Crossroads Church of Lillington

Because only God is all-powerful, good, wise, and ever-present He alone is the one we should look to for help. This does not diminish your own abilities or those of others, but everything about us is weaker and less reliable than who God is.

THE BIG IDEA: There is a Godly way for the believer to live in the world that they are in. There is God’s way, and there is the world’s way. Far too often Christians attempt to address their problems through the world’s way. Psalm 120 gives us a picture of how a Christian can live in a fallen world while longing for the home that God is preparing for them.

THE BIG IDEA: In Psalm 23, the Christian is reminded of the One that they belong to. In this Psalm we see a God that loves, provides, protects, and preserves His people. The Christian is the one that has heard the voice of the Good Shepherd and has followed Him.

Our tradition of gift-giving is rooted in the very nature and practice of God. There are many differences between our giving and the Father’s giving but we can learn much by comparing our gift-giving to His. God gives the greatest and the most needed Gift ever!

Joy is simply the work of God in the soul of a person who chooses to make much of God and be obedient to what He asks of them. True joy is impossible to find apart from Jesus.

There was a time when we didn’t belong to God or to His Family. In Christ, the hostilities cease (or, are supposed to). We find our peace and sense of belonging and identity in Him.

The Christian has a sure hope that God cares for them. There is nothing too big or too small that the Christian cannot take before the Lord. The devil is real, and spiritual warfare is real. We are to resist him by the strength that God provides and in unity with other believers. The hope that the Christian has is certain and will be fully realized when we see our Savior face to face.

God gave His church leaders who are called to live by an even higher standard than other disciples of Jesus. His plan is simple - in the people they lead, leaders always get what they are. Leaders produce what they are displaying to the ones they lead.

Peter teaches us to anticipate and prepare for suffering. We need to understand the various reasons we suffer, the appropriate responses to suffering, and how to move forward after a time of suffering.

As Christians of any generation look around, we are reminded to live with awareness that Jesus’ return is imminent. That reality demands a particular set of responses from Christians in God’s church.

In Jesus Christ, the Christian has a clear example how they must live. The sins that they once held so dearly must be put to death. The world will live godless and sinful lives because that is what they love, despite possessing the knowledge that God exists. The Christian is the only person that can look death in the face and declare: Victory!

The ultimate solution to enduring hardships and suffering of this world is found in Christ. He suffered, died, and defeated all that seeks to destroy us, through His resurrection. Have you bowed before Jesus and trusted Him as your Savior, Lord, and King?

Peter challenges Christians to give Jesus such a central place in our lives that it piques the curiosity of those around us and leads to questions about what makes us different. Are we living that life, and do we know how to tell our story?

God, our Heavenly Father, longs for His children in the church to realize His expectations for our behavior. There is a particular relational ethic that Christians are called to live out which will radically increase our love for life, for one another, for our enemies, and for our Lord.

Peter’s insstructions to wives and husbands was not given so that spouses would neglect or mistreat their spouse. Instead, it was given as a tool of evangelism for unbelieving partners. God’s purpose in marriage is that we would be sanctified together, loving and sacrificing for themselves as Christ loves and sacrificed for the church.

Suffering and pain are a part of every life. The hardest of all is “undeserved suffering.” In a moment of deep and difficult to accept truth, Peter says we are actually called by God to endure sufferning. Peter then presents Jesus to us as our Savior, Example, and Shepherd.

A part of living life as a citizen of God’s Kingdom is being so honorable in our lifestyle and dealings that people are drawn to our God. One of the primary ways the Lord transforms rebellious hearts is to teach us to submit to earthly authority. We can almost think of it as training for submission to the Lord.

People will either stumble over Jesus or build their lives upon Him. God's design for His people is that we tell the world who He is. We exist to display and proclaim God's excellence to the world. We are royal priests called to point people to and declare the glories of our God and King.

There is a definitive moment in the life of the Christian where they are born again, but the Christian life does not stop at being born again. All Christians reach a point where they need to grow up, and the Bible provides us with the information on how to do that. The reason that so many Christians are struggling with their faith is because they have never grown up.

Peter teaches us that our living hope, our great salvation does not simply impact our future; it is to mark the way we live today.

The Christian life is a quest, not an adventure. In this life there will be trouble, but Jesus Christ has overcome the world. The temporary troubles that we go through now only makes the Christian better, and the Jesus that we cannot see now will more than make up for what we endure on His behalf here on earth.

Peter was a man who knew what it was to fail and not keep his commitment. He teaches us that God chooses us, not on the basis of our performance, but by His mercy. Salvation is the work of a Triune God - Father, Son & Spirit. God promises He will guard our salvation and complete it one day in heaven.

In the final chapter of the final book in our Old Testament, God warns all that a “great and awesome day” of judgment is coming. For the unfaithful and unrepentant it will be a terrible day, and for the faithful it will be an awesome day of salvation and complete healing. Which will it be for you?

Sometimes, in discouragement, self-pity, pride, comparisons, or depression we can begin to question the widsom of serving God. God sees you, treasures you, and will remember your faithfulness. I need to remember His faithfulness.

The purpose of missions and evangelism is that God is glorified amongst the nations. As the people of God go out into the world and proclaim the truths of the Gospel, we become a joy-filled community that lives to the praise of the Lord Jesus Christ. The blessings of God given to His people is a foretaste of the greater blessing that is to come.