Church At The Cross

Scripture: Romans 12:1 Key Takeaways:  “The Christian and the Materialist hold different beliefs about the universe. They can’t both be right. The one who is wrong will act in a way which simply doesn’t fit the real universe. Consequently, with the best will in the world, he will be helping his fellow creatures to their destruction.” - C.S. Lewis   Romans 12:1 (NIV)   Romans 1:24-25 (ESV)   Romans 12:1 (NIV)   Offer Your Body to God   1 Peter 2:5 (ESV)   Philippians 4:18 (ESV)   Display the Worth & Beauty of Christ in Your Body.   “It has been said that in the New Testament doctrine is grace; and ethics is gratitude; and something is wrong with any form of Christianity in which, experimentally and practically, this saying is not being verified. Those who suppose that the doctrine of God's grace tends to encourage moral laxity are simply showing that, in the most literal sense, they do not know what they are talking about. For love awakens love in return; and love, once awakened, desir

This sermon explores Romans 11:25-32, emphasizing that theology should lead us to doxology (praise) and devotion (godliness). It underscores the wonder and worth of God, the wisdom and ways of God, and the wealth and works of God, acknowledging that while God can be truly known, He cannot be fully comprehended.  Scripture: Romans 11:25-32 Key Takeaways: “As I often tell my students, theology is for doxology and devotion—that is, the praise of God and the practice of godliness...Theology is at its healthiest when it is consciously under the eye of the God of whom it speaks, and when it is singing to his glory.” -       J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs. + Theology is for Doxology and devotion. + The Wonder and Worth of God. 1 Kings 10:23 (CSB)  1 Kings 10:4–8 (CSB) + The Wisdom and Ways of God -       God can be truly known but not fully known. Deuteronomy 29:29 (CSB) Psalm 56:8–9 (CSB) + The Wealth and Works of God. Psalm 50:12 (CSB) Colossians 1

Scripture: Romans 11:25-32 Key Takeaways: God has a heart for the Jewish people and so should we. Salvation is of God so be humble. 1 Corinthians 1:28–31 God lets us fall into and feel our sin so we might marvel at His mercy.

Scripture: Romans 11:11-24 Key Takeaways: Main Idea: "God has always wanted a people to reveal his glory to and display his glory through.   Three Parts of God's Plan Genesis 12:2–3 Ephesians 3:6   Ephesians 3:9   “The restoration of Israel is an easier process than the call of the gentiles” - John Stott   Two Ways to Respond   Romans 10:3-4   One Hope for us All   Isaiah 49:6 Revelation 7:9   “One cannot help but wonder what the remarkable result would be if this mass of lay people could be spiritually released from their servitude in the American success system and reoriented to channel their major energies toward building the Kingdom of God” - Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life   1.          Continue in God’s Kindness 2.         Fear the Lord 3.         Be Stubbornly Hopeful

Scripture: Romans 10:13-11:11 Key Takeaways:   Even when it looks like unbelief is winning the day, God is at work saving a people for himself.      1 Peter 3:18   “At the turn of the 20th century, Africa was home to less than 10 million Christians, fewer than any other region except Oceania. By 2000, the Christian population in Africa had exploded to more than 383 million. In 2020, more Christians lived in Africa than any other region of the world. By 2050, with a Christian population of more than 1.28 billion, more Christians will call Africa home than the next two most populous regions—Asia and Latin America—combined.” - Aaron Earls, Lifeway Research.      God has a purpose in every tragedy, even the tragedy of unbelief.   Romans 1:16 Acts 13:46 Acts 18:6 Acts 28:24–28 Matthew 21:42–43 Acts 2:22–24 Romans 8:28 2 Corinthians 1:8–11   The Gospel has the power to give you an enviable life.     1 Peter 3:15

Scripture: Romans 10:5–17 Key Takeaways:   A Person is saved solely by faith in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus, apart from works. Apart from personal, conscious, saving faith in Jesus people will experience eternal judgment.   Romans 2:5 Ezekiel 18:23 Ezekiel 33:11 John 3:16–17   Universalism   Mark 9:42–48 Matthew 25:46 Revelation 20:14–15   “Hell is a dreadful reality. To speak of it lightly proves we do not grasp its horror. I know of no one who has overstated the terrors of hell. We can scarcely surpass the horrid images Jesus used. We are meant to shudder. Why? Because the infinite horrors of hell are intended by God to be a vivid demonstration of the infinite value of his glory which sinners have belittled…When people repeat the centuries old objection that an eternal punishment is disproportionate to a finite life of sinning, they disregard the essential thing…The essential thing is that degrees of blameworthiness come not from how long you offend dignity, but from

Scripture: Romans 9:30-10:4 Key Takeaways:   God did not promise salvation to every ethnic Israelite, but only to those he sovereignly chose to be recipients of his saving love (Romans 9:6-29).   Israel did not respond to Jesus in faith (Romans 9:30-10:21).   John 5:39-40 John 6:35-45   Because the Gospel is so shocking, many people are offended by it and stumble over it.   Philippians 3:4-9   Because the Gospel is so shocking, it takes a work of God to believe it.    2 Corinthians 4:4-6   To make intercession for men is the most powerful and practical way in which we can express our love for them. — John Calvin

Scripture: Romans 9:14–29 Key Takeaways:   Exodus 4:21 Exodus 7:3–4 Exodus 7:13   God’s ultimate aim in all that he does is the manifestation of and magnification of his glory.   Romans 11:33–36 Romans 16:27 Philippians 4:20 1 Timothy 1:17 Isaiah 42:8   In Election, God Displays his perfections in the manifestation of his Mercy (9:15).   Exodus 33:18–19   “The stunning thing for Paul is not that God rejected Ishmael and Esau but that he chose Isaac and Jacob, for they did not deserve to be included in his merciful and gracious purposes. Human beings are apt to criticize God for excluding anyone, but this betrays a theology that views salvation as something God “ought” to bestow on all equally.” Thomas Schreiner.   In Election, God Displays his perfections in the manifestation of his Justice (9:20-23).     Ephesians 2:5–7   Before you raise your questions and objections lower your posture.   Job 40:1–9   Don’t eliminate other truths because of this one.   Matthew 11:25–29   D

Scripture: Romans 9:1-16 Key Takeaways:  1.   God did not promise salvation to every ethnic Israelite, but only to those he chose to be recipients of his saving love (Romans 9:6-29). 2.   Generally speaking, Israel did not respond to Jesus in faith (Romans 9:30-10:21). 3.   God faithfulness to Israel is seen in that there is a believing remnant (Romans 11:1-10). 4.   God’s faithfulness to his promise to Israel will one day be seen in greater measure when God saves Israel in great numbers (Romans 11:11-32).   The Doctrine of Election   Ephesians 1:3–6 “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Belo

Scripture: Romans 9:1-13 Key Takeaways:   Romans 9:6 Romans 3:20-25 Romans 5:1-5 Romans 8:1 Romans 8:28-39   Does Israel’s spiritual condition mean that God doesn’t keep his promises or that God can’t accomplish his purposes?   Romans 11:33-36   Not every physical descendent of Israel truly belongs to Israel.   Romans 11:1

Scripture: Luke 6:46-49 Key Takeaways:   Matthew 28:18-19 Ephesians 1:20-23   “Our commitment to Jesus can stand on no other foundation than a recognition that he is the one who knows the truth about our lives and our universe…Could we seriously imagine that Jesus could be Lord if he were not smart? If he were divine, would he be dumb? Or uninformed? Once you stop to think about it, how could he be what we take him to be in all other respects and not be the best-informed and most intelligent person of all, the smartest person that ever lived? He is not just nice, he is brilliant…‘Jesus is Lord ’can mean little in practice for anyone who has to hesitate before saying ‘Jesus is smart. ’He always has the best information on everything and certainly also on the things that matter most in human life.”- Dallas Willard, Divine Conspiracy   Matthew 7:21-24 O Christ What Burdens Bowed Thy Head: The tempest’s awful voice was heard, O Christ, it broke on Thee! Thy open bosom was my ward, It braved the storm for

Scripture: Luke 24:1-12 Key Takeaways:   1 Corinthians 15:3–9 1 Corinthians 15:14 1 Corinthians 15:30–32   Jesus did rise from the dead and Christianity is true, and you must honestly face it.  OR  Jesus did not rise from the dead and Christianity is false, and you can completely forget it.     Jesus did not die. (“Swoon Theory”)   The disciples were deceived.   The disciples were deceivers.     You won’t find Jesus among the dead. You won’t find life away from Jesus.     1 Corinthians 15:32

Scripture: Isaiah 55:19 Key Takeaways:   The greatest things we need are found in a relationship with God.    “What causes us to be fickle is the realization that our present pleasures are false, while failing to realize that absent pleasures are also vain.” Blaise Pascal.    The Greatest things we need are completely free.    John 6:35 John 7:37–39   Anything that would lead you away from God, or rise above him, is an enemy to your joy.    “...in the past couple of years, I have noticed a happiness pattern that relates to politics. Namely, the people most in the know tend to be unhappier than those who pay less attention. I subjected this observation to a bit of analysis, and sure enough, the numbers bear it out. I analyzed the 2014 data from the General Social Survey collected by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago to see how attention to politics is associated with life satisfaction. The results were significant. Even after controlling for income, education, age, gen

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-15 Key Takeaways:  James 1:13–15 Hide from God Jonah 1:3–5 Psalm 139:7–12 Cover Up Make Excuses and Shift Blame Genesis 3:21 Luke 19:10 Face Ourselves Face God Luke 15:20 Receive Grace Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love and pow'r. I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms In the arms of my dear Savior, Oh, there are ten thousand charms. – Joseph Hart (1759).

Scripture: Romans 8:31-39 Key Takeaways:   God is for us and is greater than anyone or anything against us. Romans 8:1 2 Kings 6:15–17 God will give us every small thing we need, because he has already given us the Greatest thing we need  “Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas, for money; not Pilate, for fear; not the Jews, for envy; —but the Father, for love!’ Octavius Winslow Romans 8:32 God will always accept us in Jesus no matter what accusations are brought against us. Isaiah 61:10 Revelation 12:10–11   Jesus, Thy robe of righteousness; My beauty is, my glorious dress; ‘Midst flaming worlds, in this arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head. - John Wesley. God’s love will always hold us and always help us in the face of any danger.

Scripture: Romans 8:28-30 Key Takeaways: The bad things will all be turned to good.   Romans 8:18   John 11:33-35   John 11:38-39   The good things can never be taken away from you.   John 6:44   Jeremiah 32:38-41   Ephesians 1:4-6   “What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it—the fact that he knows me.. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort—the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates—in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me.” - J.I. Packer, Knowing God   “Ultim

Scripture: John 16:20-28 Key Takeaways: Prayer is a Privilege secured for us by Jesus.   Hebrews 10:19–22    “God is radically committed to my life of prayer. He shed the blood of His Son so that I might be cleansed and rendered fit to stand before Him in love. He also permitted the brutal rending of His Son so that I might now have a way to enter into the Holy Place through the torn flesh of Jesus. ‘Draw near,’ he says… How can I not feel the infinite sincerity of these invitations, especially when considering the painful lengths that God endured so that I might enter his presence in prayer. Indeed the Gospel serves as the sweetest of invitation to pray.” - Milton Vincent.   Matthew 7:7–11     Prayer is Adoring and Asking.   Matthew 7:7–11     True Prayer Prioritizes the Priorities of God.   Matthew 6:9–10   Prayer is an attitude and a habit.   “It’s good to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last at night. Guard yourself carefully against those false and deluding ideas whic

Summary: Scripture: Romans 8:26-27 Key Takeaways: Romans 8:1 Romans 8:2–4   John 14:15–17   + Presence   Isaiah 41:10   Isaiah 43:1–5    Psalm 23:4   Psalm 34:18    + Prayer   2 Corinthians 12:7–10

Scripture: Romans 8:18-25 Key Takeaways: + Cry Out Genesis 3:17-19   +Look Forward 1 Peter 1:4   The firstfruits of an incoming harvest were, literally, the first batch—and they were a foretaste of what was to come. Currently, the spirit is making us internally alive (v 10); giving us gradual, internal freedom from the effects of sin and death, making us slowly more like Christ (v 29). But this is only the firstfruits—just a taste of the complete, total freedom from the effects of sin and death in our bodies and spirits that the Spirit will one day give us – Tim Keller   1 John 3:2-3 Look about you! Look below you! Note it. Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead he set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that? – Augustine   The easiness and naturalness of trees and vines are shadows of His beauty and loveliness. The crystal rivers and murmuring streams are the footsteps of His favor, grace, and beauty. Whe

In this sermon, Minister of Care, Scott Berry, focused on our identity as adopted children of God. He highlighted our identity as conquerors empowered by the Holy Spirit and heirs through adoption, emphasizing the significance of engaging with the Word of God and walking in step with the Spirit.   Key Takeaways:   + We are killers -      We fight by the Holy Spirit -      Word of God -      Walking with the Spirit + We are adopted   + We are heirs