Kingdomology

expanding the love of Christ & Kingdom of God the world over

Posts Tagged Jesus

Loving CHURCH! (Reprise)

May 16

Posted by steve in CHURCH | No Comments

After our break for Mother’s Day we’re jumping back into our study on “Discovering Authentic Church” this Sunday at the Crossings.  Over the next two weeks we’ll be looking at the two major Churches highlighted in the book of Acts.  The first one is the original Church in Jerusalem that is described primarily in chapters 2:42-47 and 4:32-37.  The second Church in consideration is the Antioch fellowship found in Acts 11:19-30 and 13:1-4.  Both of these Churches leave a lot that we can learn from today.  However, the goal is not to legalistically or mindlessly follow each point in detail, but rather to look and learn from the overall picture of what God did and how they responded to Him in the first century.  As we begin to wind down this series, I really believe that the authenticity of the first century Church really can be a reality in the 21st century today.  So for everyone who lives in the Northwest Houston area, be sure to grab a friend and come by one of our services.  For everyone; how are you going to “BE CHURCH” this week?  In the mean time, check out this guy whose life was changed by “Discovering Authentic Church.”

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Stoked For Easter!

Apr 5

Posted by steve in Just Life | 4 Comments

I’m getting excited for Easter this year and looking forward to preaching Sunday at The Crossings.  While “sermonizing” this morning I spent some time thinking through a list of famous Easter Songs.  Here’s a short sampling of what I came up with.  If you’ve been following Christ for a while, you’ll recognize a few of these tunes.  If you’re still exploring Christ, then check them out and enjoy.

Because He Lives is probably one the most famous classic hymns on the subject of the Easter.  Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote the  song out of a realization that no matter how hard life can get at times, there is still hope because of the resurrection of Christ.  Next to that is an old vintage hymn by Robert Lowery entitled, Low in the Grave He Lay.  While not really one of my favorites, the Easter Song by Keith Green still resounds with a lot of folks today.  But just about anything Keith Green did was profound.  When I was in High School, Sandi Patty sang Was it a Morning Like This which took off and for a while was being sung by countless soloists across the world every Easter morning.  I think my wife even sang it a few times.  More than likely, she probably did a better job than Patty did though.  I’d say that my all time favorite Easter song is He’s Alive by Don Francisco.  If you’ve ever denied Christ, this one’s for you.  The focus of the song is from Peter’s standpoint after dealing with his denial of Jesus and then acceptance by the risen Christ.  Sometimes I still get choked up a bit toward the end of the tune.  More recently, Nichole C Mullen sang My Redeemer Lives which also has a powerful ending.  I’m going to show that one on Sunday.  A new favorite of mine is In Christ Alone by Stuart Townend.  Definitely my favorite rendition of this song was done by the News Boys. Not sure it’s only an Easter song, but some of the closing words are really pertinent.  So those are some of the Easter songs that minister to me.  Now what about you?

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Reading the Reliable.

Mar 12

Posted by steve in Just Life, Kingdom Living | No Comments

“Lighten up; it’s only a book!”  Have you ever heard that about the Bible?  Have you ever thought that about the Bible?  For me, I’ve actually based my whole world view on the Bible.  Why?  Because I have an assurance that “All scripture is God- breathed” and therefore I set eternity and all that I do and teach on that truth.  I know that everyone doesn’t agree with this.  A lot of folks question the validity of scripture and speculate whether it can be trusted or not.  Many people suggest that “because the Bible was written such a long time ago and was translated so many times” that it just can’t be reliable for us today.  If that is true, then the Bible rightly should be questioned.  But there are many good reasons to trust the authenticity of the Bible and its inspiration by God.  Below I’ve posted a summary list a friend and I put together which offers 8 major proofs for the authenticity of the Bible.  What else would you add?  How does this affect your view of scripture?  How does this affect your view of God and His Kingdom?  How does it affect the way you do life today? Read the rest of this entry »

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Getting Ready for 2012

Dec 31

Posted by steve in Just Life, Kingdom Living | No Comments

Are you ready for 2012?  I sure am.  This year New Year’s Day actually falls on a Sunday and we will indeed be meeting at The Crossings.  The plan is to just have one service at 11:00.  The main text that we will be looking at is Psalm 90:12 where Moses prayed; “Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  That is a challenging text in many ways.  When we take stock of our potential life span and realize we only have so many days allotted to us, we begin to rethink things more seriously. I suppose it’s kind of like when my kids were younger and a couple of older men told me to enjoy these years because they would be gone before I knew it.  I didn’t believe it then, but I can really relate to that now because my oldest will be graduating from High School in 2 and a half years.  Where did the time go?  In truth, all of us have a short amount of time on this earth.  The question is how are we going to spend that time.  To help us get further along with that road, I’ve listed three challenges below. What else would you add? Read the rest of this entry »

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Harry Potter, Witch Wars, and a little common sense.

Jul 18

Posted by steve in Just Life | 3 Comments

Have you seen the final installment of the Harry Potter movie empire yet?  I haven’t.  But with it bringing in some $168.6 million on opening weekend it sure is something to talk about.  I wasn’t thinking too much about it until I logged onto Face Book this morning and noticed an interesting post by one of my friends.  He jokingly wondered how many “Christians” who loudly protested the first movie a number of years ago were now in line buying tickets to see how the whole series finished up.  “God Hates Witches” they shouted back in the day.  I remember those days and thought I’d drop a few thoughts on how followers of Christ can better respond to such a phenomena.  Here are some things to start with.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Proposal Update.

Mar 12

Posted by steve in Just Life | No Comments

Well, it’s been an exciting ride so far with the Christ Proposal.  Without a nationally recognized publisher or marketing agents, we’ve already been able to touch a lot lives and that’s worth cheering about.  One testimony we received was of a woman who purchased a book on opening night.  She read it in one sitting, cried, and then bought 20 more to give away to her friends.  Our original intent was not to write this project with a women’s audience in mind, but that’s kind of how it all evolved.  So the publisher, artist, and I have already had preliminary conversations about doing a similar work geared more toward men.  In addition to the various ministries and churches we’ve contacted, Barns & Noble has picked the book up for distribution.  But the most exciting thing is just imagining all the lives that can be brought to see the love of Christ through this project.  If you don’t have a copy yet, you can grab one through B&N or contact us for bulk orders and ministry projects.  If you need one free, shoot us an email and we’ll see what we can do.  Keep praying that God will use this project to open up hearts.

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Pondering Politics and Piety. Part III.

Mar 2

Posted by steve in Kingdom Living | 6 Comments

If I were to entitle this post anything else, I suppose it would be something like, “The Last Will and Testament of a Young Republican.”  That’s right; I was once a Young Republican a long time ago. But things are different now and it doesn’t have anything to do with age.  Now before my “Lefty” friends out there get all excited, you need to know that I’m not defecting to your political party either. Rather I’m pressing the cancel button on the whole system as far as my involvement goes.  While this doesn’t mean I’m never going to vote on issues I believe in, it does mean a drastic and purposeful decision to refrain from direct political involvement and commentary.  Even on my Face Book page I’ve listed the “Kingdom of Heaven” for my political views.  As followers of Christ we have to keep in mind that we’re part of His eternal Kingdom which supersedes the greatest Kingdoms of men.  But is this stand of total avoidance too radical?  After all, it would seem from the scripture that politics is a freedom issue.  We even noted in Part I. of this series that we can’t separate the sacred from the secular and this would apply to politics as well.  Yet considering the transitory nature of this realm, I do believe that this is an issue that Christians should seriously wrestle with.  As for me, I’ve drawn the line in the sand to abstain and here are at least four reasons why. Read the rest of this entry »

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“Share Fair” Success!

Dec 15

Posted by steve in CHURCH, Kingdom Living | No Comments

I was blessed to be part of the Crossings “Share Fair” 2010 event this past Saturday.  To me it was just another wonderful example of a local body of Christ putting their faith into practice by coming up with creative ways to serve their extended community.  The “Fair” was a great success this year as we gathered donations and gifts and networking with a local school, were able to get them into the lives of families in our area who are struggling.  A HUGE thanks goes out to Larry Foster who handled the goliath share of the details which made everything come together.  I also want say thanks to everyone who helped with the setup, teardown, and serving throughout the day.  In all, “Share Fair” was just another reason why you rock Cypress Crossings.  So keep up the good work and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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Rediscovering the Ancient Order of Things. Part I. An Introduction.

Dec 1

Posted by steve in CHURCH | 2 Comments

Alright, show of hands here.  How many of you actually enjoyed taking history classes in High School?  Yup, that’s probably about right.  History is not the most popular subject with a lot of folks and that’s ok.  On the other hand, I’m one of those wired guys who actually enjoyed the study.  Don’t know, but maybe it’s just because I liked blowing an hour going to the film room at Tascosa High to watch a WWII documentary instead of sitting through Geometry.  But history does have important lessons to teach us in creating a more successful future.  If we take time to examine the good and bad decisions and the lives of those who have gone before us, we can learn from their victories and mistakes.  So it is with the CHURCH.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Please . . . Something more than Better!

Sep 16

Posted by steve in Kingdom Living | No Comments

I got a new book from a friend the other day to look over and I think it has some potential.  The Next Level takes an honest look at the struggles in our lives and points out that we have a choice to either see them as a prison or as a testing ground in which God can develop our character.  The author outlines his plan by examining the tests of 31 biblical characters and then brings some application to our lives.  It’s not a bad idea and fits nicely into a month long devotion plan.  But I was a bit disappointed early on when I saw what is so prevalent in countless spiritualized self-help books today.  In part of the introduction, one of the authors describes his church as a place where they want to help people be “better husbands and wives, better parents, better children, employees, friends and neighbors and ultimately, better people.’”  Better people?  I read that and thought: I don’t want to just be better.  I want to be different; radically different.  I want to have a change that is way above anything a simple 5 or 10 step plan can accomplish.  I want transformation. Read the rest of this entry »

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