Click here for a printable version of the 21 Day Fasting Guide:...  Read More

What does the Bible teach about fasting? Biblical fasting involves abstaining from eating (and/or drinking) for spiritual purposes. In the Old Testament, Israel celebrated certain annual fasts, the most prominent being the Day of Atonement. There were also occasional fasts tied to specific historical events, sometimes individual and sometimes corporate. Here are a few of the occasions for fasting: at a time of grief (I Sam. 31:13; Nehemiah 1:4), at a time of repentance (I Sam 7:6; I Kings 21:27), as an expression of humility (Ezra 8:21; Psalm 69:10), and as an expression of a need for God’s guidance and help. What all of these fasts share in common is that they were an expression of dependence on God. Several New Testament passages give us insight about fasting.   Read More

Fasting is voluntarily going without food—or some other regularly enjoyed gift from God—for spiritual purposes. In short, we fast from food so we can feast on God. Fasting is not our attempt to manipulate God to do what we want Him to do. Fasting does not bring God into alignment with our desires but brings our desires into alignment with God’s.   Read More

This week at Crossover we continued talking about the book of Mark. We looked at the parables of Mark 4. The parables revealed Jesus’ message to those who really listened but concealed it from those who did not.Jesus’ parables were not just moral stories but were about the nature of the kingdom of God.Mark 4: 30-31- No matter how small the start, God’s Kingdom grows into something big.Mark 4:26-29...  Read More

We have been going through our series on the book of Mark. Mark is one of the 4 gospels, one of the 4 stories of Jesus’ life in the New Testament. While Mark wasn’t one of the 12 apostles, he most likely wrote down the events of Jesus’ life as told to him by Peter.From Mark we have already seen how:Jesus is the Messiah or “chosen one”Jesus has the power to healThe Pharisees started in love with Go...  Read More

This week at Crossover we continued talking about the book of Mark. We looked at the stories of Jesus calling the disciples and discussed some background information. Some of the disciples seem to have multiple names. One explanation is that it was common for people to have a Jewish name and a Greek name.Jesus was a RabbiIt’s possible that Jesus specifically selected students other Rabbis rejected...  Read More

This week at Crossover we continued talking about the book of Mark. Main Idea: The Pharisees started in love with God, but lost sight of what really mattered.We also discussed Mark 2-3. Some key takeaways:To understand the Pharisees we need to know how they started: Jews returning from exile that never wanted to break God’s law again.During small group we discussed how someone who really wants to ...  Read More

This week at Crossover we continued talking about the book of Mark. Main Idea: Jesus is Willing to HealWe also discussed Mark 1:12-45. Some key takeaways:Jesus was tempted just like we are (Mark 1:12-13)Jesus is fulfilling the story of the Old Testament (Mark 1:14-15)Jesus has authority (Mark 1:21-28)Jesus is willing to heal (Mark 1:40-42) We are continuing through our series on Mark. Mark is one ...  Read More

This week at Crossover we started talking about the book of Mark.We discussed who Mark was:An assistant to Paul and Barnabas on their missions trips.Assistant to Peter and the one who recorded Peter’s message; what we now call the gospel of Mark.He had a falling out with Paul but later the two became good friends.We also read through Mark 1:1-11. Some key takeaways:Mark gets right into the story- ...  Read More

Spiritual Growth Assessment Spiritual Health Assessment and Planner...  Read More

Sermon-Based Small GroupTitle: Evidence. Exhibit F: The Witness.Theme:  Personal Evangelism.Get to Know Me: Where did you go to find adventure as a kid?Into the Bible Questions:Acts 8:1-12Why do you think this persecution motivated the church to share Jesus more?In verse 4, what do you think “preaching everywhere they went”, looked like?Has God ever done anything supernatural through you?  Explain...  Read More

Main Verse: Genesis 4:5 What is sin?The original understanding of sin was “missing the mark.”There are different kinds of sin, so sin can be actions as well as thoughts.Why does God hate sin?God hates sin because it hurts us and separates us from Him (Romans 6:23; Isaiah 59:2).How do we deal with sin?The apostle Paul wrote to his friend Timothy about how to deal with sin and gave some really great...  Read More