At CrossWinds Church, our second core value is Community. Relationships in the church are important. The way we love one another is one of the ways we reach our community with Jesus.By Kurt Trucksess

At CrossWinds Church, our first core value is the Bible. Join us to learn why we trust the Bible, how we teach the Bible, and why we love the Bible.By Kurt Trucksess

How important is a Christian’s attitude? We watch negative news. We work with whining people. It is easy to develop a negative attitude. God’s will is different. As Christians, we are to stand out because of the joy in our lives and the thankfulness of our words. Join us as we learn how to worship Jesus in our attitude.…

What is God’s will in the church? Join us as we examine what Paul says about God's will for pastors and people and our responsibilities to one another.By Kurt Trucksess

How will the world end? Will it be due to climate change? Will it be from war in the Middle East? As Christians, what signs tell us the end is near? As we continue our study in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, we look at the end of the world and what the Bible says about Christians predicting and preparing for its arrival.…

When a Christian dies, where do they go? When Jesus returns, what happens to a Christian’s body? Will the dead miss out on the glorious return of Jesus? These are some of the important questions Paul answers for the Thessalonians and us.By Kurt Trucksess

Harold Camping of Family Radio predicted that Christ’s return and the world’s end would occur in May 2011. In no surprise, he was wrong. In his enthusiasm for Christ’s return, he provoked people into selling their property, giving him millions of dollars, and making other foolish decisions. In spite of putting up over 5,000 billboards, his preoccup…

A common question for young adults is, “How far is too far when it comes to sex?” In this study, Paul answers that question and tells us how to pursue sexual purity in a sex-saturated world.By Kurt Trucksess

What does good spiritual leadership look like? In 1 Thessalonians 3, Paul gives us an X-ray of his heart, showing us his love for the Thessalonians. This window into Paul’s soul helps us understand what good spiritual leadership looks like in the church.By Kurt Trucksess

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, what happened on resurrection Sunday? Join us as we examine the last 2,000 years of alternative explanations for the resurrection and see how they ultimately prove Jesus’ resurrection is true.By Kurt Trucksess

Recently, my father went to the doctor for an X-ray. This gave the doctor a true picture of his bones. In 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20, Paul gives us an X-ray of his heart. We get a chance to see the heart of a good pastor. By seeing a good pastor, we can be a good pastor.By Kurt Trucksess

Have you squandered an opportunity? Have you seen someone so close to a good thing but miss it through a foolish decision? As we continue in 1 Thessalonians, Paul contrasts the Thessalonians and the Jews. One makes him glad as they embrace the gospel with limited opportunity, the other makes him sad as they reject it after countless chances to embr…

Today, most men are encouraged to be couch potatoes rather than bold leaders. There are plenty of manipulators, scammers, and those who lack character in positions of power. More acute than the leadership crisis in the world is the crisis of leadership we have in the church. Many of us don’t know what makes a good spiritual leader or how to be one.…

Artificial Intelligence makes it harder to distinguish between a deep fake and reality. It generates lifelike videos, where only experts can tell the difference between fantasy and reality. Deep fakes are nothing new when it comes to the Christian faith. Many claim to be saved by Christ but, over time, walk away from Him. How can we tell the differ…

How do we handle the wounds of life? The world tells us to get even. Recently, a man in Colorado shot a dog to death because days earlier, it was in a fight with his dog, so he plotted revenge. War in the Middle East never ends because of a commitment to revenge instead of extending forgiveness. In this study, we look at what the Bible says about t…

When life is difficult, it is easy to become discouraged. We long for easier days. As Christians, when society is against us, it is tempting to think our relationship with Jesus will fade and the church will wilt. As we begin the book of 1 Thessalonians, we find the opposite is true. 1 Thessalonians is the story of healthy Christians and a thriving…

David saved Israel from their enemies through the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. In the book’s closing chapter, we find one enemy from which David couldn’t save the nation. That was God and his just wrath against their sin. Join us as we finish the book and see the need for a better king named Jesus!By Kurt Trucksess

Zvika Greengold was celebrating Yom Kippur at his Israeli kibbutz when he heard the sound of a jet fighter. Realizing there would be no military exercises on a religious holiday, he turned on his radio and learned that Egypt and Syria sprung a surprise attack on Israel. It was October 6, 1973. As a reserve tank commander, Zvika ran to his tank and …

Have you listened to a worship song and found your heart resonating with the song’s words about the goodness of God? Many of us know that experience. As the author of 2 Samuel prepared to draw his book to a close, he shared one of David’s final songs. It is a song where David looks back on his life and worships God for all the goodness shown to him…

As we come to the last four chapters of 2 Samuel, instead of organizing themselves chronologically, they look back on David’s kingdom, God’s kingdom, and the relationship between them. Chapter 21 discusses some of life’s biggest questions, such as, “If there is a good God, why does he allow natural disaster and suffering?” Join us as we turn to the…

Every election season politicians make promises. The promise to lower the debt, solve immigration, and reduce taxes while raising our benefits. What should we expect from our flawed leaders? As David's kingdom is restored after Absalom's coupe, we see the limits of human leaders and why Jesus is the better king we need.…

In today's world, who can you trust? Stockbrokers don't always pick winners. Doctors make mistakes. Fortune tellers are virtually never reliable. Whose word is good? Is the Bible simply another authority we cannot trust? In this study, we examine what the Bible claims to be and do in our lives.By Kurt Trucksess

Jesus changed many things in this world. He changed education, medicine, science, civilization, arts, and politics. Most importantly, he came to change us. Jesus came to save us from our sin, to be the savior of the world. In our final message of this series, we look at how Jesus saves lives, and how he can save yours today.…

The world into which Jesus was born was a harsh place. He was born in a stable because the inn had no room and people had no compassion. He grew up in poverty. He grew up in a world where the Roman government heavily taxed their people and crucified all who resisted. For entertainment, the Romans watched gladiators kill one another and animals dism…

In the 1946 film classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, the character played by Jimmy Stewart gets a chance to see what life would be like had he never been born. In many ways, that movie is the springboard for this series. The film’s main point is that each person’s life impacts everyone else’s. Had they never been born, there would be gaping holes left …

When was the last time you struggled with forgiveness? It is hard to forget and forgive after someone has said or done something hurtful. How do we work for unity and restoration in the church and our family? As we continue our study in 2 Samuel, we will examine how David worked for unity in a divided nation and the tensions that tried to tear it a…

From 1955 until 1962, the world’s largest statue of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin loomed over Prague. The 17,000-ton monster dominated the skyline. When sculptor, Svec Polesny, applied to build the monument, he never expected to win the opportunity and spend the next five years of his life building it. During construction, the size of the project ov…

In most cases, we are told of biblical figures to emulate, such as Enoch, Noah, Moses, and Jesus. There are other biblical figures we are told to avoid, such as the Jews who hardened their hearts after the Exodus and Lot’s wife. At the top of the list of biblical characters to avoid in the Old Testament is Ahithophel. He was an evil genius committe…

On September 11, when the Twin Towers in New York were attacked, many were late for work. They were frustrated because they were caught in traffic or overslept their alarm. What appeared to be a problem was God’s grace in their life as they were not in the World Trade Center when it was attacked. Many times, God has a way of taking the evil plans o…

In 1942, Red Cross packages arrived for prisoners in German concentration camps. When the Red Cross asked for an accounting, 23,000 packages were missing. When Nazi German collapsed, many of these packages were found in the barracks of SS officers. The packages were not intended for them, but they took them anyway. In 2 Samuel 15, that is what we f…

Politicians manipulate their peers. Parents manipulate their children. Employees manipulate one another at work. As we continue our study in 2 Samuel, we see political manipulation in David’s kingdom. When David fails to deal decisively with his rebellious sons, he is manipulated into placing Absalom, his murderous son, just outside the kingship. J…

What are the dangers of passive parenting? What happens when fathers are too busy at work to play an active role in comforting and correcting their children? What happens when children are left to act on their urges and instincts? In 2 Samuel 13, we get a window into King David’s passive parenting and the disaster that followed when he failed to di…

One of the fictions we hear during the political season is that a leader’s personal life has no impact on public performance. We know that this is untrue. What happens at home never stays at home. It follows us to work. A personal life that lacks character and integrity will lead to a public one that looks the same. If ever there was a man whose pr…

The election season is in full swing. Candidates text and call our phones. We see political advertisements on YouTube and television. Every candidate promises to turn the country around. While some candidates are better than others, the sad truth is that all candidates will fail us. They are flawed human beings, just like us. In 2 Samuel 11, we see…

Building wealth has become problematic in recent years, especially with soaring inflation. Half of American households do not have enough cash reserves for an an unexpected $400 expense. The most brutal hit is the lower class, with an income between $23,000 and $40,499. Their net worth fell by half in recent years. Payday loans and credit cards are…

On September 11, airplanes were hijacked. Two were flown into the Twin Towers, and another into the Pentagon. Flight 93 did not reach its target (probably the White House) thanks to a handful of ordinary people that God used to make a difference. As we continue our study on how God uses ordinary and broken people to make a big difference, in 2 King…

In the finals of the 2004 Olympics, Perdita Felicien of Canada tripped on her first hurdle and then fell into the adjacent lane taking out Irina Shevchenko of Russia. Felicien was ranked number one in the world when she started, but her race ended in defeat. The Christian life is also described as a race. What does it take not just to start but als…

Life can be difficult. Discouragement is a common human experience. Sometimes, the purpose of the insignificant things we do seems impossible to understand. We may want to give up. Without encouragement, life can be burdensome. Without encouragement, we begin to think God is unconcerned for us. This is why the Bible tells us to encourage one anothe…

Richard Stevens, a British psychologist from Keene University, conducted an experiment in which people immersed their hand in ice water. He concluded that the act of swearing during the experiment enabled participants to have an increased pain tolerance of up to 33 percent. Does this mean we should curse when in pain or around difficult people? Joi…

Jack LaLanne was a pioneer in American fitness. At age 62, he swam the length of the Golden Gate Bridge underwater while handcuffed and towing a 1,000-pound boat. At age 70, he swam towing 70 rowboats with 70 people in them for one mile while handcuffed and shackled on his feet. At age 96, he gave an interview claiming he would live forever! His ar…

In 2013, Justine Sacco, a communications executive with the media company IAC, sent a sarcastic tweet to her 170 Twitter followers just before boarding a plane for Africa. The tweet dripped with racial animosity — “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” During her 11-hour flight to Cape Town, the tweet spread like wildfir…

In 2017, while struggling with depression, 15-year-old Molly Russell took her life. During the dark struggle, she turned to social media for help. Before her suicide, she interacted with over 2,100 posts about suicide and self-harm on Facebook and Instagram. The words of the posts convinced her that instead of seeking help, she should take her life…

Shaquille O’Neill, the four-time NBA champion and one of the greatest basketball players ever, renounced his celebrity status in an interview with the New York Post. He feels celebrities are “freaking crazy.” He doesn’t like how they treat people, what they do with their life, and what they say. “That has never been me.” Shaq said, “I hope to be re…

In 1932 Franklin Roosevelt made a speech in Pittsburgh where he talked about the importance of restraining government spending. Four years later, he wanted to speak in the same city in favor of government spending. He asked one of his advisors what he should do. They told him to deny the works he had spoken four years before! In 2 Samuel 9, David c…

What will it be like when Jesus returns? How will He treat those who have rebelled against Him? What will happen to those who longed for Him? In 2 Samuel 8, we preview Jesus’ eternal rule as God’s anointed king over creation through the lens of David, God’s anointed king over Israel. Join me as we look at what Jesus’ leadership will be like in our …

The story is told of how Louis XIV requested that at his funeral in the cathedral of Notre Dame, all be darkened — except for one candle burning on his casket at the front. When Massillon, the court preacher, rose to give the funeral sermon, he walked over to the casket and blew out the candle. He began his funeral message with the words, “Only God…

What should you do when you have made it? What should we do if we can retire? Join us as we learn from King David what to do when we are to financially comfortable.By Kurt Trucksess

In 2003, in Texas, 19 people died after being left inside an airtight truck trailer. At the time, it was called the nation’s deadliest smuggling attempt. While the driver of the trailer truck was clearly at fault, the sin began years before with illegal immigration. In 2 Samuel 6, we learn that the harsh and surprising consequences of sin often beg…

On Sunday, December 4, 2016, a man with a rifle came into a northwestern Washington D.C. pizza shop and started shooting. Thankfully he was arrested, and nobody was hurt. It was the motive for his crime that was shocking. The pizza shop, Comet Ping Pong, was accused on Twitter of serving as the base for a pedophile sex ring involving presidential c…

In Psalm 130:5, David writes, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word, I hope.” David waited over a decade for God to keep his word and make him king. The double-digit years of waiting were filled with discouragement, near-death experiences, and difficulty keeping peace in a nation at war. The story of David’s rise to power is an encou…