The Family of God

Website Editor • September 30, 2020

From Pastor Ryan Lewis' sermon on Acts 2:42-47:

Suppose you are an orphan about to be adopted into a family.


When you are adopted, you take on the last name of the family adopting you. You become part of that family and are inseparable from it.


The same is true of God’s family.


Ephesians 1:5 tells us that we are predestined for adoption as SONS through Jesus!! If we put our faith and trust in Jesus as our Savior, we are bonded eternally by His name! Together, we are brothers and sisters in Christ; we make up the family of God, the Church.


Like a good earthly Father, God desires for His family to be healthy and to love one another.


Just as the body is one unit comprised of many members (1 Corinthians 12:27), so is a family. In the church, this plays out on two levels: (1) we are part of the global family of God together with every believer on earth; and (2) we are part of a smaller spiritual family, known as the local church.


From Genesis to Revelation, we see over and over again that humans are not designed to work in isolation. We are intended to function together as the family of God. God’s design for the local church and community is to grow us.


Membership within a church body is essential to living this out. While there is no exact formula for church membership prescribed in scripture, there are so many examples of what early churches looked like. Our key passages in Acts (2:42-47; 4:32-34) give us a glimpse of what the very first church looked like and almost every New Testament letter is addressed to a local church. Instruction is given for church leadership and church discipline. New Testament writers must have so understood the importance of belonging to a local church that they didn’t feel the need to address it with one passage.


As modeled in Acts 2, within the large local church body were smaller groups that gathered in homes. These functioned as smaller families within the larger family. They were where people got to live out their faith, be known, and encourage and sharpen one another.


At Crosspoint, community like this is one of our core values. We take it so seriously that you cannot become a member of our church body until you are actively plugged into a community group. It’s too important to miss out on!


Church community is essential for spiritual growth. We simply do not have the ability to conduct our Christian lives alone; we need one another.


“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” - Colossians 3:16


“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:24-25


“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” - James 5:16


Community groups at Crosspoint are centered around our value of BEING KNOWN. They typically small groups led by a church member or couple that are driven by God’s Word. They are intentional, authentic, missional, and able to council according to Scripture. The goal for community is always for members to grow in closeness to God. This happens best in community.


“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” - Colossians 1:28


Pastor Ryan said it well, “Church community is everyday church.”


It’s where we get to go through the everyday ups and downs of life. It’s where we can be authentic and ask real questions. It’s where we step into the mess and be an encouragement. It’s where we can be sharpened.


It’s where we become more like Jesus.


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If you have been attending Crosspoint (virtually or in-person) and would like more information on community at our church, please reach out! We’d love to get you connected.


Watch this sermon, here .



Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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