Paul's Podcast

Not all wisemen were wise. We know these wisemen were wise by how they responded to the information they heard about Jesus. Application for today: not all people are wise! What makes someone wise today is how they respond to the information they have about Jesus... so how will you respond? Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

We've heard the Christmas story many times before, but we've missed a few things: how it is a true story from the past, how it is a story of prophesy, and how it is a personal story. Listen to the story again, and decide which role you will play... Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

Without effective mentoring, people fail. That's true in the world, in the Bible, in history, in our own lives, and in the Great Commission. The problem is not that we don't want to be effective  mentors, but rather we don't know how. When it comes to encouraging younger believers, we can find ourselves thinking "I don't know what to say..." Step up the apostle Paul a...

Winter is just around the corner and you know what that means: the common cold. We're going to get one, and we're going to spread it around to those near us. Not cool. But, what if I were to tell you that there is something else that you could spread, but that it was something good... that there is something else that you can share around to the people you come into contact with, but it...

When preaching on the book of Philemon, John MacArthur said “No one is ever more like God than when they forgive.” I think there is a lot of support for his claim, but I also think 'being forgiving' is easier said than done.  Why should we forgive if we've been wronged? Well , let's find out ... Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

We want grace to be at work in our lives; the first sign of this according to Philemon is our love for other believers. Some people are very loveable, others not so much. What do we need to know to ensure we love the saints like Jesus did? Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

Martin Luther was right when he said about believers ‘we are all Onesimuses!’ Today, we are going to see what exactly makes us 'Onesimuses'. We'll see that his life story is a picture of our life story, which will give us the big fat reminder we need about God's grace: it worked. Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

There are some great books in our New Testament:  Acts is the first book of church history; Romans the backbone of Christianity, full of the power of the gospel & loaded with doctrine. We then have x8 church epistles, which instruct believers on how to deal with sin, how to respond to religion, how to walk in the Holy Spirit, how to fix problems in the church, teaches us about family relations...

Believers are not called to a pleasure cruise but to a prize fight. Not only are we to go, but we are to fight, and we are to win. Where does the power come from for this fight? How can I make sure I pack a punch? Let's find out ... Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

There are team sports and there are individual sports. Some individual sports include: boxing, swimming, running. Some team ones include: football, hockey, rugby, netball. What are the differences between the two? With individual sports, you’re out there on your own. Though there are a few people involved behind the scenes, when the competitor is actually on the field or in the ring, they’re on th...

As we reach (almost) the end of our series, we’ll see something extraordinary play out in Paul’s life. He's pretty old, alone, imprisoned, and he has to stand before an absolute tyrant of a ruler - a lion according to verse 17… But at the same time, he couldn’t have been safer. As counter intuitive as that sounds, I believe that at that moment (his first answer before Nero) he was the stronge...

It’s important to be ready. If I want to get the bus to school, I have to be ready in time. If I want to succeed in that job interview, I need to be ready for it. There are many incidences in life where it is important to be ready, but none that compare to being ready to stand before Christ. Two huge questions this week: 1. Are you ready to stand before Christ? 2. How do you know? Find out more ab...

One thing we did a lot in my family growing up was huddle round the TV on a Saturday night for a TV show called Gladiators. An entertaining show, where contestants faced off against 'gladiators' in a range of events designed to test speed, agility and strength. One of the most difficult, dramatic and important moments in the show is The Travellator. At the end of the show, after several...

Today we begin chapter 4 and the final obstacle: finishing strong. Based on chapters 3, 2 and 1… chapter 4 begins with an urgent charge from Paul to Timothy. What is that urgent charge? Part one: Timothy has to finish strong because a judgement is coming. (Part two next week: he has to finish strong because a turning away is coming). There is a lot of information in these 5 verses, but however the...

The last days are perilous, but it is possible to be victorious in them. Here's the big secret as to how, ready... the big reveal... read the Bible. We've heard that before, but what we sometimes miss is the impact 'continuing in the scriptures' will have on our ability to finish our course. Want to know more? Jump in ... Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

Travelling overseas once, I got myself in a little pickle in Asia. The mix of travelling and the heat and quite a bit of physical exercise… plus the food that my body wasn’t used too… I actually became quite unwell on an overnight train… What does one do in that situation? I wasn’t able to do very much myself, couldn’t speak the language, couldn’t read any of the language, but knew I needed some m...

In policing terms, a good Safer Neighbourhood Team has (at least) two main responsibilities. They have to deal generally with the challenges of the area. This means keeping an eye on particular areas of concern, like outside the fast food place, or tracking particular crime issues, like shoplifting. As well as this general approach, they also have their 'key nominals'. These are the spec...

Key to being successful in any endeavour is understanding what you’re up against. The sailor studies the weather before they set out, the boxer watches hours and hours of their opponent in the ring to see how they fight, the football team not only studies the opponent on tape - they get to train on and warm up on the pitch (so they know exactly what the playing field is like). We need to know what...

In Acts 2, before people get saved, and before Peter shares the gospel, God sets the stage... Today, we want to see people get saved, and we want to share the gospel, but what needs to happen in our lives first? Let's jump in and find out ... Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

What does a servant of the Lord do? What does it look like when someone today is completely submitted to the will of God? That can seem like an unattainable position, but let me share with you two very real, very practical things we need to know if we want our lives to look like this… Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

I have here two balloons that are the same. Same colour, same material, from the same shop, the same packet, even the same writing on them. Here’s one - I’ll throw it to this side of the room and let’s see what it does… full of air, it does this... Here’s my second one - same balloon, just full of water. Other side of the room, are you ready for me to throw this at you? What’s the point? The point...

Having all been in school/education in some way, one thing we will have all experienced is different kind of students… lazy ones, hardworking ones, some like to sit right at the front near the teacher, some at the back, some students are always prepared, some are always late... What kind of student were you? More importantly, what kind of student are you today? Specifically, what kind of bible stu...

...us believers are in an impossible spot then, because we know following Christ involves suffering, but we hate suffering. How do we get past that? The answer might be in these 3 things that the Apostle Paul believes are worth suffering for... Find out more about us here - crossroadslondon.org

How I used to wash cars as a kid... that is an example of someone not working smart. I was working, but I wasn't working smart. There was some endeavour, but it did not achieve the fruit that my effort may have led to... This brings us to our 3rd lesson on how to be useful for the Lord. Last week we saw that to be meet for the master’s use, we need to be a good soldier; this week we'll s...

Last week, we started our exploration of how to be useful to the Lord. This is the second of our 4 obstacles - and we cannot finish our course if we are not meet for the master’s use. We can and will finish our lives, i.e. get to the end of them, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we will have fulfilled what God wanted us to do with them. We concluded last week this way: if we want to be useful to...