CrossPointe Church

God is Merciful (Psalm 103)

Have you ever looked at the spectacular reality of a God who stepped out of heaven to rescue you, and found yourself yawning? It is a terrifying reality for ordinary believers: the slow, quiet drift where your theological vocabulary stays perfectly intact, but your spiritual affections have flatlined. You know the words, you know the songs, but the wonder has completely faded and the heart has stopped beating. If you are feeling the heavy weight of spiritual numbness, you are not alone. In this message, we dive into Psalm 103, where King David grabs the electrified paddles of God’s glory and slams them onto our cold souls. This is a journey through the violent, beautiful, and external shock of grace that forces the blood of affection back into a numb chest. Listen in as we discover how a God who knows we are but fragile dust meets our profound betrayal not with thunderous condemnation, but with an infinite geometry of forgiving love.

God is Near (Psalm 34)

Most of us live somewhere between two quiet fears: that God is too far above us to notice, or too small to actually help. Psalm 34 was written from a cave — David on the run, unwashed, surrounded by misfits, having just faked his own insanity to survive. And yet somehow, he writes one of the most stunning declarations of praise in all of Scripture. Stephen Bean sits with that tension and doesn't let you off easy. What does it mean that God is *near*? Not vaguely nearby, but *encamped around you* before you even call out. This one is for anyone who's wondered whether God actually shows up for people like them — especially the broken ones. Press play.

God is My Deliverer (Psalm 18)

There's a particular kind of exhaustion that comes not from one hard thing, but from a lifetime of hard things stacking up. If you've ever felt that weight, Psalm 18 was written for you. In this message, Pastor Steve McKenzie walks through the retrospective of an old, scarred David who looked back on decades of constriction and remembered what happened the moment he ran out of words and could only whisper one: help. What God did next is the kind of story that changes how you pray, and how you see yourself. This week on Psalms for Weary People.

God is My Light (Psalm 27)

You can be singing at the top of your lungs one moment — hands raised, completely convinced of God's victory — and on your knees in the dark the next, begging Him not to abandon you. That's not a spiritual failure. That's Psalm 27. And that's the human experience.
In this message from CrossPointe's summer series on the Psalms, Pastor Steve McKenzie walks through one of the most raw and layered passages in all of Scripture. You'll discover a name for God found nowhere else in the entire Old Testament — one that Jesus would later pluck and claim for Himself in John 8. You'll see why David's violent swing between confidence and despair isn't a contradiction but the most honest portrait of faith ever written. You'll find three anchors David returned to when darkness rose: remembering God's past faithfulness, seeking His presence instead of just His provision, and pressing into community instead of pulling away.
And in verse 13, hidden beneath the English translation, you'll find a broken, unfinished sentence — marked by ancient scribes as extraordinary — that reveals just how close David came to giving up. And what brought him back.
If you've ever felt the floor give way after the music stopped, this message is for you.

God is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)

Episode Summary
We've domesticated Psalm 23. We've turned it into background noise for grief and decoration for walls. But David wrote this psalm with dirt under his fingernails — as a shepherd who knew exactly what it cost to keep sheep alive.
This week, Steve McKenzie opens "The God Who Is…" — an 8-week summer series through the Psalms — by recovering what Psalm 23 actually says. It is not a poem about peaceful places. It is a gritty, oxygen-giving declaration about who God is and what that means for people who are running out of steam.
What's Covered
The Name Behind the Shepherd — YAHWEH is the most holy, most terrifying designation for God in Scripture: self-sufficient, timeless, inexhaustible. He needs nothing. He lacks nothing. And he has personally attached that name to the word shepherd — and made it yours.
Why Rest Is Impossible — and Why That Matters — Sheep cannot lie down on command. Four conditions must be met: freedom from fear, friction, flies, and famine. Every one of them is the shepherd's job.
Cast Sheep — A cast sheep has rolled onto its back and cannot get up. Legs flailing, unable to breathe, slowly dying. The shepherd finds it, flips it, massages blood back into its legs, and holds it until it can stand. This is what "restores my soul" means in Hebrew.
The Valley Is Not a Detour — The Wadi Kelt is a real ravine in the Judean wilderness — deep shadow, flash floods, predators. And it is the right path. You cannot reach the high pastures without walking through it.
A Table in Enemy Territory — Middle Eastern hospitality law: a chief who fed a fugitive at his table placed that person under full protection. God doesn't wait for your enemies to disappear. He sets a table in the middle of your crisis.
What's Really Chasing You — Radaph (Hebrew) means to chase down and overtake with violent intent — the same word used for Pharaoh's chariots. You thought something was hunting you. Look back. It's Goodness and Faithful Love.
Scripture — Psalm 23 (CSB)
The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.
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The Questions Already Answered (Romans 8:31-39)

What Can Separate Us From the Love of God? — Romans 8:31–39
You already know the answer. Nothing. But knowing it and feeling it are two very different things. This week, Stephen Bean closes out Romans 1–8 with Paul's thundering conclusion — a string of rhetorical questions that aren't really questions at all. What can be brought against you? Nothing. Who can condemn you? No one. What can separate you from the love of Christ? Not suffering, not doubt, not your worst failure, not your longest drought. Stephen unpacks why we so often struggle to believe what we say we believe — and why the security of God's love doesn't rest on how well we're doing. A fitting summit after months in the deep terrain of Romans.

Help for Hurting Christians (Romans 8:18-30)

You know the verses. You believe them. But Monday afternoon still feels heavy, and the gap between what you know and what you experience can be isolating. In this message from Romans 8:18-30, Steve McKenzie walks through one of the most hope-filled passages in all of Scripture, not as a quick fix for pain, but as an anchor for people who are tired of pretending everything is fine. If you've ever wondered whether your struggles mean your faith is failing, this is for you.

The War is Over (Romans 8:1-17)

What do you do when you're a Christian who's done everything right and still feels like it isn't enough? Steve McKenzie opens Romans 8 with a declaration meant for the weary believer: the war with God is over. Through the story of a soldier who hid in the jungle for 30 years after his war had ended, we see what it looks like to finally lay down a fight Jesus already finished — and to live as sons and daughters, not soldiers and slaves.
Listen, share with someone who needs the reminder, and join us this Sunday at CrossPointe Church | Orlando — xpointe.com.

Unbound (Roman 7:1-25)

You know the feeling: you promised yourself you'd do better, be more patient, more present, more faithful. And then you didn't. Romans 7 is Paul at his most raw, naming the civil war every honest person recognizes inside themselves. In this sermon, Steve McKenzie walks through why the struggle isn't a sign that something is wrong with you. It's actually evidence that something has gone right. If you've ever felt exhausted by trying harder, this one is for you.

Freedom in a New Master (Romans 6:15-23)

You finally land the job you've been chasing. You finally pay off the debt. You finally move out of your parents' house. And somewhere in the middle of celebrating, it hits you. The new job came with a new boss. The new place came with a stack of bills. The freedom you wanted came wearing a different uniform. So what if real freedom was never about getting rid of every master in your life? What if the question we're actually asking is which master is worth giving yourself to? In this message from Romans 6:15-23, Associate Pastor Stephen Bean walks through Paul's most uncomfortable question yet. We're all slaves to something. The wages of one master are death. The gift of the other is life. And the difference between the two might be sitting closer to the surface of your week than you think.