Crossroads Church of Lillington
Crossroads Church of Lillington
Weekly teaching from God's Word at Crossroads Church in Lillington, NC. Ken Dalton serves at Lead Pastor and Brady Bassett serves as Family Ministries Pastor.
Episodes
Tearing Down Walls (Part 1)
The deep and universal problem of prejudice can only be killed out by the power of God’s unrelenting grace we see and experience through the Gospel. The redeemed and the unredeemed struggle with deeply rooted prejudices. Jesus can cure the problem wherever it exists.
The Healing Power of Jesus
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus’ resurrection power can be unleashed wherever and on whomever God chooses. When Jesus saves us we are saved by His power, not ours. The lost will see Christ and His power displayed in our lives and many will be saved.
The Changes Jesus Brings
Trus ng Christ means that you are, in fact, a new person. You were spiritually dead, and now you have been born again to a new life in Christ as He lives in you and works through you. You have new desires and a new hope. The term we use for this is conversion, and the very name implies that there are changes.
“Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners”
In the conversion of Saul, God had you and I in mind. Saul’s conversion shows us that no one is outside the sovereign reach of God’s saving grace. God saves us not because we are worthy of salvation, but because He is rich in mercy.
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
We are all hoping to find meaning in life. Where is meaning and purpose found? Only in Jesus Christ. Followers of Jesus must embrace the evangelistic opportunities the Lord gives to them. They must also know the Word so that they can be ready to give a defense for the hope that is in them.
Scattering the Seed of Jesus
The Church is most obedient when it is beingpersecuted and pressured. God always gives us the opportunity to voluntarily choose to obey Him. If we are resistant to His commands the Lord often arranges our circumstances in such a way that we obey, but only after He applies the necessary level of pain into our lives.
Stephen: The First Martyr
The Faithfulness of Stephen was tested. We know very little about the background of Stephen. We do know that the early church recognized his faithfulness. It would be safe to assume that he had developed a history with the disciples. It would also be reasonable to believe that Stephen had witnessed the life and ministry of Jesus. Stephen would quote His Savior with his dying words as he prayed for their forgiveness. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose". (Jim Elliot).
When Stephen Saw Jesus
After being accused of disrespecting Moses, the Law, and the Temple, Stephen responds with a masterful history lesson on the consistent resistance of God’s people to hearing and obeying the Lord. Scripture points us to the sovereign, abundant grace of God toward rebellious sinners, but also to the danger of hardening our hearts against God’s grace.
Grace, Power, Wisdom, and the Spirit
God loves to take ordinary people who follow Christ and fill them with all that Jesus is. Stephen goes from being a caring and helpful servant of widows to being a bold proclaimer of the Gospel. Jesus fills those who live for Him, with His grace, power, wisdom, and Spirit.
God's Grace in Solving Problems
At a time of growth and blessing the early church a serious problem arose involving how one group of women were being helped compared to another group. Conflicts are a natural and expected part of all meaningful relationships like within a church. The way we handle the conflicts determine whether Christ is glorified and whether our church is strengthened and our witness is magnified or deeply damaged.
"Gimme Some Truth"
The Christian is a person that knows the truth because they know the Lord Jesus Christ. When we lay our lives down for the Lord Jesus Christ, that means that we must put to death sinful desires such as pride, jealousy, and self-promotion. A Christian is one that suffers well when they embrace the truth that has been entrusted to them.
"Signs and Wonders"
God will do as He pleases for the glory of His name and for the good of His Church. This means that God will purify the Church and the Church has the responsibility to pursue purity and the Lord provides to reach the lost, knowing that God will bring growth in His time. holiness. The church is to labor with all of its might, in the strength that the Lord provides to reach the lost, knowing that God will bring growth in His time.
One Common Belief, One Common Goal, One Mortal Sin, One Mortal Consequence
The work of the Holy Spirit is magnified by the complete, generous hearts of the believer, which strengthens the Body of Christ. However, when the heart of the believer is more focused on earthly gain than on humble obedience, this produces callousing pride, allowing sin to rule, ultimately blinding believers to their relationship with Christ.
A Prayer: “Give Us a Spirit-Filledl and Christ-Centered Boldness”
The miraculous healing of a helpless man is a physical miracle that Jesus did through the Apostles. It was a picture of a greater miracle, the saving and healing of those who are helpless in their sin. In sin we are not weakened and in need of strength but are dead and in need of a resurrection.
"Victory in Persecution"
When believers are filled with the Spirit and convinced of the truth of Christ, they remain faithful and courageous, choosing obedience to God over the approval or threats of people.
Christ Alone
Acts 4:11 This Jesus is the Stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men (mortals) by which we must be saved
"It's All About Jesus"
After a miraculous healing Peter explains that the healing and all of life finds its meaning in Jesus. The healing of the man was through Jesus, the forgiveness of sin is found in work of Jesus, and the meaning of a life blessed by God is found through transforming ministry of Jesus.
"Rags to Riches"
The Lord will continue to work powerfully through the hands and words of the apostles. In Acts 3, we see a perfect illustration of how God reaches into the heart and lives of the sinner to bring them to a newness of life. The world will offer many things to us, but all that they can offer to us are temporary alms that will never address our real problems.
A Portrait of a Faithful Church
Against all odds the disciples do not scatter to the winds or cower in fear after Jesus leaves them. As the Holy Spirit came and filled them the Church responded to the work of grace in their lives by loving God and loving the people in His church and world. The Spirit used them in the city and drew thousands to salvation in Christ.
Christ-Centered Preaching
Every sermon that we preach must be a Christcentered sermon. The first sermon that is preached in the book of Acts is Christ-centered. If Christ is not at the center of our Gospel message, we are not a gospel preaching people.
We Helped Kill Jesus
Two things are both true – that man was responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion and that this was the plan of God for our salvation. His substitutionary death and His resurrection from the dead both give testimony to the grace and mercy of God seeking the restoration of His rebellious creation.
“The Pouring Out of the Spirit and Our Salvation”
The Promise has come in the Holy Spirit indwelling the believers. The Church is born and the first sermon preached in and by the church is delivered by a Spirit-transformed and empowered Peter. We need to know that anyone who calls out in faith to Jesus for salvation will be saved by our merciful and gracious God.
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit Spirit”
The Church is dependent upon the power and work of the Holy Spirit. The day of Pentecost was one of the most important moments in the history of redemption. A Christian that is ignorant of the Holy Spirit and attempts to live free from the Holy Spirit will fail.
"Life in the Waiting Room"
As Jesus ascended to heaven He left His disciples behind. We see them following His commands, praying together, and seeking God’s will. They show us that we can live with confidence when our faith is in a God who is Sovereign and whose Word is always true and authoritative.
Last Words, a Goodbye, and an Ascension
After 40 days of regular appearances and conversations with the Disciples the time for His return to His Father arrived. Jesus gathered, gave final commands, and a promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit. In the event we find essential instructions for the Christian life and the ministry of the Church.
There's So Much More to the Story!
The story of what Jesus did and is still doing does not end in the Gospels. In Acts, we see that Christ lives and moves through the disciples and the Church He is building. The Gospel of Jesus spreads from Jerusalem throughout the world in the preaching of God’s Word.
Resolved!
God is faithful in all of His promises. What God has promised, He Himself will see brought to completion. We can trust that God is able to do far more abundantly what we ask or think. We live our lives with the attitude that Christ is preeminent in all things and that the greatest joy that we can have in our lives is when focus on giving God glory. We have the sure promise of Scripture that the future reward for believers is sure and that God will bring all His people to glory.
God's Past and Future Mercy
Psalm 126 moves from gratitude for all the great things God has done in the past to a faith-driven prayer that God would do great things again. It calls us to live lives of faithful service while trusting that God will give blessings and fill us with joy.
Why Are We So Troubled?
The circumstances of our lives are often overwhelming. Without the resurrection of Jesus, we will be lost in our sin, without hope, and consumed by fear. Jesus will save you, but He waits for you to see Him, believe in Him, and submit your life fully to Him.
Who is the Son of Man?
On Palm Sunday, we see that Jesus is fully God and fully human. As fully human, we see that Jesus experienced emotions just like we do. As fully God, we see that He alone can atone for sin. This very Jesus is for all people groups. For thousands of years, Jesus Christ, the Suffering Servant, has drawn all men to Himself. The cross, the symbol of shame and death, of Christ does not revoke the glory; it amplifies it.
Coming Together to Praise the Lord
Christians were not created to practice Christianity alone, rather we were made to glorify God together in one accord, keeping God the ultimate center of our adoration. Similarly, in Psalm 134, the Psalmist commands us to give all honor, glory, and praise to the Lord of heaven and earth.
Church is the Place for Healing
A church is a "hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints." If a church loses its focus on healing and transformation, it becomes a "building without a doctor" or a "resort" focused on internal comfort.
Satisfaction in the Lord
Psalm 131 is the simple, short call of the most important man in Israel to humbly trust the Lord and find complete satisfaction in His presence, confident that all we really need will be provided by Him.
A Steady Climb Towards Assurance
We all stand guilty before a Holy and Just God. We can either keep that sense of guilt to ourselves or we can take it to the only actions. God is a God of redemption and the only source of rescue.
The Lord Sustains Us
God’s covenant people were born into adversity and are told this will be a major part of our lives until Jesus returns. But we cry out to our sovereign God who promises to always be with us, He will sustain us, He will set us free from our captors, and bring healing to our lives.
True Blessedness
Every gift that man receives is a blessing from God. Unless the Lord gives it, it is in vain. The presence of Godly and Christ- centered parents in a home cannot be overstated. God’s blessings for the home can extend to God’s blessings for the nation.
Marks of a Spirit-Filled Church
Acts 2:41–47 shows the early church united in faith, devoted to teaching, fellowship, prayer, and generosity as God grew their community daily.
The Sureness of God’s Salvation
Psalm 125 is a bold declaration of confidence that the Lord can be trusted, no matter what is going on in your life. This confidence is not in the strength of one’s faith, but in the bigness of God and in His ultimate provision and protection of the faithfull ones.
Anticipation
Are you wandering through life? Do you ever feel like something is missing in your life? Is this how you planned your life to be? Which has greater value for you: the journey, or the destignation?
The Joy of Worshipping With God's People
David expresses the sheer joy of gathering with the people of God in worship. In his joyful reflections we see what God wants His Church to be: a place of spiritual unity; a community of grateful people; a commitment to God’s authority over our lives; and, people who live in the peace that only God can give.
Where Do You Go For Help?
Because only God is all-powerful, good, wise, and ever-present He alone is the one we should look to for help. This does not diminish your own abilities or those of others, but everything about us is weaker and less reliable than who God is.
Day to Day in a Broken World
THE BIG IDEA: There is a Godly way for the believer to live in the world that they are in. There is God’s way, and there is the world’s way. Far too often Christians attempt to address their problems through the world’s way. Psalm 120 gives us a picture of how a Christian can live in a fallen world while longing for the home that God is preparing for them.
The Shepherd's Psalm
THE BIG IDEA: In Psalm 23, the Christian is reminded of the One that they belong to. In this Psalm we see a God that loves, provides, protects, and preserves His people. The Christian is the one that has heard the voice of the Good Shepherd and has followed Him.
God's Great Love
Our tradition of gift-giving is rooted in the very nature and practice of God. There are many differences between our giving and the Father’s giving but we can learn much by comparing our gift-giving to His. God gives the greatest and the most needed Gift ever!
The Gift of Joy
Joy is simply the work of God in the soul of a person who chooses to make much of God and be obedient to what He asks of them. True joy is impossible to find apart from Jesus.
Prince of Peace
There was a time when we didn’t belong to God or to His Family. In Christ, the hostilities cease (or, are supposed to). We find our peace and sense of belonging and identity in Him.
Happily Ever After
The Christian has a sure hope that God cares for them. There is nothing too big or too small that the Christian cannot take before the Lord. The devil is real, and spiritual warfare is real. We are to resist him by the strength that God provides and in unity with other believers. The hope that the Christian has is certain and will be fully realized when we see our Savior face to face.
God's Plan for Church Leadership
God gave His church leaders who are called to live by an even higher standard than other disciples of Jesus. His plan is simple - in the people they lead, leaders always get what they are. Leaders produce what they are displaying to the ones they lead.
When Life is Hard
Peter teaches us to anticipate and prepare for suffering. We need to understand the various reasons we suffer, the appropriate responses to suffering, and how to move forward after a time of suffering.
Living in Light of Jesus' Second Coming
As Christians of any generation look around, we are reminded to live with awareness that Jesus’ return is imminent. That reality demands a particular set of responses from Christians in God’s church.