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.

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

Give us this day our...

Many of you, whether you have any sort of religious background or not could finish the phrase, “Give us this day our ___________ .” I figure most would insert the words “daily bread.” Some of us have prayed using those exact words time and time again. What’s exciting is that God desires to involve Himself in our daily affairs!

This weekend, we will continue in our series, Our Father. We’ll be discovering more and more of just how GREAT God is...as we look at the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread...” Invite someone else to come with you or meet you at The Crossing. It has been awesome to invite people to this series because The Lord’s Prayer is known to so many people. This WILL be a great weekend on a particularly relevant topic on how and when God provides. Don’t miss it!!!

Last weekend was HUGE! We had a guest speaker by video, Craig Groeshel of Lifechurch. The many comments were incredibly positive. Thanks! The talk Craig gave was from last year’s Global Leadership Summit. I want to invite you to attend this year’s Global Leadership Summit. It will take place Thursday, August 5th and Friday, August 6th on the campus of The Crossing. The quality and caliber of this year's speaker lineup is top notch; including Tony Dungy, Zhao Xiao, Jim Collins,Jack Welch, and many more. This is the kind of thing you’d pay hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to attend in the marketplace.

However, for all who attend The Crossing, our rate is ONLY $75 for two full days of learning, growth and personal development. In fact, the first 125 people who sign up will receive a $10 gift card for Café Rio as well as a free book titled, One Month to Live. Last weekend over 50 people signed up on the spot! You can sign up online with this link and by using the password TEAM2010S. You will not be disappointed in attending the Global Leadership Summit.

I hope you had a great 4th of July! Thanks for being a part of The Crossing,


Tim Celek
Lead Pastor
The Crossing