How Do I Work With Difficult People In A Difficult World?
August/31/2024 12:40 PM Filed in: CrossWinds | Culture
There is no shortage of conflict. The evening news features conflict at home and wars abroad. Everywhere we look, people can’t agree. Sometimes, we can avoid difficult people, but many times, we can’t. How should we handle the conflicts we can’t ignore? Here are five bits of wisdom from the book of Proverbs on working with tough people.
- Learn to avoid arguments. Getting into an argument doesn’t take wisdom. Any fool can do that. It takes wisdom to stay out of arguments. Once an argument begins, each side digs in their heels. Willingness to hear someone else’s point of view and change one’s heart becomes almost impossible. When we start to argue, the reason for the argument is quickly superseded by the hostility experienced. Proverbs 17:14 says, “Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam, so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.” Arguments always go farther than we want and cause more damage than we expect. We can relate to this with the spring flooding. Once a dam is breached, the water erodes more of the dam, letting more flood waters through until incalculable damage is done and the floodwaters are impossible to stop. Isn’t that a good picture of what happens when we argue? Wisdom reminds us that we should turn away from arguments, rather than lean into them.
Baptisms at CrossWinds - 2024
July/18/2024 11:31 AM Filed in: CrossWinds | Video
When My Wife Dies, Will I Hear Her Voice Again?
May/17/2024 09:21 AM Filed in: CrossWinds
For a man in our church, life is hard. His wife battles a debilitating disease that is slowly taking her life. Every day, he travels to the nursing home, where he feeds her because the disease has robbed her of the dexterity to feed herself. With each bite, he remembers happier days they enjoyed together. There were vacations with their children. Sometimes, they held hands on the porch as they watched the sunset. Those are distant memories today, but they leave a warm feeling in his heart whenever they come to mind. A moment later, reality smacks him in the face. There is still meatloaf on her plate. He picks up the fork and offers another bite. Someday, this will be over. She will die. Her spirit will be with Jesus, but what about her body that goes to the grave? Will he ever hear her sweet voice again?
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Best of the 2024 EFCA Theology Conference On Marriage
March/04/2024 04:30 PM Filed in: CrossWinds
Pastor Kurt and Jordan traveled to Chicago to participate in the EFCA Theology Conference, which focused on marriage. This spring, on Wednesdays from March 13 to April 17, we will share the best conference messages on the CrossWinds Podcast.
These sessions will also be offered as video classes on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in Pastor Kurt’s office. Sign up for those classes on the church app.
March 13 - The State of Marriage and the Family: Changes and Challenges - Dr. David Ayers, Professor of Sociology, Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania
Audio on the Podcast
March 20 - Divorce and Remarriage: Exceptions to the Permanency of Marriage - Dr. David Newheiser, Director of the Christian Counseling Program and Professor of Christian Counseling and Pastoral Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina
Audio on the Podcast Video Class in PK’s Office
March 27 - Marital Abuse: A Picture of Satan’s Design and a Manifesto of the Anti Gospel - Dr. Nate Brooks, Associate Professor of Counseling, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina
Audio on Podcast Video class in PK’s office
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These sessions will also be offered as video classes on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in Pastor Kurt’s office. Sign up for those classes on the church app.
March 13 - The State of Marriage and the Family: Changes and Challenges - Dr. David Ayers, Professor of Sociology, Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania
March 20 - Divorce and Remarriage: Exceptions to the Permanency of Marriage - Dr. David Newheiser, Director of the Christian Counseling Program and Professor of Christian Counseling and Pastoral Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina
March 27 - Marital Abuse: A Picture of Satan’s Design and a Manifesto of the Anti Gospel - Dr. Nate Brooks, Associate Professor of Counseling, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina
Read More...
Jesus Changed Education
January/26/2024 12:28 PM Filed in: CrossWinds | Culture
Today, every school you see, whether private or public, grade school or graduate school, has its roots in Jesus and the Christian faith. While education existed before Jesus, it was only for the elite. The birth of Jesus brought education for all. Let me show you some of the ways Jesus changed education.
Many of the world’s languages were first set to writing by Christian missionaries with the hope that people could have a written language to read the Bible in their native tongue. Read More...
Many of the world’s languages were first set to writing by Christian missionaries with the hope that people could have a written language to read the Bible in their native tongue. Read More...