Monday, July 25, 2016

What We Believe at Cross Pointe Baptist Church

What We Believe at Cross Pointe Baptist Church

1. We believe in one God, maker of heaven and earth, and eternally existent as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

2. We believe the Bible, composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is God’s inspired and infallible Word. It is inerrant and is the authority for conduct, belief, and practice.

3. We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His death on the cross; that He rose bodily from the grave, ascended into heaven, and will return to earth in power and glory.  And, that through His substitutionary death on the cross, His shed blood for mankind has paid for the sins of the world.

4. We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit, that His present work is to reveal Jesus Christ to people, to regenerate those who believe, and that He indwells Christians to mediate the life of Jesus Christ in them.

5. We believe people were created in the image of God. Through Adam all people obtained a sin nature which produces sin. Because of sin, all people in their natural condition are separated from God and are under the wrath and condemnation of God.

6. We believe people may be saved from the wrath of God, be forgiven of sin, be justified by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and be reconciled to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are eternally secure in Him. This salvation is a free gift of God’s grace to all who believe.

7. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and lost: they that are saved to the resurrection of life in Heaven, and they that are lost to the resurrection of damnation in Hell.

8. We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in Christ. We believe the church, as a local body, was commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to make disciples of all nations. We believe the two ordinances of the church are baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper; they are representations of the Lord’s death and resurrection for the believer.

Friday, July 22, 2016

We Can Endure

Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:11 (NKJV)

There has been a time when we question if the light at the end of the tunnel will ever be visible. Will the pile ever get smaller? Will the worries ever stop? When will the Lord show up? Allow me to tell you a story of an acquaintance.

A young man had been married for 15 years, but his marriage wasn't what it used to be. They had grown distant and cold to one another. "Going through the motions" was putting it lightly. If there had been an opportunity to sleep in separate bedrooms they would have. How much could he endure?

Emails left open and phone bills increasing in price led to the inevitable... an affair was occurring. How much could he endure?

Their ten year-old just diagnosed with something they felt all along: Autism. Slowly tearing their family further apart. How much could they endure?

Flustered and frustrated with life, his wife missed an important meeting a client. She showed up on Monday to discover that she had been let go because the company missed a six figure deal. How much could she endure?

But we know the Lord walks with us all the time. Think of where we'd be without the Lord? We can endure. It may not be the happy ending in storybooks we want, but we will be given another day to endure by the Father.

Job, as he was enduring the pain and sorrow of his lengthy ordeal, felt as if he had been utterly forsaken by God. But the example of Job should remind us that even when grief or turmoil hide the face of God from us, he is still working tenderly toward our sanctification and glory.

For this reason, James declares, we count them happy which endure. Those who steadfastly endure the trials God sends their way are, in the end, the most blessed people on earth. Their lives have brought glory to God, their testimony has pointed to eternity, and their faithfulness has reminded us of God’s goodness.

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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Together We Can Make a Difference in the Lives of Others

At Cross Pointe Baptist Church, it is our sincere belief that everyone who is a born again believer in Jesus Christ is uniquely gifted by God to be a part of the local ministry.
Being a part of our church family is so much more than finding a place to be served and fed. Fellowship at Cross Pointe involves finding a place to be of service to others, and to share the gospel of Christ with the lost. We find our greatest calling is in service to others; leading a lost world to Christ and making disciples of those who trust Him as Lord and Savior.

We encourage you to find a point of ministry at Cross Pointe; to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. There’s a place for you. Come and join with us in the work of reaching a lost world for Jesus. Together we can make a difference in the lives of others. Opportunities for ministry include:

Potter’s Wheel
Join the Potter’s Wheel ministry team; our local church-based point of service ministry team. Be a part of the welcoming family culture of hospitality and graciousness that exists at the Cross Pointe. Establish fellowship times, church greeters, and all elements of local church-level ministry

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Friday, July 15, 2016

Call Upon Him, Knowing He is Willing to Hear and Ready to Bless!

He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you. – Psalm 81:16 (NKJV)

There are great lessons to be learned even from the failures of God’s people recorded in the Scriptures. God says if his people had obeyed his voice he would have subdued their enemies and fed them with honey out of the rock. But they rebelled and walked in their own counsels.

How sad that a people who that could have enjoyed the richest of blessings from their gracious God were instead given up to their own desires and suffered the consequences of their disobedience.

How often have you neglected the place of blessing? There is counsel and comfort in God’s Word but you have spent little time reading it. There are rich mercies to be found at the throne of grace but you have neglected prayer. There are joys and blessings to be found in God’s house but you have been attracted by the empty promises of the world.

Churches sometimes mourn the loss of spiritual fervor enjoyed in former days. But instead of being brought to repentance for sin and neglect, the excuse is made that we live in difficult times. The lack of power in preaching is a concern but still messages to make people feel good take precedence over sound biblical exposition.

The next time you are facing temptation to sin or to squander God’s blessings, remember this: God is willing and able to bless his people. Today, heed his call to return. Call upon him, knowing he is willing to hear and ready to bless.

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Monday, July 11, 2016

When Times Are Tough

When Times Are Tough

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you. Isaiah 43:2 (NKJV)

I pray brothers and sisters that your life is going just as the Lord has planned AND that you are free of any trials or perils. But perhaps you are experiencing the drowning, crushing, burning power of a trial right now. Perhaps you are just overcoming one or for whatever circumstances you know of one coming. If so, then you need to know, first of all, that this is part of life.

I recently was told a story about a young girl whose mother had just passed. It was unexpected, unplanned, and devastating to say the least. Where was the hope for this little girl? Where was God for her? What great sin had she commmitted to be punished by God like this? She had not!

No matter who you are, or where you come from, or what decisions you make in life, you will face illness and pain and loss. No human lives forever and no one is perfect. Sickness and mistakes are part of the human experience. Embedded in the promise of this text is the reality of suffering: when you pass through the waters, when you walk through the fire. God’s children are not exempted from tragedy.

This is not bleak, this is God's plan for us. But there is hope friends. When you do face life’s difficulties, here is the promise for every child of God: He will be with you, the trials will not overcome you, and you will not be harmed.

For this reason, you need not fear no matter what obstacle or heartache you may be facing. “Fear not,” God says, “for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, you are mine” (43:1). He knows exactly what is going with your situation and has already dedicated himself to YOUR salvation; you belong to his heaert, and therefore will not let anything or anyone harm you.

If you have given yourself to Christ then you have been redeemed by God and he will not let anything happen to you that is not for your good (Romans 8:28). No difficulty will drown you, no trial will overwhelm you, no sorrow will destroy you. It is this knowledge that we take into our darkest times.

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Thursday, July 7, 2016

May You Grow Close to God In All His Glory,

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household... – Hebrews 11:7 (NKJV)

We all have a lesson to learn from Noah, whether we are fathers, husbands, brothers, or sons. Noah trusted God, believed his warnings, and obeyed his commands… as a result, he was able to save his entire family from the destruction of the worldwide flood that came as promised.

Notice that Noah was warned by God, but he was warned about things that he, himself, had not yet witnessed — he was warned “of things not seen as yet.” This is where faith comes in. When we are able to trust what God has told us in his Word—even when it contradicts what everyone around us is proclaiming or what our own experience has been thus far — it is then that we are able to truly walk by faith.

What about you? When you look at the many instructions and warnings in God’s Word, do you believe him and act accordingly or do you ignore his Word and keep on walking in your own way? Husbands, are you loving your wives sacrificially? Fathers, are you nurturing your children in the Lord? Children (of any age), are you honoring your parents?

Those who listen to God’s Word and obey it by faith prepare for the destruction and judgment that are coming upon this world. As a result, those around them are positively affected, being influenced by the faith that they see.

May you, like Noah, be moved by a healthy fear of God to a determined, faithful preparation of your own life and your own house, in obedience to his Word.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Words are inadequate to describe the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ, give thanks for him and his love for us.

Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – Ephesians 5:20 (NKJV)

We are here admonished to give thanks for all things. We know we should give thanks for our daily provisions and for the mercy of God in saving us; but sometimes we don’t take the time or make the effort to truly thank him, or to consider all the things for which we should be grateful.

The apostle Paul frequently expressed his thanks to God for the faith, love and work seen in the churches where he had labored. He acknowledged that these godly fruits were because of God’s blessings on them and therefore gave thanks to God. He constantly expressed thankfulness for his godly fellow laborers, but consistently expressed thankfulness to God for even their faithfulness (Romans 1:8; 1 Corinthians 1:4; 1Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:3).

Astonishingly, Paul also expressed appreciation for tribulations (Romans 5:3), and even acknowledged that he took pleasure in “infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake” because God’s strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:10). If God’s sufficiency is displayed in my insufficiency, Paul said, then I am thankful for each opportunity for his strength to be shown in my weakness.

And above all, the apostle gave thanks for the Savior. He wrote, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15). Words are inadequate to describe the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ, but we should continually give thanks for him and his love for us.

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