To Christ The Ransomed Sinners Run - Video

At our gathering on Sunday, we sang ‘To Christ The Ransomed Sinners Run’ written by Wesley Randolph Eader. Here are the lyrics:

To Christ the ransomed sinners run
Their burdens cast aside
In grief, the crowned and only Son
With glory shed would die

What blessed death unique and pure
To drain the powers of hell
The Spotless Lamb, the perfect cure
For Satan’s flickerin’ spell

Great sins I had and shackled pride
Unmovable by man
Fought by works and sacrifice
The law’s imperfect plan

Though dark the stain upon the soul
And countless are it’s crimes
To Christ the challenge is so small
He gives His blood Divine

Temptation may it have a way
Upon this narrow path
Old Adam’s hand may still have swayed
And haunt the sinner’s past

But Christ our Brother had no sin
Though tempted more than we
the guilty freed forever by
His guiltless Majesty

Heaven is our sinless sphere
Eternal source of light
Judgement sits upon the throne
Where none escape his sight

Though impossible to enter in
The hands of labor try
The grace of Christ must pull them through
The needle’s narrow eye

His righteousness is not removed
by earth or hell or law
Its fixed upon his cross he proved
to stand without one flaw

In life the cross will be our guide
In death our victory
Where else can sinners come to die

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to live eternally

Kingdom Living - Becoming Family

By God’s grace, The Crossing family has been growing, and our Life Groups have been multiplying. Our Life Groups are more than Bible Studies or weekly meetings. They are growing families, committed to living for Jesus and His mission together. The following video shares a story of what God has been doing in one of our newer Life Groups in Loveland, and how this burgeoning family is being used to shine God’s glory to our community. Praise God for His faithful love.

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Brokenness is Where Healing Begins

All of us sin… I’m not saying that we have all sinned (though that is true, Romans 3:23), but we all—actively, persistently—sin. If we say otherwise, we lie, but if we confess our sins—if we agree with God that we have fallen short of His holy standard—He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9).
The Gospel—that Jesus died and rose again to forgive us, cleanse us, and cancel the record of debt that stood against us—should free us to humbly confess our sins to one another, knowing that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

Confession is the response to true brokenness, and brokenness is the place where healing begins. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16).

State of The Crossing - Slide Show

Here is the slide show for anyone who missed our State of The Crossing service this last Sunday, or anyone who just wants to watch it again. Thank you all for being a part of this ministry and serving diligently. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we are very thankful for what God is doing, and excited to see what He is going to do in 2011.

What is the Meaning of Christmas?

An evangelistic short film (10 minutes) from St. Helen’s Bishopgate in London on whether or not the Christmas story happened and what it means—featuring New Testament scholar Paul Barnett:

HT: Justin Taylor

Behold The Lamb of God

Without a doubt, my favorite “Christmas CD” is a non-traditional album from Andrew Peterson. Andrew’s genre is probably best described as folk. He is a great storyteller, and his Christmas album, “Behold the Lamb of God,” is sort of his magnum opus. Andrew describes the CD as “the true tall tale of the coming of Christ,” and this musical and worshipful presentation of the biblical story line—climaxing at the incarnation—was one of the first things God used to open my eyes to the reality that the Bible is one grand story, an epic with a massive plot about a glorious God and His mission to redeem the world. The song below, “So Long Moses,” (track 3) is my favorite song on the CD. It will take you on a journey with Israel from Moses to David and into the prophets, all the while building anticipation for the coming King. Listen to the whole album online and then buy the CD.

From Andrew’s website:

Named one of the 10 best albums of the decade, Behold the Lamb of God is a collection of songs about Jesus. Since 2000, Andrew Peterson and his friends have performed Behold the Lamb around the country, telling again and again this “true myth”, as C.S. Lewis called it, this tale that’s bigger than life, but is—astonishingly—true. The tour has become a yearly tradition not just for Andrew and the other artists on the tour, but for families and churches who attend the concert each season. The live concert, like the album, is a community effort, featuring singer/songwriters Jill Phillips, Andy Gullahorn, Ben Shive, Andrew Osenga and more, and over the years has featured artists such as Alison Krauss, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, Buddy Miller, Phil Keaggy, Sixpence None the Richer, David Wilcox, Pierce Pettis, Mindy Smith, Ron Block, Brandon Heath, Bebo Norman, Stuart Duncan, Eric Peters, and Randall Goodgame—all in the name of proclaiming the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.

HT: JT

Theology Matters

This short video promotes not only the study of Theology for the glory of God, but also a new book by Joshua Harris called Dug Down Deep. Here is a short comment from Josh’s blog about why he wrote the book:

Dug Down Deep is a simple introduction to basic Christian belief. One person described it as systematic theology disguised as something readable. I wrote it so that people who might not normally read theology would be able to digest it and understand how life-giving and important it is for living the Christian life.

One of my hopes for the book is that it would be a tool to help small groups take a first step in studying theology together. I have a particular burden to see high school and college-age students discover that sound doctrine isn’t just for old people, it’s for all of us. I also wrote it in the hope that Christians would give it to unbelieving friends as a way of starting a conversation about God, the gospel and the person of Jesus Christ.

Act Like Men!

In 1 Corinthians 16:13, Paul issues the men in the floundering Corinthian church with this charge: “Be watchful; stand firm in the faith; act like men; be strong.”
Below is a video that we talked about at Man School this evening. Darrin Patrick—a leader of Acts 29 and pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, MO—has just released a new book called Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission. The video below is a teaser for the book, and Patrick is calling out the men in our churches (pastors and leaders) to “act like men.” We have a generation of men who are seeking to prolong adolescence, refusing to take life seriously. Will this new generation of men lead the church to its demise, or will we turn from our laziness to courageous action so that we can be a part of God’s mission to redeem the world through the Gospel? Check out the video, and let’s act like men.

The Gospel Coalition

The Crossing is a member of The Gospel Coalition. This is a network of churches and pastors dedicated to keeping the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the center of everything we do. Watch this video to hear the heartbeat of The Gospel Coalition which is also the heartbeat of The Crossing.

What Is the Bible Basically About?

The Bible is a big Book, comprised of sixty-six smaller books, written over the course of 2,000 years by a diverse group of people. At times it seems difficult to understand how it all fits together. The video below is an excerpt from a message where Tim Keller explains what the Bible is basically about.

Click HERE to download the full message.

HT: Collin Hansen

Jackl and Santini Take the Cake at the Range

Nothing says Man School like shooting guns and competition. The second event was an elimination game that involved a line of people taking turns shooting clay pigeons with shotguns. Steve Reis proved early on as the favorite for winning, but in the last hour Aaron Santini made the final shots and took the victory. To the left you can see Steve humbly paying his respects to the victor (click the image for a larger view).
The first event was a Jacob-inspired timed game involving shooting balloons. The video below explains it all. (If you have the connection, make sure to watch the video in high-definition by changing the settings on the video at the bottom-right).