Psalm 96

Revelation 7:9-11

Last Sunday we began a new sermon series for the autumn - The Living Church. Throughout the series we will be considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ. What are the qualities of a church that is alive?   

This week we will talk about our main task as God's people - Worship.

1 Peter 2:4-10

This Sunday we begin a new sermon series for the autumn - The Living Church. Throughout the series we will be considering what it means to live as God's people in the world, and how we are to do it together as the body of Christ. What are the qualities of a church that is alive?   We will start by looking at God's vision for his people found throughout scripture as we seek to better understand our unique identity and calling as God's people.

2 Samuel 22

This week we wrap up our series on the life of David looking at 2 Samuel 22 (which also appears as Psalm 18) in which David looks back over his life, with all of its ups and downs, and offers back to God in a prayer of thanksgiving and praise.

2 Samuel 13-20

The sin in David's life eventually catches up to him, with dire consequences for his family and all of Israel. David's life gives us the opportunity to consider sin's destructive nature, which points us back to the one who took our sin upon himself.

1 John 1:5-2:2

What does a “real Christian” look like? You can find all kinds of answers to that question. This text tells us that one of the first ways genuine faith in Christ shows itself in our lives is in our response to who God is. This in turn changes our relationships with others and our posture toward sin.

2 Samuel 11 and 12, Psalms 51 

In the story we’re studying together this Sunday, we learn of David’s catastrophic personal moral failure. We learn of how he does a terrible thing, tries to cover it up by doing more terrible things, and how he is caught. We see Nathan rebuke David, and we see David respond and repent. Throughout this passage we will take time to consider how we can engage in behaviors and habits that can help lead us to spiritual health. We'll discuss how we can invite a community of people, or a person to speak into our lives and help us stay on the road that leads to God’s kingdom. And finally, how through Christ Jesus' life, his sacrificial death and his resurrection, we can experience God's love and grace.

Uprooting Lust

Matthew 5:27-30

Lust is misplaced desire that runs rampant through the world, ruining relationships and dehumanizing people in its wake. In this message we learn from Jesus the Master how to not only avoid lust, but address its source.

We welcome Ian Martin to the pulpit again this week for part two of his sermon series on healing for the causes of relational breakdown. A good friend of ICP, Ian currently serves as the Lead Pastor of New Covenant Christian Community Church in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania in the USA. Previously Ian and his wife Celina worked at ICP in various ministries including Youth Praha, and they continue to return each year to run Third Culture Kamp. We are glad to have them back with us.

Matthew 5:17-26

Jesus taught us that relationships are the reason we exist. But how do we live out that idea in a world where relationships are so broken? In this, the first of two Sundays with Ian Martin, we will learn from Jesus the Master about two essential tools to uproot the sources of relational breakdown.

Ian Martin currently serves as the Lead Pastor of New Covenant Christian Community Church in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania in the USA. Previously Ian and his wife Celina worked at ICP in various ministries including Youth Praha, and they continue to return each year to run Third Culture Kamp. We are glad to have them back with us.

2 Samuel 7

After he becomes king, David has grand ambitions to honor God with a temple. But David's plans are not in line with the Lord's, and God makes known his own ideas about building a house instead. 

From Everlasting to Everlasting - Psalm 103 

As we continue to look at King David this summer, we pause from the events of his life to look at one of his Psalms. David was a poet, a musician. He loved to write songs in praise of the Lord. In reading Psalm 103, not only are we given a picture of David's heart for God, but of God's heart for his people and his steadfast love for us.

Matthew 12:18-21

When our troubles or failures overwhelm us, or when our hearts grow faint, we might question God’s love and goodness. Our text proclaims the amazing goodness of Jesus in his gentleness – both in his response to his opponents and his attitude toward broken and discouraged people. His gentleness is a balm to our souls. 

Numbers 14:26-35 

We often think that in the Old Testament we only see God's judgment, but in this passage we also see that "God is rich in mercy." We to receive God's mercy, but more than that we receive God's grace through Jesus. 

2 Samuel 6:1-19

After he becomes king of Judah and Israel, one of David's first priorities is to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. David knows that it is God's presence and work among them that will allow Israel to prosper, and one of his main roles as king is to lead them in their worship of him. What David believed, and what he wanted Israel to know, it that God's activity in our lives isn't just reserved to "sacred" moments or celebrations, and worship isn't reserved to weekly service. God is present in all of life, and we can worship him at all times. 

1 Samuel 24

In scripture, the wilderness plays an important role in the lives of God's people. It is a place of trial, but also which God uses to form and prepare people for their lives ahead. Before he becomes king, David spends time in the wilderness being pursued by Saul. When faced with the opportunity to take Saul's life, David's trust in God's sovereignty is put to the test. 

The Gift of Friendship

1 Samuel 18-20

So much of our lives are defined by our relationships with other people. This is as true for David as for anyone else. This week we consider David's friendship with Jonathan and how good friends are God's gracious gifts to us, and how being a good friend can point others to Christ.

Proper Confidence

1 Samuel 17

David vs. Goliath - it's one of the most familiar stories in the Bible. Today we bring fresh eyes to examine why this story is embraced by the world and what new things it has to teach us about confidence.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Mark 12:29-31

We welcome Steve Thomas as our guest preacher this Sunday. Steve currently serves as the Director of Member Care for Open Door Libraries (of which the Crossroads Center is a part) and has preached at ICP several times over the years. Looking at these well known passages from the Old and New Testaments, Steve will will be encouraging us to leverage the summer by making intentional plans to “impress” God’s design for living and loving on our families and on our individual lives.

1 Samuel 15-16

Saul disobeys the Lord and so God rejects him as King of Israel. This leads to the anointing of David as the next king. It's from this passage that our theme verse is drawn "People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). From these two chapters we begin to see the contrast between Saul and David and what God desires from those who will lead his people.

1 Samuel 8

We have just begun a new sermon series looking at the life of King David from the books of 1 & 2 Samuel. As we read the stories and meet the characters presented to us in these books we find, as pastor Eugene Peterson says "that we are not being led to see God in our stories but to see our stories in God's."  

In this week's passage, the Israelites demand a human king to rule over them, rejecting God's own rule and ignoring Samuel's warnings of how it will turn out for them. As people, we often choose what isn't best for us, thinking we know better than God. Thankfully, God's faithfulness remains sure, in spite of ourselves.

1 Samuel 3:1-20

This Sunday we begin a new sermon series looking at the life of King David from the books of 1 & 2 Samuel. David was the great king of Israel, to whom God gave the promise that the Messiah would come from his line, and he is described in scripture as "a man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). But David was far from perfect, and the most valuable lessons for us come from his interactions with God in both his victories and failures. As we read the stories and meet the characters presented to us in these books we find, as pastor Eugene Peterson says "that we are not being led to see God in our stories but to see our stories in God's."