Line Upon Line

Drawing on his own life as a commercial fisherman, the teacher uses Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41 to show that following Jesus moves us from the "classroom" of faith into the testing field where faith is proven. He argues that fear is the opposite of faith, that God's promises and love are trustworthy in every storm, and that the only truly unsinkable vessel is the boat occupied by the s...

Drawing from Paul's instruction to Timothy on how to honorably treat older and younger men and women, Pastor Miles argues that gender and family are part of God's created order, broken by the fall, and restored through Jesus—so the church should be the place where gender clarity and familial wholeness are rightly expressed.

Drawing from 1 Timothy 4:9-16, Pastor Miles teaches that every believer is an example to someone at every stage of faith, and that our lives—more than our words—teach others how to walk with Christ. He calls Christians to labor in godliness, living irreproachable lives that are exemplary in word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, and purity.

Teaching from 2 Corinthians 2:14-3:6, this message explores how believers are led by Christ in a triumphal procession, diffuse the fragrance of Christ to the world, and serve as Jesus' living letters to those around them. The recurring theme is that we are not sufficient in ourselves—our sufficiency and the power of the message come entirely from Christ.

Building on Pastor Miles's teaching through 1 Timothy, this message uses Jesus's teaching in Luke 6:43-49 to show that our hearts and character are revealed by the fruit of our lives, and that only a life founded on the rock of Christ will stand when the storms come. The teaching calls believers not merely to hear Jesus's words but to do them, and invites the unsaved to lay a lasting foundation in...

Drawing on Paul's exhortation to young Timothy in 1 Timothy 4, Pastor Miles teaches that every follower of Jesus is an example to someone at every stage of faith, and that we should labor by God's grace to live exemplary lives in word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, and purity. Because our lives—even more than our words—are constantly teaching others how to walk with Christ, we must give attention...

Teaching from 1 Timothy 4:6 on Paul's charge to Timothy to be a good minister of Jesus Christ. Pastor Miles argues that all Christians are called, commissioned, and gifted as servants, and shows how to be good ministers: by feeding on God's Word, carefully applying good doctrine, avoiding distracting false teachings, and exerting effort toward godliness.

Using the story of Zacchaeus and Jesus's mission statement to "seek and to save that which is lost," Pastor Miles calls the church to move from being a "sermon appreciation society" to a mobilized people who reach the lost through compassion, charity, and evangelism in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching from 1 Timothy 4:1-5, this message warns that even a church planted by Paul and pastored by Timothy can drift from the faith—not chiefly into open immorality, but into the seductive sin of self-righteous religious legalism. Pastor Miles shows that Christ's finished work alone secures our righteousness, and that love, not spiritual self-discipline, is the clearest evidence of genuine faith...

Returning to a verse-by-verse study of 1 Timothy, Pastor Miles examines the Spirit's warning that in latter times some will depart from the faith—not chiefly into immorality but into the more seductive trap of religious legalism and self-righteousness. He argues that love is the clearest evidence of sound faith and that Christ's finished work alone secures our righteous standing.

Reflecting on the story of Zacchaeus, Pastor Miles teaches that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, and that the church is called not to be a "sermon appreciation society" but a mobilized body that reaches the lost through compassion, charity, and evangelism. He shares the statistics of San Diego's lostness, the church's vision and name change, and a new church-planting partnership in Baltimo...

Filling in for Pastor Miles, executive pastor Mark Childress teaches from Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17:20-23, showing that the unity of the church is evangelistic, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and purifying. He ties it to Cross Connection's mission of connecting with God, one another, and the world through Jesus Christ, urging believers to join connect groups and serve.

Guest teacher Garrett Marks uses Proverbs 29:18 and the example of Daniel to call the church into a new year marked by gospel-centered vision and persistent prayer. He urges believers to surrender their broken past to God, to keep praying even when answers are delayed, and to reflect the light of Christ to a lost world.

Pastor Miles concludes his "Why Christmas Is" series by showing that Christmas is God's response to the brokenness of a world ruined by sin and death. Because God is the gift-giving God who treasures life, He sent Jesus to die for our life, bringing everlasting joy and good news to all people.

A Christmas Eve Eve message that recounts the details of the nativity from Luke and Matthew, set against the larger series theme of why Christmas exists: because the world is broken, because God is a gift-giving God, and because to God life is precious. Pastor Miles invites listeners to experience, express, and extend the joy of Christ to others.

This Christmas teaching answers the question "Why Christmas?" by tracing life and death from Genesis through the Gospel of John, showing that because life is precious to the life-giving God, He sent His Son Jesus to deal with the death and brokenness brought by sin. The message culminates in the invitation to receive everlasting life through trusting in Christ.

Beginning from Jesus' words in Acts 20:35 that "it is more blessed to give than to receive," this teaching argues that Christmas exists because God is a gift-giving God who, unable to contain His excitement over the perfect gift for a broken world, dropped prophetic "hints" throughout the Old Testament until that gift—Jesus Christ—was finally revealed.

A meditation on Thanksgiving rooted in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 and the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17, teaching that believers who know the truth should be the most thankful people on earth, offering public gratitude to God always and for all things. Pastor Miles shows that Jesus sees and answers those who call on him by faith, that faith must produce obedience, and that wholeness is an added blessing...

Pastor Miles argues that the *why* of Christmas matters more than its cultural trappings, tracing the story from the very good creation of Genesis 1–2 to the fall in Genesis 3, which left the world broken. Christmas is essential precisely because the world is broken, and the missionary God steps into that brokenness to seek and heal lost humanity.

A teaching on 1 Timothy 3:16, framing the verse as an early church hymn that exalts the fundamental truth the church possesses: God was manifest in the flesh. Pastor Miles walks through the six lines of the doxology to show that Jesus, the incarnate God, brought to light life and immortality and is to be proclaimed, believed on, and worshiped as the risen Living Christ.

A verse-by-verse teaching on 1 Timothy 2:8-15 examining how men and women who profess godliness are called to conduct themselves in the church, with emphasis on inward beauty, godly conduct, and joyful submission to God's created order. Pastor Miles argues that these "difficult" passages, rightly understood, reveal a good God who calls His people to a distinctive way of life for their good.

Pastor Miles teaches through 1 Timothy 3:1–7, showing how God transforms the desires of His people to serve, and then explains the biblical qualifications for overseeing elders in the church. He addresses four commonly misunderstood qualifications—husband of one wife, able to teach, not given to wine, and ruling one's household well—and warns that elders can be disqualified by their conduct.

A verse-by-verse study of 1 Timothy 3:8-15 on the qualifications of deacons, framed by Jesus's teaching that greatness in His kingdom comes through servanthood. Pastor Miles explains that the church is led by servants who serve well, that qualified servants display evident character (not academic credentials), and that both men and women serve as equals before God.

A study of 1 Timothy 3:1 and its surrounding verses on the qualifications for elders/overseers in the church. Pastor Miles teaches that God transforms the desires of believers to serve Him, but desire alone does not qualify; elders must display the fruit of the Spirit and can be disqualified by misconduct.

Pastor Miles teaches through 1 Timothy 2:9-15, addressing the proper conduct of women in the church amid a cultural moment of workplace harassment headlines, arguing that the passage flows from a good God who calls godly women to inward beauty, learning, and a willing yielding to God's created order as an act of worship. He contends Paul appeals to creation rather than culture, and that the office...