"As long as you live on planet earth you will experience problems!" Not a shocking revelation for anyone who has lived for more than say... thirty seconds, but it can be a discouraging one. And to make matters worse Jesus Christ said it. The Message paraphrase quotes Jesus in John 16:33: "In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties..." Great! Thanks a lot Jesus.

Hi! I'm Robert Cox, Senior Minister of the Crossings Church in Wentzville, Missouri, and I want you to know that God wants to help you with the problems you face.

Jesus was honest about the struggles of life, refusing to allow you or me to live in denial. His philosophy was simple: "Why live in denial when with my help you can deal with your struggles?" Here's the complete verse in John 16. "I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world."

I hope that you will remember that Jesus promises that you can have peace and stability regardless of the difficulty that you are facing, not by denying the struggle but by trusting Christ.

The Crossings Church warmly welcomes you this Sunday as, together, we seek to discover the abundant life that trusting Christ brings.  The Crossings Church meets in the O'Fallon Church of Christ building at 8576 Veterans Memorial Parkway, O'Fallon, MO 63366.

Robert Cox