Sunday Highlights- Back at Cross Point!

Blake Bergstrom “Cosmic Cop, Vending Machines & Santa Claus

Too often we take religious traditions without understanding the context and we allow those things to shape our view of God.

Mark 11:11-17

The purest form of love is discipline and God is especially jealous about his house.  He cares about what goes on inside the church.  He doesn’t want anything to come before him.  He is loving the church by disciplining.

Religion has a tendency to be a guilt and shame generator.

Religion creates a “Cosmic Cop God” – a view of God where we think that all he wants to do is pounce on me!

Christianity became a place where we talked more about what we shouldn’t do rather than what we should do.

Romans 2:4

It’s kindness that leads us to repentance, not judgment.

Religion is more about presentation rather than transformation.

We worship worship.  Even worship has become a prison.  You can’t worship God unless it’s your style, your taste, etc.  It produces a type of people who demand their rights.  “Vending Machine God” – God is kind of like a vending machine.

Mark 11:18-21

God knows you individually.  He knows if you are producing fruit.  We are now the temple of God.  He wants your heart.

Acts 17:24,25 &28

We aren’t needed by the God of the Universe, however we ARE his plan to change the world.

God doesn’t want us to just use Him.  He’s not just a convenience.  He wants to be a part of our life.

Jesus wants us to lay down anything that comes in between us and Him and that includes religion.

You need to produce fruit by investing in the lives around you.

Is it really sacrifice if you can’t ever pay him back for what He has done for you?  Our only response is to produce fruit.