It’s the story of a GOD who collided with our messed up world in the form of flesh and love. It was messy and it was, well… it was serious love.

This EASTER Sunday, you’re invited to CROSSPOINT as we begin a new 2-week teaching series, COLLIDE.
We don’t expect you to agree with everything we do or say, we just ask that you’re open to considering the possibility that there is a GOD who loves and pursues you.

Whatever your thoughts on church, whatever your beliefs about GOD, you’re welcome here.
We’ll have low lights, great coffee*, and easy exits if you change your mind.

JOIN US @ 9 or 10:30am.
Stop in a little early and grab a cup of coffee before service.

*The more coffee we drink, the more good we do.

Jesus didn’t come to bring a new religion. HE CAME TO START A REVOLUTION.

He called it the ”Kingdom of God,” and he said that it operates in a totally different way than the world we see around us. It’s radical. It’s counter intuitive. It’s an alternative way of doing life based on receiving love from God and living out of sacrificial love for others.

This revolution is advancing and unstoppable, and you are invited to play a significant role in it.

Over the next 6 weeks, we’re looking at what it means to live in this KINGDOM: to be part of the revolution;
to live out of that sacrificial love for others and love GOD while we do it.

Keep your eyes and ears open. The EXPERIMENT has begun!

JOIN US, SUNDAYS at 9 & 10:30am and weeknights in homes.

ALSO, leave your comments and stories here as you’re seeing the KINGDOM lived out in the community. There should be lots of stories, so check back frequently!

We know what you’re thinking:
“Oh, great! Here we go again. The church wants to talk about sex.”
Hey, at least give us a chance! If you’re expecting a bunch of tips to get your moral merit badge…
that’s just not going to happen. If you envision three weeks of polite euphemisms
about the birds, the bees, and the wonder of life… we’re not sure we even know how to do that.

So, what WILL it be?

See, there’s this myth that “church people” are perfect and have all the answers for everything.
Here’s the deal, it’s just not true. We don’t have it all together — how can we expect that you do?
We’re real people talking about real things. And over the next three weeks
we’ll explore and expose the truths and the lies about sex that circulate in our culture.
The TRUTH is: healing can be found when we give our SEX lives to GOD.

Whatever your thoughts on church or your beliefs about GOD:
You’re welcome here. Stop on by.
We’ll have fresh coffee, low lights, and easy exits if you change your mind.

SUNDAYS
08.30.09 – 9 & 10:30am
09.06.09 – 9:30am ONLY – SPECIAL SERVICE TIME
09.13.09 – 9 & 10:30am

You can listen to Curt’s teaching podcast HERE.

But, here’s the basic rundown:

1. GOD HATES divorce (Malachi 3:16) .  Not those who are or have been divorced.  Divorce is caused by heartheartednedd and creates ripples of brokenness that go on for generations.

2.  We read in scripture (Matthew 19:7-8 & 1 Timothy 5:8) that divorce breaks 2 promises that are made in marriage. 1. The promise of Intimacy.  2.  The promise of Loyalty.  Scripture does not say that, “if your spouse sleeps around, you have the right to divorce them.”  What it boils down to is that we are to be people of GRACE & SECOND CHANCES.  Because we are to live as people of GRACE, the 1st response is to give the chance to change/repent.  So, the general teaching is that where sexual immorality and there’s been a lack of repentance and no willingness to turn & change — divorce may be permitted.  This is a COMPLETELY different view than the rest of society.

G. K. Chesterton, wrote:  “If people can be divorced for incompatibility, I cannot conceive why all of us are not divorced. I have known many happy marriages, but never a compatible one.”

· The word  ”Compatible“  is compound word.
· Com- = “with,” and the word  -patible” (from latin word pathos)  = “suffer.”
· Compatible =  To suffer with

We want to be the kind of people who live with tender and pliable hearts – full of grace & peace & mercy.

What does it mean to be a community that provides a place of healing and restoring ?

Tell us your thoughts.

Probably the most succinct version of this question looked like this:
“WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SO MUCH PAIN IN THE WORLD?”

Great question.  Hard question.  It’s very personal.  These are the questions that make us sit and squirm in our seats.  They may even cause some bleeding in our hearts as well.

Curt broke down that while pain all comes from the same core, he split it up into what he called THE THREE PAINS.

PAIN #1 Pain is caused by POISON IN THE WELL.  The root of all evil in the world came from poison in the well.  (i.e. original sin).  But this point, as most good points, brings more questions with it.  Questions like:  “If GOD created everythinig – and GOD said that everything is good – then why is there evil?  Did GOD create evil?”

GOD did not create evil, but HE did allow for the possibility of evil.  Just like a parent doesn’t create “bad” choices or trauma for a child, they do allow for children to make bad choices.  This is how we see that GOD gave us free will.  We are not preprogrammed robots.  We have choices:  leaded or decaf; the blue shirt or the white shirt; listen to good music or country music… these are all choices we make daily.   For some reason, GOD decided that CHOICE would be a part of the human experience.  We’re not just walking around reading from a script.

And, this has huge implications for us.  Think about it like this:  We say that GOD is a god of LOVE and GOODNESS.  For this to be true, it means that anything that’s not LOVE and GOODNESS does not come from GOD.  It’s like 2 doors.  1 has LOVE & GOODNESS (GOD) behind it.  2 has everything else behind it.  We get to choose which door to take.  GOD took a risk on us.  A divine risk.  HE created us to be dependent on Him.  We just want our independence.  (ROMANS 3:23).

Ultimately, our choices are what brings us TO or AWAY from GOD.  When we go away from GOD, it’s because of poison in the well.  A world with poison in the well is filled with evil rulers, where there’s famine and disease, endangered species and broken relationships, betrayals, dishonesty, injustice, death, war… Sound like any place you know?

But, for some reason, GOD thought it worth the DIVINE RISK.

PAIN #2 Pain is caused by PLAYING WITH FIRE. This is simply pain by dangerous behaviors.  A one time careless act or the accumulation of many choices over time … the fact is that GOD put into place in the universe certain natural and moral laws that regulate things.  He put them there to protect, not to punish.  Like the physical pain of picking up a pan off the stove without an oven mitt.  It burns.  We feel pain.

Pain can be a warning sign of from GOD telling us that we’re engaging in unhealthy behavior.  Mild pain can actually protect us from causing serious damage to ourselves.  Think of an invisible fence for a dog.  As the dog approaches it’s limit, a mild shock ensues.  It doesn’t always stop the dog from crossing the street, but it’s there as a warning for it to not.

Someone who has smoked a pack a day for 20 years is playing with fire.
Someone living on a steady diet of Big Macs & fries is playing with fire.
Someone who is self-centered, doesn’t give of themselves, cold hearted is playing with fire.

A lot of pain would be taken care of if we just dropped the matches.

PAIN #3 Pain is the PERFECTING WORK. We can find some rejoicing because GOD is using these things to develop perseverance and character in me.  Pruning is tough.

We then heard the stories of physical & emotional pains of some missionary partners of ours.  Thomas & Christi McEwen are taking their call to the mission field of Torino, Italy: the witchcraft/Satanic capital of Italy.  Their stories can be heard by listening to the XPT podcast at iamcrosspoint.com/listen/why or by visiting their website at whensoulscollide.com.  They have an AWESOME STORY!!!

We’ll never understand life the way that GOD does.  We’re not supposed to.  We’ll never understand why growth has to hurt sometimes.  But, GOD has an infinitely higher, frighteningly higher goal for us than we could ever imagine.  He has a goal for building character into us for eternity.  Not just today.

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So, what resonates for you here?
What questions do you have?
Can you get behind a GOD that doesn’t make it easy for you?

We want to know.

//XPT ADMIN

Q1// Why does God allow suffering?

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Here are some of the other questions people said they would ask GOD about suffering if given the opportunity:

*Why are people so cruel to others?
*Why do children have to suffer and die?
*Why do all the bad things seem to happen to those who don’t deserve it?
*Why do Christians suffer from depression?
*Why do amazing people seem to have the worst luck?
*Why does God allow so much pain in the world?
*Why Children have to suffer?

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What does these questions evoke in you?
Let us know.

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SUFFERING?

It’s a tough question.
What are your thoughts?
Does this bring up more questions for you?

Join in the discussion.

We just want Crosspoint to be a safe place to ask and explore.  That’s why we’re here.

So, we asked people just like you, “What do you want to hear about?  What do you wonder about?”
Now we invite you to join us as we tackle the questions.
We were surprised at what people wanted to know.
We think you will be too!  As we explore together, we may create a few more questions for you.  But, we hope to also answer a few along the way!

Join us Sundays in July as we ask “WHY?”
July 5* ::  9:30AM (special time for holiday weekend)
July 12* ::  9AM & 10:30AM
July 19*  ::  9AM & 10:30AM
July 26*  ::  9AM & 10:30AM

Also, chime into the conversation here  by commenting on the thoughts, ask more questions, and explore with us … even online.
Leave your name, be anonymous, we don’t care.  We just want to be a safe place.

So, ask your questions.