Crosstowne Church - Sermons

We step back “In the Water" as Pastor Paul leads us in exploring the powerful biblical symbolism of the Red Sea and the Jordan River. God uses these pivotal moments to move His people from slavery to liberty, wilderness to wisdom, and into the Promised Land. Paul unpacks how God's grace gives us freedom, His Word provides direction, and together they lead to a flourishing life. Whether you’re feel...

Pastor Paul launches us into our "In the Water" sermon series, we dive into Genesis 1 and discover how God brings order from chaos, purpose from brokenness, and hope for every season of life. We see that just as the Holy Spirit moved over the waters at creation, God is still moving today—bringing transformation to our hearts, our relationships, and our lives. Paul explores the powerful connection...

Pastor Paul wraps up our Own It series with Owning our Walk. Drawing from 2 Timothy 2:20–21, we explore what it means to become a vessel of honor—set apart, useful to God, and prepared for every good work. In a world shaped by shifting values, emotions, and cultural pressures, believers are called to make godly distinctions rooted in the truth of God's Word. And we discover how sanctification isn'...

We continue exploring what it means to own our faith by embracing our God-given agency in the world. Pastor Paul draws from Ephesians 4, and focuses on the power of our words and how they reflect the presence of Christ in our lives. We are reminded that our witness, our words, and our walk must work together in harmony, because even one area out of alignment can weaken our testimony. Paul challeng...

Pastor Paul takes us to explore what it means to own our agency as followers of Jesus by embracing the power of our personal testimony. We draw from Revelation 12, the Samaritan woman at the well, the man born blind, and other biblical examples, to see that our challenge as believers is to see ourselves not as attorneys or judges, but as witnesses who simply share what Christ has done in our lives...

Pastor Paul takes us to continue exploring what it means to own our agency as followers of Jesus. We look at Isaiah's vision in Isaiah 6, and discover that God not only saves and cleanses us but also commissions us to represent His love, truth, and reconciliation in the world. As believers we’re challenged to move beyond simply believing in God and embrace our calling as Christ's agents in our hom...

Pastor Paul unpacks the biblical concept of “agency” — the idea that every believer is called to represent Christ in the way we love, forgive, serve, and lead others. We’re challenged to move beyond simply fulfilling obligations and instead become active agents of God’s grace in our marriages, families, workplaces, and communities. Just as Jesus perfectly revealed the heart of the Father, we are c...

Continuing in “Own It” Pastor Paul tackles one of the most challenging areas of faith—our assets—our money and possessions. We look at Jesus’ words in John 10 together, where we’re reminded that He is the Good Shepherd who offers abundant life, and we’re invited to fully trust Him with every part of our lives. Paul unpacks a compelling idea: when we truly understand the man (Jesus), the promise (H...

Pastor Paul shifts our focus this week to “owning your serve”—living out your faith through intentional, selfless action. This concept we find rooted in Ephesians 2, and Paul emphasizes that while we are saved by grace, the Father also transforms us into His workmanship, created for good works that impact others. Paul reveals the origin story of Mother’s Day, started by Anna Jarvis the true framin...

Pastor Paul centers on the idea of “barriers to entry,” and explores how personal attitudes, insecurities, past experiences, and expectations can make us difficult to approach and hinder meaningful connection with other people. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 13, he emphasizes that true, Christlike love is patient, kind, and accessible—modeled perfectly by Jesus, who welcomed all people regardless of t...

Pastor Bryan brings us a challenge to move beyond simply attending church to truly owning our church community. He highlights the difference between merely gathering and actively assembling—emphasizing that real spiritual growth happens when individuals invest relationally, serve one another, and engage in the life of a local church. Drawing from the Apostle Paul, Bryan shows that authentic commun...

Pastor Paul continues Own It where the challenge is issued to the idea that faith is just belief and calls us as believers to take true ownership of our spiritual lives. Paul reads from Hebrews on moving from “milk” to “solid food,” and the emphasis of spiritual maturity—shifting from passive receiving to active pursuit and discipline. We are led through the process of understanding what this enta...

Pastor Paul brings us a challenge to move beyond simply believing in God to fully living out our faith. He centers on Philippians 2, and highlights the contrast between a life of “grasping” (selfish ambition, pride, and self-interest) and a life of “emptying” modeled by Jesus through humility, service, and sacrifice. This explores how our identities are shaped by cultural influences, personal expe...

Pastor Paul leads us to ask a powerful and often overlooked question: not just what Jesus did in the past, but what He is doing right now. We see it emphasized that Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of the Father, actively interceding and working for the good of those who follow Him. Paul shows us that Jesus is not distant or passive, but continually involved in our lives—bringing hope,...

Pastor Paul takes us into what it truly means to “own” our relationship with God by developing intentional, personal “altar time” with Him. Moving beyond tradition and theory, He highlights how biblical altars were never about physical structures but about meaningful encounters—places of worship, repentance, gratitude, and honest conversation with God. Drawing from Jesus’ example and the disciples...

Pastor Paul leads us into exploring what it truly means to “own your altar.” Moving beyond traditional ideas of altars as physical spaces or church moments, we see that the real altar is an intentional, daily interaction with God in our heart and life. Drawing from biblical examples like Noah, Abraham, and David, Paul highlights how altars were always about worship, surrender, repentance, and rela...

Pastor Paul leads us through Philippians 2 and with the unusual story of “Shibboleth” from Judges 12. He uses the idea of a distinguishing word or “dialect” to illustrate how true faith should be clearly recognizable through our words, actions, and daily decisions. Paul emphasizes that Christian creeds are not just statements to recite on Sundays, but a lived reality that shapes how we treat other...

Pastor Paul shares a concept to challenge the way we think about poverty, redefining it not as a lack of money but as any area of life that is not “as it should be.” He highlights how poverty can exist in our relationships, communication, thinking, and even our walk with God—often hidden beneath outward success. The counter to this poverty centers on the biblical concept of shalom, meaning wholene...

Pastor Paul calls us as believers to move beyond simply believing in God’s promises to actively embracing and living them out. He centers on the Book of Isaiah 61, and challenges us to see ourselves as the redeemed “they” who are called to rebuild ancient ruins—restoring God’s design for marriage, family, identity, and culture. Rather than reinventing truth or living from the broken patterns of pa...

Pastor Paul unpacks Isaiah 61 and connects it to the Beatitudes we find in the Gospel of Matthew 5, and its challenge to us as believers not to just believe God’s promises—but to own them. Paul reframes what it truly means to be “blessed,” showing how Jesus transforms our expectations in seasons of mourning, anxiety, disappointment, and hardship. Rather than living captive to negative predictions...

Pastor Paul unpacks the theme of “Own It” through book of Isaiah chapter 61, calling us to move beyond simply believing the gospel to fully living it. He shares this idea framed around Crosstowne’s 30th anniversary and the declaration of “the favorable year of the Lord,” and highlights God’s promise to exchange ashes for beauty, mourning for joy, and shame for a double portion. Paul references Jes...

Elder Chris unpacks Jesus’ command in John 13:34–35 that believers are to be known not for achievements, status, or reputation—but for love. Chris reflects on his own life and the traits he once tried to cultivate, and shares how God redirected his focus to the greatest commandment: to love others as Christ has loved us. We explore four key truths—love is directed (commanded by Jesus), defined (mo...

In our special winter weather online service, Pastor Paul explores the powerful story of John 6:1–15—Jesus feeding the 5,000—and reveals that the miracle was about far more than bread. Through this familiar passage, Paul unpacks four transformative stages of spiritual growth: Resignation (coming to the end of ourselves), Revelation (seeing who Christ truly is), Response (stepping forward in obedie...

Pastor Paul weaves together Genesis 28, the story of Jesus healing the man born blind, and the modern idea of quantum entanglement to explore how heaven and earth are deeply connected. Rather than explaining suffering through simple cause-and-effect, we challenge a “Newtonian” way of thinking and are invited to see pain, hardship, and unanswered questions through the lens of meaning and purpose. P...

Pastor Paul unpacks how quantum entanglement can help us understand our relationship with God, showing that faith is meant to be more than a one-time transaction—it’s a living, ongoing connection. Using Jesus’ words in John 15, He contrasts transactional Christianity with an organic, abiding relationship where believers are spiritually “entangled” with Christ like branches to a vine. We’re challen...