He is Risen, Indeed

Tommy Boland
1 Apr 2014
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risen

(Comment below on what Christ being risen means for you) This month, all over the world, Christians will celebrate Easter and the undeniable fact that the tomb was empty; that Jesus Christ was raised from death to life. Our Lord Jesus Christ, after having spent three days in the tomb, was raised from the grip of death to the glory of life and is sitting at the right hand of God the Father. We know that the tomb was emptied by the power of our Most High God. Christ has risen! “Then the angel spoke to the women. ‘Don’t be […]

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Rise Above the Rubble

Tommy Boland
3 Mar 2014
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(How does God make you rise above rubble? Please comment below.) Life is marked by painful providences. We face trials and tribulations throughout our lives, from the moment we are born until the moment we die. As my momma was fond of saying, “Jesus never promised you a rose garden on this side of the grave.” No, in fact He promised just the opposite:“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). As a pastor I have the […]

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Love Needs No Legislation!

Tommy Boland
4 Feb 2014
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legislation

(Scroll down to leave a comment on why love needs no legislation) Back in August I had the privilege of marrying Mark and Kaitlin, the young couple who head up our Young Adults ministry at Cross Community Church. Starting with pre-engagement coaching, we spent a considerable amount of time over the past year talking together about the stuff of marriage. I remember discussing the all-too-common prenuptials that many bring into their marriages today, even Christian marriages. A prenuptial is defined as: “A contract entered into prior to marriage which commonly includes provisions for the division of property and spousal support […]

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Happy New You!

Tommy Boland
12 Jan 2014
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(Scroll down to leave a comment on the new you) Before we launch out on yet another New Year, it is important to take some time to reflect on the past year. Have you taken the time to consider all of the many blessings God has given to you, both temporal and spiritual, over the past 365 days? To be sure, each year has both its ups and downs, highs and lows, but through it all, we know that our God is good and all things are ultimately working together for our good. “And we know that in all things […]

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Christmas Has its Promises to Keep

Tommy Boland
4 Dec 2013
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christmas

We are entering our second Christmas season as a church plant family and I have to tell you, there is nothing like it in the world. As much as we looked forward to Christmas before planting The Cross in Deerfield Beach, it is nothing like looking forward to it now as a growing church family. We start gearing up for it in November and focus the whole month of December on the one named Immanuel, God with us. And this year it will build to a Christmas Eve where we will be having three candlelight services. God’s Christmas Promises It […]

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Appreciation through Desperation

Tommy Boland
8 Nov 2013
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As we enter into the Thanksgiving season, have you taken any time to examine your heart to see just how much you appreciate what God in Christ has done for you? We can be so busy working to get through the day that we can overlook and neglect to acknowledge what God has done, and is doing for us daily. As a pastor I have discovered, in coaching individuals from all walks of life over the years, that the degree of our appreciation will always reflect the degree of our previous desperation! Here is a wonderful example of this biblical […]

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Storms and Your Savior

Tommy Boland
5 Oct 2013
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storms

The experience of life tells us if we are not currently dealing with storms, we will be in the near future. Storms are simply part of living. Some are like summer showers that disrupt a day at the beach. Others, however, are like tsunamis that devastate our lives. Regardless of the storm, we can find great comfort in knowing our Savior is in the middle of it with us. We have a Savior who can sympathize with us because he suffered the greatest storm the world has ever seen while he was nailed to a cross atop the hill Golgotha. […]

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A Promise of Life That Delivered Death

Tommy Boland
8 Sep 2013
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Oh, how the cunning serpent slithered his way into the hearts of Adam and Eve! He made a promise of life, to “be like God,” but he could not deliver on his promise (See Genesis 3:2-8). The life the devil promised lead only to death . . . it always has and it always will. Adam and Eve were made in the image of God; they were his image-bearers. But evidently they were not satisfied with being made in the image of God; they wanted to be God. They traded the worship of the Creator for the worship of the […]

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Forecasting Faith

Tommy Boland
6 Aug 2013
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We all understand the concept of weather forecasting, which is a prediction meteorologists make about what the weather will be on the basis of correlated atmospheric observations. They study and analyze all available pertinent data and make an educated guess about what is most likely to occur. This month, I would like to share a word of encouragement—not about weather forecasting, but rather “faith forecasting” and two different types of faith. Fair weather faith This faith is strong when the sky is blue, the clouds are fleecy, and the sun is brightly shining. Under these balmy conditions, there is barely […]

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Graven Images

Tommy Boland
6 Jun 2013
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“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:4-5a). When we read the second commandment in the year 2013, we may have a tendency to think this word was for a primitive people who made graven images of wood, stone and gold. But if we think this is the limit of idolatry, we will miss our portion in it! Graven Images […]

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