We want to hear your story! Tell us your testimony in 1000 characters or less. We'll post it here for others to read.
Click here to submit your story
Please note that all stories must be approved before being posted. We reserve the right to remove inappropriate content.
Here are a few stories we have received:
Angelina says:
I have always known about Jesus Christ from a very young age, however, I never really had a relationship with him. After two failed marriages, many failed businesses, losing my home, losing custody of my youngest child (by choice and financially instability), enormous heartbreak/suffering, and just relying on my own strength, I became consumed by fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. I was having difficulty with gaining control over my life and dealing with life situations. I felt like I was in a very dark place and was extremely broken (unworthy). In September of 2006 I started attending The Crossing with my long-term boyfriend. On February 11, 2007, we both were baptized. Shortly thereafter I became actively involved with a woman’s group, serving at the church, and went to my first woman’s retreat. I now have a relationship with my SAVIOR, and his grace has been sufficient enough for me for the last four consecutive years. I am currently in Court fighting for equal custody of my son. I have had stable income and a home in this time frame. I no longer live in fear, and I am making choices that revolve around his will for me. I am no longer broken and know my worth, as well as know that I have a place prepared for me in his Kingdom…yet there is still much work for the Lord to do in me, but I am his and trust in his plan for me. He has saved me from myself and I will follow him for the rest of my days, JOYFULLY…AND NEVER CEASING TO PRAY.
Elaina says:
Jesus is amazing! I was addicted to drugs for 5 years. Hardcore drugs like Meth and Coke. One night I was watching a pastor on TV and I was crying out to God. I was specifically asking for “Fear of the Lord” because my life was a mess. The pastor at that moment said “There is a girl in California who has been on drugs for 5 years and God wants you to know you’ve been set free, and your mother has been praying for you”. My body got hot, and I started crying uncontrollably- instead of FEAR, God gave me DELIVERANCE! I love Him so much. That was 2 years ago! I just got back from my first missions trip (to Peru). And I fall more and more in love with Jesus every day. My life is a true example of Romans 8:28.
Teri says:
In May of 2000, I came to CA for my birthday visit with my two sons and grandchildren. I told them that in October I wa moving to CA and starting a new life. I was ending a 10 year unsuccessful relationship and left a 14 year career at an insurance agency in Pittsford, NY. They scoffed at me.."it will never happen Mom". On my return flight in May, I was on an overbooked flight with a layover in Chicago. Unbelieveable, but I was on an aisle seat with a window seat occupied by a beautiful redhead woman in her 30's. We talked, I shared that I really wanted to change my life and she could sense my unhappiness. At the end of my story, she asked "do you want to change your life forever". Are you kidding? I was so unhappy with myself I said of course. She then said "are you willing to accept Jesus as your Savior?". I was a fallen away Catholic, 2 divorces under my belt and a life that was unsatisfying yet seemed glamorous by my peers. I told her that I have always believed in Jesus but I wasn't sure that He cared about me. Nontheless, I accepted Jesus right then and there and hoped for a miracle. The devil presented himself immediately. I kid you not, in the form of a man in the seat in front who had heard our conversation and said he knew about my son. I can't go into the story of my son here, but suffice to say, the devil won that night.
Now I am back in NY and so ashamed. A girlfriend called to ask me to attend her new church, Christian based and very small. The pastor explained how Jesus died for our sins and how we were forgiven. I sat there stunned and went to the pastor after service and said "me too??, do your mean I have been forgiven"?. He hugged me and said , "of course".
3 weeks later, before I left for CA, my girlfriend and I were baptized in a large bathtub on the stage of this small church. I remember coming up and crying saying "Mom, I AM going to see you again". The journey has not been easy but I have found a replacement for the carnal love that I sought to the peaceful, unconditional love that I have found by being redeemed by the Savior. I have been attending The Crossing for 9 years and everyday I learn and I grow. Praise God!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Party Crashers
It was all the rage! Everyone was talking about it; CNN, MSNBC, FOX, CSPAN, the Nightly News, as well as, Newsweek, Time and U.S. News & World Report. A White House Staffer eventually ended up losing their job over it. Do you remember it? November 2009...
A husband and wife “CRASHED” a party at the White House!
Seems that somehow they were able, in an unstoppable fashion, to mischievously and sneakily make their way past the Secret Service and the security clearance mechanisms to end up shaking hands with and even pausing for glam photographs with the President of the United States of America. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was a scripted plot from a TV reality show or lifted right from the big screen of a Hollywood production.
What was so intriguing was, how could it have happened? They went unnoticed, at least at the time! They dined with the elite. Their brazen party crashing plans were pulled off without a hitch. Wow! We’ve heard of wedding crashers, but presidential party crashing, that just doesn’t happen!
Here’s the deal...get to The Crossing this weekend. It’s a must!
See in Luke 7:36 and the following verses, there was this party. Only the “A” listers were invited...a Prophet and high level Pharisees...as far as I know CNN, Fox News, MSNBC were not there, possibly the Jerusalem News Channel. When all of a sudden something odd, no something revolting, happened...an UNSTOPPABLE & probable prostitute crashed the party, but unlike the presidential party crashers, she didn’t go unnoticed.
Yet like the presidential party crashers, this woman would NOT BE STOPPED! You’ve got to hear the rest of the story, it’s better than anything you could watch on the Nightly News or read in any blog or major news publication. I look forward to seeing you this weekend at The Crossing as we kick off a new series, Unstoppable!!!
Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing
A husband and wife “CRASHED” a party at the White House!
Seems that somehow they were able, in an unstoppable fashion, to mischievously and sneakily make their way past the Secret Service and the security clearance mechanisms to end up shaking hands with and even pausing for glam photographs with the President of the United States of America. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was a scripted plot from a TV reality show or lifted right from the big screen of a Hollywood production.
What was so intriguing was, how could it have happened? They went unnoticed, at least at the time! They dined with the elite. Their brazen party crashing plans were pulled off without a hitch. Wow! We’ve heard of wedding crashers, but presidential party crashing, that just doesn’t happen!
Here’s the deal...get to The Crossing this weekend. It’s a must!
See in Luke 7:36 and the following verses, there was this party. Only the “A” listers were invited...a Prophet and high level Pharisees...as far as I know CNN, Fox News, MSNBC were not there, possibly the Jerusalem News Channel. When all of a sudden something odd, no something revolting, happened...an UNSTOPPABLE & probable prostitute crashed the party, but unlike the presidential party crashers, she didn’t go unnoticed.
Yet like the presidential party crashers, this woman would NOT BE STOPPED! You’ve got to hear the rest of the story, it’s better than anything you could watch on the Nightly News or read in any blog or major news publication. I look forward to seeing you this weekend at The Crossing as we kick off a new series, Unstoppable!!!
Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Everyone Has A Story...
We want to hear your story! Tell us your testimony in 1000 characters or less. We'll post it here for others to read.
Click here to submit your story
Please note that all stories must be approved before being posted. We reserve the right to remove inappropriate content.
Click here to submit your story
Please note that all stories must be approved before being posted. We reserve the right to remove inappropriate content.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
What tempts you?
The online dictionary defines “tempt” as, “to entice to do wrong by the promise of pleasure or gain” or “to allure, invite or attract.” Right about now I’m wondering what is it that allures, invites or attracts you? I’m pretty sure most know their Top Ten!
Listen up, temptation is not wrong! We confuse temptation and wrong-doing. We’re ALL tempted by something. Jesus knew we would be. He even taught us that part of the communication process with Him should be sharing those areas where we’re tempted. He said, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
The times are too numerous to count when I’ve begun my day with a solid time of prayer...praise-filled, probing, confessional, reflective prayer. On those days when I’ve paused long enough and been disciplined enough to mentally go through the moments of my upcoming day, it’s as if the Spirit of God reveals to me some of the potential trigger points or destructive landmines.
Often while in prayer, there’s a clarity of the places and settings, coupled with the moods and emotions of when and where I’m prone to fall for temptation. Getting that stuff out in the open with God, over prayer, helps!
I wish I could say I bat a thousand in the realm of not falling for temptation, but I can’t. However, Jesus knows me and He knows my heart. He knew I’d need to make this “temptation” stuff a part of the discussion process with Him.
So, if you’ve ever been tempted, allured, attracted, THIS WEEKEND is for you (it’s also for me). Don’t miss out! In fact, invite someone else to come with you. We’ll be looking at Jesus’ words, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
See you this weekend,
Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing
P.S. Hurry and sign up for the Global Leadership Summit on August 5th & 6th, this is the LAST week. More people than ever from The Crossing are attending!!! There are 9 more spaces at our special $75 rate, then the price goes up to $105. The password to get our discounted rate is TEAM2010S.
Listen up, temptation is not wrong! We confuse temptation and wrong-doing. We’re ALL tempted by something. Jesus knew we would be. He even taught us that part of the communication process with Him should be sharing those areas where we’re tempted. He said, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
The times are too numerous to count when I’ve begun my day with a solid time of prayer...praise-filled, probing, confessional, reflective prayer. On those days when I’ve paused long enough and been disciplined enough to mentally go through the moments of my upcoming day, it’s as if the Spirit of God reveals to me some of the potential trigger points or destructive landmines.
Often while in prayer, there’s a clarity of the places and settings, coupled with the moods and emotions of when and where I’m prone to fall for temptation. Getting that stuff out in the open with God, over prayer, helps!
I wish I could say I bat a thousand in the realm of not falling for temptation, but I can’t. However, Jesus knows me and He knows my heart. He knew I’d need to make this “temptation” stuff a part of the discussion process with Him.
So, if you’ve ever been tempted, allured, attracted, THIS WEEKEND is for you (it’s also for me). Don’t miss out! In fact, invite someone else to come with you. We’ll be looking at Jesus’ words, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
See you this weekend,
Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing
P.S. Hurry and sign up for the Global Leadership Summit on August 5th & 6th, this is the LAST week. More people than ever from The Crossing are attending!!! There are 9 more spaces at our special $75 rate, then the price goes up to $105. The password to get our discounted rate is TEAM2010S.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Traffic, OC Fair, Sunshine & Freedom
This weekend promises to be a can’t miss weekend at The Crossing, but I wanted to make sure you’re prepared for the traffic. This is shaping up to be the first real “beach” weekend of the summer (the sun has finally come out) AND this is the first weekend of the Orange County Fair. So, the 55 freeway just might be backed up to Fair Drive :-).
Hey, I know everyone is different, but I like a clean house, clean carpet, clean counters, clean floors, clean car, clean motorcycle, a clean desk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not obsessive about it. All those things I listed, they’re not always spotless, but I do like things clean. I’ve even been called Mr. Clean. I think it’s more a result of my shaved head though, at least I hope so.
There’s something freeing about seeing something that was chaotic, messy, dirty, or garbage-filled and then, as the result of some effort or energy applied, it gets rearranged, renewed, or refreshed all because someone took the time to clean.
Often, as a result of the stupid things we do, lies we tell, sin we commit, or impurity we allow, our lives get messy. Yet we do our best to cover it up so we think no one sees it. I mean, it’s not like a sink full of dirty dishes or a carpet much in need of vacuuming or a garbage can that is overflowing. Those items are pretty easily seen. But when it comes to life, we do our very best not to let anyone see our mess.
But that’s NO WAY to live; GUILT piles up, SHAME is strewn everywhere, it’s time to clean house. So I’m telling you, don’t miss this weekend!
Together, we’re going to do a little personal house cleaning. I will be continuing the series, Our Father, looking at the phrase, “forgive us our trespasses...” So get here this weekend ready to let God do some rearranging!
See you this weekend,
Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing
Hey, I know everyone is different, but I like a clean house, clean carpet, clean counters, clean floors, clean car, clean motorcycle, a clean desk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not obsessive about it. All those things I listed, they’re not always spotless, but I do like things clean. I’ve even been called Mr. Clean. I think it’s more a result of my shaved head though, at least I hope so.
There’s something freeing about seeing something that was chaotic, messy, dirty, or garbage-filled and then, as the result of some effort or energy applied, it gets rearranged, renewed, or refreshed all because someone took the time to clean.
Often, as a result of the stupid things we do, lies we tell, sin we commit, or impurity we allow, our lives get messy. Yet we do our best to cover it up so we think no one sees it. I mean, it’s not like a sink full of dirty dishes or a carpet much in need of vacuuming or a garbage can that is overflowing. Those items are pretty easily seen. But when it comes to life, we do our very best not to let anyone see our mess.
But that’s NO WAY to live; GUILT piles up, SHAME is strewn everywhere, it’s time to clean house. So I’m telling you, don’t miss this weekend!
Together, we’re going to do a little personal house cleaning. I will be continuing the series, Our Father, looking at the phrase, “forgive us our trespasses...” So get here this weekend ready to let God do some rearranging!
See you this weekend,
Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing
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