CROSSROADS TRACK DESCRIPTION

We often get caught up in living “to get” something—a job, a significant other, security, or an identity. We forget that according to the gospel, it is not about what we can or cannot “get” but what we have already gained and been assured of in Jesus Christ. The gospel is not a one-size-fits-all message that speaks to us in only general categories. It speaks to each of us in our personal stories: longing for love and acceptance, striving to make something of ourselves, covering past shame, and fearing failure. Dr. Paul Kim will share with us that to be transformed by the gospel—to find freedom from a life of “getting”—we must understand how it speaks to us in our personal stories.

Our culture, media, and society are all urging us to define our time of singlehood as either a time to “live it up” or to hurriedly find our significant other lest we grow old, alone, and afraid. Through the gospel lens we see that both are incorrect views. Rather, our singlehood should powerfully reflect Kingdom values and a gospel-driven life. Mixing biblical truths and insight with his own personal experiences, Pastor Ben Shin will share how we can maximally use our single years for God’s glory and Kingdom.

How does the supremacy of Christ create radical Christian sacrifice? For the answer, we’ll look at a sequence of passages in the New Testament book of Hebrews. But for us to see the answer, we will need to ask: What is the “great reward,” and what is the “better resurrection,” and what is the joy set before us, and what is the “city that is to come”? The answer to all of these questions is the same: Their most ultimate meaning is that they refer to the infinite supremacy of Christ experienced with all-satisfying joy.

Between the idols of comfort on the one hand and status on the other, we are usually caught in the cycle of work to gain comfort. Life seems like a grind and we end up either being bored to death by our work, or choked to death by it. Like the prodigal son, we tend to run away to find another refuge, forgetting that we are members of the Father’s home. We then seek to pay our own debt through self-salvation, trying to get out of the situation in which we have put ourselves. In doing so, we fail to realize that our heavenly Father is waiting to receive us even in the midst of our failure. Arnold Toynbee has summarized history by saying, “Nothing fails like success,” but Dr. Stephen Um will share with us that the gospel responds by saying, “Nothing succeeds like failure.”

Facing some tough decisions at this stage in your life? Deciding what job to take, what school to attend, what to study, whom to date or marry, or where to live can be a stressful, tiring, and sometimes paralyzing process. We’ll be looking at how the message of radical grace changes the way we approach major life decisions, and what the Bible actually says about how to (and how not to!) make wise choices for our futures. Does God “tell me” what decision to make? Can I miss out on God’s will? What if I make the “wrong” choice? How does the Holy Spirit lead us? Together with we’ll explore some of these and other related issues.

Building upon the foundational tenets that have been laid in the previous sessions, Pastor James Byun will challenge us to live a transformed life for Jesus Christ. Many think that being a Christian means observing a set of rules or regulations, but the reality is that at the heart of it all is a relationship. Even before we knew Him, God made the first move when He sent Christ, His only Son, to be a payment for our sins. It is through this underserved love that we are led to a radically transformed life. When this takes place in our souls, this reverses our focus from the inward to the outward. We will learn what it looks like when God infiltrates our lives for the sake of impacting those around us and be challenged to be a community of people who are on mission to live radically for Christ.