CrossWay Church Sermon Podcast

Psalm 44: When Faithfulness Doesn’t Fix It (7-19-26)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 15:16:23 +0000

What do you do when you follow the pattern, do everything right, and the results don't match the promise? Whether it’s a marriage built by the book, a child raised in the faith, or a career handled with absolute integrity—we have all stood in the driveway staring at a broken outcome, asking the agonizing question: Why is this happening? In this expository sermon, we walk through the raw, corporate lament of Psalm 44. Israel ran the audit on their lives, proved their covenant faithfulness, and yet still faced defeat and public shame. This text reveals that our relationship with God is never a transaction of "obedience in, blessing out." Instead, true faith anchors itself to the unchanging character of God's love even when our circumstances flatly contradict His promises. By tying Israel's ancient cry directly to the Apostle Paul’s declaration in Romans 8, we see how Jesus Christ became the ultimate innocent sufferer—despised, sold, and slaughtered for our sake. Because of His resurrection, we discover that while our difficult circumstances may not immediately change, our separation question has been settled permanently.

Psalm 42–43: Faith in the Fog (7-12-26)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 12 Jul 2026 12:59:01 +0000

Have you ever felt spiritually lost — like God went silent and every reference point vanished? The things that used to connect you to God don't seem to work anymore, and the one voice that could orient you seems quiet. What do you do when the fog rolls in?

Most of us do one of two things: we pull away from God, or we pretend everything's fine. Psalm 42–43 shows us a third way. In this message, Pastor Brad walks through one of the most honest songs in the Bible — a psalm written by a believer in deep spiritual darkness — and finds a pattern for suffering well: faith in the fog doesn't pull away and doesn't pretend. It pours out its pain, and it preaches hope to its soul.

Along the way we'll discover why lament is an act of faith (not a failure of it), how to preach hope to your own downcast soul, and how God ultimately answered this psalm's prayer — by sending his Son into the fog for us.

If you're walking through a season of spiritual dryness, doubt, depression, or unanswered prayer, this message is for you.

Matthew 5:43–48: Loved as Enemies (7-5-2026)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:45:34 +0000

"Love your enemies" might be the hardest command Jesus ever gave — and the most misunderstood. In this message from our series through the Sermon on the Mount, we look at Matthew 5:43–48 and discover that "hate your enemy" was never in the Bible; it was a cultural loophole Jesus came to close. We explore what enemy-love actually is (an action, not a feeling), why prayer is the first practical step, how God's indiscriminate kindness shapes ours, and why loving only the people who love us back proves nothing. Most of all, we see the gospel at the center: while we were still God's enemies, Christ died for us (Romans 5:10). We were the ones holding the axe — and He answered with forgiveness. Join us as we walk verse by verse through the Gospel of Matthew.

Titus 2:11-14: Jesus: Fully Man, Fully God (6-28-26)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 15:55:16 +0000

Vance Hays fills in for Pastor Brad. He reminds us what the divinity of Christ and humanity of Christ are both vitally important for Christ's mediation for our sins.

Matthew 5:38-42: Practicing Kingdom Jujitsu (6-21-26)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 15:09:46 +0000

When someone wrongs you, every instinct says hit back. Get even. Win. But in Matthew 5:38–42, Jesus calls his followers to something radically different — not passive victimhood, but what author James Bryan Smith calls Kingdom Jujitsu. Instead of matching force with force, Jesus teaches us to take the energy of an attack and flip it into something the other person never expected. In this sermon from CrossWay Church, Pastor Brad works through four situations Jesus identifies where we will face injustice — insults, lawsuits, forced demands, and requests for help — and shows how the gospel transforms the way we respond to each one. But here is the twist: we don't do this on willpower alone. We do it because Jesus pulled the ultimate Kingdom Jujitsu on the cross — taking betrayal, injustice, and death and flipping them into resurrection, forgiveness, and new life. And his Spirit now lives in us, slowly and faithfully making us into people who look more like him.

Josh Al Joani Luke 23:1-25 (6-14-26)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 15:49:06 +0000

Guest Pastor Josh Al Joani joins us this week and shares his personal testimony.

Matthew 5:33-37: Take Me At My Word (6-7-25)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 10:30:24 +0000

A psychologist at the University of Massachusetts ran a study where strangers had a simple ten-minute conversation. The average person said something that wasn't completely true three times — and most of them didn't even realize they were doing it. We have become so practiced at managing how others see us that bending the truth comes almost naturally. That's exactly the world Jesus is speaking into in Matthew 5:33–37. In this message from the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Brad walks through Jesus's teaching on oaths and integrity — from the Old Testament command to honor vows made to God, to the elaborate loophole system the Pharisees had developed to avoid being held to their words, to Jesus's radical call: just let your yes mean yes and your no mean no. But this isn't just a sermon about keeping promises. It's about the deeper reason we don't — and why no amount of trying harder will fix it. Topics covered:

Why the Pharisees' oath system was just a grown-up version of crossed fingers
The two root causes of dishonesty: fear and desire for personal gain
Why integrity is a gospel issue, not just a character issue
How Jesus's death paid the price for every fudged yes and self-protective no

Matthew 5:27-32: It Started Long Before the Affair (5-31-26)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 31 May 2026 14:32:49 +0000

Jesus doesn't wait for the affair to happen. He goes further back — to the glance, the thought, the habit of the heart. In Matthew 5:27–32, Jesus redefines adultery not just as an action but as an orientation of the soul — and He calls us to a radical honesty about what we're really looking for in other people. In this sermon, Pastor Brad walks through three uncomfortable but freeing truths: lust begins in the heart long before any physical act; it requires urgent, practical attention — not willpower alone; and the covenant of marriage is something Jesus takes seriously enough to defend. But this isn't just a sermon about what we've done wrong. It's about a Savior who has never broken covenant with us — even when we've broken it with Him. Topics covered:

What Jesus actually means by "looking lustfully"
The difference between attraction and objectification
Practical steps to address lust before it takes root
What Jesus said about divorce — and what He didn't say
How the gospel speaks to those carrying guilt from the past

Matthew 5:21-26: Dealing With The Roots of Murder (5-24-26)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 24 May 2026 13:05:14 +0000

What does Jesus really mean when he says "Do not murder"? In this sermon from Matthew 5:21–26, Pastor Brad digs beneath the surface of one of the most familiar commandments in Scripture — and what he finds is both convicting and hopeful. Jesus isn't just raising the bar on behavior. He's exposing the roots: the anger we've learned to manage, the contempt we've dressed up as discernment, the grudge we've carried so long it feels normal. And then he shows us the remedy — and it's more urgent and more practical than we might expect. In this message you'll discover:

Why anger and contempt are on the same road as murder
The difference between righteous anger and wounded ego
Why broken relationships interrupt worship
The crucial difference between forgiveness and reconciliation
Why delay is the enemy of reconciliation
How the gospel gives us the only motivation powerful enough to move us toward peace

Whether you're carrying a broken relationship, an unresolved conflict, or a grudge you've never named out loud — this message is for you. If you want to learn more about forgiveness, check out our series Forgiveness: Letting Go of the Hurts We Carry 📖 Scripture: Matthew 5:21–26 | Ephesians 4:31–32 | Romans 5:6–8 | Romans 12:18

Matthew 5:17-20: Fulfilled (5-17-26)

podcast@crosswaychurchwa.com (CrossWay Church Battle Ground WA) — Sun, 17 May 2026 11:05:23 +0000

Did Jesus come to throw out the Old Testament? Some people think so. But in Matthew 5:17–20, Jesus sets the record straight — and what he says might surprise you. In this sermon from our series on the Sermon on the Mount, Pastor Brad explores one of the most misunderstood passages in all of Scripture. Jesus didn't come to tear down God's law. He came to fulfill it. And the righteousness he requires goes far deeper than anything we can manufacture on our own. In this message we cover:

What Jesus meant when he said he came to "fulfill" the Law and the Prophets
Why the Old Testament still matters for Christians today
The difference between judicial, ceremonial, and moral law — and which one still binds us
Why the Pharisees' righteousness wasn't enough — and why ours isn't either
The gospel hope of Matthew 5: Jesus meets the standard we never could

Whether you're new to faith or have been following Jesus for years, this message will deepen your understanding of the Bible, the gospel, and what it means to live as God's people. 📖 Scripture: Matthew 5:17–20 (NIV) 📍 Part of our ongoing series on the Sermon on the Mount