WELCOME Merry Christmas! Thank you for joining us today at The Crossing Church. We are one church with two locations (Tampa and Celebration, FL). Whether this is your first time here or you’ve been a long time member, we are so thankful that you would consider The Crossing a place for you and your family during the Christmas season. We are looking forward to an amazing year, and we pray that you will be a big part of what the future holds. Your Pastor, Greg and Tamara Dumas Pastor Greg & Tamara Dumas Lead Pastor
UPCOMING EVENTS Giving Online If you would like to give securely online, simply go to https://members.crossingonline.org/ and follow the links located on the left side of the page. For further information, call our church offices at 888.977.9910.
Celebration Campus Welcome Booklet Online Are you interested in hearing more about The Crossing Church – Celebration Campus? We now have the welcome booklet online at celebration.crossingonline.org.
Lifegroups LifeGroups are underway, and if you haven’t signed up yet, it’s never too late! Please e-mail your interest and information to Shayla Yancey at: syancey@crossingonline.org and we will make sure to get you connected!
For more announcement details: www.crossingonline.org/announcements-celebration-campus
Saturday, December 23 Sunday, December 24
WELCOME TO THE
CROSSING CHURCH
LOVE IS STILL ALIVE In our Faith and in our Feet Romans 10:1-17
Lead Pastor: Greg Dumas
SCRIPTURE Romans 10:1-17 (MSG)
OBSERVATION • • •
Religion is man trying desperately to find their way to God. Salvation in Christ Jesus is God making His way to human beings. We don’t have to do anything to receive Christ except believe and receive. Every religion in the world propounds its story and states its standards for living, but no other religion in the world claims the veracity and historicity of Christianity. Faith in Christ Jesus as Lord is the line of demarcation that uniquely sets Christianity apart from other world religions.
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APPLICATION What does it mean to “trust” Jesus? Q: “All of this sounds really great but I have never understood what it means to ‘trust Jesus.’” A: First, trusting in Christ means that you’re not relying upon yourself, but on Christ to get you into heaven. We cannot get to heaven by doing good deeds, or things that we think will make us acceptable to God. Rather, we need to be forgiven of our sins, realizing that Jesus died for our sins. And what He did for us on the cross is the only way to have our sins forgiven. The Bible says ... • “All the [Old Testament] prophets testify about him [Jesus] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43) • “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 1:7) After someone trusts in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, a new life begins -- “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2Cor. 5:17) The person becomes a follower of Christ. As a follower of Christ, a person relies upon Jesus in other areas of their life, not just for forgiveness of sin.
APPLICATION Continued... For example, Jesus said that He is the Teacher (John 13:13-14). He told his disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to them, and that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things (John 14:26) and guides them into all truth (John 16:13). God teaches a person his ways and his truth. In terms of our values and our behavior, He cleans out stuff in our thinking that’s not right and shows us from His perspective what is correct. This is another way in which God loves us. He is the One who knows all truth, and he wants us to build our lives on his truth. Jesus said ... • “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25) • “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) • “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29) The most important part of following Christ is to learn from Him. By relying on Christ as our Teacher, he guides us into living a new life that is according to his will and is according to truth. He shows us how to live, and will even guide us in how to pray. When we learn what he wants from us, then we rely on his strength and power (the Holy Spirit) to do those things. Following Christ is all about relying upon him. He told his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Above taken from © EveryStudent.com
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PRAYER Lord, thank you for making salvation possible! Thank you for coming to the earth and showing us what love looks like. You are Jesus, The Son of God. You are The Promised Christ! You were born of a virgin, you lived a sinless life, you died in my place and you have risen from the dead. One day soon, you are coming back to judge the living and the dead. Thank you for coming and humbling yourself as a man. Thank you for living a life that was perfectly free from the contamination of sin. Thank you for dying for my sin on the cross at Calvary. Thank you for that fact that your resurrection has given me new life.