THE CROSSING BLOG
Sermon Recap, Acts 18:18-28
The Ripples of Discipleship:Acts 18:18-28
“Ordinary People living ordinary lives with gospel intentionality who are empowered by the Holy Spirit.” This is one of our motto’s here at the Crossing and in Acts 18 we see this motto lived out in Aquila and Priscilla.
Aquila and Priscilla were a ordinary couple who had a tremendous impact on the early Church, in particular the Churches in Corinth, Ephesus and possibly Rome. They modeled for us 3 characteristics of a Disciple Maker and how everyday people are used by God to build His Kingdom:
—Available
—Hospitable
—Engaging
Here are some questions from the sermon:
What was the main point of the sermon?
What was your favorite part of Acts 18:18-28?
Out of the 3 characteristics (being available, hospitable, engaging) where do you excel and where do you need prayer and growth?
What does the phrase, “Discipleship is not what you do but it’s who you are” mean? How does understanding this phrase change you approach to discipleship?
Who do you need to share this message with?
Acts 18:18-28, The Ripples of Discipleship:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeIZWAwkSBg&list=UUOcXw3M2AEot6bZFSsR0S9A
Ordinary People Series | Soma
Here is a great series from Soma encouraging people to make Disciples in their life context.
A theme we have adopted here at the Crossing is, “Ordinary people, living ordinary lives with Gospel intentionally empowered by the Holy Spirit.”
Enjoy this series.
Missional Moms Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cF1m0A6frg
Sermon Recap, Acts 18:1-17
Acts 18:1-17,“The First Disciple’s in Corinth”
What causes fear in your heart? That was the question we opened up with in Acts 18:1-17. In this portion of scripture we see the Apostle Paul (the William Wallace of the Faith) struggle and overcome the fears and the high’s and low’s of making Disciples in Corinth.
Here are a several questions to ask and meditate on in Acts 18:1-17
1. What was the Corinthian Culture like that Paul was engaging? What are the contemporary issues that we share with the Corinthian Culture here in Fort Collins/USA?
2. What were the high’s and low’s of Paul’s ministry to the Corinthians in Verses 1-17? What are the high’s and low’s you encounter in your ministry?
3. Why did Paul in verse 6, “dust of his garments?” Why did he also say in verse 6, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent?” How can we apply this OT example to our lives today?
4. Why was Paul afraid in verse 9? How did the Lord meet Paul in his fear?
5. What are the 3 commands and 3 promises that the Lord gave in verse 9? How can we apply those commands and promises in our lives when battling fear?
Acts 18:1-17 Sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeBVXKnHYhM&list=UUOcXw3M2AEot6bZFSsR0S9A
Worship Gathering, Nov. 9th
Here is our weekly blog that we post in hopes of helping those coming to The Crossing’s Sunday Gathering to engage and prepare our hearts to worship King Jesus. We will highlight the Scripture that we will preach on as well as the songs we will be singing.
Here are a three simple ways to prepare your heart:
1) Read through and meditate on the text that will be preached that Sunday with your family or friends.
2) Sing, listen or read through some of the song lyrics that we will sing together and ask God to grow and strengthen our faith and understanding of Him through them.
3) Pray for God to reveal Himself to you and the The Crossing in powerful ways!
Worship through the Word: Acts 18:1-17
Worship through Singing: All Creatures of our God and King King Forevermore It is Finished Our Great God The Solid Rock
Last Weeks Sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gHMuMtu1cg&list=UUOcXw3M2AEot6bZFSsR0S9A
Acts 17:16-34, Sermon Recap
Acts 17:16-34“Get the Message Out”
Many of us went to the voting polls this past week to cast our votes for the politicians who’s message we resonated the most with. Over the course of the last couple of months they used every mode of communication they could to get their message out to the people. The Apostle Paul was not in a political race but had a message he needed to get out to the people in Athens, the Gospel.
In Acts 17:16-34, Paul shows us 4 steps to effectively get out the greatest message, the Gospel. These steps the Spirit used back then and still uses today to bring people into His Kingdom.
The 4 steps are:
1. Observing culture that leads to a provoked spirit
2. Engaging everyone/everywhere
3. Finding common ground when engaging people
4. Contextualizing the Gospel
Here are some questions to think through this week as you recap the sermon and engage with Acts 17:16-34.
—What are the idols in your city and in your heart? How is the Holy Spirit provoking you to respond to these idols?
—Who and where did Paul engage people with the Gospel? Who and where are those people and places in your life your called to engage?
—How did Paul find common ground with those he was engaging? Why is finding common ground so important when engaging people, especially in conversations about the Gospel.
—Why did Paul begin with God as Creator with the Greeks rather then starting with Abraham, Moses and David as was his custom with the Jews?
—Who do I need to share this message with this week?
—What specifically is the Lord calling me to obey from Acts 17:16-34?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gHMuMtu1cg&list=UUOcXw3M2AEot6bZFSsR0S9A
Everyday Missionaries
Are you a missionary? I am. I’m not always a faithful missionary. I’m not always an effective missionary. But I am a missionary… and so are you. All who follow Christ are given the mission to make disciples as we go along the road of life. Some are sent overseas. Some are sent to unreached places. Some are freed up to do this vocationally. But we’re all sent into the world together as communities of missionaries (John 20:21).
We talk about this often with our church. We try to help everyone embrace their identity as a missionary and a vital member of a missionary community (Life Group). For some, this can seem overwhelming, so I want to offer a few practical ideas that can help us approach everyday life as everyday missionaries.
Be regulars
We’ve seen people become a part of our community through relationships built at stores, gyms, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, parks, hospitals and grocery stores. These relationships rarely develop through a single encounter. They grow over time and with regular interactions. Go to the same places for your regular routines. Go to the same coffee shop regularly and build a relationship with the baristas. Go to the same gym at the same time each week and build relationships. Go to the same library at the same story-time session weekly with your kids, and become a part of that community. Shop at the same grocery store at a regular time and go to the same check out each time. Be intentional about visiting the same places for your weekly activities. Get to know the people, remember their names, ask about their kids and their weeks and follow up next time you see them. Before long, you’ll find out that you’re becoming friends.
Build friendships
New friendships require time together — whether it is with your neighbors, coworkers or other people you have met along the road. Eat meals together, go to parks together, watch sporting games together, do hobbies together — just do something together that allows you to share your life, listen, learn and love. In our culture, people will recognize an agenda-driven, salesman approach to friendship. We must actually love people — whether or not they ever come to believe. When you are genuinely friends with someone, they will trust you and listen to your perspective more readily, and they will more readily share their true reasons for not yet believing.
“Show & Tell” the grace of God
As friendships grow, we must model honesty about our own brokenness. Most people imagine Christians to be either clean and put together or hypocrites, so they feel the need to pretend like they have it together. This proclivity to maintain a façade of righteousness hinders us from proclaiming and celebrating the grace of God. Because of God’s grace in Christ, we can be real about who we are — our struggles, our trials, our failures and our joys. We don’t want to boast in our sin, but we do want to be honest about it so that we can boast in the Cross where we have received grace. As friends begin to let us into their lives, we must show God’s grace to them as we accept them, and we must be bold to share with them the good news of God’s grace in Christ.
Invite friends into your community
Introducing unbelievers to your community of believing friends is one of the most neglected, yet important aspects of introducing people to Jesus. Practically, this is the same as building friendships, but it requires finding ways to build friendships with unbelieving friends and believing friends simultaneously. When people see your individual life and your love, they see one good person. When they meet your believing friends, they will (hopefully) meet a community of grace, a community of honest and broken people, a community of servants and a community that loves God’s truth. They will meet the Body of Christ. Your community displays God to the world because God is in you (i.e. y’all). When broken people are accepted by God’s people, they begin to understand that God will accept them too, because of Jesus. Often people come into a real relationship with God after first coming into a meaningful relationship with His people.
Pray like missionaries
If we are God’s missionaries, then we must pray like missionaries. We must pray for opportunities for ourselves and for one another. We must pray for readiness. We must pray for Spirit-filled love. We must pray for patience. We must pray for wisdom. We must pray for awakening. Unless God graciously acts, we will never see people come to new life in Christ. So, above all, we must pray for God to awaken our friends to the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Kingdom Living - Becoming Family
By God’s grace, The Crossing family has been growing, and our Life Groups have been multiplying. Our Life Groups are more than Bible Studies or weekly meetings. They are growing families, committed to living for Jesus and His mission together. The following video shares a story of what God has been doing in one of our newer Life Groups in Loveland, and how this burgeoning family is being used to shine God’s glory to our community. Praise God for His faithful love.
This is Discipleship
This is what we are all about: Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the glory of God and the joy of His people.
Listen Up!
“Why on earth does anyone need a guide on how to listen to sermons? Don’t we simply need to ‘be there’ and stay awake? Yet Jesus said: ‘Consider carefully how you listen.’ The fact is, much more is involved in truly listening to Bible teaching than just sitting and staring at the preacher. Christopher Ash outlines seven ingredients for healthy listening. He then deals with how to respond to bad sermons – ones that are dull, or inadequate, or heretical. And finally, he challenges us with ideas for helping and encouraging our Bible teachers to give sermons that will really help us to grow as Christians.”
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• Where does the authority of a Bible teacher come from?
• Why is Bible teaching offensive?
• Why is it important to hear Bible teaching in church?
• How can we actually enjoy Bible teaching more?
These (and more) are the questions answered by this practical guide, which includes effective, hands-on suggestions for implementing each idea. All with the aim of helping us learn how to listen properly, so that through His word, God will make us more and more like Christ.
We will be going through this book together within the McQuinn/Jackl Life Group. However, even if you are not attending this Life Group, I would encourage anyone to read this book.