Cross Church Winnipeg Sermon Podcast

At the start of each new year, Pastors and pundits give advice about how to have a successful and productive new year. The usual theme is simple, set goals for yourself and then come up with a strategy to meet those goals. As Christians, however, we are called to fulfill one goal: “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be given to you. –Matthew 6:33. What w...

The author of Hebrews understands the Christian life. He says, “…shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?… No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” (Hebrews 12:9-11) The right way to begin the new year is to submit to th...

The first day and month of a new year often marks newness and a fresh start. Some believe that Jesus was actually born on the first day and month of the Jewish religious calendar (Nisan 1 or Aviv 1) which by the way marks the first day of creation. Being a Christian means living in the newness that Jesus the Messiah brings to all who believe in Him. Paul the Apostle puts it like this: “Therefore,...

Its widely accepted that the real birth of Christ our Messiah is not December 25, 0 AD. His real birthday will surprise you. We look at the significance of His birth and see that the day of His birth represents a real, new beginning and the birth of real hope. This is an exciting study that includes the latest scholarship on the subject. Jesus was not born by chance or by the choice of a man and a...

Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas as some suppose. Its true that their celebration includes candles, gift giving and that it happens at around the same time as Christmas, but that’s where the similarity ends. However, it has been said that without Hanukkah, there would be no Christmas. It will surprise you that the celebration of Hanukah is prophesied in the Book of Daniel but there is no recor...

Satan knows that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and that Jesus has come to destroy him, and so Satan attempts to assassinate Jesus. This is the one very distasteful part of the Christmas narrative that no one wants to talk about. However, if we are to be truly open to all that our God wants us to know and understand, we need to lean into this scripture to understand what is at stake. There is a cosmi...

800 Years before our Lord Jesus was born, the Prophet Isaiah prophesied his coming. Isaiah chapter 9:1-7 tells us of the coming of the Messiah. No one knew it at the time—not even the devil—that this would be the first coming of the Messiah. 200 years later, the prophet Daniel would prophecy the second coming of the Messiah. The King that would eventually rule forever came first to rule in men’s h...

The essential truth of Christianity is that the Eternal God was born among us. It's the only truth that can save us from being eternally lost. The Christmas message as recorded by in the Gospel of John is that God was born. While John deals with the supernatural aspect of Christmas, Matthew and Luke speak of all the natural elements of the birth of Christ—the shepherds, the manger, the star,...

Opinions about the end of time are too numerous to track. This does not diminish in any way the truth about Christ’s second coming and the end of our era. What we need to do is focus on what we know for sure. Jesus tells us clearly what we need to do to be ready for His coming. We are to keep busy serving Him—advancing His Kingdom—and we are to keep watching for His return. Some have grown weary o...

Israel is the major player in end-times discussions. The budding and sprouting of the leaves of the fig tree is Israel as a nation coming back to life. For over 1,900 years Israel didn't exist, but contrary to all anthropological and sociological logic, the Jewish people retained their Jewishness in every part of the world, refusing to be assimilated. At the appointed hour and in fulfillment...

Wikipedia has a page called, “List of Messiah Claimants” of which there are at least 66 individuals over the centuries. In recent years there have been hundreds more. People are desperate for a strong leader, and so people are being misled all the time, and Jesus warns us about this. Something even more troubling is the way we have re-created the Messiah in our own image and according to our own i...

Jesus said, “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” The signs around us of His coming increas...

We need the Thanksgiving season. It jolts us out of our self-absorption which comes in many forms: guilt, entitlement, manipulating others, never being able to say you’re sorry, inability to let go of anger, brooding, fears, anxiety, greed. When it’s “all about me,” I can’t be grateful. Gratitude requires an open heart focused on God and His kindnesses. It is, therefore, possibly the most spiritua...

An old Rabbinic teaching says: "In the coming Messianic age all sacrifices will cease, but the thanksgiving offering [todah in Hebrew] will never cease." What is it about this sacrifice that makes it stand alone in such a way that it would outlast all other sacrifices after the redemption of the Messiah? A todah sacrifice would be offered by someone whose life had been greatly blessed or...

Some are from a Christian heritage that celebrates the Eucharist, which we call Communion. Eucharist comes from the Greek word for “Thank you.” Jesus gave thanks to God when he broke the bread to feed the multitude in John 6 and elsewhere. We read that Jesus on the night he was betrayed by Judas, gave thanks and broke the bread celebrating the last Passover with with His disciples. He tells us to...

Because of our sinful human nature, we are so very prone to whining, complaining, grumbling, lashing out, blaming God and blaming others for the struggles and inconveniences we endure. This may be common among unbelievers, but there is no place for this bad attitude among the regenerate. If you are a New Creation as the Bible declares that you are, you ought to have the mind and attitude of Jesus....