Crossing Community Church

Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds and the Magi -- all of them had to travel from somewhere to be in Bethlehem for the event we know as The Nativity. The Magi had to travel a great distance. The shepherds not so far. But on this Christmas Eve Pastor Tim challenges us to consider how far we are from Jesus. He is always near. We only have to answer his call to ask Him for the forgivenss of our sins and be...

In Luke 2 the angels announce to the shepherds that they "bring good news of great joy" as they tell them of the birth of Christ. That's great news! But when is good news not good? When it's not delivered. This week Pastor Tim challenges us to consider if we are faith in proclaiming the Good News. 

Imagine there's a gift under the tree with your name on it. Would you leave it there unopened? No, everyone wants to open a gift with their name on it! Unless the gift is Jesus. People throughout the ages have rejected the gift of God in the form of Jesus His Son. Today Pastor Tim discusses the reasons why people reject the gift off God. 

From Genesis 3 to Isaiah 7 to Micah 5 the ancient prophets spoke of one that would come to save the people. When arrived he was rejected. Today, by faith, we look back on Christ's first appearance with saving faith that causes us to look forward ourselves at his second coming when we shall see him face to face. 

The Gospel of Luke tells us that the angel tells Mary twice that she is "highly favored." We typically translate favor as meaning preferential treatment. But in God's economy, His favor often equates the world's disfavor. How do we reconcile this truth? 

Chapters 35-36 wrap up the story lines of Jacob & Esau as God sends Jacob to Bethel. These chapters name the children of each of the brothers and set the stage for the story of Joseph. Throughout these two chapters we find God's patience with Jacob -- over 30 years to bring him to the place of actually becoming the father of the nation of Israel. We see God's forgiveness of Jacob&apo...

Luke 7 records the story of the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume that cleans Jesus's feet with her tears and hair while a pharisee looks on with disdain. The woman felt the full burden of her sin. The pharisee was well aware of her sin also, but not his own. So Jesus shares a parable that dramatically compares the woman's gratitude to the pharisee's and reveals she is the one...

From the brink of divorce and a shipwrecked life, Greg shares how God patiently waited and worked with him to renew his life. Greg says it best when he shares, "The best part of my story is that God has delivered me from my addictions." Greg's story is a great example of how God not only cleans us up from our addictions and destructive behaviors but actually transforms our life. 

Chapter 34 is a transitional chapter in Genesis, moving from the story of Jacob to the story of his children, in particular, the story of the rape of his daughter Dinah. It's in this tragic event that we learn just how much Jacob's flaws have been passed down to his children as Dinah's brothers take revenge on her assailant. In their reaction we have our point of application from th...

This week we were pleased to welcome an old friend and co-laborer in the Gospel to Crossing as Val A. provided an update on her ministry and how God is at work not only in the city where she lives but also around the world. 

Jacob had several memorable life events, but perhaps the most notable of them is the sleepless night he had on his way home just before meeting his brother Esau. God interrupts his sleep and wrestles with him through the night. It's not until Jacob is helpless that God blesses him. This week Pastor Tim challenged us to take our hands off our life circumstances and trust God with them and allo...

Genesis 31 reveals Jacob's spiritual growth as God calls on him to return home after serving Laban for 20 years. Our text reveals two things about God -- His constant grace and forgiveness as he calls wayward Followers back to Himself and the manner that He does that by using circumstances to awaken our hearts to listen to him through His Holy Spirit and His Word. 

Genesis 30 records the controversy between Jacob's wives as well as the controversy between Jacob and his father-in-law, Laban. While living life for over 14 years far away from home, under the dominance of a deceptive father-in-law and jealous wives, God is at work, changing Jacob and shaping him for the role he will have a father of a new nation. God is at work in your life as well in the m...

"Ok Lord, I'm yours." With those words Bud Ciotti trusted Christ with his life. But when you listen to Bud's story you can trace God's hand throughout his life. From being an "average everyday punk" through his years in the Navy into beginning a family and suffering the loss of infant twins -- God was instilling a "drumbeat" in his heart that still shap...

Tim Keller, in his book "Conterfeit Gods", writes that Leah is the 'greatest casualty' in Genesis 29. This week Pastor Tim Shared some of Keller's insights and related them to our everday life -- always wanting Rachel, but waking up with Leah. 

In one of many fascinating stories in Genesis, Jacob is deceived into marrying the wrong woman. He confronts Laban by asking, "Why have you deceived me?" Seven years earlier Jacob had been the deceiver as he stole his father's blessing from Esau. Now Jacob's father-in-law has dealt falsely with him and denied Jacob what he wanted. The seeds of deception Jacob had sown finally p...

David Nelson, Founder and President of Crossing Cultures International (CCI), was with us again but this time he brought friends! David had five men that serve as ministry coordinators and church planters from Southeast Asia with him in our service. We had the great opportunity to hear how each of them came to Christ and how God was working in their ministry and their homeland.

Genesis 28 closes with a statement by Jacob that begins with the word "If" (verse 20). Some interpret this statement as Jacob laying down conditions on God in order for Jacob to serve Him. Others understand the passage as Jacob declaring his loyalty because of God's promises to him. Which "IF" are you? Will you only serve God if He meets your conditions. Or do you serve Go...

Greg Shipley has a way of speaking that is equal parts winsome and raw honesty. He's the latest Crossing person to share how God has been at work in their life. He boiled down the main points of his testimony to: I'm still a sinner; Life is not a bed of roses; this world is not my home. Enjoy hearing the story of God's work in Greg's life!

One of the most heartbreaking stories from Genesis is the treachery of Jacob to steal Esau's blessing from Isaac. Esau's emotion jumps off the page at you. But many, if not most of us, have experienced similar agony. Some people seem to live a life of lingering agony as they seek to fill the heartache and pain of their life with things of the world -- things that only cause more pain. Ps...

Genesis 25 records the birth of Isaac's sons Jacob and Esau. Their relationship is 'unique' from the beginning! It's easy to find the fault in both of them. But is it as easy to see how we can be like them as well?

Genesis 24 is the story of Abraham sending his servant on a mission to find a wife for his son, Isaac. But built into the story of a servant on a mission are two things: #1 - Abraham's servant is a great model for us as we serve Christ. We can learn alot from him. #2. Even though the servant had a job to do, God was at work every step along the way with him -- as He is with us!

Raised in a Buddhist home in South Korea, MinSoo Bossard was never taught about Jesus -- except for one time! She happened upon a man teaching children about Jesus and giving away pamphlets about Him on the street one day. Looking back MinSoo believes that is the day she first heard about the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus. It wasn't until she moved to the United States and enrolled at Penn St...

Recent news headlines have carried the headlines of church leaders who have failed in their duties to shepherd their flocks. Christians look at these leaders and are bewildered by how such moral failures could come about. As you read the stories there is one factor that continues to surface -- the lack of accountability. The lack of people that these leaders had to answer to on a regular basis for...

While the obvious sins of Abraham's life was only a few and not terribly obvious, the sins of his sons and grandsons where. Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Ishmael, Judah, not to mention Rebekah, Leah and Rachel. They all committed terrible sins. But for many of us, that is just real life -- that is our life. Today's message vividly points out the way our sins trickle down to our children but there...