Thankful during an Icepocalypse or other trying circumstances of life. 

God has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in and through Christ Jesus. Our response is to bless and praise Him.

Paul greets the church in Ephesus with his standard greeting of Grace and Peace but in that we find the depths and beauty of a gospel that comes to us from God and goes with us for life and joy.

We begin our year long plus journey through one of Paul's two most significant letters - to the faithful saints in Christ Jesus in Ephesus. 

Join us as we walk through Philippians 2:5-11 and see how Jesus in His flesh humbled himself in order to be exalted above all.

Join us as we walk through John 1:1-3, 14 and see how Christmas celebrates the eternal creative Word becoming flesh in order to save us from our sins.

During Christmas we celebrate the appearance of God's grace in the flesh in Jesus and the work of His gospel, and how that grace continues to instruct us as we wait for His grace to appear again when Jesus returns to establish the Eternal state. 

One of the most controversial issues facing the church today is the question - who can lead the local church in the role of elder or pastor? The evidence of Scripture going back to creation and the New Testament, church history and the relative recent explosion of egalitarianism helps us be a church that is joyfully and contentedly embrace a position that is complementarian. While also helping all of our men and women serve in all the ways God allows in the local church and kingdom of God. 

In the New Testament Local church God ordained that elders (plural) would be appointed to help lead God's people. Biblically qualified men who would lead as servants of Jesus and His people for the spread of the gospel and the glory of God. 

From the story of Moses leading the Israelites from Egypt, we see a picture of the weight of solo leadership and how God provides a better way forward - shared leadership. 

Joining God's people who for thousands of years have followed a weekly rhythm of gathering together to worship, we do the same in order to encourage one another, spur each other on to love and good works, and reach our community with the gospel.  

Through Jesus we become new creations in Christ that can be described in part as: being adopted into the Family of God as dearly loved sons and daughters, becoming servants of King Jesus because He came to serve us and give His life as a ransom for us, and being those sent by the Father and Son with the message of the gospel of Jesus. We are a family or servant hearted sent ones. As a church, we live out those identities together as we make disciples.

Making Disciples happens in communities where we can be known fully, shaped by one another, and sent to go and make more disciples of Jesus.

How do we make Disciples of Jesus? We have to be a people who genuinely and continually believe the gospel and share that with others. We have to see all relationships through the lens of the gospel. And we have to personally experience gospel transformation.

As we seek to make disciples of Jesus everywhere, what are we actually trying to make? What is a disciple of Jesus? What are we aiming for?

As we obey Jesus and seek to make disciples everywhere, how is disciple making a part of this big story God is writing for His people and all peoples?

The early church and all churches are devoted to living out the reality of life in Christ. Seen in his demonstration of love as shown through His sacrificial substitutionary death for us on the cross as pictured each week in communion - the breaking of bread.

The early church and all churches are devoted to the fellowship of the body of Christ. A genuine sharing of life together. How can we practically experience that for us today?

The early church and all churches are a people of the Word. How do we live out a devotion to God's Word in the life of our church today?

The early church was marked by being devoted to prayer. God's people have always connected to Him through prayer and it marks all churches in all seasons of their life.

Jesus came to give us life with Him, a life of abiding and enjoying Him. This is always true for all believers at all times.

God reveals Himself to us as a Father. How does this affect how we relate to Him and how we function as fathers.

On Pentecost Sunday, we look at the coming of the Spirit of God to indwell His people as Jesus promised and in preparation for a gathering of God's people from all people, language, tribes and tongues.

After Jesus ascends, his followers gather and wait for the Spirit to come while praying and selecting a replacement for Judas.

Jesus spends time with his disciples before his ascension preparing them for what would be next and promising His return.

In another post-resurrection encounter, Jesus kindly confronts Peter after his denial and graciously restores him back to leadership in the early church.