crossroads

about heaven, earth and the journey in between

Spring Forward: Identity 04/24/2025

Spring Forward: Identity John 20:1-29 John 21:15-19 Which of the characters in the Easter story best resonates with the identity that defines us? “The disciple whom Jesus loved” Mary “Doubting” Thomas Simon/Peter The fleeting nature of failure The necessity of honesty The power of repentance Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/36274135

Spring Forward: Worship 04/22/2025

Spring Forward: Worship Luke 19:28-40 The characters presented in the story of Jesus' Triumphal Entry illustrate several different ways people tend to worship Jesus. Which one do you look like most? How do you worship? Do you worship at all? Do you worship because of what you get from Jesus? Do you worship because you know about Jesus? Do you worship because you’re with Jesus? Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/36258635

Spring Forward: Grace 04/08/2025

Spring Forward: Grace 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 Hosea 6:6 Ephesians 4:32 - 5:2 Matthew 5:43-45 Jesus has some very tough standards for us to live like him. He calls us to love others not just as we love ourselves, but as he loves us. He even calls us to love our enemies. His grace was demonstrated by his death on the cross so we could share it with others. So what is grace to us: Grace isn’t deserved Grace is healing Grace is worship Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/36048285

Spring Forward: God-Help 04/01/2025

Spring Forward: God-Help Genesis 1:31; 3:1-5; 6:5; Deuteronomy 5:33 Matthew 5:21-22 2 Corinthians 5:17 Romans 12:2 Ephesians 4:17-24 When we gave our lives to Christ we didn’t simply join a new religion, we became a new creation. But instead of living like it, we like to do things ourselves. But when we try to fix everything on our own, it can have unintended consequences. Here are some warnings about self-help: Self-help is often self-centered Self-help can easily become self-worship God-help, on the other hand, works in a different way: God-help is a God-first system God-help is the only help that actually works Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/35955105

Spring Forward: Hope 03/24/2025

Spring Forward: Hope 1 Corinthians 13:13 We spend a lot of time in church talking about faith and love, but not much talking about hope. We all need to strengthen our hope. 1 Kings 19:1-18 If you want to build hope in your life, you have to: Remember Reinforce You can’t live by someone else’s faith, but you can certainly rest in its shadow. Refocus From the natural to the SUPERnatural Look for the glimmers Live in the glimmers Open your eyes Worship Denounce the Delusions Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/35832640

Spring Forward 03/17/2025

Spring Forward Colossians 2:1-7 What does it look like to “spring forward” in different areas of our lives? Grow down Spring forward Get more light Strive for new growth Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/35720105

Growth: Spiritual Allergies 03/14/2025

Growth: Spiritual Allergies What is an allergy? An allergy is where your body reacts strongly to something that may be harmless to others. We all experience spiritual allergies… things that aren’t sins in and of themselves, but that can lead to bad decisions… Things that overwhelm our spiritual immune system. How do we deal with spiritual allergies? Avoid 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Proverbs 4:14-15 Praise 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Change your focus Philippians 4:8 Support, encouragement, and accountability Proverbs 27:17 Hebrews 10:23-25 Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/35682465

Growth: Prayer and Maturity 02/24/2025

Growth: Prayer and Maturity Prayer Matthew 21:13a Most Christians don’t pray, or don’t pray very much. We miss out on the power of the one who says to us, “I’m right here listening.” So what does it really take to grow in prayer? Pray Pray consistently Pray continually Pray for others first Pray first Maturity 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 How do we grow in maturity? Identify the childish Get an outside perspective Identify maturity Move Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/35402960

Growth: In Faith 02/19/2025

Growth: In Faith Daniel 3:7-18 We all have some kind of faith, or we wouldn’t be going to church or listening to sermons. So what does it look like to grow in this faith: Life change Moving from noun to verb Becoming an “even if” Christian Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/35344815

Growth: Love 02/09/2025

Growth: Love 2 Peter 1:5-8 Colossians 3:12-14 John 15:13 Love Is much more than a feeling. It is a choice. And because of that, it presents us opportunities to grow. To grow in LOVE is to: Grow in the ability to give our lives to others. Grow in the ability to give our lives to others who don’t like us. Grow in the ability to give our lives to others who are against us. Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/35213460

Talk About Windshields 02/04/2025

Talk About Windshields Luke 11:33-36 Having a dirty windshield is a lot like having sin in your life. Sin makes it hard to follow God in much the same way that a dirty windshield makes it harder to see where you’re driving. Sin makes it hard to see Clean the Inside Deal with the damage Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/35142725

#GOALS: Find Rest 01/27/2025

#GOALS: Find Rest Matthew 11:28-30 Genesis 2:1-3 Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Psalm 46:10a As we long to be our own god, we wear ourselves out until our souls are weary. Only by taking up Christ’s yoke can we find rest. There are several categories we should consider for rest: Find rest from your work Find rest from your striving Find rest from your battle Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/35023520

#GOALS: Make Peace 01/21/2025

#GOALS: Make Peace Matthew 5:9 For a lot of us, it’s much easier and much more common for us to be troublemakers rather than peacemakers. But if we want to follow Jesus, we have to go against that temptation. There are four ways we can endeavor to be peacemakers: Make peace with people Make peace between people Make peace with your circumstances Make peace with God Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/34936825

#GOALS: Expand My Worship 01/12/2025

#GOALS: Expand My Worship Matthew 25:31-40 The idea of worship is so much more than something that happens for a couple hours on a Sunday morning. It encompasses our whole lives - all that we do for ourselves and for others. The way we treat one another becomes the way we worship God. There are several ways we should think about how to worship outside the church: Worship through my relationships Worship with my service Worship in the giving of grace Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/34827740

#GOALS: Connection 01/07/2025

#GOALS: Connection 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Paul wants the Corinthian church to understand that they have been newly created when they give their lives to God. The same is true for us… but sometimes we still live like the old is not gone. So if we want to live like the new new creation we’ve become, we should think about making these goals for 2025: Strengthen my connection. Embrace the traditional. Engage the personal. Eliminate the disconnectors. Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/34753125

Encounters: Herod 12/27/2024

Encounters: Herod Matthew 2:1-12; 16 Like Herod, it can be hard for us to give up our power, our authority, our possessions… our lives. But Jesus came to do just that. We might be able to relate to this quote: “I know God is working in me, but right now I’m so uncomfortable with myself, and the changes God is making in my heart feel like an attack.” Every work of God in us requires us to lay down our crowns Sometimes the thing God is doing feels like an attack. Every work of God is good; even when it costs. Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/34626590

Encounters: The Shepherds 12/23/2024

Encounters: The Shepherds Luke 2:8-20 Their society considered them outsiders, but it was these outcasts to whom God chose to send a host of angels proclaiming Christ’s birth. When the shepherds heard the news about Jesus, they acted on it right away. They went to see the baby and praised God for what they had seen. We can learn several things from the shepherds’ story: There are no “outsiders” to God God is inviting “outsiders” to become insiders God’s hope is that the “outsiders” who have become insiders will invite other “outsiders” Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/34573970

Encounters: The Magi 12/13/2024

Encounters: The Magi Matthew 2:1-12 The magi journeyed by faith. The knew there was something important in the west: the Jewish messiah, but they didn’t know exactly what their journey would be like. And their journey may have taken some time. For us, just like for the magi, faith is a journey… that often takes time. sometimes filled with wrong turns sometimes suffers pause that requires persistence where God is always waiting Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/34390500

Encounters: The Magi 12/13/2024

100 Bad Days 12/07/2024

100 Bad Days How do you turn your bad days into good stories? Choose perspective Colossians 3:1-3 James 1:2-4 Seek after God Psalm 9:9-11 Testify continually 1 John 4:15 Jesus made a way Romans 5:8 Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/34260475

Come Near 12/05/2024

Come Near Numbers 16:1-7 Christ went to the cross to bring us the chance for intimacy and closeness with God. So there are three things for us to think about as we take communion. What are you doing to protect the “near?” What are you doing to preserve the “near?” What are you doing to improve the “near?” Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/34260370

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Church 12/03/2024

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Church Matthew 16:13-20 Ekklēsia: a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly Ekklēsia: The “called out ones.” Ways we use the word “Church:” a building a service Ways Jesus uses the word “Church:” the people who acknowledge his deity the people on his mission the people of Christ at war against evil Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/34260290

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Peace 10/08/2024

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Peace eirēnē: in Greek, probably from a primary verb meaning “to join.” Peace; by implication, prosperity, - one, quietness, rest, + set at one again Shalom: in Hebrew, complete or wholeness John 14:23-27 Christian “peace” does not mean: Peace of circumstances The “peace” Christ offers is: Peace with God Peace with God offers inner peace Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/33371032

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Christian 10/02/2024

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Christian ts 11:25-26 A Christian is not: Just someone who believes in God Just someone who practices a religion Just someone who calls themselves one A Christian is: Someone who has given their life to Christ. Mark 8:35 Someone who loves in Jesus’ name John 13:34-35 Someone who’s on THE way Romans 7:15,18-19 Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/33293602

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Worship 09/27/2024

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Worship Isaiah 29:13 John 4:21-24 respectful devotion: loving, honoring, and obeying someone who deserves our highest regard Worship (In a nutshell): Acknowledging God as God That means: ANYTHING can be worship "Worship" should demonstrate itself: In the way we interact with the world In our marriages In our parenting In our private time Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/33181452

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Holy 09/08/2024

/‘Ch-rist-ian’ ese/: Holy Holy: “Set apart.” Dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred. Deuteronomy 7:6 Leviticus 11:42 How should our lives be set apart? How do we live out being holy? Holy Input Holy output Holy time Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/32963667

Communion Sunday 09/03/2024

Communion Sunday Matthew 26:17-19, 26-30 We believe that communion is one of the two sacraments that we partake of in the church (the other being baptism). When we take communion often, it’s possible that we can lose sight of what it really means as we numbly follow our traditions. But if we take the time to understand the magnitude of what we’re doing when we take communion, it can change our perspective entirely. Communion is about: Intimacy Intent Inertia Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/32872157

"Don't Quote Me On That: "Train up a child" 08/26/2024

"Don't Quote Me On That: "Train up a child" Proverbs 22:6 Proverbs 1:1-7 tells us that all the proverbs make up a collection of wise sayings, not promises from God. Proverbs 22 doesn’t guarantee that our children won’t depart from God when they grow older. So what’s the point of training them up in the Lord? Promises? Discipleship Worship Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/32603092

Don't Quote Me On That: "I know the plans I have for you" 08/23/2024

Don't Quote Me On That: "I know the plans I have for you" Jeremiah 29:1-14 The Bible is a revelation of God. It’s not just a retelling of history, it’s a way for us to know who God is. When we read a passage like this, it brings up several questions. Question #1: Can we quote it? Question #2: Does God want me to be rich? Question #3: When does it happen? Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/32584282

Don't Quote Me On That: "Money is the root of all evil" 08/20/2024

Don't Quote Me On That: "Money is the root of all evil" 1 Timothy 6:2-10 Money represents “congealed life.” We use it to get the things that we want. We don’t want to give it away, because it means we don’t get the thing we were saving up for… that little bit of extra that we were looking forward to. God wants to protect us from our money because he knows how it can ruin us when we love it so much we can’t let it go. If you’re going to quote a verse, know the actual verse. Know its context Know its love Crossroads – about heaven, earth, and the journey in between. Connect with us Website: YouTube: Facebook: /episode/index/show/michael1/id/32569037

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