Matthew 19:2121 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”Do you have anyone in your life who is kind of an aesthetic? Someone who just doesn’t seem that interested in material things. Someone who doesn’t need that new cell phone, they couldn't really care about getting a ...  Read More

James 1:2727 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.End Statement #4-Crosswalk will be a community that lives beyond herself by caring and advocating for the powerless, oppressed and abandoned.This quote from James should probably be read by every Christian a few times each week to rem...  Read More

Week 3 of 8       End Statement #3: Crosswalk will be relevant in living out the ways of Jesus in our place and time.INTRODUCTIONThe following is a guide to help facilitate discussion. Feel free to add or subtract or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPENHave you ever had the opportunity to volunteer at a local non-profit, or take a mission tri...  Read More

Acts 17:27-3127 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.30 “God overlooked peop...  Read More

Acts 17:22-2622 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. 24 “He is the God who made the world and everyt...  Read More

1 Corinthians 13:113 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.The heading for this section is “love is the greatest.” 1 Corinthians 13 is the famous chapter on love. It goes on to tell us what love is and what love is not. Of course, we have heard this text at weddings forever. In fact, as a pastor, I actua...  Read More

Matthew 4:18-2018 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.What a great story of transformation. It is also a ...  Read More

Revelation 7:9-109 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”This is one of my favorite texts. N...  Read More

Acts 1:88 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”End Statement #3: Crosswalk will be relevant in living out the ways of Jesus in our place and time.The gospel is relevant, and we have been called to preach that gospel, to be those witnesses from o...  Read More

Week 2 of 5      Mark 10:21; John 13:34; John 17:23; John 3:16-17; John 6:44; 1 Samuel 16:7INTRODUCTIONThe following is a guide to help facilitate discussion. Feel free to add or subtract or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPENThink about and share a time when your true self (authentic self) was revealed. What happened and what was that exper...  Read More

1 Samuel 16:7“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” This is perhaps why God can have such amazing and authentic relationships with us, because he knows even more than what we know about ourselves. We know what our heads kn...  Read More

John 6:4444 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.What is the drawing power of an authentic relationship? In this text, we see that Jesus is reminding people that even their attraction to him is the work of the Father. We call this prevenient grace, or grace before grace. I have spoken and written about this before. What ...  Read More