THE CROSSING BLOG

10/5/10 10/5/10

The Story

What is the Gospel? Well, that question could be answered in a number of different ways. Paul boiled it down to this powerful statement: “That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” This is the gospel at its core, no doubt about it. But what about for those who don’t understand the problem of sin or the authority of “the Scriptures”? How do you approach the increasing number of people who believe in a “god of love” with the false impression that somehow “love” excludes the possibility of and demand for justice. Or what about the people who don’t believe in God at all. For these types of people — and for every professing Christian who does not yet understand that “the Gospel” is about more than getting your ticket through the pearly gates of heaven — we must get our minds and hearts around reality that we are part of a story, God’s Story, and we have a part to play in it. Take 10 minutes to view an online presentation of the story. It won’t be a waste of time.

10/1/10 10/1/10

Men's Retreat - Registration Deadline

Registration Deadline: Sunday, October 3

Topic: Gospel Centered Manhood

Location:
High Peak Camp
Estes Park, Colorado
October 8th-9th

We live in a world today with many conflicting messages about the nature if manhood. Rather than being pulled in every direction, we need to let God define for us what it means to be a real man. When you boil it all down, a real man – no matter what place in life they are in, what their personality may be, what roles they have – is one whose life is centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A Gospel centered life gives us our true identity, gives us the power to fight any battle, and defines how we respond in all our relationships!

Men, join us (and the men from the four other Crossway Chapel churches in our region) as we get away for a weekend to get refreshed, refueled and encouraged as we look at Gospel Centered Manhood together.
For More information Click Here

9/15/10 9/15/10

Chick Training - 1 Peter

This fall during Chick Training (our women’s Bible Study) we are going through 1 Peter. We are excited to see what God’s Word has to say about who we are in Christ and how to relate to the world around us.

We will be meeting at Wild Boar at 7:30 every other Wednesday, see the calendar for details.

Posted by Jamie

9/14/10 9/14/10

Welcome Levi Balloun

I know emails have been going around, but I wanted to let the Church know officially that Levi was born yesterday, September 13th, 2010 at 3:19 AM. Thank you for all of your prayers because I know in my heart that we were guided by the Spirit and given discernment throughout the labor process and that Levi and Danielle are safe and healthy and Danielle is recovering well. Thank you for all the acts of service too. You can read more about the labor and birth and watch a video on his blog.

9/12/10 9/12/10

Song of Solomon

Attraction, dating, courtship, intimacy, marriage, sex. These might be some topics that many churches would shy away from, but does God? To loosely quote Pastor Tommy Nelson:

Do we really believe that God gave us a feeling as perceivable as romance, a passion as powerful as sex, an institution as emotional and sometimes painful as marriage, and yet told us nothing about it?

Do we really believe that in all the wisdom of the Bible, God has left out a topic so important? Yet so many people have never been taught a Biblical perspective on these issues. How many of you have learned about sex and romance from your church and/or your parents? Now, how many of you have learned about sex from Howard Stern, Hugh Hefner, TV, movies and the like? We are blessed that God has indeed given us wisdom on these important topics. In his video series on the Song of Solomon, Tommy Nelson discusses topics that many pastors would not, topics that are vitally important.

2005 Song of Solomon Trailer from The Hub on Vimeo.

The series starts from the point of attraction and go all the way through marriage and even death, and would be edifying for everyone, no matter what kind of relationship you are in, or not yet in.

9/10/10 9/10/10

Something Amazing From Prague!

I just received an e-mail from a good friend and sister in Christ. Kara Swindler is currently on mission in the Czech Republic for the foreseeable future, and The Crossing is actively supporting Kara in her ministry to a very dark and atheistic nation. I praise God for what He is doing in the Czech through and for Kara and the people she is reaching. Here is her e-mail:

An AMAZING event happened yesterday!

We had 4 of our students in our apartment, not for English club BUT for a BIBLE STUDY!!! Why is this so amazing? It was their first bible study for all 4 girls. Three of these girls, Cristina, Jane, and Bara, became Christians in the last year and the other girl, Šarka, is not a Christian but wanted to come. At the end of 4 hours of eating, laughing, and learning about God’s Word together – everyone asked where to start reading the bible? We all excitedly answered to meet weekly and study the gospel of John together. My 2 Czech roommates (also English teachers) Eliška, Zuzka, and I will be leading the bible study together.

Please pray for God’s Words in John to reveal the glory of Christ to Cristina, Jane, Bara, Šarka as they venture forward. Also for God’s wisdom to be spoken through Eliška, Zuzka and I as we share the joy it is to know our God and Savior more and more! (see the picture of my roommates and I attached!)

the LORD’s Kara Swindler

She included this picture in her message:

For more information on Kara, check out her blog.

9/8/10 9/8/10

Act Like Men!

In 1 Corinthians 16:13, Paul issues the men in the floundering Corinthian church with this charge: “Be watchful; stand firm in the faith; act like men; be strong.”
Below is a video that we talked about at Man School this evening. Darrin Patrick—a leader of Acts 29 and pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, MO—has just released a new book called Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission. The video below is a teaser for the book, and Patrick is calling out the men in our churches (pastors and leaders) to “act like men.” We have a generation of men who are seeking to prolong adolescence, refusing to take life seriously. Will this new generation of men lead the church to its demise, or will we turn from our laziness to courageous action so that we can be a part of God’s mission to redeem the world through the Gospel? Check out the video, and let’s act like men.

9/7/10 9/7/10

The Gospel Coalition

The Crossing is a member of The Gospel Coalition. This is a network of churches and pastors dedicated to keeping the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the center of everything we do. Watch this video to hear the heartbeat of The Gospel Coalition which is also the heartbeat of The Crossing.

9/1/10 9/1/10

God Provides A New Facility: 608 E Drake

608 E Drake Road, Fort Collins, CO 80525

The Crossing will now be holding our Sunday Gatherings at a church building at 608 E Drake Road (Drake and Stover). This building is an answer to prayer in so many ways, and even though The Crossing is not a building-centered church, this building will greatly facilitate us as we gather on Sundays to worship God together in community.

Join us this Sunday at 10am at 608 E Drake!

8/28/10 8/28/10

Get Church "Announcements" in Your Email

I know a lot of people don’t regularly think about checking the website to see new announcements, so to make it super easy, I’ve added email subscriptions. Only if an announcement post is made on the blog will subscribers receive an email with the announcement. In order to receive announcements and blog posts in your email, click “Get Announcements in Email“ (which is also on the main menu shown to the left) and then fill in your email address in the email field and click “subscribe”.
You will receive a confirmation email in which you will need to click a link to verify your subscription. You will only receive an email if we make an announcement / blog post. You will only see one email per day maximum with all announcements that we posted that day. If no announcements were made, you won’t receive any email.

8/28/10 8/28/10

SUNDAY SERVICE CHANGE: 11am @ Fossil Creek Park

We will be having a “Praise in the Park” Sunday Gathering Service on 8-29-2010. Please join us at Fossil Creek Park at 11:00 AM for communion, fellowship, and lunch. We will NOT be meeting at Harmony School. The church will provide hot dogs, burgers and drinks. Families please bring a side dish. Young Pro’s and college students bring potato chips or dessert.

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8/27/10 8/27/10

How to Fight against the Pull of the World

In a world full of God-ignoring philosophies, how can we remember who we really are in Christ? How can we actively fight against the pull of the world that begs for us to ignore God and focus on the things that will fade away? Listen to this less-than-2-minute excerpt from a sermon John Piper preached on “How Aliens Keep the Identity of Their Homeland”. [audio:http://thecrossingfc.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/Living-As-Aliens-Excerpt.mp3|titles=How Aliens Keep the Identity of Their Homeland – John Piper]

8/24/10 8/24/10

What Is the Bible Basically About?

The Bible is a big Book, comprised of sixty-six smaller books, written over the course of 2,000 years by a diverse group of people. At times it seems difficult to understand how it all fits together. The video below is an excerpt from a message where Tim Keller explains what the Bible is basically about.

Click HERE to download the full message.

HT: Collin Hansen

8/23/10 8/23/10

Resources, Photos & Online Giving

Additional Resources:

As we continue to finalize and tweak the website, we’ve added a Recommended Reading page to compliment our Online Resources. Use these pages to find websites, ministries and books that we recommend as great resources to help us as we strive to live our lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel.

Photo Albums:

All of our Photo Albums have been added to the website which can be accessed under the Resources menu and from the rotating gallery on the homepage. We will continue to upload new photos to our website and Facebook for sharing.

Online Giving:

We’ve also implemented the ability to give tithes and offerings safely and securely online through Google Checkout as a supplement to go along with the giving box at the Sunday Gathering service. The Online Giving page is accessible under the Resources menu.

8/22/10 8/22/10

Sunday Service 8-29-2010 Venue & Time Change

We will be having a “Praise in the Park” Sunday Gathering Service on 8-29-2010. Please join us at Fossil Creek Park at 11:00 AM for worship, teaching, and fellowship. There will not be a service at 10:00am at Harmony Christian School.

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8/22/10 8/22/10

What Is God's Will? - Sermon Recap

Aaron talked about five biblical wills from John MacArthur’s book Found: God’s Will and added a sixth one of his own.

God wills that everyone would come to know Christ Jesus. – 1 Timothy 2:4
God wills that His people be spirit led. – Ephesians 5:17
God wills that we continue to be sanctified. – 1 Thessalonians 4:3
God wills that we are submissive to the authority in our lives. – 1 Peter 2:13-15
God wills that we will suffer as Christ suffered, for His name. – Philippians 1:29
God wills that we would rejoice always, pray continuously, and give thanks for everything. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16

8/21/10 8/21/10

Jackl and Santini Take the Cake at the Range

Nothing says Man School like shooting guns and competition. The second event was an elimination game that involved a line of people taking turns shooting clay pigeons with shotguns. Steve Reis proved early on as the favorite for winning, but in the last hour Aaron Santini made the final shots and took the victory. To the left you can see Steve humbly paying his respects to the victor (click the image for a larger view).
The first event was a Jacob-inspired timed game involving shooting balloons. The video below explains it all. (If you have the connection, make sure to watch the video in high-definition by changing the settings on the video at the bottom-right).