Oh, crossing family. Happy Easter.
I love you. And would you do me a huge
favor? Turn to your neighbor and say he
is risen. Turn to your second favorite
neighbor and say I'm glad you're here.
I want to welcome those of you joining from our different
locations and those of you joining online and those of you
who are part of The Crossing inside.
If you are new to the Crossing, we are one church that meets in
11 physical locations all across the tri-state area.
We meet in jails and prisons all across this region and we gather
online all across the country. I tell you this because I want
you to know that you are not alone.
In fact, you are surrounded by some of the very best people on
planet Earth. In fact, many of them have been
through a very similar situation that you've been through, but
they've experienced the love of God and they've been absolutely
transformed by it. In fact, that's why our church
exists. We exist to help people just
like you find an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. And because we believe that
God's way is the best way and means that every area of your
life, if it is turned over to Jesus Christ, gets better.
Now, if this is your first time or your first time in a long
time, or you are here every time, I want you to take
advantage of the QR code on the seat in front of you.
It is a great way for you to get connected to this church.
Make friends if you want. It's a way for you to join us in
making a difference in our communities.
Or it's a place for you to get some of your questions answered.
Or maybe for some of you to get some help and some hope in an
area of your life that could use a little help and could use a
little hope. And one of the ways that I
really want to encourage you to take advantage of is joining us
in taking the You Asked survey. We are going to be using this
survey to put together our sermons for the next 12 months,
and we would love a chance as a church to speak into the
specific areas where you have questions, doubts, frustrations,
and pain. For instance, next weekend we
are going to be talking about forgiveness here at The
Crossing. How many of you have ever done
something where you needed forgiveness?
Those of you who didn't raise your hand, you just lied in
church. I'm guessing you could use some
forgiveness now too. How many of you have ever found
yourself in a spot where something's happened to you and
someone's hurt you and you know deep down inside you need to
forgive? But it's really, really hard to
do. If you raise your hand to any of
the questions I just asked, you would be a great candidate to
come to church next weekend and hear what God has to say about
forgiveness now. The key to any great life is the
same keys to any great story. You need a character who wants
something great and is willing to overcome the obstacles to
achieve them. Any book that you've read, any
movie that you've enjoyed, follows those basic principles.
A character who wants something great, who's willing to overcome
the obstacles to achieve them. And if you are wanting to have a
life, a great life, that is a great story, you're going to
need all three. The good news is you have breath
in your lungs, you're alive, you're a character in God's big
play, so at least you're 1/3 of the way there.
The question becomes, do you want something great and are you
willing to overcome the obstacles to get there?
I think every single person deep down inside a husband and a
wife, they're looking at each other.
They want a great marriage, but sometimes he wants to go golfing
and she wants to go to Target. And you have to figure out, can
you overcome the obstacles to get there.
Every mother, every father desire a meaningful relationship
with their kids and then their kids turn 13.
My preaching yet? Someone just got saved at this
campus, right? And you're like, yeah, that's
that's why we're here. We've come to all the services.
We're hoping for an exorcism. Now.
Kurt Vonnegut, who's an American writer he had and humorist.
He had a 50 year career. He published 14 novels, 3 short
story collections, 5 plays and five non fiction works.
And he contends that when it comes to stories, it is the
shape of the curve that matters and not their origins.
The shape of the curve is what matters and not their origins,
he says. You can take any story and you
can plot that story on 2 axes. Here's what he basically says.
He says that in the story of your life, in the story of any
movie that you're going to enjoy, you have the you have the
GB axis. G stands for good and B stands
for You guys are smart people. In fact, that's the only kind of
people we attract here at the Crossing is the Super smart
ones. OK, so you have health and
wealth and good fortune up here and you have bad health and
poverty and sickness down there. And then he says there's another
axis and that is the BE axis. B stands for beginning and E
stands for man. You guys are some of the
smartest people we've had at church this weekend.
And he says you can take every story and you can plot it.
And the shape of the curve is what matters, not their origin.
So let me give you an example. One of the examples he gives is
the man in a hole. Now, it doesn't have to
necessarily be about a man, and it doesn't necessarily have to
be about a guy falling into a hole.
But you've probably seen this movie.
Let's start with an above average day, because why start
with the depressing person on Easter?
So you got a man going through a pretty good day.
He falls into a hole. And then about 10 minutes before
they roll the credits in the movie, what happens?
He gets out of it. You write that book, people will
publish it, people will buy it and they'll read it.
There's another one. This one's called Boy Meets
Girl. Now, it doesn't have to be about
a boy meeting a girl. It could be about a girl meeting
a boy. But here's what happens.
It starts. Let's say this one starts on a
just a regular ordinary Midwest day.
You have a boy and he meets somebody absolutely wonderful.
And then he loses her. Oh no.
And then about 15 minutes before the movie gets over, he finds
her again. This is the hallmark business
model right here. This is every movie you've ever
watched on that Channel. It starts off with a girl coming
back to town after being in the big city and she sees the guy
who's got his own pumpkin patch in it, his own logging little
company. And on the side he splits
firewood and they run into each other and they haven't seen each
other since high school. And he's still his hobby as he
likes to ride bulls. And she starts to have feelings
for him. And she goes to the the Friday
night rodeo and she sees him and he gets thrown from the bowl and
he lands and he he's sick and he's in the hospital and he
starts to go through the recovery.
And she's like she realizes how much feeling she has for him.
And the next thing you know, he starts to get better and he
decides he's got to go back to riding bulls.
And she's like, well, I can't love you and watch you die.
So I have to leave. And then they start playing the
music, and then the seasons start to change and he's out
chopping wood in his flannel. And his suspenders get a little
tight and he pops them off and he keeps just chopping the wood.
And she's looking through the window as the rain's coming down
and Sarah Mclaughlin's playing in the background.
And then he realizes that he loves her more than he loves the
bull. And so he goes to the barn and
he says, listen, I can't ride anymore.
I'm in love. And then she's actually coming
into the barn and she says, if you want to ride, I'll be ride
or die with you. And then they roll the credits.
You've watched this movie over and over and over again.
If you're watching the Hallmark movie, just stop 30 seconds in,
ask your husband, how does it end and save yourself the time.
Now I know what you're thinking, OK, that's just for those
movies. But what about, like, real
movies? OK, let me give you one.
See if you know it. Let's start way low.
How low? Let's start with a little girl.
Her mom died, her dad, he remarried an evil woman.
Something like this is my story with two evil daughters and
there's a ball at the prince's house.
Does she get to go? Oh no.
She has to help everybody else get ready.
Does she sink any lower? Of course not.
She's already experienced the maximum whack from life.
Her mom is dead. She lives with an evil
stepmother and two evil stepsisters.
But then all of a sudden, a fairy godmother shows up, gives
her shoes and stockings and transportation.
She goes to the ball, dances with the Prince.
And then what happens? Bong, bong, bong.
The horses turn to mice. The the carriage turns back into
a pumpkin. The clock strikes 12.
But does she think as low as she's was before?
Of course not. She's going to remember that
dance for the rest of her life. So she just kind of plots along
remembering the dance, and then all of a sudden, the Prince
shows up, the glass slipper fits, and Disney made millions.
And you're like, OK, OK, OK, OK what about, like, real movies?
All right, let's do Spider Man. You got Peter Parker.
Mom and dad are dead. And on top of all that, he's
getting bullied at school. Then he's going to like some
kind of science project and he gets bit by a spider.
Then all of a sudden he starts to realize he's got like this
tingly sense and Webster's shooting out of his wrists and
he can climb walls and he goes out and he's enjoying all this.
And then what happens? Oh no, Uncle Ben dies.
But right before he takes his last breath, he turns to Peter
Parker and he says with great power comes great.
Seven of you have seen it. You're going to love the Spider
Man series. It's really good.
It's kind of been a big hit lately.
So then he starts fighting crime and everything's going good.
And then the Green Goblin comes along and uses Aunt May and Mary
Jane tries to take him down but eventually defeats him.
And then they made nine more movies just like it.
You can plot any movie, Harry Potter, every Avenger movie.
In fact, you can even plot Tiger King.
Do you guys remember that one? Now, to be fair, Tiger King
happens exclusively in the bottom half of this graph, and
it looks like a heartbeat, OK? And in that show, you don't
really know what's up or what's down.
Like, there's the time where he has music videos.
He ran for president and he got attacked by a tiger.
I actually think that him getting attacked is part of the
peak now. I don't know.
I honestly don't know if Tiger King was any good or if it was
just a gift from God to get us through the early stages of
COVID-19. OK?
In fact, over the course of this weekend, I've had people texting
me, them, plotting the shows that they've been watching.
It's been pretty fun. Now you name the movie, you name
the book, you name the show, and it follows these principles.
But I have a question. What about the greatest story
that's ever been told? What about a story that's
actually real? What about the story of Jesus?
Does the shape of the curve matter in his story, too?
Let's find out. So we begin in a place that
nobody saw coming. We begin off the charts.
We begin in heaven, in eternity, before the creation of time or
earth, Colossians tells us in chapter one.
The Son. This is Jesus is the image of
the invisible God, the first born over all creation.
For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on
earth, visible and invisible, whether Thrones or powers or
rulers or authorities. All things have been created
through him and for him. He is before all things, and in
him all things hold together. This is a devotional thought for
you. It means that you were created
by Jesus and you were created for Jesus.
And when your life is found in Christ, he holds it together.
And then, in A twist that people did not see coming, the Son of
God makes a descent. You know this John 316 says, For
God still loved the world that he gave his one and only Son to.
Whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal
life. He begins by sending his Son to
earth. Now, does Jesus leave the glory
and splendor and majesty of eternity and heaven and arrive
here in glory and honor and splendor and majesty on earth?
Does he arrive in a palace where all of his needs are attended
to? Does he arrive in a supreme
location? Oh no, that's not at all what
happens. He starts off lower than anybody
thought that a God would begin. He comes all the way down here
to the bottom. The Bible records in Luke
chapter 2 while they were there. This is his parents, Joseph and
Mary. The time came for the baby.
That's Jesus to be born. And she gave birth to her first
born, a son. She wrapped him in clothes and
placed him in a Manger, a feed through because there was no
guest room available for them. God not only comes to earth in
Jesus, he comes to the lowest of lows on earth.
You think that's where it ends? Oh no, it gets worse.
There's political oppression and they're trying to kill him.
So him and his family have to flee, become refugees in Egypt,
but eventually they're able to return to his parents hometown.
The Bible says that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, in favour
with both God and with men. At the age of 30, he began his
public ministry. Here he preached the good news.
That's the gospel of a new Kingdom.
He went around and he demonstrated his power by
raising the dead and giving the blind back their sight and
healing the sick and the paralyzed.
But along the way, there were times when people were
frustrated by his teachings, would argue with his teachings,
become so angry at his teachings that they would try to kill him.
There are times when Jesus, his closest friends, would betray
him, would abandoned him. There are other times when Jesus
would go places and he had to experience doubt and he had to
run into people who had a lack of faith.
And then there are times where he would be with people and all
they wanted was his miracles. They didn't want his message.
That sounds a lot like us today. We want the power of God to show
up and give us what we want in this life.
But we don't want to surrender our lives to the author of life.
In fact, over the course of one week, the crowd was shouting as
Jesus rode a donkey down the hill into the city of Jerusalem.
They were screaming at the top of their lungs.
Hosanna. Hosanna.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna means save us. A crowd gathered, crying out to
Jesus. Save us, save us, save us.
And then five days later, the same people were shouting at the
top of their lungs. Crucify him.
And then the unthinkable
happens. Jesus is arrested, beaten,
flogged and put on a cross and the Son of God dies.
Hebrews chapter 5 says During the days of Jesus life on earth,
he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and
tears to the one who could save him from death and he was heard
because of his reverent submission.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered
and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation
for all who obey him. This is an exclusive claim of
Christ, that he is the source for salvation for those who obey
him, follow him, put their life in his hands.
You might be a critical thinker and you're asking yourself,
well, how did he get us salvation?
How did he purchase us this salvation?
Well, 2nd Corinthians 5 explains this to us, beginning in verse
14. For Christ's love compels us
because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore
all died. All this is from God, who
reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry
of reconciliation that God was reconciling the world to himself
in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God.
Hear me? Jesus did not just suffer, he
suffered more than anybody else in all of human history.
He didn't just die. He died in eternal death for you
and for me. He went to the depths that
nobody else has ever gone. He carried the weight and the
punishment for every sin, for every human, for all of human
history. God spooled up the sin and he
placed it on Jesus. And so Jesus carried a weight
and a pain and a punishment and a death and a suffering that
nobody else can understand. And then, and A twist of all
twists. Just when Satan thought he had
won, when no, everybody thought it was over, the earth started
shaking, The ground started rattling, the guards started
feigning, The angels started appearing.
The stone began a rolling. And when it was done rolling, it
showed that the tomb was empty and that Jesus was alive.
And then He spent 40 days with His disciples before He ascended
back into heaven, where He is right now at the right hand of
the Father, interceding on your behalf and preparing a place for
you and eternity. No wonder it's the greatest
story that's ever been told, because this story is real.
And the shape of this curve matters, because nobody has
started as high and nobody is gone as low, and nobody has come
back from the dead and saved Earth from her sins.
Saved you and I from our sins. This story has produced more
societal good than anything else in all of human history.
It formed the backdrop for art and education and justice and
hospitals and orphanages and clean drinking water and
adoption agencies and recovery programs.
Why? Because it's not just the
greatest story that's ever been told.
It's because when people come in contact with this story, it
becomes part of their story, too.
You might be here at one of our locations or watching online
today and somebody invited you to the Crossing.
The reason they invited you is because they want this to be
your story as well. You might be thinking, man, this
is great for the person who invited me, but I've gone way
too low and I have done way too much for God to ever love me,
for me to be able to start getting things right.
But hear me, your salvation. The good news of the gospel of
Jesus Christ is that your salvation is not based on what
you have done, but it is based on what Christ has done.
Remember what I mentioned in Second Corinthians chapter 5?
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God.
Take your deepest, darkest moment, your deepest, darkest
thought, the one that you've had that you can't let anybody know,
especially the one sitting next to you.
Because if they knew that those thoughts went through your head,
they wouldn't want to sit by you.
And I need you to know that God took that sin, that thought, and
he placed it on Jesus for you. And then God took the
righteousness, the perfection, the holiness, the purity that is
found in Jesus and he places it on you.
You might be sitting here going, yeah, I mean that's that sounds
pretty decent, but I don't think that God could love me because
of what I've done. Well, Ephesians chapter 3 would
tell you this. And I pray that you, being
rooted and established in love, may have power together with all
the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and how long and how
high and how deep is the love of Christ.
The love of God is so wide that you can't get around it.
It is so long you can't outrun it.
It's so high you can't get over it, and it's so deep you can't
get under it. The darkest lie from Satan is
that God does not love you. And the 2nd darkest lie from
Satan is that you have to earn his love.
Romans chapter 5, verse 8 says, But God demonstrates his own
love for us in this that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us. Which means when you were at
your worst possible moment, God was at his best on your behalf.
And we have a hard time figuring out how to respond to that kind
of love because all the love that we've ever experienced is
primarily transactional. Let me explain.
Husbands, come here for a second.
Have you ever emptied the dishwasher?
Raise your hand. Have you emptied it without
being asked? OK, let's say you said I.
You emptied it without being asked.
Did you have intentions? This is how I unload the load.
The dishwasher in my house. I cling stuff around, make sure
she can hear me over the murder show that's already been solved,
that she's watching. Then I punch in the keys real
loud. Oh, hey, babe, Just me loading
the dishwasher. OK, this is how bad I am.
I don't like to brag, but yesterday I was trying to be
helpful around the house, and so I went golfing.
And then when I came home, Jennifer and the boys were out
taking care of getting the golden dummy a haircut.
And we've been talking about cleaning the shower with this
sponge and, you know, Dawn dish soap and how we wanted to do
that. And I mean, I can just be
transparent with you guys. I help out around the house, OK?
I don't stop, don't, don't stand, sit, sit, sit.
So I got down on my hands and knees, I got a bucket of soap
and water and I got that sponge out and I just hand scrubbed our
bathroom. OK, it's no big deal.
I'm just a good guy. I did it counter clockwise, did
it counter clockwise. I was ready for Cobra Kai by the
time I was done. And then if I was like a really
good human being, I'd have rinsed out the sponge and I'd
have rinsed out the bucket and how to put it all back away in
the closet where we keep all the cleaning supplies.
But if I'd have done that, Jennifer might not have known
that I'd been on my hands and knees scrubbing our bathroom.
So I did what any good man of God would do.
I put it right in the middle of the counter, that she had just
cleaned all the supplies. So when she came home, the first
thing my wife said to me was, did you clean the shower?
And I went, yes, I did. And I cleaned the toilet.
OK, Just wanted you to know I'm a good man, OK?
That's how we kind of operate. We operate in a world of
transactions. But the transaction that you get
with Jesus is he takes all that is wrong and gone wrong and is
wrong and sinful and evil in US. And before we could even utter
his name, before we could even believe in him, before you could
ever have your first doubt about him, he sends his son on your
behalf to rescue you. Hear me?
Not at some point in time, you and I, your story is going to
come to an end. The Bible says that it is
appointed for man to die once and then face judgment.
And at the end of your life, there are only two directions.
And if you want to stand before a holy and righteous God on your
own account, on your own works, which the Bible describes as
filthy rags, your life will not be up and to the right.
But if you have accepted and received the finished work of
Christ on the cross over your life, God promises not only will
He create a place for you in heaven, Not only will He write
your name in the Lame's book of life, but he will give you a new
life and a new heart. You see, God doesn't just bang
out the dents in your quarter panel.
He gives you a new quarter panel.
He doesn't just fix the messed up stuff in your heart, He gives
you a new heart and a new spirit.
Hear me? It gets even better.
If you were to look at your life right now, you might be going
yeah, my life is actually doing pretty good.
That's great, but it's never going to go as high as it will
possibly go when Jesus Christ is in your life and guiding it and
directing it. There might be some of you right
now that you're going down and you can't seem to stop.
I just want you to know that everybody goes through downturns
in life. But when you find yourself
walking through the darkest valley, I want you to know that
he is with you. His rod and his staff will
comfort you. He will be present in the pain
with you. There might be some of you are
going, but Clayton, you don't understand how dark my life has
been. I just need you to know, no
matter what you've been, it's never darker than when the love
of our God has been gone through Christ Jesus.
Hear me. I don't have to worry about my
past. God's redeemed it.
I don't have to worry about my sins.
Jesus has forgiven it. I don't have to worry about my
present because he's in it. I don't have to worry about my
future because he holds it. And when I come to die, I can
fear no evil, for he is with me and he has rescued me from it.
What I want you to understand is that the very same power that
raised Jesus from the dead is available for you for daily
living today. What that means is if you're
sitting here today and you're going, I'm ready to be the
husband and father that my family desperately want me to
be. The power that raised Christ
from the dead is available for you today.
If you're here and you're going, I'm ready to be the wife and the
the mother that I, my family desperately needs me to be.
I want you to know the power of God is available for you today.
And if you are in an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus
Christ, you can go through any storm.
You can face any battle. You can overcome any temptation
because he is with you. You see, if Jesus rose from the
dead, anything is possible, which means forgiveness for your
sins is possible. Eternity in heaven with God is
possible. But you might be going.
That's just you, Clayton. You're the preacher.
Well then, don't take my word for it.
Take the word of the people in your rose.
Word for it crossing family. If making the decision to follow
Jesus is the single greatest decision that you have ever
made, can I get an uh huh? And if your biggest regret is
not doing it sooner, can I get an Oh yeah, maybe uh Huhs and
the oh Yeahs serve as a plea from God himself for you to turn
over the pen of your life to God and let God write the rest of
your story. I believe to the core of my
being that God's way is the best way and you won't regret it.
We're moving to a time of decision.
You have a choice. You can write the rest of your
story or you can let God. The problem is, you and I only
have the power to write stories that begin in life and end in
death. That's the only story you can
write. But God can write stories that
go from death to life. And your life, your spirit, is
just like this pen. There's only room for one person
to hold it. If I were to ask all of you guys
in here to get together with the person who brought you and write
a note to somebody, you'd end up in a fistfight because you can't
have two people holding the pen and try and write something.
And some of you right now you're trying to share the pen with
God. You want to write for a little
bit, and then when it falls apart, you want him to fix it
and then you want to write again.
But that's not how it's supposed to work.
You can write your story, but it ends in death.
Or you can turn your life over to him and he can write the rest
of the story. You might be going.
That would be great. But Clayton, I'm in a pretty
tough spot. I want you to know I hear you,
but I read my Bible. You know what I've noticed in
the Bible? When people are at their lowest,
when people are at their worst, when people are in the midst of
their darkest pain or their biggest frustration, and they
turn the pen of their life over to God, he begins to write a
story that they never thought possible.
Abraham and Isaac had fertility issues, and God came to them and
said, you're going to birth an entire nation of people.
He shows up at murderers and he gives them a new message.
He shows up with people in the midst of trials and gives them a
testimony. He shows up with people with
problems and gives them the platform.
I'm telling you wherever you are at, if you would just turn the
pin of your life over to him and let him write the rest of your
story, you would not regret it. There's some of you in here
today that you know deep down inside you, you need a
relationship with Jesus Christ. You used to have it and you
walked away from it, or maybe you've never had it.
And in just a few moments, the people in this room, some of
them are going to stand and sing and some of them are going to
come to the steps and pray, and you can do that.
I'd encourage you to join them in that.
But there's some of you that it's time for you to start
asking some of the questions that you have.
It's time for you to make a decision that's long overdue.
And I'm going to encourage you to walk right over underneath
that screen next to the Baptistry.
But there's going to be some people who'd love a chance to
answer some of your questions. Hear me?
I don't believe that following Jesus is something we just do
with our heart. I believe it's something we do
with our mind as well. And if you have questions, good,
ask them. If you have frustrations, good,
let them out. If there's things that don't
make sense, claim it. Name it.
At least reveal it. Because I'll tell you, God's
bigger than all of it. And if right now, in the back of
your mind, you're going, man, this sounds really good.
It's something I should do next week.
It's something I'll do after I get through the divorce.
It's something I'll after I get through the court proceedings.
It's something after I get moved into the new house.
It's something I'll do after I get my next job.
I'll I'll do it after I handle this addiction.
I'll do it after I get through this trial.
I just need you to know that all of those thoughts don't come
from God. If the voice in your head is
saying not now, that's not Jesus.
That is Satan trying to keep you from finding the love that
changes everything. That is Satan trying to keep the
story of your life, the pen of your life, out of the hands of
the author of life. And so what's going through your
mind is not now, not yet, maybe later.
That is Satan waging a war over your soul.
And I would encourage you, don't let him win.
Jesus says come to me, all of you who are weary and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest for your souls and a peace that
no one can take from you. If you're here today and you
need that kind of peace, don't put it off to the rest of you in
here. I don't encourage you maybe even
following Jesus for a while, but from time to time you've been
snatching your story back from him.
We got these pens that just say God's way is the best way.
And maybe as we get ready to go through the next series, you
need to just place this somewhere in your house or in
your car to remind you not to take the pen out of his hands,
but to keep it in his hands and see what story he can write.
Crossing family, There's people right now.
There is a spiritual war happening in their minds and I'm
encourage you. Would you get down on your knees
and join me in praying that God would win the war that today
Satan would be silenced and a new chapter in their life would
be written? Would you stand with me,
Heavenly Father? I'm asking you to do a mighty
work, not just in this room and not just online, but at all of
our different locations. God, that you would take ground
in the hearts and the lives and the futures of every person
gathered. God, that this would be a
turning point, a true time of decision, that many years from
now people can trace the change in their story to this moment.
God, I'm asking you to take ground that nobody else can take
to do things that nobody else can do.
So that way you receive all the glory and your name.
I pray. Amen.