Church at the Cross : Sunday Messages

Text: Romans 8:1-4 Notes: + In Jesus you have all the acceptance you will ever need. -        John 12:42-43 -        1 Corinthians 4:3-4 "To please God… to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness… to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son- it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain...

Text: Romans 8:1-2 In Pastor JR Vassar's sermon on Romans 8:1-2, he emphasizes humanity's vital need for reconciliation with God, exploring universal guilt and the transformative power of faith in Christ. The book of Romans acts as a catalyst for reshaping lives and evoking profound spiritual responses. + Why are we studying Romans? + The greatest need we have is to be put in the right with God. +...

Notes: Text: Acts 2:41-47   "Beethoven has the real goods, the stuff from Heaven, the power to make you feel at the finish: something is right in the world. There I something that checks throughout, that follows its own law consistently: something we can trust, that will never let us down." – Leonard Bernsetin, Composer   +Spirit-Empowered Community is a place where people grow   +Spirit-Empowered...

Notes: Text: Hebrews 1:1-3 +The baby in the manger is God's message to us. +The baby in the manger is God's savior for us. +The baby in the manger is God's king over us.

Notes: Text: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21   +A follower of Jesus is no longer a prisoner to death. +A follower of Jesus is a new creation. +A follower of Jesus is sent.   "Plainly, if Paul's conclusion is to be drawn, the 'for' must reach deeper than this mere suggestion of our advantage: if we all died, in that Christ died for us, there must be a sense in which that death of his is ours; He must be iden...

Notes: Text: Exodus 25:1-9 "The central miracle asserted by Christians is the incarnation. They say that God became man." –   C. S. Lewis   + Image of Tabernacle in the Encampment of Israel +The Tabernacle was a Place of Glory   +Image of Book Immanuel +The Tabernacle was a place of Grace +Image of Ark of the Covenant +Jesus is the Truer and Better Tabernacle   + In the beginning was the Word, and...

Notes: Text:   Psalm 105:37-43 "Hearts on earth say in the course of a joyful experience, "I don't want this ever to end." But it invariably does. The hearts of those in heaven say, "I want this to go on forever." And it will. There is no better news than this." – J. I. Packer + Awkward Christmas Photos + Forever Life + Full Life

Notes: Text:   Exodus 12:1-13, 21-28 Typology exists when there is a historical correspondence between events, institutions, and persons found in the OT and the NT. I argue that typology does not merely represent correspondence but a correspondence intended by God. - Thomas Schreiner "J. Barton Payne identified 1,239 prophetic predictions in the Old Testament that involved some 6,641 verses, or 28...

Notes: Text: Colossians 1:3-14   "To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart." – A.W. Towzer   +The Gospel creates a secure community that loves   +The Gospel creates a witnessing community that multiplies   +The Gospel creates a wise communit...

Notes: Text:   Romans 7:7:5-6, 14-25 +Who is the "I"? +There are many in the Church who fit the description of the "I". +There are true believers in the Church who are still trying to live the Christian life by the law and not by the Spirit. -        Repent of grieving and neglecting the Holy Spirit. -        Acknowledge the Holy Spirit and cultivate a relationship with him. -        Surrender to...

Notes: Text:   Romans 7:7-13 "…these motions of sin are irritated, provoked, and increased, through the law's prohibition of them; which is not to be charged as a fault on the law, but to be imputed to the depravity and corruption of man; who is like a mighty torrent of water, which rises, rages, flows and overflows, the more any methods are taken to stop its current, or like a filthy dunghill whi...

Notes: Text: Romans 7:1-6 "Men quietly got in touch with Him... and found themselves doing things they couldn't do, thinking thoughts they couldn't think, and loving people they couldn't love. They were a surprise to themselves and others." - Mastery, E. Stanley Jones     + Christianity is a new relationship with Jesus     + Christianity is a new purpose     + Christianity is a new existence     N...

Notes:    Text:  Romans 7:1-4     " On your exceedingly great mercy rests all my hope. Give what you command, and then command whatever you will." - Saint Augustine, The Confessions     +License ( Antinomianism )   +Legalism     +The Principle   The law is binding on us while we live +The Illustration   Marriage +The Application   You died to the law and are now belong to Christ +Jesus motivates u...

Notes:    Text:  Romans 6:11- 13, 19     " Grace is opposed to earning, but it's not opposed to efforts." - Dallas Willard   • Prayer   • Fasting   • Service - disciplines of community (giving, generosity, confession)

Notes: Text:   Romans 6:11-23 + Vision + Intention + Means "There is no need to despair; hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a brief sojourn in the enemy's camp and now are with us. All the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favor." Screwtape Letter, CS Lewis • Solitude • Scripture

In this sermon, Pastor JR explains how every Christian is free from sin as a fact, but not every Christian lives in that freedom as an experience. Notes: Text:   Romans 6:15-23 + Conversion is a Total Transfer of Loyalty + Conversion is a Total Transformation of Life + Every Christian is equally free from sin as a fact, but not every Christian lives equally in that freedom as an experience.

Notes:  Text:   Romans 6:12-14 + What is the Promise ? ·        You Belong to Christ and Christ Belongs to You.   + What are the Practices? • Mortification • Vivification

In this sermon, Pastor JR reminds us that baptism and faith go hand in hand. It signifies our union with Jesus. Our sins become Christ's, and His grace, life, and salvation become ours, transforming our identity and inaugurating a new life filled with power and promise. Notes: Text: Romans 6:1-11 + Baptism is empty without faith and faith expresses itself through baptism + Baptism signifies and as...

In this sermon, Casey Schutza answers what it means to be united with Christ, in his death, life, and resurrection. Text:    Romans 6:1-5 Notes: + We've been United to His Death +  We've been United to His Life  

+ Jesus' grace is more powerful than Adam's Sin. •   Grace outmatches sin •   Grace overcomes sin Ezra 9:6 (ESV) — 6… "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.   Psalm 38:4 (ESV) — 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. Psalm...

In this sermon, we're reminded of the profound biblical truth that one man's actions had the power to mar the world, while only one man possesses the ability to redeem it, Jesus. We are all either in Adam, inheriting the consequences of sin, or in Christ, beneficiaries of His redeeming grace. Text: Romans 5:12-21 Notes: + One man ruined the world, and only one man can rescue it. Type = a person, i...

In this sermon, the profound truths of God's love come to life as Pastor JR explores the comforting security of our belonging to Jesus. Romans 5 underscores that God's declaration of righteousness and friendship is unchanging. Text: Romans 5:6-11 Notes: " Q : What is thy only comfort in life and in death? A: That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my fai...

In this sermon, Pastor JR Vassar unpacks how God's work shapes us, leading us to find peace in Christ, access His grace, and embrace confident joy in the hope of being transformed into Jesus' likeness through our trials.  Text: Romans 5:1-5. Notes: + GOD IS ALWAYS DOING A WONDERFUL WORK IN OUR SUFFERINGS SO WE CAN REJOICE Mark 4:16–17 "When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace, all...

Join us as we jump back in our Romans series! In this sermon, Pastor JR Vassar explores the transformative power of God's grace as outlined in Romans 5:1-2. The sermon emphasizes the peace we find through Christ, our access into grace, and the confident joy in the hope of being transformed into His likeness. Dive deeper into these powerful truths and the implications they hold. 

In this sermon, Stephen Osborne, CATC Elder, explores how to navigate the complexities of wealth and poverty biblically. He encourages us to look to Proverbs to teach us how to seek balance and contentment in God's provision.