Cross Community Church, Irvine - Messages

Jin H. Cho Fourth Week of Lent "Think of the self that God has given as an acorn. It is a marvelous little thing, a perfect shape, perfectly designed for its purpose, perfectly functional. Think of the grand glory of an oak tree. God's intention when He made the acorn was the oak tree. His intention for us is '... the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.' Many deaths must go into our reaching that measure, many letting-goes. When you look at the oak tree, you don't feel that the loss of the acorn is a very great loss. The more you perceive God's purpose in your life, the less terrible the losses seem." - Elizabeth Elliot

Samuel S. BangThird Week of Lent "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." This often quoted observation by Martin Luther King, Jr. is a vivid reminder that the good things we fail to do often has deeper consequences than the sins we commit. Too many of us have grown up with an unbalanced view of sanctification as simply avoiding sin instead of growing in righteousness. Godliness is both avoiding sin AND doing what is right before God. Let us pursue this together this Lenten season.

Jin H. Cho Second Week of Lent Lent is the traditional time of the year in which we prepare our hearts, our minds, our lives, to receive the great gift of Christ's loving sacrifice on the cross, and the victory of the Easter resurrection. Today, we continue our Lenten series.

Jin H. ChoFirst Week of Lent Lent is the traditional time of the year in which we prepare our hearts, our minds, our lives, to receive the great gift of Christ's loving sacrifice on the cross, and the victory of the Easter resurrection. Today, we begin our Lenten series reflecting upon humanity's fall from grace—the entrance of sin in the world—as told in the story of Adam and Eve, and how it impacts us everyday.

Mike McNichols Message from Guest Speaker Dr. Mike McNichols. Following Jesus is very often counter-intuitive. Sometimes we want to respond to a situation one way, but Jesus calls us to respond in an entirely different way. As we share our lives in the community we call the church, we find that living by the call of Jesus is how we express the reality of the kingdom of God in the world.

Samuel S. Bang The Christian faith has been passed down the past 2,000 years not only through its teaching but through the demonstration of lives lived in faith. All of us are influenced and shaped by the people and things around us. Unfortunately, in spite of advances in technology and social media, we feel more and more isolated from true role models and mentors in our lives who we can imitate and pattern our lives after. This is not how it's meant to be. To truly embrace God's design for transformation, we must be willing to reconsider some cherished ideas about individualism and community.

Samuel S. Bang The Spiritual Life as a Journey. "This life, therefore, is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished, but it is going on. This is not the end, but it is the road; all does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified." - Martin Luther

Jin H. Cho What does it mean to live 'the good-life'? The predominant way in which we think of human well-being is fulfillment of desires. But the way in which we seek to fulfill our desires is often the very thing that destroys us. Which means that our desperate striving to fulfill our desires is often self-contradictory—our search for satisfaction leads right back to hunger! The greatest challenge we face as individuals and as a culture is how to heal our desires, find freedom from them, and lead our cravings back to the Living Water. I hope you take up the challenge.

Jin H. Cho Change is Always Coming Some of us look forward to it, while others struggle with it. Some of us feel we can impact change in our lives, while others think it is something that happens to us that we can only cope with. The Scriptures asks "can a leopard change its spots?" while exhorting us to make choices that honor God. How we approach change, can make a huge difference in what sort of changes actually occur in our lives.

Samuel S. Bang Even a cursory reading of the Bible reveals that the people of God throughout history have struggled being faithful to God. Are we destined to live a YoYo like spiritual life: Loving God one moment, only to wander from the God we love shortly thereafter? Are we destined to make resolutions every new year, only to have them face away in a few weeks? Or does the Scripture offer us a better path? It's a question worth exploring together.

Samuel S. Bang Even a cursory reading of the Bible reveals that the people of God throughout history have struggled being faithful to God. Are we destined to live a YoYo like spiritual life: Loving God one moment, only to wander from the God we love shortly thereafter? Are we destined to make resolutions every new year, only to have them face away in a few weeks? Or does the Scripture offer us a better path? It's a question worth exploring together.

Jin H. Cho New Year's Resolutions Many cultures around the world attach significance to the celebration of a New Year as a time of new beginnings and new possibilities. While the cynical among us might grumble and say "big deal", it is an opportunity to reflect and recommit. It is a rare time in which we as a culture are open to consider transformation in our lives! We encourage you to think and pray about the areas of your life to seek transformation.

Rick S. Kim Message from Guest Speaker Pastor Rick S. Kim.

Jin H. Cho December 29, 2013 Message from Nehemiah 13:6-22.

Jin H. Cho December 22, 2013 Christmas Sunday message from Luke 2:1-12.

Jin H. Cho December 15, 2013 Advent 2013, Week 3. Message from Matthew 2:1-11.

Jin H. Cho December 8, 2013 Advent 2013, Week 2. Message from Isaiah 11:1-10; Nehemiah 9:38.

Jin H. Cho December 1, 2013 Advent 2013, Week 1. Message from Nehemiah 9:1-21.

Jin H. Cho November 24, 2013 Thanksgiving Sunday message from Luke 17:11-19.

Jin H. Cho November 17, 2013 Message from Nehemiah 6:15-16; 8:1-18.