Line Upon Line

Through the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, this teaching shows that every person carries a God-made void only Christ's living water can fill, and calls believers to set aside prejudice, reach the spiritually thirsty, and recover the joy of their salvation.

In response to a week of national division and violence, Pastor Miles grounds Christians in the gospel of reconciliation before continuing through Jude's closing call to action. The teaching examines how false teachers display a false spirituality, why believers should not be shocked by wolves in the church, and how we are to contend for the faith—grounded in faith, fervent in spirit, steadfast in...

Using both the human body and the workings of the heart as extended illustrations, this teaching on 1 Corinthians 12:12 shows that believers are one body in Christ, each with a vital role, called to gather, encourage, and sharpen one another while avoiding the division God hates. It concludes by linking the unity of the body to the communion table.

Working through Jude 1:5-11, Pastor Miles examines how God's mercy and grace coexist with His perfect justice, using Jude's three Old Testament examples (Israel in the wilderness, fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah) to show that God will impartially judge unrepentant sin, even among His own people. He applies this to the church's call to "contend earnestly for the faith" by dealing decisively—but a...

Opening a new series in the book of Jude, Pastor Miles examines Jude's salutation (verses 1-4), showing that believers are called, sanctified, and preserved by God's grace alone, and are therefore summoned to contend earnestly for the faith against false teaching that arises from within the church.

In the closing exhortation of 1 Peter 5, Peter calls believers to humility, submission to leaders, sober vigilance against the devil, and trust in God's sufficient grace, all as part of the difficult but essential process of sanctification. Pastor Miles frames these as "keys of the kingdom" for citizens of heaven who must be refined into the people God envisions them to be.

Concluding his series in 1 Peter, Pastor Miles teaches from 1 Peter 5:5-11 on the kingdom values of submission, humility, and vigilance against the devil, urging believers to humble themselves, respect God-ordained leadership, and resist evil while trusting in God's sufficient grace through sanctification.

Teaching through 1 Peter 5:1-4, Pastor Miles unpacks Peter's exhortation to elders, showing that biblical leadership is servant leadership marked by humility, love, and stewardship rather than lordship. He closes by ordaining and praying over Nick Burt, a faithful longtime servant of the church.

Drawing from 1 Peter 4:12-19, Pastor Miles teaches that trials are normal for the Christian, not strange, and that abnormal suffering endured for the name of Christ proves God's faithfulness, refines ours, and partners us with Christ in both His suffering and His glory. He distinguishes normal suffering (common to all in a fallen world) from abnormal, supernatural suffering experienced by believer...

A teaching on 1 Peter 4:7-11 that begins with five points most Protestants agree on about the end of all things, then pivots to Peter's "therefore"—how belief in Christ's return should reshape our living through prayer, love, hospitality, faithful stewardship, and lives lived for God's glory.

Working through 1 Peter 4:1, Pastor Miles teaches that because Christ suffered unjustly for us, believers must arm their minds with His mindset—seeing suffering for righteousness' sake as a tool God uses to sanctify, redeem wasted time, and ultimately reward us in eternity. Such a transformed life baffles and convicts unbelievers, but the believer can leave his case with God, the righteous Judge.

Continuing his "Keys of the Kingdom" series in 1 Peter, Pastor Miles teaches that God willed Christ's unjust suffering for the purpose of our salvation, and that Christ's victory means the suffering and even death of his followers is temporary and not to be feared. He works through the notoriously difficult passage of Christ preaching to the spirits in prison and the statement that "baptism saves...

Working through 1 Peter 3:13-16, Pastor Miles confronts our deep fear that submission and meekness will lead to harm, showing that Christians are all but guaranteed suffering yet are called to fix their hearts on Christ and the hope of eternity. Because Christ's suffering secured our salvation, a believer can face persecution with a peace that confounds the world and opens the door to share the go...

Drawing on 1 Peter 3:8-12, this Resurrection Sunday teaching calls Christians to seek and pursue peace (Hebrew *shalom*) by reflecting the compassion, mercy, and grace of the Prince of Peace. Because Christ extended grace to us who reviled Him, we are called to repay evil with blessing and to do good, with the promise of greater reward in eternity.

Pastor Miles teaches 1 Peter 3:1-7 on submission within marriage, defending the biblical call for Christian wives to honor and respect their husbands against modern objections while grounding it in the equality of men and women. He shows that submission is a form of worship and a witness, then turns to husbands, who must dwell with their wives with understanding, honor, and respect as equal heirs...

Drawing on Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi and his rebuke by Jesus, this teaching from 1 Peter 2:18-25 calls believers to submit to authority—even harsh employers—because submission to earthly authority reveals the degree of our submission to God. Christ's unjust suffering becomes the example and ethic we are called to follow, with the promise of eternal reward.

From 1 Peter 2:11-17, Pastor Miles teaches that Christians—citizens of another realm—are called to submit to every human governing authority, even corrupt ones, because all earthly power is ordained by God for His sovereign purposes. This submission, far from being weakness, is a witness to God's ultimate authority and requires an internal war against ungodly desires like anger, malice, and bitter...

Tracing the Old Testament "stone" imagery into the New Testament, this teaching from 1 Peter 2 shows that the stone is Jesus Christ—rejected by men but chosen by God—who is the only foundation of the church and the only way to taste God's grace. Believers, made into living stones, are built into a holy priesthood whose acceptable service is to proclaim the praises of God who called them out of dar...

Drawing on 1 Peter 1:6-16, Pastor Miles teaches that joy in the midst of trials and persecution for Christ's sake is possible because Christians look beyond present suffering to a coming, indescribable salvation. God allows such trials to prove and purify believers' faith, producing holiness and culminating in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Using Jesus' seaside conversation with Peter in John 21, Pastor Miles shows how an encounter with the risen Jesus transformed a fearful denier into a faithful martyr, and applies this to believers facing increasing opposition in 21st-century America as he introduces a new series in 1 Peter.

Drawing from 1 Peter 1, Pastor Miles examines how believers maintain faithfulness amid opposition, tracing Peter's life and the early church's persecution to show that faithfulness—not giftedness—is what God requires. He grounds that faithfulness in God's electing mercy, the living hope of the resurrection, and an incorruptible inheritance kept by the power of God.

Drawing on 1 Peter 1:6 and its surrounding verses, this teaching contrasts the political "better future" every candidate promises with Jesus's call to follow Him through suffering toward an eternal salvation. Pastor Miles shows that the hope of heaven makes joy in trials possible, that God uses trials to prove and purify our faith, and that faithful endurance will be rewarded with praise, honor, a...

Drawing from the creation account in Genesis 2, this teaching shows that God never intended us to live in isolation; sin destroyed the oneness God created, but Jesus destroyed sin to restore community, which now finds its expression in the church. Pastor Miles outlines six practical ways believers grow in connection with one another at Cross Connection.

A Christmas teaching tracing the biblical story of joy from creation through the fall, the prophets' promises, and the advent of Christ, showing that Jesus came to bring "good tidings of great joy for all people." The church is called to experience, express, and extend that joy to a misery-filled world.

Opening a three-part series on the church's vision—"life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus"—Pastor Miles traces from Genesis how humanity was created for communion with God and community with each other, how sin brought disconnection, and how Jesus came to restore the broken connection so we can experience the abundant life.