Sunday Gathering 07.02.2017

The purpose of this blog post is to help our church 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 during our Sunday Gathering.
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 church in powerful ways!

Worship through the Word:

Psalm 37

Worship through Singing:

10,000 Reasons
How Deep the Father’s Love
God Alone
This is My Father’s World
White As Snow
All Creatures of Our God and King

Sunday Gathering 06.25.2017

The purpose of this blog post is to help our church 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 during our Sunday Gathering.
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 church in powerful ways!

Worship through the Word:

Psalm 46

Worship through Singing:

Our Great God
Not What My Hands Have Done
In Christ Alone
Rock Of Ages (Ascend the Hill)
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Sunday Gathering, June 18th

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:

Psalm 128:1-6

Worship through Singing:

Before The Throne
How Can I Keep From Singing (Audrey Assad)
He Will Hold Me Fast
Oh My Soul Arise
Psalm 62

Sunday Gathering 06.11.2017

The purpose of this blog post is to help our church 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 during our Sunday Gathering.
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 church in powerful ways!

Worship through the Word:
Psalm 24

Worship through Singing:

Lord I Need You
The Wonderful Cross
Give Us Clean Hands
Lift High the Name of Jesus
Beautiful
Behold Our God

Sunday Gathering, June 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:

Psalm 147:1-20

Worship through Singing:

Oh For A Thousand Tongues
The Lord is Your Shelter
Here Is Love
Rock of Ages (When the Day Seems Long)
Be Thou My Vision

Sermon Discussion Questions John 6:60-71

Here’s a few sermon discussion questions to help our church love God by applying his word to our lives. Feel free to use these questions for personal reflection, alongside your family, within a smaller discipleship/journey group, or even within the context of your Life Group. If you missed Sunday’s sermon from John 6:60-71 you can view it online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CUZ4M38w5I
TPQ: When is a time that you had a hard saying shared with you? How did you respond?

1. Does this offend you? verses 60-65

   As we heard on Sunday, this hard saying the disciples (or his followers) are referring to is not an intellectual issue but rather it was offensive to them. This eventually leads them to no longer walk with Jesus (verse 66) The reality is, the truths of Jesus are often offensive to people.

   What are some offensive truths from Jesus that the culture around us rejects? and/or What are some offensive truths you have wrestled with and how has that wrestling cause you to worship and trust Jesus all the more?

   Here are a few truths mentioned in the sermon that collide with our culture: the sinfulness of man, eternal judgement for that sin, the gender “conundrum” in our culture, 1 exclusive truth and way to salvation.
   
   The most offensive truth that John 6 zooms in on is the fact that man can do nothing to save himself. Justification (our legal standing with God) comes not by any work(s) that we have committed but by faith in the one who has completed the work God requires.
   Martin Luther quote from the sermon: “Man’s natural default is religion, is works righteousness, is trying to earn our way to God. The gospel is the opposite – it is: you can’t earn it. All you can do is believe in the one who earned it for you.”

   Why is this a hard truth for humanity? Why is this such a sweet truth for the person who has put their faith in Christ? Notice in v.63 that it is the Spirit who gives life. John is speaking to the fact that God intervenes in someone’s life way before they respond with faith in Christ. How is the doctrine of election (God choosing his people) offensive to people? What might be a right response to God’s gracious work in salvation?

   You can go deeper with this truth with some other passages: Romans 3:9-24, 8:28-30, 9:19-24, 10:1-4; Galatians 2:15-16; Ephesians 1:3-10, 2:1-10

2. Where shall you go?

   Once the disciples of Jesus walk away from his offensive truth, Jesus turns to the twelve. Peter makes an excellent confession. What some of the things Peter confesses here?
   One of them is the reality that where have no where else to go to find eternal life or life to the full (John 10:10). What are some of the things the world has to offer that you have tried your hand at but they never satisfied like you had hoped? Some of the different places we tend to go to find our souls longings mentioned in the sermon are education, social justice, money, pleasure, philosophy, reputation, etc. These things are not bad – in fact they are good gifts! But the drum we have been beating from John 6 is that they won’t satisfy us fully – wholly – completely. What are some ways we can evaluate if we are trying to find our satisfaction in the wrong place? What are some practical ways we can enjoy these gifts but make sure we reorient our hearts to the Creator as opposed to the creation?

   Lastly, Aaron talked about the differences of life John is drawing out here. The Greek word bios refers to creation or existence; it is where we get the word biology (the study of life) from. The Greek word zoe (pronounced zo-ay) is to have life to the absolute full. It’s not just existence of life but quality of life.
   Amidst pain and suffering, how is the zoe life or eternal life still the only place where the Christian to go? Another way to ask this question, what are some of the truths of the gospel that hold you firm today? Aaron mentioned provision, protection and peace. I’m sure you (or your Life & Journey Group) can think of more.

   We will be taking a break from the Gospel of John for the summer. We will spend some time going through different Psalms/Proverbs this summer. Now is a great time to pick up reading the Psalms and Proverbs. You can read 5 Psalms a day and get through all 150 in one month. You can take a slower pace and read a 1 chapter of Proverbs a day and get through all of them 3 times this summer. Of course there are many variations you can do as well, I hope you drink deeply and enjoy Christ in the Psalms and Proverbs as a church this summer. :)

Sunday Gathering, May 28th

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:

John 6:60-71

Worship through Singing:

Doxology/The Church’s One Foundation
How Great Thou Art
Tis So Sweet
Grace Alone
After All (Holy)

Sermon Discussion Questions

Here’s a few sermon discussion questions to help our church love God by applying his word to our lives. Feel free to use these questions for personal reflection, alongside your family, within a smaller discipleship/journey group, or even within the context of your Life Group. If you missed Sunday’s sermon from John 6:35-59 you can view it online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBpWZLXUvVw

TPQ:  To open the sermon, Rich shared a story of a ‘good day gone bad’. When have you had a good day, seemingly going well, then it all changed? What was that like? How did it affect your attitude or your mood?

As we look more closely at this passage, we’re reminded that we can tend to base our satisfaction with life on our outer circumstances rather than our satisfaction in Christ.

In the context of this passage, Christ had provided food for the crowd the day before. Now, in conversation the next day, Jesus claims that He is the Bread of Life. From the verses that follow, Rich poses 3 questions:

1. What’s it mean to eat the Bread of Life?

The surface meaning of Christ’s command to, literally, ‘eat His flesh & drink His blood’ is troubling and confusing. He must mean something else. In the passage itself, Jesus says that belief in Him is partaking of Him. Receiving Him goes to the depth of taking Him into our lives like food that we ingest and becomes a part of who we are and how we live.

Q: how do you tend to approach the ‘hard sayings’ of Jesus like this one? Does it surprise you that He would use such a graphic metaphor? What would it look like in your life if you allowed Christ to be fully ‘ingested’ (or taken into and become one with) who you are, your personality & temperament? What might change?

2. Who may eat of the Bread of Life?

We see in the passage the dual aspect of coming to Jesus for salvation: God brings to Christ all those who He calls, and they (all who are called) will believe in Him. “Whoever believes has eternal life” There is great comfort & security in this. Jesus is the very image of God the Father living in front of them, and yet some do not come to Him for who He is. The assurance is this: that the Father will draw all who He calls out and all who will believe will be saved, will have eternal life. Those are the ones who will eat the Bread of Life.

Q: if you have come to know Christ personally, if you’ve been saved by Him, think about the elements of the story of your coming to Christ. What aspects of it show God’s supernatural drawing of you, bringing you to Himself. And what other aspects show the mental process you went through, the learning about the Gospel and the decision to believe & trust in Him? What encouragement do you find in this double faceted picture of salvation?

3. What’s provided to those who eat the Bread of Life?

1-Assurance that we’ve been accepted & approved by God through Christ.

2-Security that we’ll never lose that acceptance & approval, that Christ will never let us go.  Our security is not found in the strength of our faith but in the strength of the One in whom we have faith. What Jesus has done is where our security is based, not on our own faith. Because of this, we can stop dwelling on our sin & failure. We can focus on Christ, His power & His work for us.

3- Hope of eternal life & the resurrection of believers. Because Christ was resurrected, we can look to our own resurrection. We can hold onto these promises, this hope, through the challenges and difficulties, even the extremes of life & death.

4- Contentment in Him, satisfaction in Jesus Himself. He, and only He, truly satisfies. This is why the metaphor of food fits so well. But earthly food never truly satisfies for very long. Just like Rich’s example of the newest Lego sets for the kids, the new toy that is soon discarded. All that we think will bring contentment, at some point, will always fail us and fizzle out. Our only true sense of being fulfilled & satisfied is in Christ.

Q: what are some things people look to for satisfaction & fulfillment these days? What have you looked to in an effort to feel full & content, in your own life, that has ended up disappointing you? There is freedom in confessing that and then turning back to the only One who truly satisfies. What are some practical ideas for how we can acknowledge & practice our daily dependence on Jesus, on Him who is truly our daily Bread?

Sermon Follow Up - John 6:22-34

Hey leaders,
As usual here’s some ideas for this week’s sermon follow-up. If you choose to follow this outline, I thought it’d be worth mentioning that you don’t need to “hide” the teaching goal and the application goal of these studies. It might actually help your group stay focused if you let them know at the outset what the teaching goal is. Hopefully it will keep the conversation focused so that we spend more time digging into God’s word. I hope this is helpful for you.

Teaching Goal: Those who are seeking Jesus find saving faith in Jesus when they are fully satisfied in Jesus (as their soul’s treasure, as John Piper would add…probably).

Application Goal: That we would labor for the food which is imperishable.

Thought Provoking Question:

Where do you think Fort Collins culture seeks to find satisfaction? Without using names, where do the unbelieving friends/coworkers/family that you know personally seek satisfaction?

Introductory Remarks:

Jesus and his disciples just finished the feeding of the 5000 and left for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus’ disciples left without him, and he miraculously came to them walking on the water and calming the storm.

We begin our text today by returning to the crowds on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Read John 6:22-24. Why did the crowd go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee? (Because they were seeking Jesus).

What we’re going to see in this passage is that there are two ways of seeking Jesus; one that saves and another that does not.

Seeking Jesus

Read John 6:25-26

Compare the titles given to Jesus in John 6:23 and John 6:25. What title does John give to Jesus and how do the crowds refer to Jesus?

• John calls him “Lord” in verse 23, the crowds call him “Rabbi” or “teacher” in verse 25.

Compare these two titles to one another. What are some of the major differences between viewing Jesus as “Lord” (like John) versus viewing Jesus as merely “teacher” (like the crowds)?

In verse 26, Jesus accuses the crowd for only following him because he was able to satisfy a temporary need, their hunger. What are the ways that we are tempted to do the same thing? What might the life of someone “seeking Jesus” in this way look like in our day and age?

The major problem with the crowds here is that they look to Jesus merely as a teacher and see him as an answer to a temporary need. How can viewing Jesus merely as a teacher or as someone who can satisfy a temporary need affect our ability to be fully satisfied in him?

Believing in Jesus

Read John 6:27-29

Jesus compares the food they are seeking to the food they ought to be seeking. What are some of the differences he mentions?

• The food they are seeking: it perishes, you must labor for it
• The food they ought to seek: it’s eternal, the Son of Man gives it

Do you think this means Jesus is telling us to quit our jobs?

• Hopefully the answer is no…

If he’s not commanding us to quit our jobs, how does what Jesus says here change our approach to our jobs? What impact would these changes have on the effect you have in your workplace?

The crowd responds to Jesus’ admonition by asking him, “What must we do to do the works of God?” How does Jesus answer them?

What do you think it means that the “work” or “labor” of God is to believe?

Read Romans 6:23. What do we earn from sin? (Death). What do we receive from God? (Eternal life). How do we access eternal life? (Belief).

What’s your heart’s response to that simple equation? What should it be?

Satisfied in Jesus

Read John 6:30-34

In verse 30 the crowd compares Jesus to Moses. Do you think the comparison is a favorable one for Jesus or not?

• If you want, feel free to read the account in Exodus 16 of God’s miraculous provision of the manna in the wilderness. If you want to, feel free to just describe the story, but be sure to read it before you do…

In Deuteronomy 8:3, God tells the people of Israel why he miraculously provided bread for them in the wilderness for forty years. What is it?

• That they would know “that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

Why do you think this is significant for John 6?

• Mainly, I’m just trying to get at the fact that the people are seeking Jesus because he provided food, and then used this story of the manna to say that he’s not that great of a miracle worker. The ironic thing is that even the miracle of the manna was designed to show people that our greatest need is not physical but spiritual.

Our passage finishes with Jesus saying that he is the true bread that comes down from heaven. The design here is to show that Jesus is the all-satisfying source of life.

Feel free to be vulnerable with one another, but can anyone in your group attest to the all satisfying nature of Jesus? Have you “tasted and seen that the LORD is good?” (Psalm 34:8). What does that look like for you? How has he satisfied you this last week? Month? Year? Today?

Think about your friends that we talked about in the TPQ, how can the all-satisfying nature of Jesus speak to their particular desires for satisfaction?

Let’s end by praying that Jesus would show us what it means to seek him as the bread that comes down from heaven and satisfies our souls. Amen, amen?

Sermon Follow-up Questions John 6:1-21

Here’s a few sermon discussion questions to help our church love God by applying his word to our lives. Feel free to use these questions for personal reflection, alongside your family, within a smaller discipleship/journey group, or even within the context of your Life Group. If you missed Sunday’s sermon from John 6:1-21 you can view it online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2S-us2vA8c
John 6 is a unparalleled passage in the fourth gospel. The evangelist (John) leverages Jesus’ miracle of feeding 5,000 (men) to get to the heart of following Him. Let me encourage you, and your Life Group, to devote time reading John 6 multiple times over the next month as we preach through it.

TPQ – How has our American culture bought into the lie that bigger is always better?

You could also ask – what are some ways that bigger is better; what are some ways that bigger is not better?

THE PESSIMISTIC DISCIPLES – verses 3-13

Pessimism defined – The tendency to see the worst of a situation; to lack the confidence or hope that something will come about.

How do we see pessimism in Phillip & Andrew? What is Jesus doing here with his disciples? (verse 6)

“Difficultly must always be measured by the capacity of the agent doing the work.”

How difficult was the situation at hand? How would you measure Jesus’ capacity? (share verses to back this up) What is the work done by the agent?

It seemed to the pessimistic disciples that this was an impossible circumstance but Jesus not only met the need but went above and beyond. How have you seen the Lord provide for you in what seemed to be impossible circumstances? (physically, emotionally, financially) You can conclude this section with the greatest spiritual need met -  point them to Romans 8:32 – the grace of God in our lives and the promise of future provision. There is a great parallel here to the 12 baskets full of fragments from just 5 loaves and 2 fish. Just imagine what the 12 pessimistic disciples were thinking as they walked around and picked up the leftovers.

In a moment of vulnerability, where are you pessimistic in your life right now? How can you combat lies you might be believing with the truth of who Jesus is? Or what are some things that you can ask someone in your Life Group to pray for you in a pessimistic mindset?

THE ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD – verses 14-15

What is the motivation of the crowd here? Aaron mentioned the danger of unmet expectations in relationships. Occasionally, someone’s unmet expectations in their relationship with Jesus has caused them to walk away from Him. Have you seen this happen to someone you know? Pray for them right now, that the Lord will orchestrate events to help them see their need for him and him alone. A rhetorical question – how would you answer the question, I’ll follow Jesus as long as ____?

THE HAPPY DISCIPLES – verses 16-21

Take some time and read through this passage again along side Psalm 107:23-31. What are the parallels that you see between the 2 passages?

What is the one main point Jesus is trying to get across here? (verse 20) How does that truth combat the rhetorical question from the previous section? (I’ll follow Jesus as long as _____?)

Once Jesus reveals the truth of who he is, the disciples are glad in verse 21 (Psalm 107: 30) Close in prayer by praising Jesus for who he is and the joy that results.

Sermon Discussion John 5:30-47

Here’s a few sermon discussion questions to help our church love God by applying his word to our lives. Feel free to use these questions for personal reflection, alongside your family, within a smaller discipleship/journey group, or even within the context of your Life Group. If you missed Sunday’s sermon from John 5:30-47 you can view it online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVkG_gqpMt0

TPQ:  Pastor Aaron gave an example of serving on a jury. Have you ever served on a jury? What was the experience like or what do you think it’d be like? This passage shows Jesus using courtroom language and has Him presenting witnesses. He uses the legal process that the Jews understood.

Jesus’ First Witness- v31-32, 36-37

Jesus makes reference to the Father, God Himself. Elsewhere in scripture, we see the Father claiming Jesus as His Son. In Jesus’ baptism, the Father affirms the Son. In the Transfiguration, He confirms the glory the Son deserves.

Q: can you think of other examples of when the Father identifies Himself with Jesus (or vice versa)? Why are these instances important to know?

The Second Witness- v33-35

John the Baptist testified about who Jesus was and pointed people to Him. Jesus called him a lamp. John the baptizer recognized Jesus as the lamb of God.

Q: In the same way that John the Baptist was a witness to Jesus, do others see you as a lamp, shining light onto who Christ is? What might it look like for us to ‘be a lamp’ in our day & age?

The Third Witness- v36

Jesus calls on the very works that He did as how they point to Him. In the gospel of John, Jesus’ miracles are seen as “signs” whose very nature is to attest to who He is.

The Fourth witness- v39-40

The Bible itself speaks to Christ as the messiah, the one the Jews were waiting for. Aaron shared a number of facts & observations about the Bible and its testimony.

Q: how do you think people, in general, view the Bible today? How would a nonbeliever that you know react to hearing about the many ‘proofs’ for the Bible?

The Fifth Witness- v45-47

Jesus calls on Moses and the books of the Pentateuch that point to Himself as the coming messiah, the prophet who the Lord will send. Luke 24:25-27 (and the full story in context) tells of Jesus revealing to the men on the road to Emmaus, how “Moses & the prophets” speaks to who He is.

At the end of the day, most of the Jews, and most people today, didn’t accept who Jesus is because we look to each other for acceptance and affirmation rather than God (v41-44). We naturally look for human approval. Jeremiah 9:23-24 asks who or what we boast in.

Q: when we’re given a chance to ‘boast’, who/what do we boast about? (Cross Reference – Galatians 6:14)

Q: the Jews at that time set their hope in Moses, in following the Law, but where did this get them? How do you view religious activity? What’s your motivation to engage in these spiritual practices?

Q: finally, in what ways does your life “bear witness” to the truth of who Christ is and what He has done/is doing in your life?

Sermon Discussion Questions John 5:18-29

Hey leaders,
Here’s a recap on this last week’s message. I hope it’s helpful in your own preparation process. Since a lot of this study will have to do with the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and (implicitly) God the Holy Spirit, I would urge you to spend some time praying for the Spirit to come and reveal his truth to you and your group this week and ask him to show you where to apply these truths before you launch into the study.

Teaching Goal: Jesus imitates God the Father as Healer, Giver of Life, and Judge.

Application Goal: That when we know who Jesus is, we are able to imitate him in our lives in such a way that it brings other people to life.

TPQ:

The message this last week was all about how Jesus the Son imitates God the Father. To some degree, we all imitate our parents. What are some of the things that you imitate from your parents that you’re thankful for? What are some things that you imitate from your parents that you previously thought you’d never do?

Background info:

In the preceding section in John 5, Jesus healed a lame man and had him take up his bed and walk. The Pharisees ignored the fact that a man was just healed from his infirmity, and instead took issue with him for carrying something on the Sabbath. They later became enraged that Jesus would dare to heal someone on the Sabbath. This sets the stage for Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees and his explanation of his relationship with the Father.

Read John 5:15-20

It says in v.18 that they wanted to kill Jesus because he made himself equal with God. Does Jesus deny this allegation? (No). What does he do instead? (Explains his relationship with the Father).

What do we learn about Jesus’ relationship with the Father in this passage?

• They both work (v.17), the Son is not independent of the Father (v.19), the Son imitates the Father (v.19), the Father loves the Son (v.20a) and reveals everything that he is doing to him (v.20b).

What do we learn about how Jesus is imitating the Father in this passage?

• 17 “My Father is working until now, and I am working”

Specifically, Jesus is referring to why he did the work of healing on the Sabbath. We learn from the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 that after the work of creation was done God “rested” from his work. The Sabbath commandment points back to that event (Exodus 20:8-11) when God told the Israelites to honor his work of creation by resting.

What do you think Jesus means when he says “My Father is working until now”?

• At one level, it refers to God’s act of sustaining creation (see Hebrews 1:1-3)
• Another thought here is that the original Sabbath was lost by the introduction of sin into creation. Ever since that time God has been working toward restoring the good creation he made that the Sabbath points to (Hebrews 4:9, Revelation 14:13).

How does knowing that God is at work for us help us to experience true rest?
Do you feel like you have this kind of rest in your life?

How can we imitate Jesus as he imitates the Father in healing?

• A few answers could be: Being a community of healing from brokenness, praying for healing for physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, etc. Bearing one another’s burdens… 

Read John 5:20-29

There are two themes that Jesus addresses throughout the rest of this passage, so we’ll look at both of them: (1) Jesus imitates the Father by raising the dead; (2) Jesus imitates the Father by Judging

Jesus imitates the Father by raising the dead

Have people read aloud all the verses where Jesus talks about raising the dead in this passage

• 21, 24, 25, 28, 29

According to verse 20b, why does Jesus tell us about his ability to raise the dead and give spiritual life?

• So that we might marvel

As a group, talk to each other about the glories of the resurrection. What makes it important to you? Work on marveling at what God is doing in the resurrection! Contemplate the fact that he sent his Son to be the firstfruits of it (1 Corinthians 15:23). Honestly, for all I care you and your group could stay here and not even get the rest of the study if you spend time marveling at the resurrection.

If you do move on, follow up with this question: How can we “imitate” Jesus the way he imitates the Father when it comes to the resurrection?

• 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”
• We can imitate the way Jesus imitates the Father by being obedient in bringing the Word of Christ, which is God’s power for raising the spiritually dead to life, to those in our lives. God can raise the dead through us by the preaching of the gospel (see previous verse, John 5:24, John 6:63,68, John 20:30-31, Romans 1:16).

Lastly, Jesus imitates God the Father as a Judge.

Read the verses that speak of Jesus being a Judge:

• 22, 24, 27, 28, 29

For starters, we have to notice that the resurrection and judgment are inextricably linked. Judgment is typically thought of as a bad thing; if anyone knows anything about the teachings of Jesus, it’s to not judge (Matthew 7:1).

Why is it good that Jesus is Judge?

• It’s the foundation for our own ability to “turn the other cheek” (Romans 12:19-21)
• It means that there’s actually purpose to our world, it’s not just random stuff happening all the time, some of which is ok and a lot of which that just plain sucks.
• It means that evil will be punished, which is a good thing. It’s also a bad thing, because we do evil things. Which is why it’s so amazing that the Judge himself became the Defendant and was found guilty on our behalf so that we could experience the resurrection of life (v.29, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

There are many religions whose beliefs make Jesus to be something less than what is portrayed here. Adherents of eastern religions are happy to view Jesus as a philosopher or a good moral teacher. Western religions will recognize him as a prophet (Islam) or even a god-like being (as is the case with Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons), but Jesus’ words in John 5 don’t seem to leave room for these interpretations (never mind the rest of the Gospel of John).

Why is it important for us to have a proper understanding of who Jesus is?

• Essentially it boils down to v.23b (“Whoever does not honor the Son [you could argue, “for who he is”] does not honor the Father who sent him.”)

Think through some implications of how Jesus’ imitation of the Father and his role as a Judge have implications on our lives.

• Here are some thoughts:
• We can be peaceful like Christ because we know he will judge
• We can become servants/lay our lives down for others (including enemies) like Christ because we know that he will judge
• We can warn others of the judgment of Christ and share the fact that he will grant amnesty to anyone who trusts in him for salvation
• We can grow in our own understanding of righteousness by looking to Christ, and then working toward restoration in our own communities because he is a perfect Judge

Sunday Gathering, April 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:

John 5:18-29

Worship through Singing:

Oh For a Thousand Tongues to Sing Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us The Lord is Your Shelter Nothing But the Blood

Sunday, April 16th, Resurrection Sunday!

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:

John 11:25

Worship through Singing:

Sermon Discussion Luke 19:28-40

We are in the midst of our Holy Week celebration. Here’s a few questions to stir up conversation and worship of our humble king. These questions are to support Sunday’s sermon as well as reflection for the week. You can view Sunday’s sermon from Luke 19:28-40 online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5OpAXlkmWA
On Palm Sunday, Jesus makes his ‘triumphal entrance’ into Jerusalem. Triumphal can be defined as, “made, carried out, or used in celebration of a great victory or achievement.” What we see in this passage is in fact a great celebration. But the victory or achievement celebrated is not what the Jews were expecting. They clearly wanted a physical king who would establish the nation of Israel over Caesar; however, Jesus didn’t come to overthrow the Roman political powerhouse. He came to overthrow the powerhouse that we all battle with and cannot achieve victory by ourselves – namely our sin it the pending judgement because of it. In Sunday’s sermon, pastor Aaron highlighted that all 4 gospel accounts include the triumphal entry and various events of Holy Week. He pointed out that it is because of emphasis and the gospel writers wanting the focus of Jesus to be on these events. By way of application, how can you turn your attention this week to what took place during Holy Week? Try to think through specific ways you can worship Jesus this week and not just intake more information. Some resources can be found on our Facebook Page.

The first main point in Sunday’s sermon stated that Jesus fulfills OT prophecies as Messiah. Pastor Aaron briefly mentioned that Jesus is the Passover lamb that was selected on this day. The focus of this main point was about the messiah riding on a donkey and more specifically a colt (Zechariah 9:9) We also see a similar event in Israel’s history as Solomon was celebrated as king and rode on his father’s mule. (See 1 Kings 1:32-40). Here’s a few questions: What does this animal represent? Why is it significant that no one has ever rode this colt? Notice the contrast between a peaceful donkey in this passage and a war horse in Revelation 19:11-16

To highlight the peace that Jesus brings think through the following:

-How has Jesus brought peace between God and man? – Think through specific truths/verses that highlight this peace.

-How has Jesus brought peace between men (and women!) – How have you seen the gospel bring reconciliation in relationships?

-How has Jesus brought peace between man and creation? -As the curse in the garden brought toil and struggle in our work – how has Jesus redeemed our work and daily vocations?

Grace has been extended to us so we can have shalom – peace, wholeness, restoration. While that shalom has been extended to us already, it is not yet fully consummated and thus we battle. But we battle together. – Who do you need to extend grace to? Maybe you can send them a donkey emoji. :)

The second main point of Sunday’s sermon was Jesus is received by the crowd – kind of.

As previously mentioned, the crowd was looking for a king to overthrow the political authorities – namely Caesar and Rome. This crowd laid their cloaks as a proverbial red carpet and shouted loud praises to their King – they wanted to crown him…but in the days to follow they would shout crucify him. The irony is glaring. And then we come to the Pharisees; they didn’t know how to respond to the crowd. They could not longer control the response of the people so they tell Jesus to control them – Luke 19:39. But he would not. The crowd was forming and influencing the Pharisees and how they lived their lives. Similarly, how might we be like the Pharisees and allowing the world to be influencing me more than Jesus? Pastor Aaron mentioned 3 areas of application to think through answering this question?

-Time: When life gets tough or full, what’s the first to be sacrificed? Netflix or Life Group; Social Media or time in the word/prayer; spending time investing in people or dreaming up your next vacation?

-Talent – What unique talent has the Lord endowed you with – and how are you using it to bless the body? -Think through needs in your LG or ways you can help individuals in the church body. If you aren’t sure, chat with your LG leader!

-Treasure – A real challenging question for all of us – are you spending more money on your hobbies or on investing in the kingdom of God? We have a tremendous privilege in this country to impact the world for the gospel, how (specifically) can you open your hand and give to the only cause that eternally matters?

Again, we’re looking not for response of condemnation but of grace. Our heavenly Father has graciously given you all things – Romans 8:32; we in turn are to live for Christ who gave us his all. 2 Cor. 5:14-15

We are constantly being formed and molded by the culture we live in – whether we know it or not. The amount of information we intake on a daily basis shapes and molds us. That’s why Paul commands us to renew our minds with God’s word in Romans 12:2. The Christian community, gospel message and hope we have are continual means of counter-formation (grace) from the world around us.

In closing, the stones would cry out if the crowd and we do not. This week, how can you cry out to the Lord in praise for who he is and what he’s accomplished for us? One way, join us on Friday at 7:30pm for our Darkening Service. It will be an in-depth time of reflection and response to the finished work on the cross. We hope to see you then and again on Sunday as we celebrate the resurrection of our King!

Sunday Gathering, April 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:

Luke 19:28-40

Worship through Singing:

The Church’s One Foundation How Can I Keep From Singing Man of Sorrows Grace That Is Greater Here is Love

Sermon Discussion - Philippians 1:27-30

Are you worthy?
Karsten posed the question of how we approach buying a car: is it worth the price & will it be dependable? What about people, how do we know if we’re worthy? As we look at Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, he poses a question in this passage: Are we living a life worthy of the Gospel?

In 1:27, Paul says that our lives should be lived out in way that is “worthy of the Gospel.”

Q: What does Paul mean by “the gospel”? How would you explain the gospel in just a few statements? (see Jn 3:16-17 & 1 Cor 15:1-6)

The crux of the Gospel is that it is something God has done for us, not something we can do for ourselves. All of us either reject or accept this for ourselves. Yet, Paul calls us to live in a way that embodies our response of gratitude & obedience to the Gospel.

Q: What does ‘living a life worthy of this’ look like? How does this look in your day to day life?

In the rest of vs 27, Paul emphasizes the importance of living in unity, working side by side with other believers. United by the Spirit and/or united in a common spirit of service. Having one mind, being unified in their purpose and practice. They are to ‘take their orders’ from Jesus, as a battalion of soldiers would be united under their commander. One of the ways this is lived out by us today is through our LifeGroups.

Q: How does this look in your LifeGroup? In what areas do you see unity and in what ways are you still working on being unified?

In vs 28, Paul tells the Philippians that we’re to do this without fear, though we recognize the opposition that exists. Paul knew what it was like to be opposed. We can also see opposition to the Gospel in our own priorities, like how we use our money and how we spend our time. In many ways, our world system is in opposition to the Gospel.
Q: how do you see that type of opposition in your experience? How do you tend to respond to it?

The great reminder is that no opposition can take our salvation away, cannot take away the power of the gospel.

Finally, in vs 29-30, Paul reminds the believers in Philippi (and us) that we show our lives as worthy of the gospel by suffering for Christ. This can manifest in many ways, some more outward and some ways that are about inner suffering. Either way, we need to keep in mind that suffering comes out of God’s sovereignty, as part of His plan for us:

For our good -we’re refined and made more & more into Christ’s likeness
For the good of others -we’re used to affect others for the Gospel

Suffering is always for a purpose. It’s not for nothing. We can trust God with our suffering because that’s what Jesus did when He faced the cross. We don’t always see the reason for our suffering, but we can trust that the power of the Gospel will be shown through it, as in Paul’s life.

Q: how do you tend to respond to suffering? If you’re able to be vulnerable, share an example of a time of suffering you’ve experienced and how the Gospel may have been ‘proclaimed’ through it.

It takes tremendous faith, that can only come from God, to be grateful in a time of suffering. Perhaps you can close in prayers of gratitude to the Lord for His Gospel that both saves us and empowers us to live ‘in a worthy manner’.

Sermon Discussion Questions John 5:1-14

Here’s a few sermon discussion questions to help our church love God by applying his word to our lives. Feel free to use these questions for personal reflection, alongside your family, within a smaller discipleship/journey group, or even within the context of your Life Group. If you missed Sunday’s sermon from John 5:1-14 you can view it online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=davwNXKwio8
 

TPQ’s – Thought Provoking Questions:

Pastor Aaron started his sermon with a few statements that are often misquoted and thus misrepresented as scripture. These included, “money is the root of all evil” and “cleanliness is next to godliness.” Can you think of any other statements like this that often misrepresent scripture?

Another false statement mentioned was “God only helps those who help themselves.” How is this statement in opposition to the gospel?

THE INVALID MAN

We see early on in this passage that this invalid man was known and cared for by Jesus. First he was known (John 5:6); there is the possibility that this man was not just invalid but also had no motivation to get better. While he had in fact suffered for so many years, there also seems to be no indication that he wanted to get better. This is why Jesus’ first statement to him was, “Do you want to be healed?” Essentially Jesus is asking for a response that will result in action. No more would this man be given the proverbially “handouts” but he would need a radical shift in his life to change his circumstances. But, the question remained, do you want to be healed?

There is much hope for us in a similar situation. Often times we can wish we had different circumstances in our lives. These circumstances can be characterized by sickness, financial hardship, relational tensions, job dissatisfaction, having toddlers (j/k their a blessing!), or by the mere fact that you don’t have something (or someone) that everyone else around you seems to take such delight in. Whatever it is, the Lord Jesus knows you, cares for you and moves towards you. While he might not give you the “thing” you’re desiring most, he still knows you intimately and has promised to meet all of your needs. (Romans 8:32) I’m reminded of the Charles Spurgeon quote, “Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, Divine Love, would have put you there.”

Read Psalm 139:1-6 How is the fact that the Lord knows intimately good news? How is the fact that the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves scary news? Yet like this man, he still moves towards us in compassion and heals us.

As pastor Aaron highlighted, we see Jesus moving towards individuals in his ministry. We’ve seen that with this invalid man, the Samaritan woman, Nicodemus, John the Baptizer, and some of his disciples. By way of application for this section, who is the individual you’re moving towards? Who do you have compassion for that you want to see ultimately healed by Jesus? Share that with your LG and pray for them as a community. If you can’t identify someone, think through the co-worker or neighbor who’s having a hard time. Maybe it’s someone in your Life Group that you feel the Lord prodding you to cultivate a relationship with.

THE JEWS

So right off the bat from this healing, we see Jesus come into a head on collision with the Jewish leaders. Pastor Aaron pointed out the response of seeing this man healed. Instead of rejoice at this man finally being able to care for himself – they legalistically rebuke him for “breaking the sabbath.” (John 5:10)

How would you define legalism?
Legalism could be defined as any attempt to rely on self-effort to either attain or maintain our justification before God.

Paul’s letter to the Galatian church is to combat this very thing. After the hall of fame truth of our identity in Christ (verse 2:20), he says this, “If righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. – Galatians 2:21

Tim Keller says this about it, “Legalism is looking to something besides Jesus Christ in order to be acceptable and clean before God.”

Paul Tripp says this about it, “Legalism devalues grace by looking to the law to produce what only grace can accomplish.”

Pastor Aaron said in his sermon that legalism can be defined as “taking scripture out of context.”

In your experience, how have you seen legalism cause damage inside or outside the church? How can we protect our Life Group from becoming a community of damaging legalists? Be practical and specific!

For more controversies between the Jews and Jesus, check out Luke 6:1-5, Luke 6:6-11, Luke 13:10-17 & Luke 14:1-6. These are great to see more of the insight Jesus had on God’s law as well as how he responded to opposition.

Lastly, how would you answer the question – “why doesn’t Jesus meet all the needs of suffering people?“ Close in praising God for our greatest need being met through Christ and the hope we have of deliverance.

Next Sunday’s Passage: Philippians 1:27-30

Sermon Discussion – John 4:39-54

Hey discussion leaders! Below is a sermon follow up from Pastor Rich’s message from this last Sunday. As usual, feel free to follow or make adjustments as you see fit. I tried to provide answers to the below questions in parentheses, but I intentionally tried to be brief. Don’t just read the answer to your group, but use it in your own studies as you look into God’s word this week to lead your people. 
Teaching Goal: Genuine faith trusts in Jesus and obeys his word because of who he is and how he saves, not because of the things he can give us.

Application Goal: To believe in Jesus even when he doesn’t provide the exact sign/miracle/blessing/gift that we desire from him because we perceive his glory.

Thought Provoking Question: Irony is a major theme in this text. Irony is “a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects.” What are some things you’ve discovered in your Christian walk about God or yourself that you didn’t expect?

Read John 4:39-54

What stands out to you from this text and why?

Look at the Text: John 4:39-45

What are some of the comparisons you see John making in John 4:39-45?

• (Ironically, the Samaritan’s believed, the Galileans were going to reject Jesus, no honor in his hometown).
• (The Samaritan’s believed because of they heard Jesus (John 4:42), but the Galileans were looking for a sign (John 4:48).)

What do you think the significance of this comparison is?

• (The Samaritans were “outsiders” and the Galileans “insiders,” but it was the outsiders who believed, see John 1:11-12).
• (One is a faith that depends on the word of Jesus; the other seeks proof through signs.)
• Why would this be significant?

Did the fact that Jesus knew that he wouldn’t be honored in Galilee keep him from going there and serving? Why do you think he still went?

• Are there places in your life where it’s difficult to serve because you don’t think you’ll be appreciated? What are those places?
• Are there people in your life that you’re afraid to talk to about Jesus specifically because you fear rejection? Who are they?
• What encouragement can we take from Jesus’ example here?

Look at the Text: John 4:46-50

Put yourself in the shoes of the official who has a sick son who is sick “to the point of death.” What are some of the emotions you’d be experiencing as you approach this miracle worker that you’ve heard so much about?

Ironically, Jesus responds very harshly to the man. Why do you think Jesus responds like this?

It’s good to note that the “you” in John 4:48 is plural (like “y’all”), how does this change the way we read what Jesus is saying in John 4:48?

• What does this response say about the people in Galilee?
• (They desire to see signs; they want to put Jesus to the test).

How does the man respond?

• (He persists in asking)
• What does this tell you about him?

Ironically, Jesus responds by giving what he asked and performing a great miracle across a large distance. What is the man’s response to Jesus’ words in John 4:50?

• “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way”
• What does this say about the man’s faith?
• How does this differ from the “faith” of the people in John 4:45 who saw Jesus’ previous signs?
• (Namely, he believes the word of Jesus and not just the signs. This is a good place to discuss why it’s important to take God at his word.)

Look at the Text: John 4:51-54

Once again, put yourself into the shoes of the man as he returns home the next day. What are some of the emotions you’re experiencing as you approach your home and as your servants run out to you?

It’s tempting to focus in on the miracle that Jesus performs in this text simply because it is miraculous and wonderful. As Christians, we ought to believe that God can perform signs like this (see Mark 9:23, where the father of another son says to Jesus, “If you can, please help my boy” and Jesus responds with “’If you can’?—all things are possible for one who believes”). So we ought to believe that he can do things like this even today.

• However, what are some of the dangers of focusing only on the miraculous healing?

The text ends by saying “This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee” (John 4:54). Compare this to how John ended describing Jesus’ first miracle in John 2:11 “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.”

According to John 2:11, what is the purpose of these signs?

• (To display the glory of Jesus)

What are the “sign-seekers” of Jesus’ day missing here?

• (There are likely other answers, but they don’t see the glory of Jesus, otherwise they would truly believe. See John 1:14)
• Cross reference with 2 Corinthians 4:4

What seems to be at the core of the sort of faith Jesus is looking for?

• (A perception of his glory and faith in his word)

Finish the study by asking your group how the man with the sick son perceived the glory of Jesus (saw his grace, mercy, compassion, faithful to his word, etc.). And then ask them how can perceiving the glory of Jesus help them out in the trials of their lives (the examples Rich used were wanting a house, a spouse, wanting healing, wanting money, security, etc.).

Close in prayer by asking God to reveal more of the glory of Christ to your group so that they can respond in true faith.