Line Upon Line

Continuing the "On Trial" series in Acts 26, Pastor Miles examines Paul's final defense before King Herod Agrippa II, showing how Paul seized a God-given opportunity to bear witness to Jesus. The teaching draws practical lessons for Christians as ambassadors of Jesus: seek permission to speak, meet curiosity with courtesy, take time to share the gospel, and tell your own story in a way that points...

Examining Paul's private hearings before the Roman governor Felix and his wife Drusilla in Acts 24, this teaching warns that one can be familiar with "the way," hear gospel truth, and even fear God, yet never come to actually know Jesus Christ. Through the tragic histories of Felix and Drusilla, the message presses the urgency of bending the knee to Christ's Lordship before a convenient time that...

Through Paul's appearance before the Sanhedrin in Acts 22:30–23:10, this Easter teaching shows that living actively for Jesus inevitably causes a stir, that genuine faith in the risen Christ supersedes empty religion, and that the resurrection remains the truly divisive issue—while an outside world watches to see whether our hope in the resurrection has transformed how we live today.

This teaching explores worship as central to the Christian life and the purpose for which we were created, arguing that all of creation—and humanity in particular—exists to bring glory to God. Pastor Miles shows that sin is fundamentally a worship disorder, that worship is transformational, and that we fulfill our purpose and taste our destiny when we worship God together.

A teaching on why God created humanity for community, how that community and communion were lost in the fall, how Christ reconciles us to God and one another through the cross, and how the local church—lived out in fellowship and connect groups—is God's plan for restoring genuine community.

A teaching on the biblical theme of mission, tracing how God is the missionary God who pursues lost humanity, how Christ exemplifies and commissions His disciples for mission, empowers them by the Spirit, and will ultimately accomplish His mission through the church. It challenges believers to engage in mission right where they are, seeing their daily lives and workplaces as mission fields.

A teaching on biblical generosity that grounds Christian giving in the character of God, who is the supreme giver, and in Christ, who gave everything on the cross. Drawing from Exodus 35–36 and a survey of Scripture, the message argues that sacrificial generosity expresses Christlikeness, is commanded, is a matter of stewardship, loosens the world's grip on us, and will be rewarded.

A reintroduction to the book of Acts that frames the church as God's mobile temple, sent into the world to fulfill Christ's commission—a mission impossible apart from the promised and provided power of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Miles surveys the storyline of Acts through Paul's third missionary journey, arriving at Acts 20 as Paul heads back toward Jerusalem.

In his final farewell to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:17-38), Paul reminds them of his past character, his present circumstances of faithful obedience under suffering, and the application for their future leadership—chiefly to guard their own hearts and to guard the flock God purchased with His own blood.

As Paul finishes his third missionary journey, the Holy Spirit warns him through believers in every city that chains and tribulations await him in Jerusalem, yet he presses on. Pastor Miles argues that Paul went because only he, the apostle to the Gentiles, could carry a peace offering from Gentile churches to Jewish believers and thus heal the internal division threatening the early church.

Examining Acts 21:15-27, Pastor Miles shows how Paul, an apostle to the Gentiles, returned to Jerusalem to address the racial divide between Jewish and Gentile believers, demonstrating that the gospel is supracultural and that Christians can maintain much of their native culture while letting the gospel reject what is sinful and influence what remains.

Continuing the study in Acts 21–22, Pastor Miles examines Paul's arrest in the temple, mirroring the stoning of Stephen, and Paul's defense before the Jerusalem mob. The teaching calls believers to thank God for civil government, refuse to let others mistake their Christian identity, set the record straight, tell their story, and expect a response—even a hostile one.

Studying Paul's final hours as a free man in Acts 22, Pastor Miles shows how God works all things together for good even in trials, and draws four exhortations: God's heart is for those outside our circle, we should be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, and we should use every available resource and opportunity to reach others for the kingdom.

Tracing the biblical arc from creation to the church, Pastor Miles teaches that humanity was made for community and communion with God, that both were broken in the fall, and that Christ came to reconcile us to God and one another—making the church God's plan for restoring genuine, satisfying community.

Opening a new series called "Life in Connection," Pastor Miles uses Habakkuk 2:2-3 to teach that God has good plans for His people, makes those plans known through God-inspired vision, and calls His people to test, write, and act on that vision. He then unveils Cross Connection Church's vision and mission to live a life in connection with God and one another through worship, fellowship, disciplesh...

Drawing on Peter's pattern of stirring believers up by reminder, Pastor Miles works through 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18, exhorting the church to warn the unruly, comfort the faint-hearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all, refuse to render evil for evil, and to rejoice, pray, and give thanks—the explicitly stated will of God.

Pastor Miles uses the year-end season to give a "prophetic encouragement" rather than a sensational prophecy update, warning against speculative eschatology while affirming the certain hope of Christ's second coming and His promise to make all things new. He calls believers to faithful watching, waiting, and working—taking the gospel to the world—until Jesus returns.

The fourth message in a Christmas series answers "Why Christmas?" by showing that Jesus came to give abundant life, which is the unmitigated and perfect experience—now and forever—of the fullness of God's presence, summed up in the word "joy." Pastor Miles connects the angels' announcement of "good tidings of great joy" to the believer's call to carry that good news to all people.

The third message in a "Why Christmas?" series argues that Christmas matters because life is precious to God—who is life, gives life, and loves life. Because death is a foreign agent introduced by humanity's fall, the gift-giving God came in the person of Jesus Christ to abolish death and bring everlasting life.

A Christmas teaching on why God gave Jesus, tracing the "hints" (prophecies) God left throughout the Old Testament about His perfect gift for a broken world. From Genesis 3:15 forward, God progressively revealed who the Messiah would be, where He would come from, and what He would do.

Opening a Christmas series, Pastor Miles walks through Genesis 1–3 to show that God is a generous, gift-giving Creator whose "very good" world was broken by sin. The fundamental answer to "Why Christmas?" is that the world is broken, and Christ's coming addresses that brokenness.

Drawing from Ephesians 5:15 and its surrounding context, Pastor Miles teaches that believers must walk carefully and wisely, "redeeming the time," because we live in evil days and have a God-given purpose to fulfill. He contrasts the world's self-indulgent, "do whatever you want" mindset with the Spirit-filled life evidenced by worship, thanksgiving, and submission to one another.

In this closing study of Romans, Paul gives a series of parting exhortations: mark and avoid those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to sound doctrine, become well-versed in what is good so the counterfeit is easily detected, and rest in the promise that the God of peace will crush Satan under the church's feet. The teaching ends with Paul's great doxology, that God alone is able to establ...

A study of Romans 16, showing first how God grants "honorable mention" in eternity to ordinary, faithful servants whose names are written in the Book of Life, and then how the church is to identify, avoid, and admonish those who cause divisions while remaining established by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the closing personal section of Romans, Paul affirms his confidence in the Roman believers, attributing all their goodness to God in them, and explains his calling as a frontier missionary to the Gentiles whose aim is to preach the Gospel where Christ has not been named. The teaching emphasizes that salvation, sanctification, and all good works are God's work for which He alone gets the glory.