“Following Christ and the Formula for Success”
Ephesians 5
Sermon Series – “The Family of God” (Part 
I. (1-2) “Resemble Him in Your Giving”
II. (3-20) “Resemble Him in Your Living”
III. (21-33) “Resemble Him in Being Willing”
“Learning to Trust”
Proverbs 3:5-6
I. (5a) “Accept the Challenge”
II. (5b) “Follow the Practicality”
III. (6a) “Use the Application”
IV. (6b) “Expect the Results”
One of the most difficult things to do as humans is to invest a measurable “trust” in someone other than ourselves. Our nature contradicts even the idea of being able trust anyone, much less someone that we have never met in person before. Yet as today’s text suggest, God is calling us (by faith) to totally hope, believe, expect, rely, and depend upon Him. The bonus to us is that He does this with an encouragement for us to “get to know Him better” or to “learn more about Him”, as He does throughout the entire Bible. A sort of “Taste and See” challenge.
Today, I would like to take a few moments and consider that “Learning to Trust” God is more than just a command, it is a way of life.
“The Thrill of Victory”
II Timothy 4:6-8
I. (6) “Thrill in the Departure”
II. (7) “Thrill in the Discipleship”
III. (8) “Thrill in the Deliverer”
People all over the world tonight will experience the greatest of all sporting events, Super Bowl XLV. We know that there will be a victorious team that will emerge from the battle tonight in Arlington Texas. As the clock winds down tonight to the final, I am certain that the team that is in the lead will experience some of the same great “feelings” that Christians should enjoy in our time here on earth.
Today I want us to consider that how we live our lives today will have impact on our joy tomorrow just as any victorious Super Bowl team will be quick to tell you. That in many ways, events leading up to the victory is as important as the victory itself!
“An Amazing Kind of Love”
Romans 5:6-8
I. (6) “The Condition and Position Factor”
II. (7) “The Possibilities’ Factor”
III. (8) “The Precious Factor”
It is without much valid argument that we could say that the most cherished of all human feelings is the feeling of love. No other feeling that is known to mankind can take the place of the warmth and hope of being genuinely loved. Yet even for those of us who have experienced God’s love first hand through the new birth of the blood of Christ, it is for good reason, often hard to contemplate and even harder sometimes to believe.
In today’s sermon, I want to present to you three factors that makes God’s love for us an amazing kind of love. Factors that we cannot as humans comprehend because of their astonishment. This kind of love has it’s origins in God alone and is sustained by Him as well. I present these with hopes that within these factors, we can discover an even deeper meaning about His love toward us. Not that we will ever fully comprehend it, but that we will be able to dive deeper into it.
We will not be having services this evening, due to inclement weather. Be safe and be sure to spend some personal time in Bible study and prayer.
“Lessons in Tough Times”
Joshua 1:1-9
I. (1-5) “The Challenge”
II. (6-8) “The Commandment”
III. (9) “The Certainties”
As we live out our lives, it would be nice if we could just make it through without ever having to face the challenge of hard or even dangerous times. Yet the reality is, if we live long enough, there will be times in which our comforts of the “easy life” may evaporate in an instant. How we respond to those times of challenge goes a long way in determining their outcome.
In today’s text, we find a man that was being brought forward by God to lead an entire nation into places that they had never been before. God gave Joshua a tough challenge, BUT God also gave Joshua what he needed to accomplish the task because Joshua was faithful to God’s Word. You may be facing a tough challenge in your life as well. If so, let us together examine three precepts from the story today that should give us the understanding we need to make it through tough times.
“The Christ Centered Church”
Philippians 2:1-7
I. (1-2) “Evidence that Christ is Central”
II. (3-4) “Endorsement that Christ is Central”
III. (5-7) “Example for the Christ Centered Church”
In the times in which we are living, one does not have to put forth much effort to see the great need of churches to be “Christ Centered”. Alternatively, or put another way, “to be Christ focused”. We live in a world that is so “divided” by conflict, politics, personal agenda’s, and selfish ambition that hardly anyone can agree upon anything. For Christians, this has impact upon our ability to communicate the Gospel to a lost world. We Christian’s should strive daily to mold our lives into a life that has Jesus Christ as the central and most important choice in our lives. Yet how is that accomplished? In addition, what do we need to know to get there?
Today we are going to examine three things that are necessary to a church that wants to be Christ Centered. And with God’s help, apply theses truth’s to our lives so that we can become “more” Centered on Christ and fulfill our Great Commission given by our Lord!
Crossroads will NOT be having Sunday School tomorrow, but we will have service at 11AM. Hope to see you there!
We do not plan to have Sunday evening services, but check back here in case there are changes.
Wednesday evening services are canceled due to inclement weather.
We regret to announce that we are cancelling our services for Sunday, January 9, 2011, due to inclement weather. We hope and pray that you will find time to worship God in the safety of your home. Pick up the phone and call somebody and encourage them! Pray for those who the weather affects in difficult ways, and do something to help them if you can. Have a great day!