Crossroads YTH Podcast

Understanding the differences between Catholicism and biblical Christianity is essential for every believer. While both traditions share core beliefs about Jesus's identity as fully God and fully man, they differ significantly on salvation, authority, and assurance. Catholics believe salvation requires faith plus works, sacraments, and church traditions, while biblical Christians hold to salvation by grace through faith alone ...

 Christians need to be equipped to understand and respond to Jehovah's Witnesses, who hold fundamentally different beliefs despite appearing similar to Christianity. While JWs reject the Trinity, Jesus' deity, bodily resurrection, and salvation by grace alone, biblical Christianity affirms these core truths. JWs believe salvation requires works and organizational loyalty, with only 144,000 going to heaven, while Christian...

 We all wear masks to hide our anger and resentment, but these destructive emotions can consume us if left unchecked. The story of Cain and Abel shows how anger led to devastating consequences when Cain killed his brother after God rejected his offering. While some anger can be righteous, most of our anger stems from the consequences of our own actions rather than true injustice. Resentment is always wrong and creeps in quietly lik...

Jealousy and envy are more than just normal emotions - they're sins that poison our hearts and keep us from God's best. Envy wants what others have, while jealousy fears losing what we think is ours. Both reveal hearts focused on comparison rather than gratitude. Joseph's story shows how destructive jealousy can be, but also how God redeems even the worst situations. We often hide these emotions behind masks of fake ...

 Loneliness isn't just about being physically alone - you can feel completely isolated even when surrounded by people. This disconnect between our outer appearance and inner reality creates a dangerous cycle where we hide our struggles behind masks, assuming everyone else has it figured out. God sees and knows us intimately, as described in Psalm 139, reminding us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Breaking free from ...

 Jesus stands supreme in salvation, offering complete reconciliation with God through His sacrifice on the cross. Paul emphasizes in Colossians that through Christ, God reconciled everything to Himself, making peace through His blood. This reconciliation represents the ultimate identity shift - from being enemies of God to becoming His friends, from spiritual death to eternal life. Salvation in Christ rescues us from three critical...

In our image-obsessed culture, we often forget who is truly supreme: Jesus Christ. Paul's letter to the Colossians establishes Jesus as the visible image of the invisible God, existing before creation, supreme over all things, and the creator of everything in both heavenly and earthly realms. Most remarkably, Jesus holds all creation together - a truth reflected even in our biology through the cross-shaped laminin protein that...

 In a world obsessed with image, Paul's letter to the Colossians reminds us that Jesus is supreme over all creation. The Colossian church faced false teachers who claimed Jesus wasn't enough - that believers needed additional rules, secret knowledge, or special spirituality. This same danger exists today when we reduce Jesus to just one piece of life rather than the Supreme One over everything. Colossians 1:15-20 reveals ...

The parable of the Prodigal Son features three key characters: the wasteful younger son, the forgiving father, and the resentful older brother. While we often focus on the prodigal's return and the father's unconditional love, the older brother's story reveals important spiritual lessons. His anger at his brother's celebration exposes his pride, self-righteousness, and transactional view of his relationship with...

Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 to correct misconceptions about God's character. While many people—both in Jesus' time and today—view God as distant, cold, or primarily focused on judgment, the father in this story reveals God's true nature. When the wayward son returns home after squandering his inheritance, the father sees him from a distance (showing he was watching and waiting), runs to him ...

The parable of the Prodigal Son reveals profound truths about our relationship with God. It tells of a son who demands his inheritance early, essentially wishing his father dead, then wastes everything on reckless living. At his lowest point—feeding pigs and longing to eat their food—he finally 'comes to his senses.' He acknowledges his sin without excuses and resolves to return home, not as a son but as a servant. The mo...

The podcast message emphasizes the critical role of forgiveness in prayer, focusing on the Lord's Prayer's plea: "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors". The message highlights three reasons we can and should forgive: because we have been forgiven so much by God, because justice was satisfied by Jesus's sacrifice on the cross, and because vengeance belongs to God. Finally, it introd...

Prayer is essential to our Christian walk, yet many struggle to maintain it amid distractions. When Jesus taught 'Give us today our daily bread,' He revealed God's generous provision for all our needs. This isn't just about physical sustenance but represents our need for Jesus, God's Word, and His provision daily. God meets all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus, providing rest, dire...

Many Christians struggle with prayer, feeling like their words hit the ceiling and go nowhere. This declining practice among believers stems from feeling unheard, being distracted, feeling self-sufficient, or simply not knowing how to pray 'correctly.' However, Jesus' sacrifice fundamentally changed our relationship with God, removing the barrier between humanity and divinity, symbolized by the temple veil tearing wh...

The story of Gideon's final battle against the Midianites powerfully illustrates the difference between wants and needs in our spiritual journey. While our wants often focus on material possessions and temporary pleasures, our genuine needs are more basic - including food, water, clothing, shelter, and sleep. God demonstrates His provision in unexpected ways, as shown when He reduced Gideon's army from 32,000 to just 300 ...

God often works in ways that challenge our conventional understanding, as demonstrated through Gideon's story of facing a massive army with just 300 men. When God reduces our resources, it's not to diminish our effectiveness but to showcase His power. Through impossible odds and personal weaknesses, God creates opportunities to display His strength. This divine pattern teaches us that acknowledging our limitations opens t...

Everyone experiences moments of doubt in their faith journey, even those who appear strongest in their convictions. Through Gideon's story, we see how doubt often surfaces after powerful spiritual experiences fade or when facing significant challenges. Common triggers include personal hardships, witnessing suffering, feeling distant from God, or struggling with past mistakes. While Gideon sought confirmation through the fleece...

God's calling extends beyond career choices to His specific plan for each person's life. Through Gideon's story, we learn that God often calls the unlikely, working through our inadequacies to accomplish His purposes. While each person has a unique calling, all believers share five universal callings: salvation, holiness, growth, sharing the Gospel, and service. God's calling is irrevocable, and He provides the ...