The Cross and the Crown

Exploring the character of God, through the story of God, for the glory of God

Love 01/01/2026

Love In this fourth session through the historic themes of Advent, we examine love. How is love central to who God is? How has God demonstrated His love for humanity? Why is it essential for believers to bear the fruit of love within the Church and to the world? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/39586465

Joy 12/23/2025

Joy What is joy? How and why is joy a central tenet of the Christian faith? How can we cultivate a deeper joy in our daily lives, even in the face of seemingly impossible obstacles? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/39523840

Peace 12/14/2025

Peace What is peace? A brief survey of Scripture shows that the God of peace made peace with sinners through the Prince of Peace- Christ Jesus our Lord. The price of that peace was paid with the precious blood of the Prince himself. The peace he thus gives is the very peace He shared with the Father from eternity past. What implications should this have on believers? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/39401875

Hope 12/14/2025

Hope In this first of four sessions, we will explore the meaning, weight, and glory of the blessed hope we share as believers. Using Titus 2 as the anchor text, we will look at how Paul calls believers to marvel at the past and future to cultivate hope in the present. /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/39398455

Living Life with a Good and Glorious Purpose (Part II) 12/14/2025

Living Life with a Good and Glorious Purpose (Part II) In this second part exploring 2 Timothy 4:6-8, we examine closer Paul's closing words to Timothy. We find this text to be both a challenge and a summons to live all of live with the good and glorious purpose of glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. What does Paul intend to tell Timothy with his final words? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/39398430

Living Life with a Good and Glorious Purpose (Part I) 12/14/2025

Living Life with a Good and Glorious Purpose (Part I) 2 Timothy 4:6-8 is both a challenge and a summons to live all of live with the good and glorious purpose of glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. How does the wider context of 2 Timothy help us take to heart Paul's enduring words? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/39398410

The Steadfast Love and Faithfulness of God 12/14/2025

The Steadfast Love and Faithfulness of God Psalm 117 invites us to worship, explore, and meditate on the steadfast love and faithfulness of God. What impact should these truths have in the life of the believer? How should this psalm drive us to carry out the Great Commission? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/39398390

A Precious and Parting Word (2 Timothy 1:1-14) 08/12/2025

A Precious and Parting Word (2 Timothy 1:1-14) In Paul's second letter to Timothy, we see the heart of a spiritual father pouring out his parting wisdom to his son in the faith. To Christ's church today, this precious letter plants our hearts in the glorious truth of the gospel. It encourages, inspires, corrects, and directs our hearts to Christ our hope at every turn. As I enter a season of extended leave due to health reasons, I pray this letter will become a treasured guide and encouragement to the church during our time apart. /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/37776815

James 5:19-20 07/30/2025

James 5:19-20 James concludes his epistle with a challenging call, reminiscent of Jesus' parable in Luke 15:1-7. As clearly as one can walk in the truth, one can wander from truth. What responsibilities do believers share in seeking after those who wander from truth? What are the repercussions if we fail in this task? What beauty awaits if we succeed? How does Christ's seeking us strengthen and equip us for this high and humble calling? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/37602435

James 5:13-18 07/29/2025

James 5:13-18 In this extraordinary and heatedly debated passage, James challenges believers to pray boldly as individuals, leadership teams, and the church as a united covenant community in the name of Christ, in the power of Christ, and for the glory of Christ. /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/37601190

James 5:7-12 07/29/2025

James 5:7-12 James encourages the hearts of his audience toward patience by offering 3 practical examples of how we can learn to wait upon the Lord, trusting in His sovereign, compassionate, and mericiful purposes amidst our deepest suffering. /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/37601040

James 5:1-6 07/29/2025

James 5:1-6 In this section of the text, James levels sweeping judgements upon the rich guilty of persecuting poor believers. James echoes not only the prophets of old, but the teachings of Jesus with clarity and precision, challenging those to whom he is writing to forsake the trap of living for earthly treasure, while heeding the call of a Savior who beckons us to live in light of eternal treasure. /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/37600525

James 4:13-17: Trusting Christ in Discerning God's Will 05/31/2025

James 4:13-17: Trusting Christ in Discerning God's Will Understanding the various ways that Scripture speaks of God's will is vital for discerning His purposes in your life and the life of the church. Having a space for these categories will build faith, clarify understanding, and help us grow deeper in God's wisdom from above. /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36799445

Wisdom for Life: A Call to Graduates and the Church 05/31/2025

Wisdom for Life: A Call to Graduates and the Church We need the wisdom of God before and after graduation. Nonetheless, we often feel the weight of life's changes during our most significant milestones. In this service, we commission our recent graduates, their families, and the church. /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36799380

James 4:13-17 Illustrated in the Life of Paul 05/31/2025

James 4:13-17 Illustrated in the Life of Paul How did Paul model the truth found in James 4:13-17? How is his life an illustration of what it means to align our hearts to God's will and aims? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36799285

James 4:13-17 05/31/2025

James 4:13-17 How does James confront many of the prevailing attitudes of his day regarding submission to the will of the Lord? How does our planning expose the thing in which (or Whom) we truly trust? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36799230

The Lord of Glory in Paul, James, and Peter 05/31/2025

The Lord of Glory in Paul, James, and Peter What do Paul, James, and Peter have in common? What happened to transform these men who once persecuted the Lord, rejected the Lord, and denied the Lord? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36799175

James 4:6-12 05/25/2025

James 4:6-12 What does this passage teach us about who God is and how does God call us to respond to this reality? How do we submit to God and draw near to Him who first drew near to us? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36701500

James 4:1-6 05/25/2025

James 4:1-6 Are our passions truly at war within us as believers? How shall the human heart be freed from the the allure of worldly pleasures? In the words of Thomas Chalmers, "The allure of sin is severed by the power of a superior pleasure and a more compelling joy." What wisdom and grace does the book of James offer us here? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36701420

James and 1 Peter 04/05/2025

James and 1 Peter Christlike thinking fuels Christlike loving and overflows into Christlike living. Godly conduct flows from a godly heart that is informed by a godly mind. How are the messages of James and Peter similar? How do both stir us to renew our minds in a way that fuels our heart that bears the fruit of service in our lives? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36020825

James 4 (Overview) 04/05/2025

James 4 (Overview) What are three spiritual battlegrounds that every believer in all times and all places will face? What role do the bookends of 1. seeking wisdom from above and 2. trusting the Lord's will in this section play in helping us grow in Christlikeness? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36020690

James 3:13-18 04/05/2025

James 3:13-18 James, from the outset of his letter, calls the believer to ask God for wisdom. In chapter 3, he describes the wisdom from above, one of the gifts from the Father of lights, as being pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. What does this tell us about the character of God? How do we as believers grow in aligning our hearts and minds to the heart and mind of God? What fruit should this produce in the life of the believer? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36020650

James 3:1-18 04/05/2025

James 3:1-18 The words we speak reveal the truth about the state of our heart. How does James 3 challenge us to examine the root and fruit of our speech? How does James' declaration of the impact of the words we speak challenge us to seek deeply the wisdom of God? What are the consequences of being careless with our words? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36020620

James 2:14-26 04/05/2025

James 2:14-26 What is the connection that James makes between faith and works? Do James and Paul disagree about the issue of justification? How do the examples that James gives of Rahab and Abraham help us understand clearly what James is- and isn't- saying? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/36020565

James 2:1-13 02/23/2025

James 2:1-13 How does holding faith in Christ, the Lord of glory, being quick to gospel mercy, and embracing the royal law in Scripture ground our efforts to erode the sins of paritiality, favortism, and discrimination in the life of a believer and church? Why is this particular sin so egregious to the Lord of glory? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/35398625

Deep Dive Supplement to James 1:17-20 02/23/2025

Deep Dive Supplement to James 1:17-20 In an age where many are slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry, Christians are called to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. What action steps can believers take to grow in this area? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/35398595

James 1:17-27 02/23/2025

James 1:17-27 How do we recieve with meekness the implanted word? Why is the righteousness of God the measuring line to which believers aim to align their heart? What is the law of liberty to which James refers? What distinctions does James make between true and false religion? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/35398550

James 1:1-18 02/23/2025

James 1:1-18 How can Christians count it joy when we endure trials of various kinds? Why is it so important for believers to ask God for wisdom in their trials? How do we cultivate a life of humility? Where does sin originate? How sovereign is the God? What is the word of truth? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/35398475

James: Introduction 02/23/2025

James: Introduction In this introduction to the epistle of James, we will examine the author, date, content, and aims of of this beloved letter of the New Testament. /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/35398405

Psalm 101 02/03/2025

Psalm 101 Psalm 101 is a call to godly leadership. What can we glean from peering into the heart of a leader after God's own heart. What should be the response to failures in leadership? How does this psalm point beyond David to Christ, the perfect King? /episode/index/show/thecrossandthecrown/id/35121860

The Cross and the Crown

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