Cross Church Winnipeg Sermon Podcast

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Poor in spirit" does not mean lacking the Holy Spirit or religious awareness. Jesus is talking about poverty as not only a physical condition, but also a spiritual one. In fact, the more self-aware a person is of his or her own spiritual poverty, caused by the inborn human condition of the sinful nature, the mo...

Fathers are so important in our society today and they often get a bad rap. Dads, you are so vital to the development of your children. Do not take your task lightly!

David committed adultery with Bathsheba at the height of his kingship. The luxury, freedom and powers he enjoyed had blinded him to his sin. This is a common danger to us all. His sin had blinded him to what matters most, which is a close relationship with God. And David knew this! He wrote many Psalms about being close to the heart of God. David followed the seductions of sin and it took hold of...

Sharing is something that we have to be taught. Most of us learned a little about sharing when we were just children in nursery school. In the sandbox, we were taught to share. In the playground, we were taught to share. Amazingly, however, most of us never really got good at it. If the truth be known, must of us prefer not to share. Why is this? Because we are selfish by nature. If this were not...

No one is saved or goes to heaven just for doing good works. There is no good-works-sacrifice that is big enough for that! Faith in the sacrifice of Christ is still the only way to heaven. Everyone on earth, Christian or otherwise, understands that altruism—doing good—is what makes humans noble. But the good works that Christians are called to are not occasional and not for human glory. NO! Christ...

We cannot make sacrifices for our sins. We cannot do penance for our sin.  We cannot pay for our sin or do anything in payment for our sin. Jesus Christ alone was and is the sacrifice for our sins. But……we are called to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. Hebrews tells us to offer a sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to Christ. Today we discover how to live this out from day to...

Some Christian traditions teach that we can reduce our time in purgatory if we do certain acts of personal sacrifice and contrition. The problem is, this is not biblical. The sacrifice of Jesus’ life for our sins was sufficient to bring about reconciliation between God and humanity. We don’t have to flog ourselves or walk on our knees or doing anything to atone for our sin. We have a restored rela...

Happy Mother's Day!

We are notorious for looking backward and for looking only at our present circumstances. We too often fail to see the good things that God wants to do in our future. Paul is not focused on prison and he is not focused on his discomforts, obstacles and aggravations. Paul sets a wonderful example for us as one who is pressing on. He is making plans. He expects that God has much work for him to do an...

Sometimes we just need to be out of commission for a while so that we can do some of the minor things that need to get done. Paul did a lot of reflecting and writing and preaching when he was locked up. One of the great things he did was speak up on behalf of Onesimus. Onesimus was a slave of Philemon who had skipped town, leaving his master behind. Because he was a slave, Onesimus was literally a...

Complaining to God and to anyone who will listen is the first thing we do when things are not going our way. As Christians, we should be better than that. Much better. Jesus never complained. Complaining is a sin. Paul tells us to “do everything without complaining…so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked...

The disciples watched as Jesus was taken away to be crucified. They knew what was to come. They saw it many times. Jesus was going to a cruel death, nailed to a cross followed by exhaustion and asphyxiation. Four three years they listened to His message of hope and His declaration that the Kingdom of Heaven […]

When we look at Israel in the time of Christ, we can see ourselves. Israel is occupied by Rome and is at the mercy of this foreign power. These are extremely difficult times. It all seems so hopeless. People are being taxed to their limit. In some cases, they didn’t even have enough money to […]

Some of us have waited a long time for Jesus’ return and we may be tempted to be lazy in our walk with God or worse, to just give up. Peter helps us by reminding us, “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the […]

Heaven is a place reserved for all that is Holy and all who are Holy. God is Holy. And all who put their faith in Jesus Christ are called God’s Holy-ones, or saints. Those who do not want to go to heaven will not be there. Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart, For […]

We don’t like to speak about hell, but according to scripture, it is very real and very necessary. The Lake of fire is the destination of all and anything that sets itself up against the God of the Universe. Listen carefully to this: the lake of fire is reserved for Satan, the False Prophet, Antichrist, death, all evil and all whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Jesus came to t...

When you see the proliferation of evil all around, wondering where God is and tempted to despair, read Revelation chapter 19. One day, the world as we know it will come to an end. John tells of the coming of the Rider on the White Horse, on his robe is written: “King of all kings and Lord of all lords!” Then John sees a glorious thing: “Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into t...

The Revelation of Jesus Christ as told through John the Apostle is considered by some to be too difficult to understand. Yet, we are told in Revelation 1:3 that, “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.” For the one who is a true Christian—really Born Again—Revelation is one of...

It is so easy to lose sight of what matters to God. We can so easily embrace the things of our faith that are pleasing and attractive and even fun; like worship, and fellowship and volunteering. But James, the author of the book that has his name, tells us what pure and genuine religion is. Caring for orphans and widows in their distress, and refusing to let the world corrupt us is the hard part....

There is such a thing as harmful charity. Giving should always point people to Christ otherwise our giving can very easily enable people to stay in their poverty. And so we must be wise in our giving. Jesus tells us that our first priority is to our brothers and sisters in need. “Whatever you have done for the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me!” Wow! This comes as a shock for ma...

God is utterly trustworthy and deserves our love and trust. This is what Habakkuk discovered. After delving into deep conversation with the Almighty, the Prophet Habakkuk comes to an amazing conclusion: “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, a...

No complaint or question ever stumped God. Just because we don’t understand the ways of God does not mean that God has lost control or doesn’t know what He is doing. In fact, God challenges us to come to Him with our questions and complaints. To the Prophet Isaiah He said, “Come, let us reason together.” You will quickly discover that God is acting as our loving Father and He is teaching us to bel...

Who hasn’t wondered, “What on earth is God doing?” Some have given up on God and the Church and the family of God because of suffering and pain, disappointments and unanswered prayers. Poor Habakkuk was furious because it seemed that the God of Israel was not behaving as a loving God. Lives are in danger, provision is lacking and Habakkuk addresses his concerns over the fact that God will use the...

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...

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...