Christ 2r Culture Podcast

Today we usually hear stories of bad fathers. We hear stories of fathers neglecting their children and using their children for their own selfish gain. As we continue our study in the Gospel of Mark, we meet a great father. We meet a dad who tirelessly gave of himself to caring for his sick son, his only child. This dad frequently risked his life to save his son's life. As part of this father's tireless commitment to care for his sick boy, he tracked down Jesus' disciples and begging them to cure his son. Join us as we learn what the disciples did, and what we can easily do, that shuts down the strength of Jesus working in our lives.

Do you remember learning to swim? I learned to swim as a young child in a pool. The scary part of the pool was the deep end where I couldn't touch bottom. Taking a swim in the deep end was petrifying. The only way I would swim in the deep end was if an adult was with me. They could help me. If an adult was with me, I knew it would be ok. In a similar way, Jesus just told the crowds what it would take to be his disciple. Everyone who is a disciple of Jesus needs to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. That is scary. Those who follow Jesus need to be willing to give up their life! That is scarier than swimming in the deep end of the pool! Wouldn't it be nice it there was a way Jesus could help them so they knew that even if they lost everything for Jesus, it would be ok? As we come to the transfiguration, that is exactly what Jesus does.

If someone was to ask you what they needed to do to become a Christian, what would you say? Across the country pastors are inviting people to become Christians, but how do we know they are giving the right invitation? In this message, we look at the original gospel invitation given us by Jesus. Surprisingly, most of today's gospel invitations do not look anything like the original one given us by Jesus.

In the 1300's, Italian poet wrote his famous work called The Divine Comedy. His poet described a trip to Paradise through Hell and Hades. He described hell as an inverted cone with nine levels of torment, the worst torments taking place on a frozen lake and administered by the devil himself. Is this an accurate description of Hell? How do we separate fantasy from reality? In this message, we explore Hell using only the Bible as our guide as we learn to love Jesus more as we get a better understanding of the eternity Jesus saved us from experiencing.

Most of us are saving for retirement. In this parable, Jesus teaches us a better way to plan and save for the future. This short first-person sermon was delivered at the CrossWinds Church picnic.

In 2004, the first Escape Room opened in Boston. Since then, they have spread like wild fire across the country and around the globe. Escape room come in themes. Some have a space theme. Others have a prison theme while others have a pirate theme. The goal of the escape room is to work with your friends to solve puzzles and crack codes and escape the room. While escape rooms are a recent cultural crazy, they have been popular for years in the church. There is one people have tired to escape from for years, that is hell. In this message, we evaluate the different ways people have tried to escape an eternity in the Lake of Fire to see if they work.

President Trumps Presidential campaign and the Russians. They issued 2,800 subpoenas, 500 search warrants, and interview over 500 witnesses while having an unlimited budget and resources. Putting aside your personal conclusions on the outcome of the investigation, imagine what it would be like if you were a subject in the investigation and had everything in your life exposed? While we may not be the focus of Robert Mueller's investigation, one day people will be investigated and exposed to a much great degree by Christ. Join us as we learn about Christ's final judgment and how to prepare for that great day.

The idea of God sending our good, kind, loving people to hell for eternity simply because they haven't trusted in Jesus feels repulsive. Hell for everyone who doesn't turn to Christ is considered the most difficult part of the Christian faith for people to understand. How can God be so ruthless? In this message, we discover why people we consider good end up in hell.

"I just don't believe the Bible any more." In front of me was a student that used to attend our youth group. When he went to Christian college, his professors spent time most of their time showing him all the places they felt the Bible couldn't be trusted, and gave him little evidence for why the Bible is right and can be trusted. In this message, we look at what the Bible says about itself. We learn why we can trust the Bible and make it the foundation for truth in our life.

Rejection of Jesus comes in many forms. There is outright rejection that we can see in the Pharisees. They were open enemies of Jesus. Rejection of Jesus also comes in subtler forms. At this point in the gospel of Mark, the disciples were teetering on the edge of practical unbelief in Jesus not because they openly rejected him but because they were too familiar with him. Join us as we learn the danger of practical unbelief in the lives of people like you and me.

Life is hard. It is filled with pain. When we face hard times, knowing someone genuinely cares and will go out of their way to help is extremely important. As we continue our study in the Gospel of Mark, we see that Jesus is full of compassion toward people who suffer, like you and me.

One of the most frustrating problems with employees is when they don't complete a job. It is also frustrating when an employee completes a job but does not accomplish good work. In this message, we examine the work ethic of Jesus' miracles. We will learn he was famous for doing all things well, even his miracles.

When we see people in the news that are far from God, it is easy to think they are too far for God to reach. Maybe it is their background they come from or the past life they lived that causes us to write them off and see that as too far from God's amazing grace. As we continue our way in Mark, we meet a woman who looks like she is too far from God because of her background. She ends up being the first one in the gospel to recognize Jesus for who he is and because of her great faith, Jesus casts a demon out of her daughter. What matters is not the background we come from but that they humbly seek God's mercy through Jesus, like this woman.

How often do you allow your mind to think about something that is sinful but feel there is nothing wrong by entertaining yourself with that sin because you haven't actually committed the act? As long as there is a separation between what we think and do, we feel we are ok. After all, we let ourselves be entertained on television and in the movies by watching murder and adultery. If we can watch it on the screen, what is wrong with thinking about it in our minds? Jesus feels very differently on this subject. The separation between our physical and mental world is not that distant. How can we stop thinking about sin? How can we have a heart that loves God and longs to do what is right? Join us as we learn why the mind matters and how God changes our heart.

Fiddler on the Roof is one of the best-loved musicals of all time. It also features some of the best-loved songs. The opening song of the musical is called "Tradition", and the family members one by one sing out the role they play in the traditional Jewish family, but on every side tradition is being threatened. While Fiddler on the Roof is fiction, the power of tradition is not. Jesus lived at a time when tradition was valued and it took on authority on par with the Bible. Today, we also have traditions that we treat with great importance. Join us as we learn about our traditions and how they can lead us away from following Jesus.

Many who live on the coast enjoy surfing the waves. Many of us forget Jesus was also a surfer, but he didn't need a board! As we continue our study in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus reveals more of his glory and love for the apostles as he comes to their rescue walking on top of the waves in a storm.

Beside the resurrection, there is only one miracle recorded in all four gospels. That is the feeding of the five thousand. It was so momentous, that afterwards the people wanted to make him king. Join us as we learn how God desires to do some of his finest works through us, not apart from us.

In the Gospel of Mark, there is only one narrative that is not about Jesus. It is the story of the death of John the Baptist. As Jesus told us there was no prophet greater than John. The story of his death is a vivid illustration of the kind of suffering all faithful disciples will face. It is also an amazing case study on the consequences of sexual sin.

Half-way through Jesus' three years of ministry, he send out his apostles on a short-term mission trip as part of their training. The sending out of Jesus' apostles is filled with instructions describing what faithful ministry would look like for them, and what it still looks like today.

In earlier passaged of the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus was in Capernaum, he was wildly popular. Only twenty miles away, when Jesus comes to his home town, he is rejected and ridiculed. In this study we learn what to expect from people hardened in unbelief against Christ and what are the consequences of living in unbelief in our life.