Cross Church Winnipeg Sermon Podcast

King David wanted to be the one who built the stone temple, but he Lord would not allow it because David had been a warrior. The task fell to his son Solomon. Instead, David accumulates the wealth, gold, silver and bronze and other precious metals and stones, and lumber. Perhaps his greatest contribution was this […]

This is the best-loved and best-known Psalm of all. It speaks of the loving guidance of the Good Shepherd, Jesus. Its a supernatural in that it brings peace, calm and great assurance to one who meditates on these verses. Why? Because we are reminded here that we are beloved sheep in the sovereign care of a loving Shepherd who never fails His sheep. He calls us to surrender control of our lives and allow Him to guide us in all that is best for us. It doesn’t get better than this.

The Psalms are often prophetic in nature. Some yell of Jesus the Messiah and his death. Psalm 22 tells us about the suffering of our Lord Jesus. There is a prophecy about the everlasting endurance of the throne of David, a throne that the Messiah will occupy. Did David see the suffering of the Messiah, Jesus Christ? We don’t know for sure, but we do know that Our Father in Heaven, who loved David, saw His Son Jesus occupying David’s throne after Jesus’ suffering on the cross.

The Psalms are often prophetic in nature. Some yell of Jesus the Messiah and his death. Psalm 22 tells us about the suffering of our Lord Jesus. There is a prophecy about the everlasting endurance of the throne of David, a throne that the Messiah will occupy. Did David see the suffering of the Messiah, Jesus Christ? We don’t know for sure, but we do know that Our Father in Heaven, who loved David, saw His Son Jesus occupying David’s throne after Jesus’ suffering on the cross.

The best thing parents can do for their kids is love each other whole-heartedly. This goes against the wisdom of our culture which says, give them a great education, get them into sports, make sure they can play an instrument, make sure they have lots of friends, and the list goes on. It’s amazing how […]

Fathers have a high calling to model and teach the heart of our Heavenly Father to their children. Fathers you are an example to your children and like it or not, your children will do what you do and say what you say. For some of you that is reassuring because you have a vibrant relationship with our Heavenly Father. Professor Vern Bengtson reports that 56% of kids who have a close relationship with their dads share his level of religious commitment, while just 36% of kids with a weaker relationship to their father can say the same thing. The closer and stronger the relationship with children the better! There are lots of statistics to support the out-sized importance of fathers and their influence on their kids’ faith.

For centuries in many Christian families, Family Altar or Family Devotions was the norm. Sadly, this is rare today. We’re all too busy doing things that seem important—temporal things that have no eternal value. It’s been said that the family that prays together, stays together. There is truth in this maxim. Staying together as a loving […]

Jesus said, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” 

The Apostle Paul says, Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. Good theology must be grounded not […]

The Apostle Paul says, Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. Good theology must be grounded not […]

Every true Christian is an agent of God. God has His heavenly agents, called angels and He has earthly agents called saints. The Bible tells us that every true Christian is a saint (meaning, holy one). Saints and angels are set apart for God’s purposes. The greatest longing every human has is to have a purpose. We were created for a purpose to do His will on earth as it is in heaven. Here is what gives us hope in this life, being useful. Paul reminds us of this, “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” You were created to do great things for God’s glory! Eternity will be be a time of celebrating what we do today for His glory!

Are you afraid of dying? No need to be. Because Jesus killed death, Paul says, “Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death... But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is what we call The Gospel—the Good News—that we have access to eternal life and our Father in Heaven by believing in the One who arose from the dead. Understand this, eternal life begins now and not just when our mortal bodies die. We can enjoy fellowship with God as in Eden; its heaven on earth, now!

We can say that Jesus’ resurrection is fact. Not just because we wish it to be true, but because of the multitude of eye-witnesses. The first creed of the early church is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 and in it is the fact of Jesus death, burial and resurrection. Added to these events of the first Easter weekend is the list of all those who saw Jesus again, at least 550 people! Why is the resurrection so important? Because as Paul tells us, “And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.” (1 Cor 15:14) Paul says further, “It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you…” (1 Cor 15:2) Hallelujah! Christ lives and our hope lives!

Today is Palm Sunday. It marks the day that Jesus listened to the Father and went to the place where He would be crucified. God has been speaking to men and women through out the millennia. The Bible is a record of numerous moments when God spoke and humans either listened or refused to hear the heart of the Father. Adam and Eve heard God speak, but they refused to listen to His directives. It brought us all down to destruction. Thankfully we’ve learned a few things since Eden. Thankfully our merciful Father has not given up on us and we are still of great value to Him. In fact He still speaks and he still has a purpose for us. Sadly, we are not always careful to listen to His promptings and guidance. We become unusable when we fail to listen to our Lord, but we come alive when we are listening and cooperating with the God of the Universe. He wants to use you so listen up!

The wise understand that they need help in this life. That’s why the Prophet Elisha stuck so close to Elijah; he wanted to learn! The fool declares his independence, shutting himself off from mentors and teachers. The Proverbs are full of wisdom about listening. “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others. (Proverbs 12:15) Who is mentoring you? The humble person proves his wisdom by learning from everyone. Solomon says, “Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.” (Proverbs 19:20) And, “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance. (Prov. 1:5). You can’t learn if you’re doing all the talking, so listen up!

We all know the frustration of not being heard. Being heard makes us feel loved or at least valued. We all know people who don’t listen to a word we say, but demand to be heard. When we examine the life of Christ, we see the supreme example of one who listens carefully, even hearing when words are not adequate to express the deepest thoughts and feelings of the heart. The Samaritan woman at the well is a prime example. We need to learn to listen to what is in the hearts of those we love if we are to have true intimacy and close relations. Its definitely not easy, but it produces the best results on earth. Stop talking for change. Listen up!

No one would keep fruit vines or fruit trees if they were not fruit-producing. Some still wonder what that fruit should be. We know that there should be fruit of the Spirit…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. There should be the fruit of righteousness, which is holy living. There should be the fruit of our testimony, which is souls saved. There should be mature fruit, which living as citizens of heaven, acting and speaking as Christ did, growing in faith and depending less on self and becoming more unselfish. The life that produces fruit that pleases God, is the one that dies to self, takes up the cross and follows Jesus, loving God and loving others. We know when we are producing this fruit because we will be full of joy.

Jesus tells us that He is the vine, we are the branches and God the Father is the Gardener. He says, “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” –John 15:8 A good gardener knows how to make his garden flourish. No one knows better than God the Father. Jesus warns us that the branches that produce nothing will be cut off, while the productive branches will be pruned so as to produce even more. Once again we must examine ourselves to see if we are about to be cut off or if we are in the process of being pruned so that we can be more productive. As Christians we always know where we are in our relationship to our God. God makes Himself and His ways known to us through Jesus Christ.

The grapevine is the source of life and fruitfulness. No branch can live apart from the vine. We know when a branch is unhealthy or disconnected from the vine because the branch yields no fruit and actually begins to wither and dry up. Now Jesus says that He is the vine and we are the branches, and for this reason, every believer must stay firmly connected to Jesus. It really is a matter of life and death, spiritually speaking. We need to examine our lives and see if we are flourishing or withering. More than that, we need to determine whether or not we are producing fruit. After all, what good is a fruitless branch on grapevine.