Crossroads Wesleyan Church

Shame is a confusing feeling It can be debilitating and crippling It can also lead us to repentance But first, what is shame? 3 main elements: emotional judgement self-depreciation In a nutshell, shame is exposure We see shame displayed in Lamentations Lamentations 1:8 (ESV) Jerusalem sinned grievously;…

Weariness plagues us all This is why rest is one of the first questions in counseling What causes weariness? Most do not become weary of success Loss, betrayal, hardship, and sin Lamentations 1:1–5 (ESV) How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great…

Lamentations Background: written by Jeremiah Close the 587 BC It is the emotional reaction to the seige and fall of Jerusalem We learn 2 things in Lamentations: we can accept despair and sadness we can worship is despair and sadness We will cover 9 subjects in Lamentations: loneliness Depression Weariness…

Many do not understand God or themselves As a result we: think wrong act wrong respond wrong Jonah is an example of failing to understand both Jonah failed to fix his thinking Jonah 4:1–4 (ESV) But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord , is not…

The Journey so far: Jonah called Jonah runs Jonah is brought back Jonah receives the word of God again Jonah 3:1–3 (ESV) Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time , saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went…

Jonah shows us 3 phases of rebellion The hissy fit The sleeper The hopeless YHWH is now Jonah’s God Jonah 2:1–2 (ESV) Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the Lord , out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you…

Sin breeds chaos We are often confused within the chaos of our sin The sailors look to Jonah for answers Jonah 1:11 (ESV) Then they said to him, “ What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us? ” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. Jonah provides the answer Jonah 1:12 (ESV) He said…

God wants all people to be saved The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. We are called to warn the world of their impending doom We don’t get to decide who He saves Jonah is…

We have allowed comfort to over shadow sanctification If you have spent anytime reading the New Testament you know we have two natures: flesh Spirit We can only nurture one or the other each has an inverse impact on comfort and suffering Serving the flesh means immediate comfort and long term suffering…

The Average American Christian Has No Theology of Suffering Look at how we treat each other no unity no patience no empathy We cannot bear one another, how do we hope to bear suffering? We serve our whims and emotions more than we serve the Lord Christians Are to be Different Finally, all of you, have…

Key theme of the Bible: Order from Chaos Creation story was God making order from chaos Sin was reestablished chaos Until the return of Christ, order is maintained through: government family religion Submission to established order is key to Christian success While no earthly system is perfect, it is…

Jacob prepares to meet Esau And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel…

We are the elect Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Peter’s intro is a little confusing the elect the Dispersion The audience is easy: Northern Turkey Date is probably just before Nero’s persecution according…

Jesus is comforting His disciples before His death “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. Jesus is preparing the disciples for His death The next few days could destroy His closest followers But He is “leaving” soon as well They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed,…

The Israelites were obedient They began to build the temple God promised to provide Remember their original problem forgot their purpose forgot their true allegiance Being obedient to Darius and the Lord was practically the same both wanted the temple but only One was worthy of obedience Likewise, we…

Provision sneaks up on you We talked about obedience to the Lord recognizing that our worldly shortfalls usually have a spiritual source We also talked about reprioritizing your life in a biblical manner Primarily, placing the Lord and worship above everything Many of us know what we have to do But many…

Last week we left off with a cliff hanger The returned exiles could not make ends meet Haggai the prophet warned them that they have ignored the worship of the Lord Their lack of physical security was the result of spiritual deficiency The same can be said for me and you So what do we do about it? How…

History leading up to Haggai Northern Kingdom of Israel falls to Assyria in 722 B.C. Assyria then marched on Judah and Jerusalem Old Testament tells of a miraculous defeat of the Assyrians by God Nebuchadnezzar later conquers Jerusalem in 580 B.C. The Persians defeat Babylon in 539 B.C. Many Jews were…

The Church is called to caring for the poor, needy, and afflicted We have allowed pagans and degenerates to hijack social justice But the Church has always been meant to be the center of charity Justin Martyr (Justin the philosopher) gives us insight into the earliest churches He tells us Christians…

We left off with James speaking of the wisdom of God But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. James is now going to address the obstacle to James 3:17 Summed up by pride and selfishness We demonstrate our love…

Works and the Tongue James jumps from faith and works to the danger of the tongue In between he warns against wanting to be teachers (pastors) May seem disconnected on the surface, but these passages are related James is teaching how to strengthen faith while also identifying true faith Be Careful Little…

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. Jesus begins an extended dialogue He and God are to be trusted equally In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And…

James is practical adviced Probably written around 40 AD -Before the Jerusalem Council -Probably about the same time as Paul began his ministry Written by Jesus’ brother James -leader of the Jerusalem Church -Even the Apostles seem to answer to him in some regards The Jerusalem Church is in an odd spot…

For the Christian, Easter is Not Meant to be a Once a Year Affair Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? Have we abandoned a proper view of the Ressurection? Here is what I see But Peter teaches us the Ressurection has a deep and continual impact on our lives Blessed be the God and Father of…

We are here at sunrise like the women Our lives may be upside down We may be uncertain about our future Even if not, we got up early and made our way to the place where Jesus is supposed to be The Women Go to the Tomb Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene…

The Triumphal Entry A Roman tradition for a victorious General or Emperor Would start amongst the Praetorians (royal soldiers) Proceed through the streets of Rome Displaying captives and looted treasure The crowds would cheer sometimes shouting “σωτήρ” or savior The procession would end at the temple…

The Disciples Make Arrangements Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your…

Where are we so far? Jesus has fulfilled the prophecy of the Messiah He has gained a group of loyal followers Disciples Women He has also experienced a few instances of gaining and losing large amounts of followers He is also hunted by the religious leaders they want Jesus dead they are jealous of His…

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. Jesus returns to the region of Jerusalem Ch 11 leaves off with Jesus in…

What was Jesus’ Message Jesus talked about love Jesus talked about peace Jesus talked about charity All these things are important But His message had a larger impact and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Jesus introduced the Kingdom…

Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, and when all…

Background Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. Jesus was across the Jordan Mary and Martha are mentioned as if the reader would be familiar…

Introduction We have Advent to discuss the the amazing events leading up to and surrounding the birth of Jesus. But what happened after the birth of Christ? Jesus as child Jesus in Egypt Matthew 2:13-15 “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,…

Day 2: What is Evangelism Evangelism is Sharing The gospel message as revealed by God For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Though…

Genesis 28:1-2 genesis28:1-2 “Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.” Jacob…

Israel in waiting God had been “quiet” No prophet for centuries John the Baptist becomes a major figure with a message of repentance There may have been a few others: Simeon and Anna Luke 2:25–27 (ESV) Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting…