Cross Church Winnipeg Sermon Podcast

The second Christmas gift is joy. Jesus gives us a reason to rejoice and be glad, for He is the one who takes away our sins and gives us His spirit to live in us. The shepherds got a taste of what was to come: That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:8-11)

Our first Christmas gift is hope. Hopelessness is a deadly thing. People die because of a lack of hope. God gives us hope through Christ. Listen to this: An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. (Matthew 1:18-24) Jesus gives us the hope of sins forgiven and eternal life for all who open the gift. When we say “for all who open the gift” we mean there’s hope for all who put their faith in Christ!

One of the most sobering passages of scripture in the Bible is also a warning: “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” Jesus does not go easy on His disciples (and by the way, a disciple is […]

Our treasures are out of this world, at least they should be. Jesus said what sounds like crazy stuff, especially to us rich North Americans! “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes.” Once again, the thought that comes to mind is, “this is impossible!” Once again, you would be right in thinking this, but remember what Jesus says, “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” If you are a real Christian, the question is this, “What are you pursuing?” Remember that Jesus also told us that we cannot love God and money. You will hate one and love the other. By this standard who or what do you really love?

Jesus makes an amazing promise to every Christian, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and God will give you everything you need.” To help us understand what this means, He tells the story of a rich man who is pursuing the acquisition of lots of money. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” But God said to him, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?” Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God. To merely say, “Don’t worry!” is not enough to make us stop focusing on our provisional needs—what we will eat and drink and wear. A real Christian makes the focus of his life, Jesus, not money.

It seems like an impossible command, but Jesus is adamant, “I tell you not to worry about everyday life.” Who can possibly live like this? The answer is every true believer. Prior to telling his disciples not to worry, He points out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Hypocrisy is pretending to be something you are not. It’s acting. Real Christians do not act. True Christians are empowered by the Holy Spirit to trust and obey the Master, our Lord Jesus Christ. If we worry, we are not trusting God. The Christian life is impossible to live under our own power. The Good News is that we have to Holy Spirit to teach us and to empower us to live worry-free. Jesus is clear, with mere humans this way of life is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

The greatest thing that God has done for us is give us His Son, Jesus, and giving thanks for Christ has been enshrined in Christian worship from day one in the form of Communion. There are a number of titles used to describe this sacrament such as The Lord’s Supper, the Breaking of Bread, Communion and Eucharist. Eucharist comes from the Greek and literally means “thank you.” Giving thanks is what this sacrament is about. Jesus Himself instituted this sacrament along with one other, namely, baptism. Notice that thanksgiving and rejoicing always accompany these Christ practices? Why? Because of the new life and the communion that is established been God the Father and us. Jesus makes this possible. Through Christ we come into communion—or fellowship—with God and we become part of His family. This family is sacred. It is called the Church and its called the Body of Christ. We are called to be grateful for Jesus work on the Cross and we are called to be grateful for our Church family.

Last minute advice is usually brief, authoritative and to the point. How can I live as an authentic Christian? Assuming his audience is actually Born Again with the Spirit of God living in them, the Apostle Paul gives some excellent last minute advice in his letter to the Greek Christians who live in the city of Thessaloniki. He is specifically addressing their personal relationship with God and how to maintain a rich, authentic Christian life. This advice addresses what is so often wrong about our Christian witness, namely, unchristian attitudes, speech and behaviours. Paul tells Believers everywhere: 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. (1Thess. 5:16-19)

There is so much to be grateful for, where do we even begin? Perhaps the thing that should cause us the greatest joy and gratitude is God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises. If you’ve read the scripture you know that it is full of God’s marvellous promises. One of the glorious things about our God is that he never breaks his promises. Joshua said, “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!” (Josh 23:14). This is a time to pause and consider God’s faithfulness to you. If He did not keep His promises we would all be lost and we would have no peace or confidence to face each day. Obedience to God and gratitude are the marks of true worship.

Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father (Mt. 5:16). This is what we do as Christians, by the way that we live we cause people to praise our Father in Heaven. Paul takes up a collection of money for Believers in need and he says that two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God (2 Cor 9:12). Giving is a way for us to express gratitude to the Lord for His great provision for us. It is the one who does not trust God who has a poverty mentality and is unwilling to share. God help us to be grateful for His great provision by sharing with others.

The story of Cornelius is that he shouldn’t have been saved, or at least that’s what Peter thought. Cornelius and his family and his servants were not Jews. They were Gentiles. They were pagans. Heathens. Cornelius was a Roman soldier occupying the Promised Land! Surely God would not accept this foreigner who represented such evil in the land of Israel. These people were not the religious people that Peter was used to. In Peter’s mind they were all spiritually “unclean” and unfit to receive God. But God had other plan that shook Peter to the very core of his being. Not only did God want to accept Cornelius into His family, God actually foretold the salvation of the Gentiles (non-Jews) through Isaiah. “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” –Isaiah 49:6. This story tells us of the great lengths that God will go to for the salvation of people from every nation.

Paul’s story is truly one of the most dramatic in Church history! One day he is murdering Christians and then the next day he is preaching so as to win people for Jesus! No wonder no one believed him at first. On his way to wreak havoc in Damascus among the Christians, Paul—or Saul, as he was called then—was blinded by a light from heaven. From the light Jesus asked Paul why he was persecuting Him. Long story short, Paul was temporarily blinded until someone prayed for him, and he put his faith in Jesus and then immediately became a preacher for Jesus. This was a conversion that shook the Jewish world. The great and zealous Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, was now Paul the preacher with no known address. The world was his parish and his job was planting churches and writing books that would become part of our Bible today! Mind-blowing!

Two thousand years before Star Trek even thought of the idea of teleporting people, the Holy Spirit was already doing that. Philip had been led by the Holy Spirit to be in the right place at the right time to intercept the truth-hungry Ethiopian official who was on his way home from worship in Jerusalem. Philip didn’t know the details of the mission; he just knew that he had to be on the desert road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. What a conversion story this is! It became obvious to Philip as he overheard the Ethiopian Eunuch reading Isaiah 53. He saw this as his opportunity. He asked the man if he understood what he was reading and the rest is history. Isaiah 53 is the Gospel of the Old Testament and once he understood it, he believed and was baptized. Philip was immediately transported to Azotus. Who says witnessing isn’t fun?!

Miraculous conversion stories followed the early church. Too often we focus on the miracles of tongues, healings, deliverance from jail, etc., but we miss the most important miracle of all, namely, the salvation of lost people. The Gospel was and still is central to the Christian faith. In this series we will be exploring the stories of people who were miraculously saved against all odds. We want everyone to think of his or her own conversion story and consider sharing it (watch for details). We want to make sure that you are ready to go to heaven, and by God’s grace, that you will bring someone with you. Imagine the stories we’ll hear in heaven. Not everyone who is baptized and part of the church and is witness to miracles is converted. Simon’s story is shocking. He seems to be converted, but he’s not. At first, we read that Simon believed and was baptized, but then we see an ugly side of him, a greedy, power-hungry side. The Apostle Peter declares that his heart is not right with God, that he is evil; th

God’s people are His beloved. Jesus reveals to us what is subtly revealed in the Old Testament, that is, that our God is a loving Father. First He wants us to know how precious we are to Him. We are His children! He is training us and teaching us what it means to be His child. Perhaps the most stunning aspect of this Psalm is the reminder that not one of us is an accident. Every one of us is on this earth according to His sovereign plan and each of us bears His image. Every one of us has a job to do, but as His beloved, we must first be in a right relationship with our Father in Heaven.

David has committed adultery with the wife of one of his faithful soldiers. He has become so cold spiritually that he is calloused by his sin. It is the prophet Nathan who comes to David to reveal his sin. David teaches us how to repent. He does not protest his innocence or get angry with Nathan. Instead, he confesses his sin in this Psalm, taking full responsibility for his sin. Repentance is a lifestyle, not a one-time event. David should have walked closely with the Lord, obeying Him, doing His will and repenting over the “small stuff” so that his sin never fell to such extreme depths of depravity.

Sin. It's a big word and it immediately makes us uncomfortable. It condemns us. It makes us feel guilt and shame. For the one who actually cares about pleasing God, sin is the enemy of our peaceful state of mind. Sin depresses us. Sin sucks the oxygen out of the room, leaving us hopeless and even lifeless. Those who are calloused to their sinfulness are hardened, cynical and angry people who lack a conscience. But those who have known the mercy and friendship of God are sensitive to their spiritual condition. They want God’s forgiveness and grace to live sin-free. Says David, I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain. But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.

Sometimes life seems just so unfair. We are tempted to think that honesty doesn’t pay. David has his moments when he sincerely wonders if living according to God’s laws is ultimately beneficial. David is speaking to those of us who perhaps doubt God and His justice and sovereignty. This Psalm reminds us to keep our […]

Anyone who has ever faced a crisis or great danger knows the great sense of relief when someone steps in to help. This is exactly what David is experiencing in His life. David is running for his life from King Saul who wants to kill David, so David goes over to enemy territory to hide. Unfortunately someone recognizes him and reports him to the philistine king Abimelech—also called Achish. Abimelech has David in his hands, but God inspires David to act insane, and then what happens is miraculous. Abimelech lets David go. God is merciful and His mercy is made manifest in so many different ways! You can count on the mercy of God.

Joy is fruit of the Spirit. There can be no joy until God’s Spirit fills us to overflowing. But how does this happen? When we walk with Him in holiness and full surrender. Jesus puts it like this: “deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Me.” If your life lacks joy, you need to run to the source of your joy and see what’s wrong. What is missing? Could it be that you are living the selfish life? Could it be that you are carrying a burden of sin and guilt? The greatest joy in this life comes from the forgiveness of God.