THE CROSSING BLOG
Sermon Recap, Jan. 18th
Here is the list of Spiritual Gifts mention in Scripture from Sundays Message.
Remember these are not comprehensive or exhaustive lists but good categories to think through. For instance the gift of teaching, what kind of teaching does Paul mean? Teaching Sunday Mornings or at Life Groups? What about our Journey Groups of 2-5 people or one on one Discipleship? How about as Father or Mother teaching their Children. Having the gift of teaching can take on several forms.
Use this list to dialog with others in the Crossing and in your Life Group: Spiritual Gifts Chart
Sermon Recap, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Warm up question:Can you think of ministries that share the gospel but not their lives?
Can you think of ministries that share their lives but not the gospel? -In your experience, why is having both so crucial to authentic gospel ministry?
Scripture Text questions:
What are some of the charges that Paul’s opponents have brought forth, verses 3 & 5?
How does Paul defend these accusations, verses 4, 7-12?
Where do we see evidence in this passage of Paul’s authentic love for the Thessalonians, verses 7-9, 12?
Application Questions:
Who would you like to share more of your life with this year with the hopes of an opportunity to share the gospel?
How can we as a life group organize our formal and informal meeting times to accommodate living life with these people? (Meals, Hobbies, Listening, Questions) – Gather/Scatter events
Who can we pray for as a group for an open door to proclaim the gospel? (cf – Col. 4:2-3)
Sunday Gathering, January 4th
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: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Worship through Singing: Wonderful Cross Man of Sorrows Cornerstone Jesus, Firm Foundation
Jesus is Love, John 3:16
John 3:16 is the Gospel, the Good News—-The Greatest news ever! Listen to how one explained it:
“For God – the greatest Lover
So loved – the greatest generosity
The world – the greatest tragedy
That he gave – the greatest sacrifice
His only Son – the greatest gift
That whoever – the greatest openness
Believes – the greatest simplicity
In him – the greatest attraction
Should not perish – the greatest rescue
But – the greatest difference
Have – the greatest treasure
Eternal life – the greatest experience.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfJIu10hZmQ
Advent 2014 Resources
This weekend we kicked off the Advent of Jesus Christ!
The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” From November 30th-December 25th we will focus our Gatherings around the celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ, his first Advent, with anticipation of His Second Advent as the conquering King.
Here is a free resource on Advent called, “Good News of Great Joy,” from John Piper and Desiring God. It is a great tool to help us keep Jesus at the heart of the Christmas Season.
www.desiringgod.org/books/good-news-of-great-joy
Matthew 1:1-17, The Genealogy of Hope
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JDYb5eaPfg&feature=em-upload_owner
Sunday Gathering, Nov. 23rd
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: Philippians 4:10-20
Worship through Singing: Crown Him (Majesty) After All (Holy) Christ is Risen Not What My Hands Have Done Psalm 62
Last Weeks Sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeIZWAwkSBg&list=UUOcXw3M2AEot6bZFSsR0S9A
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
Sermon Notes – Showdown in the Holy City
Betrayal, Desertion, Injustice and the Glory of the Gospel
Mark may seem to have written the most bare bones gospel account that we get in all of Scripture. Unlike the other three gospels, you don’t really see Jesus taking up long discourses with the people, and therefore you don’t get the same directness of the teachings of Jesus that you see elsewhere. However, what you do find in Mark is, what I like to call, a “superhero” Jesus who travels from place to place doing good works and performing marvelous signs. Though implicit to this is that he is preaching the gospel all along the way (Mark 1:38).
About a week ago, Pastor Gary preached on the beginning of what seems like such an odd climax to such a remarkable life as it is described in Mark 14:43-65. For over a year, we have studied the Gospel of Mark and seen and heard about Jesus healing the sick, forgiving sinners, commending the humble, rebuking the proud, and generally stirring things up wherever he goes.
Yet what we see in this passage by all accounts would have been considered merely the abrupt end of this controversial life were it not for the ultimate design of the resurrection. By way of review, we read about how Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples (Mark 14:43-45), arrested by the religious leaders (Mark 14:46-49), abandoned by the rest of his disciples (Mark 14:50-52), and unjustly tried by his own people while they disgraced and mocked him (Mark 14:53-65). Hardly seems like an apt end for our Hero.
And yet what we do have here is a portrait of a Savior who was “tempted as we are, yet without sin,” (Hebrews 4:15). This is something that sets Jesus apart. He was betrayed, and yet he did not turn to his betrayer in anger (Matthew 26:50). He was abandoned, but he remained faithful to those who deserted him (2 Timothy 2:13). Injustice and evil surrounded him, yet he did not respond in turn (Mark 14:61). Sin upon sin was hurled at Jesus, and he just absorbed it. Sin stops at Jesus, for it was the Father’s good pleasure to make “him to be sin who knew no sin.” But why? “So that in him we might become the righteousness of God,” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The Upside Down Nature of the Kingdom of God
Much like everything else that Jesus did, his way of displaying his power was, to say the least, unconventional. And yet even this is full of glory. We should not expect God to do things the way we would (Isaiah 55:8-9), nor should we expect the way of the cross to make much sense to our natural minds (1 Corinthians 1:18-21); however, this is all part and parcel of what Jesus has been showing us in Mark for many chapters.
The natural ways of man are contrary to the ways of God. This is clearly evident from a brief reading of any of the gospels, and so we must think in an upside down sort of way in order to “get” the gospel. Therefore, we have a Hero that is disgraced, a Savior who is crushed, a Lord who serves all, and a living God who has come to die.
Gary commended us to continue to think and live in such a way so as to vehemently press upon the door of heaven and enter into this upside down Kingdom. In order to do that, we must look to Jesus. It’s why Mark wrote this gospel. It’s why we’re studying it.
So, as we were challenged by Gary’s sermon, let us beware of any blind spots that might keep us from seeing something that would prevent our entrance. Let us beware of the deceitfulness of hardship, so that we might not run from Jesus in times of trial. Let us lay down our lives for one another and for this city, so that we might achieve true greatness, bearing in mind that it is only by the grace of God that we can hope to attain to any of this, and the grace of God is made accessible by what we are reading here in the beginning of Jesus’s most severe sufferings as he prepares for his crucifixion (Hebrews 2:10-11).
Sermon Notes – Valuing Jesus: Priceless
Note: “Sermon Notes” entries exist to help us as a church body gather around the faithful teaching and preaching of the Word of God. I pray they enhance our study and appreciation for the teaching we receive on a weekly basis.
The Scripture text from the sermon two weeks ago came from Mark 14:1-11. Pastor Aaron noted that within this text is a “sandwich story.” That is to say, one story sandwiched between two stories that are more closely related to each other than they are to the story in the middle. The “bread” of this passage includes stories of individuals who esteemed Jesus of very little (if any) worth. The chapter opens with the chief priests and scribes plotting how they might kill Jesus, and the passage ends with their opportunity realized when Judas Iscariot goes to them in order to betray his Teacher.
Aaron did an excellent job exposing the reality that there are many who esteem Jesus of very little worth both inside and outside of the church, so I’ll speak of it briefly here. One thought that came to mind was the depraved nature of the hearts of man. The religious establishment in being so zealous to maintain their codes and creeds were plotting to destroy the one who is the culmination of those very things (Matthew 5:17). And we see Judas, who even though he was in such close physical proximity to Christ, had a hard and bitter heart. If nothing else, this passage illuminates the vanity and perversity of religion which is entirely divorced from the truth and glory of Christ in the gospel.
What we have between these two passages, though, is the beautiful picture of a woman who understands the surpassing worth of Christ.
We learn from John’s gospel account that this woman was actually Mary, the sister of the very recently resurrected Lazarus (John 12:1-7). One can only imagine what was going through her head in everything that lead up to this event. Jesus had a peculiar and fond affection for Mary and her family (John 11:5), and we can assume the fondness was mutual. Mary had probably known the Man for years, and perhaps only recently came to discover that Jesus really was the Christ.
I like to think that Martha had told Mary about her interaction with the Lord when He came to see their (at the time) deceased brother. Perhaps Martha had shared those mysterious words of His, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
And now here He is, sitting in her house; sitting with her beloved brother in the house of a leper that we can likely assume Jesus had healed. He’s just sitting there, in the presence of those who were dead and had been made alive, and those who were unclean and have now been made clean. A house full of restored and redeemed people.
The relentless thoughts running through Mary’s head as she contemplated who it was that was sitting in her presence would have been astounding. The sheer amount of appreciation she had for what Jesus had done moved her to respond. And respond she did, perhaps somewhat brashly. She grabs the alabaster flask containing the most valuable thing she owned, and smashes it. Right there. In front of everyone. And she begins to rub it on His head (Mark 14:3) and wipe it on His feet with her hair (John 12:3).
This is a portrait of a person who understands that Christ is worth everything. He’s worth the embarrassment and scorn we might receive from friends, family, and outsiders. He’s worth the awkwardness that oftentimes accompanies genuine expressions of worship. And He’s certainly more than worth all of our material good.
The worth of Christ is a subject worthy of our contemplation.
We as believers must understand that Jesus is worthy of our worship. It may sound obvious to state it like that, but it’s a point that must be established repeatedly.
It is far too easy to give way to the thought that Jesus is worthy of worship because He has given us much in the way of material blessing, or because of the health of our bodies and our families, or because things in life have been going well, or even because we recognize the stunning amount of grace that accompanies the forgiveness of our sins. And He is worthy of worship for all of these things!
What I want to establish in our thinking, though, is that Christ is worthy of worship not primarily because of what He gives, but because of who He is.
This must be the posture of the church at all times, and there are many examples outside of Mary’s story demonstrating this.
It can be seen in the lives of His apostles. Paul stated, “Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ,” (Philippians 3:8).
The psalmist boldly states, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you,” (Psalm 73:25).
And in referring to the suffering, testing, and loss that come through faith in Christ, Peter said in 1 Peter 1:6-7 that our faith, which unites us to Christ, is of more value than any earthly good, and its result will be to the praise and glory of Jesus.
In contemplating the sheer worth of Christ, it taxes the mind and the imagination of man beyond its physical limits. But, as Aaron would say, it’s a beautiful thing.
However, even in Mary’s expressions of worship, there was still something lacking. And Jesus made sure they knew it when He said, “she has anointed my body beforehand for burial,” (Mark 14:8).
There was still something lacking in what needed to be accomplished through the suffering that He was soon to endure (Hebrews 2:10). And indeed, it is because of His sufferings that the entire host of heaven will cry out, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12). And it is His sufferings that have made it possible for us to enjoy Him.
Finally, as Pastor Aaron helped us to understand, we will fall short when it comes to our worship. And so I want to leave us with a thought from the pen of the great hymn writer John Newton:
Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.
The gospel makes up for all of our shortcomings. Mary understood that. At the heart of every genuine believer is the desire to live and give oneself in such a way that reflects the true worth of Christ. We will fail in attempting to do this on our own, so let us first seek to see Christ for who He is (2 Corinthians 4:6). Because then, and only then, will the response of genuine worship be possible.
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