Cross Training 2024

Before I pray and we get started, I want to give you a little idea about what this class is and where it came from. We actually put this content together and started doing this in 2016, which was a long time ago now. It's amazing to me how quickly time goes by.

When we got together as our pastoral team at the beginning of this year to talk about what we wanted to accomplish here in 2024, one of the things we discussed a lot was discipleship. This class serves as the entry point, the introductory class to our discipleship program here at the church. It also acts as an introductory class to our church, giving you an idea of who we are, what we believe, and what we are all about.

As I mentioned, we started this content many years ago and then relaunched our School of Discipleship in 2017. We held some classes in 2017 and 2018, and we had some plans for 2020. However, everything went a little crazy that year, as I'm sure you all remember. Since then, we have been in a rebuilding phase, trying to put all the pieces back in place. We are really happy to start our Cross Training class again.

This is just a one-session class that introduces you to the church, what we believe, and what we are focused on here at Cross Connection Church. It will also give you an idea of some of the next steps on how you can be involved in the church and plug into some of the things that are going on.

Now, let me pray, and then we'll get started.

Father God, I thank you for the opportunity to gather together. Your Word says that when we gather in Your name, You are there in the midst of us. We pray, Lord, that You would be here by Your Spirit. We know that You are present among Your people through Your Spirit and Your Word. We ask, God, that You would direct our time.

Lord, we want to set before You the ministry of this church and the outreach of this church. We ask that You would continue to bless and direct us as we seek You. I thank You for this group of people who are here this morning and for the different backgrounds they bring to this class. I pray that any questions they have about the church, what we believe, and why we do what we do would be addressed.

Addressed and answered today, we just give you this time. We thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Before I get started into the content of what's going to be on the sheet that I gave you, I want to clarify that this sheet is just to help you follow along with what we're going through. It really covers all the things that we'll be discussing today.

I wanted to take some time to talk a little bit about Cross Connection Church and how we got to be where we are. Cross Connection Church was actually planted as Christian Chapel of Escondido on July 4th, 1981. It started in Felic Park. Any of you guys ever been to Felic Park before? I was not there because, at that time, I was one year old. Pastor Pat Kenny was sent down here to pastor a small group of people. The church had started prior to that, and it was a very small group that was meeting in a home. They were looking to start an actual church.

Pat Kenny was in North Los Angeles and was part of a church up there called Christian Chapel of Walnut. He and his wife were sent down here with their very young family to pastor this small group of people. Their first meeting was on July 4th, a great time to meet in Felic Park. They then started meeting regularly in Conway Elementary School and continued there for a time until the church began to grow.

In 1985, Christian Chapel had been connected to the Christian Chapel in North Los Angeles, but that church basically dissolved and fell apart. Pat was looking for a group of churches to connect with, and at that time, Calvary Chapel—some of you may know about Calvary Chapel—was pastored first by Chuck Smith up in Santa Ana, California. By that time, it was growing quite a bit, with many new Calvary Chapels being planted all over the state of California, especially Southern California, and beginning to reach out into other parts of the country.

Calvary Chapel is really an amazing work of God that started in the 1960s. By about the year 2000, the church had grown from one in Costa Mesa or Santa Ana, California, to a family of churches of about 1,500 churches. That’s an amazing growth in that period of time, having a real global impact. They had a nationwide radio station called Calvary Satellite Network.

So, Christian Chapel of Escondido affiliated, I guess you could say, in 1985 and became Calvary Chapel of Escondido.

A few years later, my family started attending this church when I was about 11 years old, in the early 1990s. I have been a part of this church ever since that point in time. I grew up through the children's ministry and the youth ministry here at the church. We moved into this facility in 1994, and we've been here ever since. We built the sanctuary a little bit after that and the offices a little bit after that.

I came on staff as a pastoral intern. Really, what I came on to do was to take care of all the technical things. I had a lot of skills in high school with computers, websites, and graphic design. The church brought me on as an intern in 1999 to do that. Shortly after that, they asked me if I would teach the junior high ministry. So, I got my start in 1999 teaching junior highers and did that for several years before I ended up being an associate pastor here at the church.

In 2004, 20 years ago, I moved to Germany for a year to teach at a small international Bible school in Northwest Germany. Pastor David Gik, who has a website called enduringword.com where you can get really great Bible resources and commentary through the whole Bible, was overseeing this small international Bible college there. I moved there, met him, and worked under him for a year teaching in Germany. Most of the students there, I would say a little more than 50%, were from the U.S. because the school was connected to Calvary Chapel Bible College in Marietta. We would get a lot of transfers from Calvary Chapel Bible College, but we also had other students from Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, and the Netherlands. I had a great time teaching there.

When I returned in 2005, I worked with the church. We had a coffee shop here in Escondido down on Grand Avenue called His Place at the time, and I worked there just serving coffee. I was also teaching at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Marietta. Then, I came back on staff here in 2006 as an associate pastor. I had met my wife while I was working at the His Place coffee shop. She would come in there and do a Bible study with a friend, and I got to see what her name was on her credit card. I invited her out to dinner, and we actually got married about six months later.

My wife, Andrea, is a nurse practitioner, and we have four kids. You'll see them around here from time to time. My oldest is a big tall kid with poofy curly dark hair. His name is Ethan, and he's 15.

I am 6'5", and we have a daughter, Addison, who is 14. Our daughter, Evangelene, is about to be 13 at the end of this year, and our youngest, Eli Elliot, will be 12 in the summer. I became the pastor of the church in April, so this month marks 16 years since I took on this role in 2008. Pat Kenny handed the church off to me after he had served here for 27 years. He is still active in ministry and serves with a ministry called PMAN, helping other churches that are in transition. He has experienced the reality of a ministry leadership transition, which is not easy. It is a challenge to hand everything off to a new senior leader, but we were able to navigate that successfully in 2008.

In 2011, we made a decision as the board of the church to change the name from Calvary Chapel of Esano to Cross Connection Church. We sensed that God wanted to use us to expand our mission, and we wanted to connect with other ministries outside of Calvary Chapel that are committed to the Great Commission. I hope you know what the Great Commission is; if you don't, we will talk a little bit about that as we go through the class today. Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. We have no problem partnering with other Christian denominations or groups that are committed to that mission. We want to disciple people and reach them with the gospel, which is a big part of our vision here at Cross Connection Church.

So, we changed the name in 2011 to Cross Connection Church, but we are still connected to Calvary Chapel. I continued to teach at Calvary Chapel Bible College for many years until they moved recently. They used to be in Marietta, but they have moved back up into the mountains of San Bernardino, to a place called Twin Peaks. It is a little bit further for me to drive, making it harder for me to be involved with teaching up there.

In 2014, we entered into what is called a dual alignment with the Southern Baptist Convention. The reason we did that is that I was connected with some other pastors in the area who are Southern Baptist pastors. We realized that their theological positions are very similar to ours as a Calvary Chapel, and they are very committed to the Great Commission and missions. Joining with them in a dual alignment opened up further doors for us within ministry and provided additional support within the church.

Our church financially supports not just our own missions work, but also the missions work of the Southern Baptist Convention. This means that there are over 4,000 full-time missionaries worldwide through the Southern Baptist Convention, specifically through their International Mission Board. Additionally, through their North American Mission Board, they are planting hundreds of churches every single year. We are involved in that work, as well as in disaster relief.

Anytime there is a major disaster, if you've ever seen the American Red Cross food trucks, those are actually the property of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Southern Baptist Convention is very involved in disaster relief, and we have some people within our church who are dispatched to help during these events. For example, we have a chaplain in our church, Nick, who has gone to assist during major disasters, along with several other members of our congregation. This connection gives you a little bit of an idea about what we are about and where I came from.

You will hear us mention life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus. When we became Cross Connection Church, this focus became central to our mission. As stated on your paper, we exist to help people find and live life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus. This is a significant part of our focus and is deeply connected to the Great Commission.

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commands us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all things that He has commanded us. He assures us, "Lo, I am with you always, even till the end of the age."

This life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus is closely tied to that commission. There is actually a commission from Christ to His followers in each of the four Gospels and also in the Book of Acts, which continues the story of the church in the Bible. Matthew 28 contains the first commission, while in Mark 16, Jesus says to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. You can interpret this as preaching to every opportunity you have, whether to humans or even animals.

In Luke 24, we find another commission, stating that this message of repentance should be preached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Where the church got its start is significant. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "In the same way that the Father sent me, I send you." Then, in Acts 1, Jesus said to his disciples, "You will receive enabling power by the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you'll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth."

In each of the Gospels and in Acts, we have this commission. This saying, "life in connection with God, one another, and the world," really ties into that. As you can see from this saying, it divides into three areas: life in connection with God, life in connection with one another, and life in connection with the world. If you look at the paper that I gave you, those are the headings of what we're going to be going through in this class. This is how we break down what we do at the church. These are the three areas of focus that we have as a ministry as we try to fulfill the commission that God has given us.

So, that is really the focus of what we're going to be going through today. We'll start with what we talk about frequently: life in connection with one another or with God. As I go through these things, if you've been around church for a while, this will be review for you. This will be stuff that you might say, "Yeah, I already know that," and I'm perfectly fine with that. I hope that you do know that, and if you don't, then by the end of this class today, you will understand what these things are all about.

We are really going to cover a lot of the basics of what we believe as Christians as it relates to the Gospel. To start with, we begin all the way at the beginning in Genesis 2:7. The Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. We have the creation account in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, and in that passage, it is made very clear that God originally created mankind to be connected to Him. He wanted us to enjoy a relationship with Him.

We see this idea throughout the Scriptures, beginning all the way back in the Book of Genesis. In Genesis chapter 1, God says, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness." There is a relational connection between God and man right from the very beginning of the Scriptures, and this theme carries on through the entire Bible. In the 66 books of the Bible, we see this constant theme that we were created to be connected to Him.

If you read Christian writings and Christian theology throughout the last 2,000 years of the Church, you will see that one of the deep desires or yearnings of the human soul is to be connected with God and to have a relationship with Him. This is what is called the religious impulse. Even non-Christian secular atheists recognize that there is a religious impulse in human beings. Why does that exist? It has to do with the purpose for which we were made. God made us to be connected to Him, and even before we find Him or come into a relationship with Him, we still have that desire for a connection with Him.

This longing goes all the way back to what we find in the Book of Genesis, specifically in chapters 1 and 2. However, the story gets complicated, as every story does, when we reach Genesis chapter 3. There is a recap of what happens in Genesis chapter 3 in the New Testament book of Romans. In Romans chapter 5, Paul writes, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world," which refers to the events of Genesis chapter 3, "and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned."

The free gift is not like the transgression; for if by the transgression of one man many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift of grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abound to many. For if by the transgression of one man death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.

What is Paul talking about here? He is taking his readers in Romans back to the Old Testament book of Genesis, where God had given a command to His created beings, Adam and Eve, that they were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned them that in the day they ate of it, they would surely die. They transgressed God's commandment; they did not follow His commandment. As a result of that, sin entered the world.

What is sin? Sin is disobedience to God's command, and through sin, death enters into the world and reigns. All the problems we see in the world trace back to Genesis chapter 3: the pain, the suffering, the death, the war—these things happening in the world at any given time are connected to this reality that death has reigned. Man sinned, resulting in separation from God, but in Christ, God has made resurrection possible.

Reconnection is possible. It is possible for us to come back into a relationship with God and to be reconnected to Him in Christ Jesus. Romans chapter 5 continues in that passage, stating, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For hardly will one die for a righteous man; though perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Much more than having now been justified by His blood, which means we are made right with God through His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Jesus. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Not only this, but we also exalt in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the reconciliation.

There is a lot going on in that passage, but what Paul is basically saying is that through sin, as described in Genesis chapter 3, we were separated from God. Christ Jesus came into the world to reconcile us and bring us back into a relationship with God the Father. That is what God is seeking to do. This concept of man being connected to God is seen from Genesis to Revelation, the first book of the Bible to the last book. It is emphasized in passages like Romans chapter 5, where God demonstrates His love for us, stating that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We just celebrated that in the Christian church a couple of weeks ago when we observed Good Friday. Jesus, on the cross, is dying in our place. He has taken the penalty and punishment for our sins, and through His death, burial, and resurrection, He makes it possible for us to be reconnected to God.

The term "reconcile" means to restore two parties that are in conflict or warring with one another. Through sin, we became enemies of God, but through Christ, we can have that restored friendship once again. Jesus reconciles us back to a relationship and connection with God.

One of the passages that I absolutely love, which serves as a foundation for the idea of life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus, is Ephesians chapter 2. I actually talk about this quite frequently when I'm teaching on Sunday mornings. For He Himself—Jesus is the "He Himself" there—He Himself is our peace, who has made both...

One has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh, in His body, the enmity. We were enemies with God, and Jesus, on the cross, dealt with that. He addresses this through His body, the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace. He reconciled them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death that enmity. He came and preached peace to those who were far off and to those who were near. For through Him, we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Christ is our cornerstone. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. I love this passage because it is in and through what Jesus did on the cross that He makes it possible for us to be brought back into relationship with God. This allows us to experience life in connection with God, which I am absolutely convinced is the very abundant life that Jesus spoke of in John chapter 10. He says, "The thief has come to the world to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly."

I am thoroughly convinced that there is no way to experience the fullness of that abundant life that Jesus promised apart from being connected to God in relationship with Him. We were made for that relationship, and we are restless. One of the great Christian theologians from many hundreds of years ago, Augustine, said, "Our soul is restless until we find our rest in God." Ultimately, we are seeking for that, and it is in and through what Jesus did on the cross that He makes it possible for us to experience this life in connection with God.

You will notice anytime you see this life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus—whether it's on our bulletin, any slides we put up, or on our website—wherever you see it, most of the time, you're going to notice that "life" and "through Jesus" are in orange. This is very key. This abundant life that Jesus spoke of is only found through Jesus Christ. Apart from His death, burial, and resurrection, it is not possible. Jesus said to His disciples just before He was crucified, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Me." His own statements are rather exclusive, and we believe that life is truly found in and through Him. This is what we constantly talk about anytime we are sharing the gospel with people; we tell them very clearly about life through Jesus.

Jesus is found, and life is ultimately found through Him. Simply put, God, by sending His Son Jesus, made a restoration of the connection with Him possible. Jesus came to the world to restore our connection to God. By His death on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins and removed any separation between us and God, as well as between us and one another. He has also adopted us into His family, making us His sons and daughters. We become the children of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul talks about this in his letter to the church at Colossae. In Colossians chapter 1, he writes, "For He rescued us; Jesus rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption." He has purchased us back from sin and death, granting us the forgiveness of sins. Although we were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, He has now reconciled us in His fleshly body through death in order to present us before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.

So, God, by sending His Son Jesus, has made this restoration of connection possible. It is found in Him. How do we experience it? To reconnect with God, we need to accept the free gift of eternal life by believing that Christ died for us and trusting in Him alone for salvation. Paul, in Romans chapter 10, said, "If you believe in your heart that God raised Christ from the dead and you confess with your mouth that He is Lord, you shall be saved."

In Ephesians chapter 2, we read, "You who were dead in trespasses and sins, God has redeemed." God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in transgressions, has made us alive together with Christ. "By grace you have been saved." For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of your works, so that no one may boast.

We trust completely in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. One of the last things that Jesus said when He was on the cross was, "It is finished." The debt for our sin is paid in full. He finishes that work so that we can have a relationship with God once again. This is really the core of what is called the Gospel message. This is what the church has been evangelistically sharing with the world for the last 2,000 years: that Jesus died in our place on the cross and rose from the dead for our salvation.

Justification for our sanctification allows Him to save and rescue us from sin and restore that relationship with God. Life in connection with God is only possible through Jesus Christ. Once you receive that life and connection with God through Jesus Christ, what happens next?

We believe here at this church that we maintain and strengthen our connection with God through a number of different practices. You will notice the activities we engage in here at this church; we do these things because we believe they strengthen and maintain our relationship with God. This connection makes it possible for us to experience a greater relationship with God in this life, which will continue into eternity. What Jesus promised is eternal life, that we will be with God in His presence forever and ever. However, that life begins when we put our trust and faith in Christ, and then we develop a stronger relationship with God through various means.

On your paper, you will find six different practices. There are other things we could add to this list, but these are primary practices that we believe help us maintain and strengthen our connection with God.

Number one is worship. Colossians 3 says, "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." There are different ways in which we can worship God, which is to value Him and exalt Him. One of the ways we do that is through singing songs of praise.

When we gather together on a Sunday morning and Pastor Anthony invites us to stand and sing, it may seem strange to someone who is new to a church environment. They might wonder what is going on with this corporate singing. However, we are convinced through the Scriptures and our own experience that as we sing praises to God, He draws near to us in His presence by His Spirit. We experience and strengthen our connection with Him as we praise Him. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of His people, meaning He draws near when His people praise Him.

Thus, one of the ways we connect with God in a very practical sense is through worship. I have had people ask me why we engage in singing before the teaching. They say they come here primarily for the teaching. However, when we come together, we are worshiping God. In our songs of worship, we are honoring Him. We also worship God through our sacrifices when we give to the Lord, which I will discuss in a little bit. This is another form of worship. We worship God with our attention, our hearts, and our actions.

Minds, when we study His Word, there are different ways that we worship. One of those ways is worshiping through song. Another obvious way that we maintain and strengthen our connection with God is through prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God. You may not realize it, but you have direct access to the Creator of Heaven and Earth. You can speak to Him, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is in all places at all times, and He hears our prayers.

I have seen in my own life, and I can observe in the Scriptures, that He answers prayers. Sometimes God answers with a "no," and sometimes He answers with a "wait." However, there are many times when God answers with a "yes." It is an awesome thing when you bring a prayer to God and offer it to Him, knowing that He hears and answers. You can see a direct answer, and so we are connecting with the Creator of all things, who is omnipotent, all-powerful, omniscient, all-knowing, and omnipresent, all present everywhere at all times when we pray to Him.

We pray together when we gather, but we can also pray individually. Through prayer, we maintain and strengthen our connection to God. In Colossians 4, Paul says, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving." We talk a lot more about prayer in another one of our discipleship classes, but as a preface, this is one of the ways that we connect with God.

A third practical way that we connect with God is through the Scriptures. Obviously, here at Cross Connection Church, we highly value the teaching of the Bible. It takes up the largest section of our service when we gather together on Sunday mornings. We have growth groups that meet throughout the week during our two different times of the year, and they study through the Scriptures together. We also have discipleship classes where we go through the Scriptures together.

Why do we do that? We believe that God has revealed Himself through inspired Scripture, the 66 books of Scripture that we call the Bible. God has revealed to us His nature and His will. I like to say it like this: God has revealed what He is like—that's His nature—and what He likes—that's His will—through the pages of Scripture. If we want to get to know who God is and what God wants for us, the one who created us, the best place to find that is in the Bible.

The author of the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews 4, says, "The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces as far as the division of soul and spirit, both joints and marrow, and is able to judge the thoughts and intents of our heart." I could spend an entire hour and much more discussing this.

Talking about the doctrine of the Scriptures and why they are important, we believe that we maintain and strengthen our connection with God through the Word of God. I want to encourage you that when you gather together with other people on a Sunday morning or at a growth group, that is a great time to study the Word. One of the things we want to instill in the people who are a part of our church is a regular diet of the Bible, basically that it becomes a part of your life every single day.

I taught a class a couple of years ago on how to study the Bible. We will talk more about this in another discipleship class that we offer here at the church. The class I taught was a six-week class, and it is available on our YouTube channel. It is also available on a platform called RightNow Media. I will tell you more about that later, and you can watch it if you want to. I guarantee we will offer the class again in the future. It is basically just a "How do I study the Bible?" class because we really do think the Scriptures are important for maintaining and strengthening our relationship and connection with God.

Another practical way to connect with God is through generosity. Paul, in 2 Corinthians, says, "Now brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality or their generosity." He testified that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord. Jesus said, and it is recorded in Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Through generosity and sacrifice, as we give, we are actually mirroring our God, who is giving as well. He is the first giver, and we connect with God through our generosity as we share with and care for other people.

Another way that we practically connect with God is through communion, or what is sometimes called the Lord's Supper. In the service this morning, we partook of the bread and the cup. In the bread, we remember Jesus's body that was broken for us, and in the cup, we remember His blood that was shed for us. Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, where we are doing what Jesus did with His disciples on the night before He was crucified. He took bread, blessed it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "This is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." We view these elements as symbolic and pointing to Christ, and He said, "As often as you eat this..."

Bread and drink this cup; you proclaim my death until I come. The church, for 2,000 years, has regularly partaken in communion. Regularly can mean different things. Maybe you've been a part of a church in the past where they do it every week. Some churches do it once a month, while I know of a few that do it once per quarter. There are also some churches that only do it once a year.

We partake of communion here at Cross Connection every seven weeks. Why do we do that? That's just our tradition. There is no biblical reason for why we do it every seven weeks. Our goal is to offer this class every seven weeks as well on communion Sunday during the third service. This is our plan for the future. We partake of communion because, in it, we are connecting with God as we remember Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. We regularly partake of communion here to connect with Him.

The last thing on the paper for today is baptism. We maintain and strengthen our connection with God through baptism. I mentioned that we are a part of Calvary Chapel. Before that, we were part of Christian Chapel, and now we are Cross Connection Church. We are still connected with Calvary Chapel, but we also have a connection with the Southern Baptist Convention. All of these groups are what we call Credo Baptists; they believe in believers' baptism.

What that means is we believe that when a person becomes a Christian and puts their trust and faith in Christ, one of their first actions of obedience to Christ is to be baptized. Baptism just means to be immersed in water. The word "baptizo" is from the Greek and means to immerse in water. We practice what's called immersion baptism here, which identifies a person with Christ and His church, associates them with Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection, and obeys His command.

We encourage people who have never been baptized to be baptized. I have also encouraged those who grew up in a church that practices infant baptism, such as the Catholic Church or the Presbyterian Church. If you were baptized as a baby, your parents made that choice for you, which is great. However, we believe that once you become a Christian and place your trust in Christ, one of the acts of obedience to Him is to be baptized.

Currently, we have our biggest baptism every year on what's called the Feast of Pentecost or Pentecost Sunday. That's coming up in just a little bit more than a month, on May 19th. We will have a baptism here on Sunday after the service.

In the third service, we will also have a big barbecue on that day, and we are going to celebrate a birthday because it is the birthday of the church. That is when the church got started back in Acts chapter 2. We will be having a baptism, and if you have never been baptized, I encourage you to consider being baptized on that day. If you have more questions about it, you can come and talk with me. I will even share on that day why we do this, what we are doing, what it means, and what it does not mean. It is one of the ways that we maintain and strengthen our connection with God.

Now, let's talk about some next steps in life and connection with God. If you have never prayed to receive Christ, if you have not trusted in Him for salvation and come to know Him as Savior and Lord, I want to give you an opportunity to do that today. If you haven't done that, make sure you come talk to me after we are finished today, and I would love to share with you a little bit more about the gospel. That is one important next step. Another one is, if you have never been baptized, why are you not baptized? As Nacho Libre said in his great movie, we encourage you to be baptized if you are a Christian and have never been baptized before.

Next, I want to talk about life in connection with one another. God created us to live life in connection with one another in the same way that you were made to live in relationship with Him. Genesis chapters 1 and 2 make this very clear. In chapter 1, verse 27, it states that God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female, He created them. In chapter 2, verse 18, the Lord said, "It is not good that man should be alone." All the men should say, "Amen." It is not good that man should be alone, and so He says, "I will make him a helper comparable to him."

We believe that not just the marriage covenant, which is discussed in this passage and fulfilled in Genesis chapter 2, but relationships in general are essential. We do not thrive; you cannot have the abundant life isolated and alone. I think that all the crazy things that happened in 2020 proved this. During the isolation caused by the pandemic, mental health declined, anxiety increased, and many problems arose. Being alone and isolated is not what God made us for; He created us to live life in connection with one another. However, connection was lost on account of sin in Genesis chapter 3.

The eyes of both Adam and Eve were opened, and they knew that they were naked. So, they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. The Lord God called to Adam and said, "Adam, where are you?"

What we see in this passage is a disconnection between man and God. God is now saying, "Where are you?" They hid themselves from God, so sin separated humanity from God. We also see a separation between Adam and Eve at the end of Genesis chapter 2. Just before we come into Genesis chapter 3, it says that Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed. They were vulnerable, and there was no shame or embarrassment. There was a complete joining and connection; the two became one through marriage.

God desires that we would experience oneness in our relationships with others, especially in marriage, but also a uniting of relationships with one another in Christ Jesus and a uniting of our relationship with God as well. However, that is broken because of sin. In Genesis chapter 3, we ask, "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Where does all the division in our culture come from?" It really comes from the enmity of sin. Connection with one another was lost on account of sin; however, connection with one another is restored by Jesus.

I already read this passage, but we see this joining of connection with other individuals in Ephesians chapter 2. He Himself, Jesus, is our peace. Notice this: He has made both one in Christ Jesus. In the church, He joins us back into connection with one another. We experience true relationships with other people within the body of Christ.

What's awesome about this is that this joining of relationships crosses ethnic boundaries. There are Christians of every possible ethnicity you could imagine, and it spans across socioeconomic classes and structures. We see that God joins us together across many boundaries, breaking down the divisions that we create in our minds and cultures. He has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, abolishing in His flesh the enmity, the law of commandments contained in its ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two. He joins us back into one relationship through the cross.

We can practically experience six key aspects of deepening life and connection with one another through corporate worship. While we could have a much longer list, today I will mention these six things. When we gather together to sing songs of praise to God as one voice, we foster and build connection with one another. There has been some amazing psychological research done on this, which found that people who sing together in choirs actually begin to synchronize their heartbeats. This is an incredible phenomenon, demonstrating the physiological effect of gathering and singing together corporately.

We deepen our connection with one another through corporate worship, even if the person singing next to you cannot carry a tune. It is remarkable what happens in Christ Jesus. If you stand next to me, you will often find that I do not carry a tune either.

Through Bible study, we also experience and deepen our connection with one another. Whether it is on Sunday mornings or during our small group gatherings, such as growth groups, or even when you meet with another couple or individual to study the Bible together, we grow closer as we read and discuss the Word. Paul, in Romans 15:14, says, "I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another." This highlights the importance of learning together through the Scriptures.

Another passage in the Bible talks about iron sharpening iron. When we come together to study the Scriptures, we challenge each other to grow. In Hebrews, it says we are to stir one another up to love and good deeds, encouraging each other to walk more faithfully with the Lord.

We also experience and deepen our connection with God through learning together. Fellowship is another significant aspect of our connection. The church in the New Testament continued together in what is called koinonia, or communion, which is translated as fellowship in English versions of the Bible. I like to break this concept into two different areas: caring for one another and another aspect that we will explore shortly.

In the New Testament, there are numerous passages where we are exhorted to care for one another, pray for one another, love one another, and encourage one another. These "one another" commands are found throughout the New Testament, emphasizing the importance of community and connection in our faith.

There are about 40 of them in the New Testament. So, beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11). Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

As we gather together with other Christians just to eat a meal, we have groups here at this church called connect groups. These are basically gatherings to have a meal with one another. In that setting, we are fellowshipping with one another, caring for one another, and we can pray for one another. In a connect group, a small group Bible study, or wherever we are getting together with other Christians, that fellowship is very important. It is how we deepen and experience our connection with one another.

Fellowship involves caring for one another. Some more verses highlight this: that the members may have the same care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25) and that we may comfort one another (2 Corinthians 13:1). These are all aspects of the idea of fellowship, and we really do build connections with each other through it.

In the last 20 years, there has been a clear trend in our country: people increasingly have fewer individuals in their lives whom they can count on, trust, and have relationships with. This decline in friendships is negatively impacting mental health, physical health, and even aging. Therefore, fellowship is very important; God created us for this. In the church, we experience connection with one another through fellowship and caring for one another.

Another verse on caring for one another states that we should do so with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. Sometimes, just putting up with one another is an aspect of fellowship. We also share with one another. Therefore, we welcome one another as Christ has also welcomed you for the glory of God. We should show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9).

I love this verse; hospitality is such a lost aspect of our culture. You see it much more in many developing nations or foreign cultures. I have had the privilege of traveling to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and throughout Europe. In many of those places, hospitality is a continued aspect of culture, more so than in our own. We live in a very separate and distinct culture. It is rare today for people to invite neighbors or even co-workers to come over for dinner. My wife, who is in the medical industry, has many friends who are doctors and nurses.

People that she's connected with from her time working in the ICU and other places often come over to our house for dinner. It's as if we invited them to go to Mars; they look at us like we're strange. There are many times when we'll have a half dozen people, two or three couples from her workplace, over for dinner. Every time they leave, they tell us how amazing it was, saying they haven't been invited over to someone's house for dinner in ages. This is foreign to me because I've grown up in the church, where this kind of fellowship and hospitality is normal. Sharing with one another and showing hospitality is very important.

Another way we experience and deepen our connection with one another is through prayer. James chapter 5 says, "Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another." When you pray with or for another person, you're deepening your relationship with God, but you're also deepening your relationship with that person. I'm amazed at how much this drops people's guard down when I simply ask them, as they're sharing their issue with me, if I can pray for them. Just that act of praying for them deepens that relationship. Over time, what's amazing is that I'll bump into that person later and ask, "Hey, how did that situation go that we were praying about?" They are often surprised and respond, "Wow, you remembered! Actually, it went really well," or "Can you continue to pray for me about this situation?" Through prayer, we deepen our relationship with one another.

We also experience and deepen our connection through service. As we serve one another or serve alongside one another, we grow our connection with those people. As each has received a gift—again, we'll talk about spiritual gifts in another discipleship class—we should use those gifts to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. When you become a Christian, God gives you gifts, and we should share and minister those gifts to others in our service. Serving alongside one another also deepens our relationships.

Some next steps to consider include joining a connect or growth group. You can find out about these on our website at the provided web addresses. There are also some scan codes on the back of your paper that you can look at. Our growth groups just started last week, and some will begin this week. They are a great place to meet new people, get into the Scriptures, and develop a greater connection with God and with one another.

If you're a part of our church and consider this your home church, you can serve in various areas. You can find out about many of those opportunities at CCchurch.com/serve. On a given weekend, we need about 150 people to serve on a Sunday morning in children's ministry, hospitality, security, the worship team, the tech team, and other areas. These opportunities are available to Christians who attend our church and are part of the community.

Now, let's talk about our connection with the world. Our vision and mission is life in connection with God, with one another, and with the world through Jesus. To recap, because of the Fall, the world is disconnected from God and one another. Through Jesus, we have been reunited with God and each other. As ambassadors of God, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation. These are significant concepts, and I want to emphasize them because they are rooted in Scripture.

As Christians, I am commissioned to be an ambassador of God with a message and ministry of reconciliation. I apologize for the complexity of these terms, but they are important biblical words. I wanted to include them because they come directly from the Scriptures where Jesus commissions us. I mentioned at the beginning of our time today that we have Matthew chapter 28, Mark chapter 16, Luke chapter 24, John chapter 20, and Acts chapter 1. In every one of those passages, Jesus sends His disciples on a mission. That is what "commission" means.

Some of you may have served in the military and were commissioned to a specific task. As Christians, we are also commissioned to a specific task. What is that task? It is to be ambassadors.

How many of you have heard the name Billy Graham before? Back in 2000, Billy Graham came to San Diego and held a crusade. At that time, I was asked as a staff member of this church to be the liaison with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. They organized a large gathering at Jack Murphy Stadium, which is now known as Qualcomm Stadium. I went down there and met a gentleman from the Billy Graham Association who had been with Billy Graham for many decades. I am trying to remember his name; he was a very famous singer who accompanied Billy Graham all the time. He shared a story about when Billy was in China decades ago, meeting with the U.S. ambassador to China for dinner.

The other gentleman was with him when Billy Graham asked the ambassador, "Tell me exactly what you do as an ambassador." He replied, "I am here on behalf of America to make friends and influence them." I like that.

What is an ambassador? You are someone who makes friends with people who are not a part of your kingdom. If you're a Christian, you are a member of the Kingdom of Heaven, a citizen of Heaven. Paul says in Philippians that as an ambassador, you make friends with other people who are not a part of your country of origin, the Kingdom of God. You make friends with them so that you might share with them the good news of Christ. That's what an ambassador is.

We are commissioned as ambassadors of God with a message and ministry of reconciliation. We are not going there to tell them a message of war, saying, "You're done for if you don't come over to my side." We are there to share a message of reconciliation. I was far from God, and Jesus came to me to rescue me out of darkness into His marvelous light. He has given me a message to go out into the world and share with them the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, that's what we do. We have a message and ministry of reconciliation. Those connected to God are commissioned to go. I already mentioned it: Matthew chapter 28, the Great Commission. "Go into all the world, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

As Christians, we are all commissioned to go. This isn't just for missionaries, pastors, or youth ministers; this is for all Christians. We are commissioned to go. What are we commissioned to do? Those connected to God are called to proclaim. We are called to proclaim. Mark chapter 16 states, "Go into all the world and preach," or proclaim. That's what that word "preach" means: proclaim the gospel. The gospel just means good news. What is the good news? Jesus died in my place for my sins so that I might have a relationship with God.

We are called to go into all the world to preach the gospel. Luke chapter 24 mentions that repentance and remission of sins should be preached, proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

So, those connected to God are called to proclaim. Those connected to God are sent on a mission. John 20:21 says, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." We are sent on a mission by God.

Jesus, what is that mission? It is to proclaim the life that we can have through Jesus—a life that is in connection with God, a connection with one another, and to share that with the world. We are sent on a mission, and many people who hear these things—I'm commissioned to go, I'm called to proclaim, I'm sent on a mission—think, "I can't possibly do that."

But here's how I know you can: those connected to God are gifted for service. I already mentioned 1 Peter 4:10, which states that as each one has received a gift, I want you to notice that "each one" means every single Christian has been given gifts by the Holy Spirit, by God's grace, to serve God. Whether you realize it or not, God has gifted you for service, and He has called you to that service. Even if you feel like, "I don't think I can do this," those connected to God are equipped for the ministry. He readies us, prepares us, empowers, and equips us for ministry.

This is really my calling into the ministry: to equip the saints—those who believe in Jesus—for the work of the ministry. The work of the ministry is not just done by me, or Pastor Mark, or Pastor Nick in the back; it is the work done by the church. We want to ready and equip you for ministry.

Those connected to God are empowered supernaturally. This goes back to your question about the gifts of the Spirit. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). He empowers, enables, and equips us by His Spirit so that we can do the work that He has called us to do, so that we can share the gospel with people in this world.

Now, what are the practical ways that we are able to connect with the world? I have five of them here, but there are many more that we could discuss. One of the ways is that we connect through prayer. Therefore, I exhort first of all—this is Paul in 1 Timothy 2—that supplications, which is a kind of prayer, prayers, intercessions, another kind of prayer, and giving of thanks be made for all men.

God, our Savior, desires all men to be saved. He calls us to connect with the world through prayer. I believe the absolute first step in sharing the gospel is through prayer.

Evangelism begins with prayer. One of the things we've done here in a number of services, in fact just about a year ago, is encourage people to write down the names of one to three individuals on a card. We had a big target where people could pin their cards. These are just people we know who we are praying for, individuals who don't know God. Hopefully, you know people who are not connected to God; I certainly do. So, I wrote down some names of people I am praying for.

Evangelism always begins with prayer, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks. We talk about that more deeply in another discipleship class. We connect with the world through evangelism, which is simply sharing the Gospel. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, as stated in Romans 1:16. Evangelism is the work that the church has done for 2,000 years; it is simply proclaiming the good news of the Gospel.

We also connect with the world through charity and giving. In Acts 20, I mentioned earlier that I have shown you in every way by laboring like this that you must support the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, who said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." One of the ways we can connect with the world is through giving to people. Maybe you've experienced this before: I have given charitably to people who are not Christians, and they look at me as if to ask, "Why are you doing this?" I've actually had people ask me that directly. I respond, "I'm doing this because the Lord has called me to give this to you." They often look at me and think I'm crazy. Well, I might be, but as Paul said, I am a fool for Christ, so I'll take that.

Another way we connect with the world is through compassion. This is linked to charity, but I am telling you, and you probably already know this, compassion is so lost in our culture today. Just being kind and compassionate to people is essential. James 2:8 states, "If you really fulfill the royal law of Scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." You do well. When you are compassionate to others, they often look at you as if you are an alien from another planet. However, when you are kind and compassionate, you are connecting with the world as an ambassador of Christ.

Another way is through good works. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. We ought to be those who are doing good works for all people. This is lost in our culture today, and people need to see that we are extending the love of Christ through our actions.

Compassionate good works are essential in this world. In Matthew 25, Jesus shares a story that makes it very clear that someday we will give an account to God and be rewarded for how we have shared with the world in charity, compassion, good works, and kindness. He tells the story about those who gave a cup of cold water to those who were thirsty, food to those who were hungry, and clothes to those who were naked. In the end of the passage, He says the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father; inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me." They will say, "When did we do these things?" and He will respond, "Inasmuch as you have done this to the least of these, you have done so to Me."

When we serve other people compassionately, with charity and good works, we are doing it unto the Lord, and God will reward us for our service.

Now, wrapping up cross-training, what are some next steps? God has gifted you. If you have trusted in Christ and are His disciple—a faithful, obedient follower of Christ—He has equipped you for service. I encourage you to prayerfully consider serving as you plug into a team. You will grow in your connection with God, grow in your connection with one another, and fulfill the call to serve with your gifts to others.

If you have recently put your faith in Christ or have been a Christian for a long time, we encourage you to share your faith with others. Just tell them about the Lord or invite them to come to church. Invite a friend or family member to join us for a local outreach. We have various outreach activities that we do here in the community, so these are some next steps.

After this class, what is the next thing to do here at Cross Connection Church if you are making this your home church? One thing you can do is consider taking our next discipleship class, which will begin on May 1st. It will be held on Wednesday nights for five weeks, and I will be teaching.

We will go through a course here at this church called "Discover the Good News," where we really get to know what the Bible teaches and what Jesus taught in the Gospels. This course will help us begin to grasp some of the deeper things of the Bible.

You may say, "Well, I've been a Christian for a long time." I have taken hundreds of people through this class over the years, and many of those individuals have been Christians for a long time. Inevitably, at the end of it, I have dozens of people who come to me and say, "There is a lot of stuff I did not know." If you are a new Christian or new to the church, this would be a great place to start as well.

The class will start on Wednesday nights beginning May 1st. You can sign up for it at CCchurch.com. As I mentioned, we have a baptism coming up next month, but we also have a big event on that day, May 19th. You can invite people; it’s a great way to evangelistically share with others and invite them to come to church that day. We will have a great barbecue after the third service, and we will celebrate the Lord with a baptism. We will even have birthday cake because who doesn't love a birthday party? If you've never been baptized, this will be a great opportunity for you.

Additionally, we have the opportunity for our growth groups. At the bottom of your sheet of paper, you will see that we have growth groups, "Discover the Good News," and "Join a Team." The websites for all of those are listed. These are some very specific next steps that you can take after this class and after being a part of this community.