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The Crossing
Discovering a God Who is With Us! | Behind the Curtain Part 1
What does it take to have a genuine and real relationship with your creator? The Bible addresses this head-on. You CAN know God. You can live in his presence and with his power.
Locations & Times
The Crossing - Keokuk
610 Timea St, Keokuk, IA 52632, USA
Thursday 6:25 PM
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 10:45 AM
About The Crossing
The Crossing is a multi-campus, non-denominational Christian church with locations in Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa. We exist to minister in local communities, following our core values to bring people to an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Visit www.thecrossing.net to learn more about our church.
To make the most of your experience, we encourage you to follow along with the provided sermon notes, as well as take your own notes. You can also download the OneCrossing app to watch past sermons and stay connected. www.thecrossing.net/app
To make the most of your experience, we encourage you to follow along with the provided sermon notes, as well as take your own notes. You can also download the OneCrossing app to watch past sermons and stay connected. www.thecrossing.net/app
This series looks behind the curtain to see what is happening backstage. In the Bible, this means imagining a giant curtain between the two parts of the Bible: Old and New Testament. The Old Testament is the back stage, it is behind the curtain and the New Testament is the stage, what is in front of the curtain. Behind the Curtain will look at how God reveals and promises things backstage that make their way into our lives and are fulfilled today.
This sermon looks behind the curtain in the book of Daniel, a Jewish man taken captive by the Babylonians and forced into service along with many other of his fellow Israelites, including Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
The Babylonian king set up a gold statue, 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, and summoned all of the leaders in the kingdom to bow before it, however Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow.
We may be tempted to believe that this occurrence doesn’t happen in our culture, until we examine the events and circumstances in our lives and around the world.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew history and that they were in a foreign land because their people had turned away from God and to man made idols.
We can be tempted to do the same, looking for salvation in the news, the government, or the culture. We are looking for a truth, a cause, a platform, but all of them are man made. Our Truth is that God is real, Jesus is alive and the Bible is true.
These men take a stand for God, claim that he is able, but surrender to obey him even if he doesn’t deliver. They have “even if” faith and too often we have “only if” faith - our commitment to God is only as good as him accomplishing our will.
Three men went into the fire, but four walked in the fire. There in the midst of their great trial, their even if moment, they had divine company.
These men who refused to bow, who refused to reduce their faith to only if and live out a but if not commitment, brought a king and country to their knees in worship.
Jesus enters the fire of life to dwell in it with us, to experience the trials, the pain, the temptation.
Jesus knows our struggles and our shortcomings. He knows the temptation to bow, to turn inward, to suffer and hurt.
Whatever pain or disappointment we have experienced in our lives, Jesus says “I know.”
He doesn’t just say I know, he says “even if.” Even if we reject or abandon him, run after petty causes or chase after sin, He will still love us.
That truth is what God desires to come out from behind the curtain to take center stage in our lives. This promise to never leave or forsake us. To go through everything with us and love us “even if.” That is his offer and that is our mission.
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