Sunday Excerpts

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November 8th, 2009, Sunday
(please click on the pictures to enlarge)

Nothing like walking into church and
hearing the sound of worship from such beautiful voices!

And you can't have a fantastic choir without having
a very talented drummer!

Pastor Bryan welcomed everyone
and prayed over the service.

Communion was received by the congregation
and tithes were collected.

Pastor Barry then came forward to speak about

^"1 And God spoke all these words:

² "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery.

³ "You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴ "You shall not make for yourself an idol
in the form of anything in heaven above
or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the sin of the fathers
to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand {generations}
of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷ "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God,
for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless
who misuses his name.

⁸ "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.
On it you shall not do any work, neither you,
nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant
or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien
within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,
the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹² "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." "

Why does God tell us to honor our Mothers and Fathers?
If you don't honor your folks,
you won't have a full, victorious life.

This Commandment defines 3 boundaries in life.
The rules are here for our own protection.

The first boundary ~
For children to honor their parents.
We should never take our parents too lightly.

This Commandment is for everyone.
Even if they are no longer with you,
you can still honor their memory.

God's not concerned where you came from,
He's more concerned about where you are going.

We need to train our children,
so we don't outlive our children.

When I say to my kids, "When do we listen?",
they say, "the first time!".
When should we listen to God?
THE FIRST TIME.

A happy home doesn't happen by accident.
Anything in life worth having,
is going to cost you something to obtain.

If you do it God's way, it will bring prosperity ~
blessings and a good life.

Children, if you can't honor your parents,
you will not be able to honor your teacher,
a police officer, your future boss, anybody.

If you don't get this commandment right,
you won't be able to get the next 4 Commandments right.

Families are our building blocks of our community.

The second boundary ~
Our cultures.
It sets the boundaries for our cultures.
Families are the building blocks of life.
Nowadays, people think it can be any 2
that can be a mom or a dad.
Any 2 will not do.

God has a specific person planned for you.
We want our kids to know the truth,
so that they may be blessed.

The 10 Commandments sets boundaries for our culture.
Take down the 10 Commandments,
and what do you get???
CHAOS!

The third boundary ~
Honor thy mother and thy father sets boundaries
for our parents.
If you want your parents to honor you,
then speak and act honorably.
If you want your children to honor you,
then live honorably.

I'm shocked when I see a Christian act like the world.

"Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but not My Words", says Jesus.

I am now going to open the altars for prayer.

Sunday, the First Day of November, 2009
(Please click on pictures to enlarge.)

Pastor Barry welcomed everyone to Crossroads,
old and new!
He proceeded to pray over the service.

The Crossroads Choir performed as the angels
that they are. Worship was impeccable and powerful.

Pastor Bryan spoke about Crossroads very first
Missionary Trip the church was going to take to Florida
to build a "Dream House" for those in human trafficking.

Today is Missions Sunday.
Victoria, the Director of Missionaries,
spoke about the importance of missions.

Pastor Bryan encouraged everyone to give willingly
and with a joyful heart with their tithes.

During the collection, the choir sang
"There is Power in the Blood of the Lamb".

Now onto Pastor Bryan's Sermon on

This week the sermon is going to be on the
4th Commandment
"Remember to keep the Sabbath and to keep it Holy".

The Commandments are not a suggestion.
Church isn't a country club for the saints,
it's a hospital for the sick and broken.

How many have heard these sayings?
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
He who prepares today, will be glad tomorrow.

How many of you were ready for the ice storm?
How many had generators?
How many have generators now?

Preventative maintenance can be cheaper.

What if there are some things we can do today
that will save us from catastrophe in our lives.

"27.Then he said to them,
the Sabbath was made for man,
not man for the Sabbath."
Mark 2:27

A lot of things God says doesn't make sense,
but He says them for us to follow to save us.

^"8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.
On it you shall not do any work, neither you,
nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant
or maidservant, nor your animals,
nor the alien within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,
the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Exodus 20:8-11

Remember to rest.
Remember to rest and make the day Holy.

You have to schedule time for your wife and your kids.
What's important in your life?
God - Family - Everything else

7 Things that will maximize your rest with the Lord:
1. - The Sabbath is designed to
REFRESH US PHYSICALLY.
God designed man to rest on the 7th day.
If your body doesn't rest, it will fall apart.

2. - The Sabbath will allow us to
REFOCUS MENTALLY.
The Sabbath is to allow us to unpack everything
from last week and to prepare us for this week.

3. - The Sabbath will help us to
RELEASE EMOTIONALLY.

4. -The Sabbath is geared to
RENEW US SPIRITUALLY.

5. - The Sabbath is a time to
RELATE SOCIALLY.

6. - The Sabbath should be
RESTARTED WEEKLY.
God knows where you're at,
but do you know where you're at?

7. - The Sabbath needs to be
REPEATED CONTINUALLY.

Now I am going to open the altars.

Sunday, September 6th, 2009
(Please click on pictures to enlarge.)

Our opening prayer and welcome was given by
Pastor Russell Grant.
Announcements were given by Pastor Renee,
and a fantastic worship was lead by the
Crossroads Choir!

Pastor Bryan's Sermon
"Connecting to God"

Churches today are disconnected.
We grow with one another.
We don't want to become a fragmented church.

Teaching needs to happen
in the homes over a cup of coffee.

The Book of Acts had place, purpose and commonality.
We want to create a culture of connected people.
The enemy gets you when you are disconnected.
Sometimes you get stuck.

God's not into the Lone Ranger.
We are designed and created for fellowship.

You don't join a Growth Group for you,
you do it for the new person who came through the door.

God wants us to journey together.

G2 @ 3C

We are going to 'defrag'
just like you 'defrag' your computer.

Jesus is our model.
Live your life like Jesus.

John 17:11

^"11I will remain in the world no longer,
but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.
Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—
the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one."

Jesus wants you to be one with Him,
like He was one with His Father.

A shepherd leads his sheep.

How do we know we're connected to God?
By connecting with Jesus.

It's God's power through Jesus,
it's God's power through you that will make you say
"Yes I can".

How do you know you are connected to Jesus?
By connecting with Jesus,
the Jesus connected with God's oneness.

We connect to God when we connect with Jesus.

We don't live a life of feeling,
we live a life of faith.

How do we know we are connected?

1 - We know we are connected to Jesus
when we hear His voice.
Sheep are stupid.
But the shepherd trains them and the sheep
become obedient to his voice.
The sheep trusted their shepherd.
Their shepherd knew his sheep by name.
Jesus said "My sheep know my voice."

Know the shepherd's voice -
God's voice, Pastor's voice, church people's voices.

2 Timothy 2:19

^"19Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm,
sealed with this inscription:
"The Lord knows those who are his," and,
"Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord
must turn away from wickedness." "

We need to turn away from wickedness
and listen for God's Name,
through His Word and His Spirit.

John 10:27
^"27My sheep listen to my voice;
I know them, and they follow me."

Are you hearing the voice of God?

2 - By obeying His teachings.

John 14:15
^"15"If you love me, you will obey what I command." "

When your children do the right thing,
reward them.
If you do what God tells you to do,
why wouldn't He reward you.

The curse of God comes through disobedience.
Obedience will connect us to God.
God's Blessings.

Matthew 28:20

^"20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." "

1 John 5:3

^"3This is love for God: to obey his commands.
And his commands are not burdensome,"

You can not have Christianity your way.
When people see you, do they see Jesus?

Ask yourself,
'Am I living for God, if not,
what am I living for?'

3 - 1 John 3:21-24
^"21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence before God ²²and receive from him anything we ask,
because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. ²³And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son,
Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. ²⁴Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them.
And this is how we know that he lives in us:
We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

Give your heart to the Lord and no one else
will ever be able to break your heart.

1 John 4:1-3
^"1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus
is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,
which you have heard is coming and
even now is already in the world."

When you say 'no' to the flesh,
you are saying 'yes' to the spirit.

You cannot live a fruitful life without
being filled with the Holy Ghost.

John 15:4-6

^"4Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵"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. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me,
he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers;
such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."

You want to be successful, be in Jesus.

Matthew 7:16
^"16By their fruit you will recognize them."

It doesn't matter how you start the race,
it's how you finish the race.

John 20:22

²²And "with that he breathed on them and said,
"Receive the Holy Spirit."

1 John 4:1
^"1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

Are you filled with God's spirit,
or have you leaked?

Let's make it right with the Lord today
and come to the altar.....

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Today is Family Sunday and we are growing
in leaps and bounds.
In order for our church to function smoothly,
and not suffer a system overload,
myself and our Deacon Board have decided we need
to hire another full time Pastor.

The decision was made and we are happy to announce
our new full time Pastor will be
Pastor Renee Anderson!!!

Crossroads is truly blessed to have her on our
full time staff.

Coming soon will be a sermon series called
"Connecting to God".
Then there will be a sermon series on the
"Ten Commandments".
We will be having small groups meeting in our homes.
"G-2" = Growth Groups.

Now, on to my sermon.

Acts 2:41-47

⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand were added to their number that day. ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching
and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders
and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods,
they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together
with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
And the Lord added to their number daily
those who were being saved.

I want to pastor a church that saves people every day.
God is in the salvation business.

One should be devoted to the apostles' teaching.
It was a church that listened to God and their Pastor.

1 - Listen to your Pastor's voice.
Listen to other people in the church.
Don't listen to unsaved people.
It will hurt you.
The early church was devoted to their Pastor's teaching.
You need to listen to the Word of God.

Matthew 28:19-20
^"19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." "

2 - You are a minister of God.

In that church, they were devoted to the fellowship.
You need to be consumed in the church.
We need to be committed to each other.

3 - We need to be connected to the breaking of bread.
Teenagers that are dating should go out to eat
and talk, NOT to the movies.

That church was committed to prayer.
The Lord said, "My House will be a House of Prayer."
And that's what we should always be.

Now go, and sin no more.

Sunday, August 16th, 2009
(please click on the pictures to enlarge)

Crossroads was happy to have with them
for worship, a guest Christian group from
Evangel Assembly of God.

Pastor Bryan spoke about out guest speaker
Reverend Tiff Shuttlesworth from the Lost Lamb Ministries
and how happy we were to have him return.

He also prayed over our tithes.

During the collection of our tithes,
Keli and her son, Shawn, sang "The Voice of Truth".

Reverend Tiff wrapped up the series called
FEARLESS, by giving a sermon on
"David and Goliath"

The eyes are the window of your soul.

Matthew 6:22

^"22"The eye is the lamp of the body.
If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light."

1 Samuel 17:25
^"25 Now the Israelites had been saying,
"Do you see how this man keeps coming out?
He comes out to defy Israel.
The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him.
He will also give him his daughter in marriage
and will exempt his father's family from taxes in Israel." "

God sometimes gives us our gifts in steps.

It is important where your eyes are fixed.

Fear can actually be translated into demons and devils.
God has not allowed demons to be over your life.
The Bible says fear is a demonic spirit.
It tries to shut down the love in your home,
in your relationships and your life.

Any type of phobia is a fear.
Any fear is demonic.
If you don't deal with it, it will bring in more companions
until you are totally shut down.

It is a demonic spirit to keep you from being
what God wants you to be.

1 Samuel 17:24-26

^"24 When the Israelites saw the man,
they all ran from him in great fear.

²⁵ Now the Israelites had been saying,
"Do you see how this man keeps coming out?
He comes out to defy Israel.
The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him.
He will also give him his daughter in marriage
and will exempt his father's family from taxes in Israel."

²⁶ David asked the men standing near him,
"What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine
and removes this disgrace from Israel?
Who is this uncircumcised Philistine
that he should defy the armies of the living God?" "

You have to be careful who you hang out with.
Fear with others will drag you in.

There are 2 kinds of Christians.
#1 - Those who charge your battery or
#2 - those who drain your battery.

Hang around anointed people.
I don't care how spiritual you are,
if you walk around in manure long enough,
you will eventually smell like manure.

Be careful with you ears and your eyes.

1 Samuel 17:28
^"28 When Eliab, David's oldest brother,
heard him speaking with the men,
he burned with anger at him and asked,
"Why have you come down here?
And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert?
I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is;
you came down only to watch the battle." "

Fear will cause you to watch the battle.
Faith will cause you to start the battle.

1 Samuel 17:29-33

^"29 "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" ³⁰ He then turned away to someone else
and brought up the same matter,
and the men answered him as before. ³¹ What David said was overheard and reported to Saul,
and Saul sent for him.

³² David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

³³ Saul replied, "You are not able
to go out against this Philistine
and fight him; you are only a boy,
and he has been a fighting man from his youth." "

Faith and fear are the exact opposite in the spirit world.

Romans 12:3

^"3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,
but rather think of yourself with sober judgment,
in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

Every believer has been given a measure of faith.
In every unbeliever, there is a dormant spiritual seed in them.

Don't speak negatively over your children.
Speak only the positive and the spiritual.

Romans 10:17

^"17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,
and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

Faith cometh by hearing and listening to the Word of God.

Hebrews 11:6
^"6And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Almost every problem of life is because of your words getting
out of harmony with the Word of God.

Faith comes by hearing and by hearing God's Holy Words.

4 things David learned -

1 - There are always giants between you and your promotion.

2 - There are always critics when you follow God's Will.
Most of the time it will come from the people who love you.

I never make any decisions when it comes to the size
of the church or crowd, or finances.

Sometimes your talent will take you where your
character won't keep you.

God wants you to have the same heart
that you had in the shepherd's field.

You'll never get on with the plans for your life
if you listen to people talk.
You need to listen to only what God says to you.

Always stay humble, not arrogant or prideful.

3 - There is always a leap of faith for where you are at
from where God wants you to be.
As you move on with the will of God,
God will allow you to mature.

4 - The greater the blessing that God is going to give,
is the greater the step in faith you have to take.

He will test you to see if you really trust Him.
God promotes you because He trusts you.
Do you trust Him???

Sunday, August 9th, 2009
(please click on the pictures to enlarge)

As I entered the vestibule of the church,
it sounded like a symphony of voices that could be heard
throughout the church.
It was our Crossroads Choir that is just growing
with His devoted servants that love to worship
our Lord in song.
Such a blessing for us all.

The congregation received Communion.
Pastor Bryan spoke about our tithes.

After our tithes were brought up front
in complete joy, Pastor Bryan began his sermon.

Today's sermon is called
Fear BREAKER
Pt. 4, from the series "FEARLESS"

1 Samuel 13:1-5

^"1 Saul was thirty years old when he became king,
and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.

² Saul chose three thousand men from Israel;
two thousand were with him at Micmash
and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were
with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin.
The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.

³ Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba,
and the Philistines heard about it.
Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, "Let the Hebrews hear!" ⁴ So all Israel heard the news:
"Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines."
And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ The Philistines assembled to fight Israel,
with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers,
and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore.
They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven."

God plus weakness equals 'strength'.
God is in the fires of our lives.

Great warriors are prepared for battles.
God will get you through that battle.

This week we are going to talk about Jonathan who
is the son of King Saul.
King Saul was a man of fear.
Fear will cause you to hide.

1 Samuel 13:6-7

^"6 When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical
and that their army was hard pressed,
they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks,
and in pits and cisterns. ⁷ Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad
and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal,
and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.

Fear will cause you to hide.

Genesis 3:10
^"10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden,
and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." "

Fear will cause you to be desperate and disobedient.

1 Samuel 13:8-12

^"8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel;
but Samuel did not come to Gilgal,
and Saul's men began to scatter. ⁹ So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering
and the fellowship offerings.
" And Saul offered up the burnt offering. ¹⁰ Just as he finished making the offering,
Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

¹¹ "What have you done?" asked Samuel.
Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering,
and that you did not come at the set time,
and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, ¹² I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me
at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.'
So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering." "

BIG MISTAKE!

John 6:38

^"38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will
but to do the will of him who sent me."

God has a will and a plan for your life.
God's plan is better than your plan.
God will bless HIS WAY, not your way.

Ephesians 5:17-20

^"17Therefore do not be foolish,
but understand what the Lord's will is. ¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.
Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Your whole purpose of your life is to get a hold of God.
The Holy Spirit will tell us what to do.

It's not a Burger King religion.
You can't get it your way.

1 Samuel 13:12-15

^"12 I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me
at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.'
So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."

¹³ "You acted foolishly," Samuel said.
"You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you;
if you had, he would have established your kingdom
over Israel for all time. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure;
the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart
and appointed him leader of his people,
because you have not kept the LORD's command."

¹⁵ Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin,
and Saul counted the men who were with him.
They numbered about six hundred."

Fear will cause you to miss God's will in your life.

Hebrews 12:15

^"15See to it that no one misses the grace of God
and that no bitter root grows up
to cause trouble and defile many."

Proverbs 19:2

^"2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge,
nor to be hasty and miss the way."

God has a specific plan for your life.
King Saul is what you SHOULDN'T DO.

1 Samuel 14:1-6

^"1 One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man
bearing his armor, "Come, let's go over to the Philistine outpost
on the other side." But he did not tell his father.

² Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah
under a pomegranate tree in Migron.
With him were about six hundred men, ³ among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod.
He was a son of Ichabod's brother Ahitub son of Phinehas,
the son of Eli, the LORD's priest in Shiloh.
No one was aware that Jonathan had left.

⁴ On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross
to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff;
one was called Bozez, and the other Seneh. ⁵ One cliff stood to the north toward Micmash,
the other to the south toward Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer,
"Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf.
Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving,
whether by many or by few." "

Jonathan wasn't going to be a coward.
If he was going to go out, he was going to go out
as a warrior!

Jonathan stepped out in faith,
but he knew God would be there.
To be fearful, you must be faithless.

Faith is the evidence of things you can not see.
Fearlessness will cause you to overcome great obstacles.

1 Samuel 14:6
⁶ Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few."

Luke 10:19

¹⁹I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

God has given you the authority, but you need to use it.
You have to believe that God will get you out of your situations.

Jonathan was compelled in a good way.
Jonathan was banking on the Lord to do something
because Jonathan was out of gas.

Psalms 40:4

^"4 Blessed is the man
       who makes the LORD his trust,
       who does not look to the proud,
       to those who turn aside to false gods."

Psalms 46:1

^"1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble."

God wants to raise up a Jonathan generation.
God IS who He says He IS.

Fearlessness will cause you to put your trust in the Lord.

1 Samuel 14:7-14

^"7 "Do all that you have in mind," his armor-bearer said.
"Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul."

⁸ Jonathan said, "Come, then; we will cross over
toward the men and let them see us. ⁹ If they say to us, 'Wait there until we come to you,'
we will stay where we are and not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, 'Come up to us,' we will climb up,
because that will be our sign
that the LORD has given them into our hands."

¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. "Look!" said the Philistines.
"The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in." ¹² The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan
and his armor-bearer, "Come up to us
and we'll teach you a lesson."
So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer,
"Climb up after me;
the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel."

¹³ Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet,
with his armor-bearer right behind him.
The Philistines fell before Jonathan,
and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. ¹⁴ In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer
killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre."

Fearlessness will cause you to do
something incredible for God.

Jonathan was a man of great faith and
wasn't going to go out like his father.
He was going to have a victory only God could do.

1 Samuel 14:20-23

^"20 Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion,
striking each other with their swords. ²¹ Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines
and had gone up with them to their camp
went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country
of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run,
they joined the battle in hot pursuit. ²³ So the LORD rescued Israel that day,
and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven."

Great faith and fearlessness helps others to do great things.

God uses that faith and accomplishes much
in the faith of Jesus.

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
(please click on the pictures to enlarge)

Pastor Bryan's Sermon.....

Fearless
Pt. 3, "Benaih the Lion Killer

2 Timothy 1:7
"7.For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but a spirit of power, of love
and of self-discipline."

God is in the fires of your life.
God will protect you.

2 Samuel 23:20

^"20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits.
He struck down two of Moab's best men.
He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

You can either be a lion killer or
be devoured by the lion.

We have the power of God.

Fear will stop you dead in your tracks,
and then you will never do great things for our God.

Benaih became a mighty warrior.
We should all be like him
so when the enemy comes around,
we can slay him.

People get stuck and don't do anything for the Lord.

Benaih was raised up in the priesthood,
but he ended up being part of God's Army.

2 Samuel 23:21-23

^"21 And he struck down a huge Egyptian.
Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand,
Benaiah went against him with a club.
He snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand
and killed him with his own spear. ²² Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada;
he too was as famous as the three mighty men. ²³ He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty,
but he was not included among the Three.
And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

We are in a battle.
There is a pulling to the light side
and to the dark side.

I want to be ready when Jesus comes back.
I want to be prepared for the battle.

There are 4 things we need to do:
1 - PREPARE FOR BATTLE
You need to prepare yourself for the battles
if you are going to be a lion killer.
If you do the wrong things, wrong things will happen.
If you do the right things, right things will happen.
We must learn how to fight.
You need to know that you need

the sword

We are born with fears.
A baby has 2 fears, one is falling.
Sometimes we as Christian adults
don't have a fear of falling.
You should be afraid of falling.
The circumstances of our life are always scary.

If we try to reason with God,
we can talk ourselves out of it all the time.

2 - STEP OUT IN FAITH
You step out in faith and watch God be there for you.
You can become fearless, as it is a learned condition.

God has called us to be victors, not victims.
With God all things are possible.
Do not be afraid.

Great warriors just do it.
You step out in faith so God will meet that faith.

3 - EMBRACE THE RISK
Doing stuff for God is very risky.

If you hate your job, then change it.
Don't be afraid.

God's way is always better than our way.
The greater the risk, the greater the reward.
Embrace the risk.

4 - EXPECT THE VICTORY
When you step out, expect God to step up in your life.
You can expect God to honor His Word.

YOU NEED TO BE A LION KILLER
IN THE NAME OF JESUS!

Sunday, July 19th, 2009
(please click on the pictures to enlarge)

Lead by Patty, our Assistant Choir Director,
the Crossroads Choir voices
were heard throughout the Sanctuary.

The Welcome and Opening Prayer
was given by Pastor Barry.

Pastor Bryan spoke after Worship
and reminded us we need to ~
KNOW God through His saving Grace.
GROW in God through study and discipleship.
SHOW God to others through a changed life.

Pastor Bryan spoke about our tithes
while Beth lead the choir in the hymn "Victory in Jesus".

Pastor Bryan happily went over our announcements .
Next week there will be a second offering for Pastor Barry
and his family, as both of his cars have died.
Everyone knows when you have 4 children, work jobs,
and need to get to church, a car is a necessity.
We will thank the Lord now as we know He will provide
and meet the needs of His children.

Now on to Pastor Bryan's Sermon ~
FEARLESS!

Israel fell away from the Lord and the Midianites
came in and took them over - their crops,
their land, everything!

Today is a story of overcoming fear and becoming fearless.

2 Timothy 1:7
"7.For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but a spirit of power, of love
and of self-discipline."

You can be blessed or oppressed.
Everybody wants to live, no one wants to die,
but most people don't want to do anything about it.

We all have fear ~ healthy and unhealthy.
Fear can paralyze you and you won't do anything for God.

The Bible says 'Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom'.
If you fear God, you will obey God.
Fear will cause you not to move forward.

Judges 6:1-4
^"1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD,
and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. ² Because the power of Midian was so oppressive,
the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves
in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. ³ Whenever the Israelites planted their crops,
the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples
invaded the country. ⁴ They camped on the land and ruined the crops
all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys."

When you are in the middle of a circumstance.....
let's read Judges 6:6 through 10.

^"6 Midian so impoverished the Israelites
that they cried out to the LORD for help.

⁷ When the Israelites cried to the LORD because of Midian, ⁸ he sent them a prophet, who said, "This is what the LORD,
the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery. ⁹ I snatched you from the power of Egypt
and from the hand of all your oppressors.
I drove them from before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰ I said to you, 'I am the LORD your God;
do not worship the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you live.' But you have not listened to me." "

You should cry out to the Lord in the middle
of your circumstance.

Professional athletes always see themselves
as doing great things.
We should picture ourselves as being able to do all.

Psalm 34:15
"15.The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry."

God called Gideon...
Judges 6:11-12
^"11 The angel of the LORD came and sat down
under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress
to keep it from the Midianites. ¹² When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said,
"The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." "

The name Gideon means 'destroyer'
and yet Gideon was hiding in a wine press.
But God called him a 'mighty warrior'.
Judges 6:13
^1"3 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us,
why has all this happened to us?
Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about
when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?'
But now the LORD has abandoned us
and put us into the hand of Midian." "

God tells us how to do things.
Judges 6:14
^"14 The LORD turned to him and said,
"Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" "

Gideon was not prepared for what God
wanted him to do.
But I'm telling you, when God speaks,
do things now, don't wait.

God is telling us ~
Go in the strength that you have -- GO NOW.
Walk now and trust God.
Judges 6:15
^"15 "But Lord , " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel?
My clan is the weakest in Manasseh,
and I am the least in my family." "

When God calls you, there is an enemy
that will whisper in your ear that 'you can't do it'.

GOD ALWAYS CONFIRMS HIS WORD.

Judges 6:16-18

^"16 The LORD answered, "I will be with you,
and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

¹⁷ Gideon replied, "If now I have found favor in your eyes,
give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. ¹⁸ Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you."
And the LORD said, "I will wait until you return." "

God always confirms His Word
and will give you a sign.

Judges 6:34-37

^"34 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon,
and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ³⁵ He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali,
so that they too went up to meet them.

³⁶ Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand
as you have promised- ³⁷ look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor.
If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry,
then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." ³⁸ And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day;
he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me.
Let me make just one more request.
Allow me one more test with the fleece.
This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew." ⁴⁰ That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry;
all the ground was covered with dew."

I recommend everyone go home and finish reading
the rest of the scriptures of Judges and see how
Gideon became the Lord's 'mighty warrior'.
Judges 7:1-25

For those who wish to come to the altar,
please come forth.....

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Crossroads Community Church | Crossroads08@verizon.net
839 Ashby State Road, Fitchburg, MA. 01420
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