 OK - so let's say you've already missed one or two of the first two winter CrossRoads meetings. You've missed a lot! It should be noted that the guys have taken an early 2 - 0 lead on the girls in the Biggest Loser competitions! Girls, come on out and step up to the plate! CrossRoads meets Monday nights at 7pm in the student center at Christ Community Church. Hope to see you there! |
This is usually true of our Christian lives as well. Most people decide to start a reading plan in January. They commit that THIS year they will finally read through the whole Bible. Others decide now is the time for joining a small group. Others for cutting out less than desirable choices from their lives. All done with great hope that this is the year that they will finally be that person they wish they were. There is only one problem with this. It almost always ends in failure. Why? Because we look at the end point - losing 20 lbs. or reading the whole Bible, that when the moment comes that we trip up and overindulge or miss two days of Bible reading that we throw in the towel and say, “maybe next year”. Living is not done with resolutions. Living is done one day at a time doing the most we can within each day. Hebrews 4:7 says, “Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts.” Lamentations 3:22-23 “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Every day is a fresh start. Every day is a new chance to “get it right”. And every day is a chance to fail knowing that a new beginning is merely hours away. So don’t get stuck in the January rut. Kiss those “doomed for failure” resolutions goodbye. Instead, take each day as it comes building a healthy lifestyle both physically and spiritually and be amazed at the work God accomplishes in and through you. Join us Monday nights for “The Biggest Loser: Exercise in Spiritual Disciplines” and learn more about living healthy spiritual lives. |
| I'm looking forward to the start of CrossRoads on Monday, January 23 at 7pm in the Student Center. As always, any young adult (college age/20something) is invited. Our new series, The Biggest Loser, will focus on what we might "lose" in our lives in order that our relationship with God might grow. Specifically, we'll consider spiritual growth through spiritual disciplines. Click the "CrossRoads" button on the left of this page for more details. If you are out of shape, join us for this new series! |
| If you missed any of the messages give at CrossRoads during the fall, click here to listen. |
| Thanks to the more than 50 of our college students and young adults who joined us at CrossRoads this fall. We really enjoyed spending the time with you. Join us on Monday night, Jan. 23, 2012 when we kick-off our winter CrossRoads gatherings. As always, we'll meet at 7pm in the Student Center at Christ Community. Hope to see you there as we start our new series, The Biggest Loser! |
| Our rather lengthy, 13-week, chapter-by-chapter study on the book of Hebrews will come to a conclusion on Monday, December 12. Thanks to the more than 40 of you who joined us at some point along the way! Moving forward into the winter and spring, we will offer some shorter studies. Our CrossRoads leadership team is currently creating a new 6 or 7 week study for January/February, 2012. Hebrews is an amazing work of God's hand teaching us that Jesus is supreme over all. We no longer need an earthly "priest" to come to God - through Jesus' work on the cross, we can go straight to God the Father through trusting in His Son, Jesus. The author of Hebrews also recognizes that this journey is not an easy one. He encourages us to keep going! He noted that we can only do that well through authentic relationships with other Christ-followers. If you are a college student or young adult and you feel like you don't have these kinds of relationships right now, consider joining us at Christ Community Church on Sunday mornings and at CrossRoads on Monday nights. If you'd like to talk more about Christ Community or CrossRoads, please contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Deb Borrello at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). |
I particularly liked the final section in Chapter 5. The author has just spent the past four and a half chapters establishing who Jesus is in relation to angels, humanity, the Israelites, rest, and the beginnings of understanding His role as High Priest. All of a sudden the author expresses, “...we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing...” (5:11). How great is that? The author goes on to say “for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles...” (5:12) And “everyone who partakes only of milk...is an infant” (5:13) “But solid food is for the mature...” (5:14). The author totally calls them out! They are at a point in their lives where they should not only be leaving all the elementary teachings of Christ behind but should they themselves be able to lead and teach others the things they have learned and come to know. In other words, instead of moving forward and becoming useful to the new baby Church they are actually stalled out in first and going nowhere. Which leads me to the point of this article... where do you fall on the “maturity” scale? I know for a fact there are many of you who should have a more mature understanding of the Word and teaching others all you know but instead are a drain on the body constantly needing to be fed the basics like a baby. You are content to remain in a place of Biblical ignorance and demand that others continue to pour into you what they know while only retaining small amounts. I am following the lead of the author in Hebrews and am calling you out. If you have been a believer for more than, oh, I don’t know, let’s say 2 years, you should be moving into solid foods my friend! You should know the difference between the new and old testament. You should know the general layout of the Bible as well as an overall knowledge of the contents. You do not need a seminary degree to be a mature Believer but you do need more than a Sunday morning message to get there! If you are still being fed milk when you should be eating meat then step up! Stop forcing others to feed you. Open your Bible. Start feasting on the meat. Don’t just join a small group or Bible study but contribute to the maturity within. There is too much to be done to waste time catering to those who refuse to grow up so give up the milk and grab a steak!! |
| So far we've worked through the first 4 chapters of Hebrews at our CrossRoads Merge meetings on Monday nights. This coming Monday we'll look at Hebrews 5 where the author continues his theme of "Christ is greater than..." In light of that, the author has a convicting message for Christ-followers: Grow up! Any young adult is welcome to join us at our CR gatherings. We meet every Monday night at 7pm in the Student Center at Christ Community Church. Feel free to contact me, Scott, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you have any questions about our meetings. |
Hebrews 12:4 offers an explanation to this. “the Word of God is living and active...” There are no other books I know of referred to as “living and active”. Granted, there are those “choose your own adventure” books that offer a different array of choices with each read, but eventually one follows every possible path and no longer offers the reader new alternatives. But the Bible? The Bible is like the ultimate “choose your own adventure”. It is more than printed letters combined into words arranged into coherent sentences and grouped into logical paragraphs. It is more than just morality and ethical guidelines. It is “living and active”. This is why my friend at 90 is still studying the Bible. This is why she is willing to come out twice a week to hear and share the Word. She knows there is still more for her to learn and more for her to pass on to others. Her Lord is not trapped in the pages but rather reaches out and embraces her every times she opens the Book. Her Lord holds her, encourages her, and leads her, and more and more she takes on the likeness of Jesus everyday. This is why we need to remain diligent in our Bible reading. The Word of God does not benefit me to sit on a shelf. There is nothing special about the Bible if it gathers dust on my nightstand. I will not change and grow and be convicted of my choices and behavior because I downloaded the app to my smartphone. There is nothing effective about owning a Bible. It is only effective if I open it and read it. This is my encouragement to you... be like my friend. Be 90 years old and still passionate about the Word of God. Open the Bible. Read it. Let if change you from the inside out. Because that’s what it does. The author in Hebrews knew it. I know it. Give it a chance and you will know it too. Oh, and pass the WORD. It WILL change someone’s life! |
| Last Monday, we launched our fall CrossRoads meetings. We are working through the letter to the Hebrews one chapter each week. The evenings consists of teaching, Q & A, discussion groups and prayer. You are welcome anytime. We meet in the Student Center at Christ Community Church every Monday night at 7:00pm. |
| On Monday, September 12, 2011 at 7:00pm in the Student Center at Christ Community Church, CrossRoads will kickoff our fall gatherings. During our September - December, weekly, Monday night meetings, Deb and I will teach through the book of Hebrews. The goal is to gain a greater undertstanding of this letter as well as apply its principles to our lives. The format will be teaching, followed by an opportunity for questions and answers. Next, we will break down into discussion groups. Each group will have a leader who will guide you in responding to a few questions. Finally, your discussion group will spend some time in prayer. These nights will end promptly at 8:45pm. Any college student/20something is welcome and we hope to see you on Monday night, September 12! If you have questions, please contact Scott at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) |
| During the first 3 weeks of our current CrossRoads series, God in the dark, Josh Evans, Deb Borrello and I taught from the Scriptures on trusting God in difficult circumstances. Josh and I looked at how Jesus trusted His Father - of course, he did it humanly, yet perfectly. Deb looked at how Old Testament Israel trusted their Father - less perfectly and more humanly. Over the past two weeks, I've interviewed both the Gottwerth and Dromeshauser families on how they have trusted God in life-changing situations. The Gottwerth's were faced with death and divorce. The Dromeshauser's daughter was born with a birth defect. Both families had similar questions: "Why this? Why us? God, what is going on here? This isn't what we excpected." They were broken-hearted and began to see God and themselves differently. Dan shared how "the heavens were closed" after the death of his wife. He relied on the people in his life to communicate God's unbroken love to him. Audrey and Jeff exerienced a deeper sense of God's work in her life. Both have concluded that their daughter was "knit together" by the God who doesn't make mistakes. They believe God has great plans for their little girl. Almost 10 years later, Rachel accutely feels the loss of her mother. Her relationship with God has "had it's ups and downs" but she continues to pursue God. Debi experienced the heartbreak of divorce. She's turned it into a fantastic ministry to others facing similar circumstances. The point of this series, and more importantly, what we see in the Scriptures, is not, "You should feel and act this way during tough times." Each of us might feel similarly, yet differently. However, Jesus did teach us to rely on God, His words and His character. To hold firm to the belief that God is good, in control and accomplishing His great purposes through the situation you are facing even now. God is our refuge and strength, |
| Last night at our weekly CrossRoads meeting, Deb Borrello took us on a whirlwind tour of Exodus. It's amazing how many miracles the Israelites personally witnessed and then, as soon as the next obstacle came along, they feared the worst. Well, at least it's amazing until we compare it to our own lives. How many answered prayers have we experienced only to follow it up with, "God, are you really there?", or "God must not care." God did allow the Israelites to enter into situations where they needed to trust Him. Perhaps it was only in those circumstances that they would learn to know Him more deeply. Maybe you are facing a circumstance and are wondering what God is up to. The Scriptures teach us (Romans 8:28), and we can learn from Israel's experiences, that He is at work in our lives (John 5:17). He is doing something right now, even if it appears to be in the dark, that will draw us closer to Him. I pray that God would move you one step closer to Himself through whatever you face today. |
Have you ever found yourself “name dropping?” You know, when you subtly (or not so subtly in most cases) let it “slip” you know someone others would consider important. We learn early on that if we can’t be the one on top mere association with the person who is can make a difference on where we stand in the eyes of others. Why do you think people dig through celebrity trash cans? Seriously, we drop a name at just the right moment and before we know it we are surrounded by admirers who just want to be near us because we might be the closest thing to the real deal they will ever get. We then ride on the status of that person until it wanes or we find someone even better to associate ourselves with. It’s a process based on pride and it’s only worth it if it inflates our ego. So what if I told you the Bible instructs us to name drop? Matthew 10:32-33 is all about name dropping. Jesus is very clear - name drop Him to others and He will name drop you to His father; deny Him and He will deny you to His father. Not only are we told to name drop Him, He informs us He will name drop us! Imagine! Jesus, with angels, powers, and authorities in submission to him sitting there at the right hand of the Father (1 Peter 3:22) dropping YOUR name. “So Abba, check out (insert your name here). She/He is dropping my name! How cool is that?” So the next time you are tempted to “name drop” someone of earthly fame reconsider and drop the name of the one with eternal fame... “so let me tell you who I know...” |
 I’ve come to realize I have an issue with trust. As many of you know I love to rock climb. I love to feel in control while scurrying my way up a wall. New routes, new moves, new challenges all make me feel excited and ready to attack. Until I get on the wall. Then all that goes to the side and I begin the “what if” game. “What if” my harness, which I’ve been using for years, all of a sudden doesn’t stay on the way it’s supposed to and I plummet to the ground? “What if” the rope, which has supported many climbers and is in good condition, all of a sudden snaps and I plummet to the ground? “What if” the hooks at the top that hold the rope in place all of a sudden pull out of the wall and again, I plummet to the ground? “What if” my belayer is narcoleptic and drops the rope or forgets what they are doing or all of a sudden and drops the rope or is raptured (which of course raises a whole new question as to why I was still on the wall when that happened but we won’t get into that here) and drops the rope and I plummet to the ground? “What if…” and I plummet to the ground? |
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There is nothing like the first of January for making resolutions to start off the new year. For some it’s about setting goals for losing weight, eating better, or overall lifestyle changes. For others it means adding more exercise or eliminating extra sweets. For you it might mean to quit smoking or drink more water. Whatever the choice, we are filled with hope that the upcoming year holds greater success than the last.
A woman in my Bible study will be turning 90 in April. She has been studying the Bible faithfully for longer than I’ve been alive. In fact, she has been studying the Bible faithfully for longer than my life twice over. Yet week after week she returns and not only does she lead but she also learns. Tell me, what other books can one study for almost a century and still find something new every time? Why is it with the Bible no one ever reaches the full saturation point of Biblical knowledge?