CrossWalk Community Church Napa

It’s A Wonderful Life: Relationship is Everything

Why didn't the folks of Bedford Falls come after George with torches and pitchforks once the arrest warrant was issued? Why did Luke want to draw our attention to Mary, the cave-barn, and the shepherds in the field the night Jesus was born? How was Jesus informed by his own birth narrative? What does this mean for how we live our lives as people of faith?

Suckfests

How can we say "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Merry Christmas" when we're in a season of suckiness? The movie and the Christmas story give us some hints that offer help when faced with sucky situations and suckmeisters.

It’s A Wonderful Life: Disclaimers

There are similarities between the iconic Christmas movie and the birth narratives of Jesus. And, it turns out, the similarities extend to our own lives. There is gold here. And hope.

The Natural, Unexpected Fruit of Gratitude: Politcs of Shalom

The natural response when filled with gratitude is to be gracious and giving toward others, to become more interested in others' well-being. When communities work together for the wellbeing of others, this necessarily becomes political, as shalom calls faithful communities to ensure shalom's development for everything, everyone, everywhere.

Grateful Together

Feasting together is nothing new. Our ancient Jewish ancestors have been coming together for thousands of years to remember and reset their lives. Thanksgiving affords us the opportunity to do the same.

Grateful Wee 2: Personal Praxis

This week we focus on the decisions we make that help us cultivate a life of gratitude, even regarding difficult scenes from our past that we struggle to reconcile.

Grateful Week 1: Feelin’ the Feels

Gratitude improves our experience of life and even our physical wellbeing. Yet sometimes we struggle to be grateful. This talk help us sort out our gratitude feelings and offers some insight for the journey ahead.

The Problem of Evil

The problem of evil is a significant reason many people leave the faith. The classic paradigm works for many, yet a growing number of people cannot accept a perspective that ultimately holds God responsible for the evil in the world that God could apparently thwart if desired. Open and Relational Theology offers another perspective that makes more sense. Don't throw out your faith; consider evolving your paradigm instead.

Entangled Prayer Week Seven: New Every Morning

Synopsis. The heavens declare the goodness of God. Creation itself – from the smallest organisms to the expanding universe – are generative, life-supporting, and beautiful.  Such a trajectory means that the guiding energy or force behind it is supportive, creative, faithful, reliable, consistent, generous, caring, and many other words that, taken together, simply boil down to one word: love.  The Bible says that God is loving, so much so that it goes further to say that God is love.  For those struggling to believe in a greater being, perhaps you can settle with the reverse of God is love: love is God.  In light of the beautiful creation in which we live and the love of God that is energizing, guiding, and inhabiting it all, how are we to respond to such good news?  Perhaps we should entrust our allegiance and our passion to following in the footsteps of Jesus who invited us to consider that such a giving of ourselves to what he was teaching would in fact save our lives.  And perhaps not just our lives, but the lives of many others and the planet we call home.

Entangled Prayer Week Six: Healing the World

This teaching features the perspective of three Process theologians: Marjorie Suchocki, Bruce Epperly, and Monica Coleman. Suchocki begins with an overview of prayer from a Process lens, followed by related thoughts from Epperly and Coleman. The latter two then address the question of praying for healing, specifically, offering their own "how to" approach.