King's Cross Church South Bay

This Sunday we return to our Upper Room series. Jesus says this wonderfully provocative thing: "I no longer call you servants, but instead I call you friends." And then he begins to clarify what he means by friendship, and it feels rather... demanding. I found myself thinking about this a lot during our vacation, especially as frequently as I hear people talk about their loneliness. Most of us are...

Martin Luther said, “We are beggars- that is true.” As beggars and sinners in need of mercy and care, we rejoice that we have a Savior in Jesus Christ, who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. This week we’ll take a look at Luke 5 where Christ shows mercy towards a leper, as He displays His compassion and power through the healing of this man. We were all once s...

This Sunday we welcome our guest speaker, Ty Gregory, the Campus Minister for RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) at USC. He’ll preach the Word to us from Psalm 32. We hope to see you this Sunday and may we be encouraged by the poignant and earnest words of John Newton when he wrote, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior....

This Sunday we come to a famous passage: the Vine & the branches. As is often the case with familiar imagery, at some point we stop hearing the idea and only hear the reference. But Jesus intended this image to hit with fresh force - both as an encouragement and a warning. And if you've ever visited a vineyard in Napa, especially when they are pruning, there is something intentionally graphic here...

What does it mean to be spiritual? Many in our society say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” There’s a hint of humility in acknowledging that existence cannot merely be a random collocation of atoms that emerged from nothingness. And yet ‘spiritual, but not religious’ seems a way to avoid feeling constrained by someone else’s definition of spiritual. But it invites the question: how does God de...

This past week many family and friends gathered to cheer for their graduates, shouting out their name, squeezing air horns, and snapping pictures to help capture moments of celebration, relief, and joy. The graduates were smiling from ear to ear, with a great sense of accomplishment, as their loved ones doted upon them. The Good News reminds us that we have a God who rejoices over us like that --...

A.W. Tozer famously said, "What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." And yet most Christians don't know what to think about the Trinity. How do we wrap our minds around such lofty ideas? It feels too big or abstract. It seems impractical. So why talk about it? Because the night before Jesus died, when he wanted to give the disciples the most essential t...

Occasionally Jesus says things so enormous that we tend to read right past them. This week we come to just such an occasion in our Upper Room series. Jesus offers what sounds like a genie-in-a-lamp granting wishes: "Ask anything you want, in my name, and I will do it." Can we take this seriously? Skeptics point out that this is demonstrably false. Charlatans tell you to send money and your prayers...

Virtually everyone loves how welcoming and caring Jesus is. He welcomes sick and outcast and hurting and overlooked. And yet, from time to time, he makes these incredibly exclusive statements that can seem offputting or even harsh. Many in our society take deep offense when these kinds of phrases are invoked - almost as a hammer - to crush or quiet others. It feels to them so much unlike the Jesus...

Home sweet home. Home is where the heart is. There's no place like home. Make yourself at home. You can't go home again. As Maya Angelou said, "The ache for home lives in all of us." This week we continue our series on the Upper Room. Having washed their feet, Jesus now begins to actively comfort his disciples. Why? Because he knows he dies tomorrow. And there's only one reason they've left everyt...

This Sunday we start a new series on the Upper Room. It was the last night before Jesus' death. He knew it was coming. So what would he talk to them about? Only the most important things; things he wanted etched in their minds; very practical things like... the Trinity? prayer? and footwashing? Yes. This summer we are diving into the beauty of what Jesus was gifting his followers that night and wh...

How much longer can we endure? Whether it’s waiting in line at the DMV, trying to calm a crying toddler in the backseat of our car, seeing how long we can run before we take a breather, or waiting patiently for the prayer to end as the food on the table is calling our name, we all have different situations where we are called to endure. But what kind of endurance is needed when we are struggling s...

This weekend our Global Outreach team welcomes Stephen Jones, one of our ministry partners from London. He is a pastor and counselor, serving West London as a window to the world. In particular, their counseling services open doors to communities that might not otherwise consider the Gospel. On Sunday morning he will present more details about how he and his wife are caring for their community. As...

As part of our brief Easter mini-series, we are turning to John's account of the resurrection. The women come to the tomb expecting to care for Jesus' corpse. But instead of a lifeless body, they find an empty tomb. Panic ensues. They report back. Peter and John run. The burial clothes remain... untouched. How? They go home with their minds racing. Outside, Mary Magdalene stands weeping. She looks...

Jesus' arrest has always fascinated me - especially the irony of his power and humility. In a moment of such enormous justice, with so much power available to me, would I have let it happen? I struggle to resist letting customer service hear my mind... how could I keep quiet in a moment like that? Yet this is exactly how Jesus shows us who He is. After our series on David's failed kingship, let's...

This Sunday we finish our series on the Life of David, so we'll ponder the big picture: what is David's lasting legacy? David offers to build God a 'house' -- a request which God quickly flips on him. Yet the 'house' God will build for David is a permanent one, a dynasty. Considering all of David's enormous failures we've detailed the last few weeks, this promise invites stark questions. And these...

Game of Thrones. Succession. Yellowstone. Billions. So many hit TV shows depict social elites vying for power, often against their own family, with numerous surprise twists. But it's nothing new. As we continue our series on the Life of David, his children have gotten old enough to enter the drama. Absalom enters the chat, as they say. And if I simply stated the facts that happen next, I'm confide...

This week we come to an admittedly weird passage. David takes a census. It's not entirely clear why that is wrong... but it is. David later realizes his sin and confesses it. Then God gives him a multiple choice of terrifying consequences? Talk about a "pick your poison" moment! But why would God do that? It seems almost sadistic to us. Yet David clearly reads it as a gift of grace. How can events...

Last Sunday was David and Bathsheba. This Sunday comes the fallout. God pronounces forgiveness, but David's son will die. Is God punishing him - through his child's suffering?! Is that really how God does justice? Tragically, these are the kinds of questions I've heard families ask before. And it has David on the ground. He won't get up. He doesn't get up until after he learns his son is dead. But...

David and Bathsheba. This is the turning point in David's life. All commentators point to this event. Everything he touched before this turned to gold. But the decisions he makes here begin to unravel his life. How could he do this? The negligence. The betrayal. The failed cover up. The murder. This slide began long before he went up on that roof. Is this the 'man after God's own heart'? The most...

Ruthlessly eliminate all competition. That's the way of American business, sports, romance, and especially politics. Take the power and money and stuff don't ever give it back. It was very much the same in the ancient world. Enter Mephibosheth... Saul's grandson... Jonathan's son... the last living member of David's rival dynasty. So what does David do about him? Unthinkably, he shows him kindness...

"Random smite function." That's what one of my old students called it whenever God seems to just reach down and off someone in some shocking way in the Scriptures. It's terrifying - and not just for what could happen to us but also for what it seems to imply about who God is. How could we ever approach a God like that? Would you even want to? This week we come to the death of Uzzah, a seemingly we...

Is it greater to be feared or loved? What does our culture value? And what does it mean to fear God? Tim Keller said, “The fear of God means to be affected deeply by who God is and what he did.” This Sunday’s passage in 2 Samuel 23 is a fascinating story that takes place in a desolate cave and out in the battlefield. King David’s most trusted leaders risk their lives to get him a cup of water. Do...

This week we are taking a break from our series in the Life of David for a wonderful reason. Our global outreach partners, Mike & Caryn DiGena, are visiting with us from Lyon, France. They will be sharing about the work the Lord is doing there among them, and Mike will preach on Galatians 2:19-20 - "Free to Live the Impossible." I personally have found that it seems easier for me to identify what...

Mother Teresa said, "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty." Even in a region as affluent as the South Bay, that quote resonates. Why? We long for something deep and soul-satisfying in friendship. When the Scriptures say that Jonathan and David's souls were "knit together," it evokes an envious ache within many of us. These two men walked together through hard s...