Crossing Community Church

How much does God care for us? How close are we to Him? Bette Jo uses 1 Samuel 25 and the example of Abigail to illustrate the great love God has for His own. "You are safe in the care of the Lord your God, just as though you were safe inside his purse!"

1 Corinthians 18-2:5 is a fascinating passage about the power of the Gospel. And in those few verses Paul says something about his own presentation of the Gospel -- that he presented it "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." What an astonishing statement for the Apostle Paul to make! When we consider this passage as a whole, we must reconsider all the slick and clever ways we try to share the Gospel and realize that perhaps all our clumsy ways of sharing Christ is the EXACT way God wants us to do it! In our fear and trembling, God is strong and the message is proclaimed!

This Sunday we were priviledged to have Rich Timmons share with us about the mandate and the ease of sharing Christ with others. Through the story of his own testimony, the instruction of the Word and the encouragement of his own example as well as many others, Rich sought to motivate us to be active in sharing the Gospel with others.

Pastor Tim continued our study of James 2. This week we explored the relationship between works and faith. Pastor Tim closed our time together by using the examples of Abraham and Rahab as examples of how our faith is demonstrated by our works. How Abraham's faith compelled him to give up what was most important to him and how Rahab's faith caused her to risk her life. 

Our passage this week brings us to one of the more controversial NT passages. Is James teaching that works are necessary to be saved? Is he teaching that works are necessary to stay saved? People have interpreted this passage in a variety of ways. Sometimes people will conclude that works confirm our salvation, a conclusion that can leave some Christians doubting their salvation. This week, Pastor Tim speaks on why we can be sure of our salvation apart from our works. 

This week we had the opportunity to hear Lenny Pickar share his salvation story and talk about how he has growth in Christ. It was really encouraging to hear him speak about how "I never experienced any miracles or stuff like that. It's just always been Jesus in my life." Enjoy Lenny's story and share it with someone that might need to hear it!

James opens chapter two by immediately confronting those who would play favorites in the church -- honoring some over others. The illustration he used was of favoring the rich over the poor. But playing favorites goes further, much deeper than that. Don't you find that you favor those who look like you, think like you, act like you, agree with you -- and the list goes on and on. But the heart of the matter is this, we usually favor those that we feel we will gain something from. Ask God to help you search your heart and reveal this to you as He needs to!

Isn't it hard to realize that we are too often a 'hearer' more than we are a 'doer'? The way to know if we are doing God's Word is to spend time "looking intently into the perfect Law" and allowing it to reveal those deeply hidden prejudices and hatreds that we find it hard to realize or to wrestle with and overcome. God's Word is that mirror of our heart that we all need to see how sinful we are -- but also to see how graceful Jesus is!

This week we were honored to have Mitch Forman with us in our service. Mitch serves with Chosen People Ministries. His teaching was more than great insights into John 3. It was great insights on having a discussion with your Jewish friends about spiritual issues. 

Everyone is tempted. But not everyone understands where temptation comes from and how it effects the life of a Christian. James points the blame for temptation at our hearts, at our desires that hook our hearts then drag us away into sin. James states that God does not tempt, instead he is the Father of Lights who gives perfect gifts. He gives the perfect gift in his son Jesus. And we are the showcase, the first fruits, of all the glorious attributes of Jesus!

This week, in our testimony series, Bruce Gurney shared his story. As you listen to his story you'll hear three things that Bruce has tried to pursue in his life: eager to serve, available to serve and obedient. Bruce honestly shares how God has moved in his life in many different seasons of ministry. And in each season he had a desire to apply his faith in any situation he was in. Enjoy Bruce's story!

In our passage today James refers to different stations in life to help his readers grasp that God has a perspective that they need to understand and embrace. He addresses the poor man and the rich man, helping them to see and understand that while in this world their lives are very different but before the Cross they are on equal footing. Jesus sees them the same way -- as men who have been cleansed by the blood of Christ, who have equal blessings in Him. These blessings help us not to see the situation as it is, but as God sees it!

As we explore James 1:5-8 we learn a lot about the character and nature of God -- that he is generous, to all, without judgement and the only way to interact with him is by unswerving faith. All of that is demonstrated as he offers wisdom to his children. 

As we begin a study of the book of James, we immediately are challenged in the first four verses, "Consider it all joy, my brothers, when we encounter various trials." These words immediately challenges us to reflect on what is important to us and what is the purpose of trials. What we learn is that when we oppose the trials in our life, we are actually opposing spiritual growth in our life!

It was great to have Greg Shipley in the pulpit this Sunday. He chose to address ten great reminders about life with God. Some of them were, "All things work together for good—but maybe not for your good." "Nothing you do makes a difference—and everything you do makes a difference." "Things turn out the way God wants them—not the way you want them" There were several others and all of them are worth considering in your walk with the Lord!

The average American lives 78 years. And those years pass by in a hurry. This week Pastor Tim spoke addressed that as he looked at how quickly life passes by and the urgency that should create in our lives. He used the short life of the early American missionary, David Brainerd, to illustrate the huge impact one can have when they understand the brevity, urgency and tyranny of time. Brainerd was only a Christian for eight years and only in ministry for four years yet his life has been an example and inspiration to many of the giants of our faith. 

Jonah is one of those Old Testament minor prophets that many don't think has much to offer the modern day reader of today. But it does! Matter of fact it has much to say to us today. This week Pastor Tim uses the book of Jonah to challenge us about our personal walk with Christ. How committed are we really to being true disciples of Jesus? Do we seek his purpose and plan for our life before we seek our comfort? Our does our comfort come first?(This week our sermon follows the testimony of one of our church family members. So you'll hear that being references as you begin listening.)

Crossing has supported the ministry of Joe & Laurie Darrow in the Kensington section of Philadelphia for nearly 30 years. So it's always great to have Joe with us teaching us from the Word on a Sunday morning. This week he taught from Ephesians 1:1-14. He used the story of his own salvation as well as stories from their ministry in Philadelphia to help us better understand the amazing, mind-boggling scope of God's grace and mercy. God's grace extends to us not because we are special or talented or better but because of God's love for us and his forgiveness does not mean that he forgets our sin. It means he chooses not to remember it. Wonderful news!

The reign of King Saul was marked with poor decisions that he made based on fear. Each time fear compelled him to act, his actions were in disobedience to God. Isn't that how it works out for you and I as well? So how does God instruct us to deal with our fear? Time adn time again, God says the same three words, "I am with you." God never promises to remove us from danger. He never promises to give us a solution. But He always promises to be with us in every circumstance we encounter in life. The antidote for fear is God Himself!

This week Joan Harris shared how prayer has made a remarkable difference in her life. She was raised in a Christian home and believed in Christ at the age of 14. Her story emphasizes the role prayer has played in her life and how she has come to understand how God works through prayer -- although not as she always expected. She has seen how God used hard thing to teach her the truth of Romans 8:28 and how when prayer was answered with "No" that wasn't a bad thing because God is always at work -- even when we can't see it.