Stay ConnectedThis is the official podcast of the CROSS Conference, where you can hear all talks, panels, and breakout sessions. See more at www.crosscon.com.
CROSS exists for the glory of Jesus Christ, to magnify his name by calling students, through a biennial conference and resources, to go to the unreached peoples of the world where Jesus is not worshipped as God and Savior.
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Tilly Dillehay and Jeremy Pierre engage in conversation about self-control and modern struggles with discipline. Survey data reveals alarming statistics: 83% of students struggle with self-discipline, 50% of males struggle with pornography, 55% of females struggle with body image issues, and the vast majority cite social media as a constant hindrance.
Self-control is not about deprivation but about refusing lesser pleasures to experience immeasurable eternal joy in God; it's a pathway to greater freedom and deeper satisfaction. The culture's inversion of this truth is one of Satan's most effective deceptions.
Say no to lesser digital and bodily pleasures so you can say yes to the incomparable joy of knowing God and living for His purposes.
Topics: Self-control, Discipline, Temptation, Social media, Sexual purity
David Platt illustrates God's global purpose through a story of a couple who met at CrossCon two years prior, married within a year, and returned with their newborn to seek God's direction for their lives. He establishes that each person is created by God to enjoy intimate relationship with Him while spreading His glory among all peoples.
Every believer is created for dual purposes—intimate knowledge of God and participation in spreading His glory globally. Understanding the world's spiritual landscape through categories of gospel accessibility reveals the scope of God's redemptive plan. Consider how God might use your life to spread His glory among unreached peoples and communities around the world.
Topics: Global missions, God's glory, Gospel spread, Unreached peoples, Worship
Trip Lee anchors biblical prayer in the finished work of Christ, emphasizing that access to God comes through Jesus' name alone. He introduces the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) as the most famous sermon in history that inverts worldly values and reveals kingdom citizenship.
The Sermon on the Mount fundamentally reorients believers' understanding of what kingdom living looks like, and Matthew 7:7 promises that God's generous response to prayer is available to all who approach Him through Christ. Kingdom citizens live by upside-down values where asking boldly receives answers.
Embrace the inverted values of Christ's kingdom and ask God boldly for what you need, knowing He generously responds to those who seek Him.
Scripture: Matthew 7:7
Topics: Prayer, Kingdom of God, Christ's sufficiency, Generosity, Sermon on the Mount
Alistair Begg explores God's willingness to answer prayer and provide abundantly through Matthew 7:7-11 and Ephesians 3:14-21. Drawing from the promise that asking yields giving and seeking yields finding, Begg emphasizes that God's generosity far exceeds even good earthly parents' gifts to their children. God's extravagant generosity flows from His nature as a perfect Father who delights to give to His children far beyond their requests or expectations. The invitation to ask, seek, and knock is not a suggestion but an encouragement rooted in God's character and abundance. Approach God confidently in prayer, asking boldly for His provision and presence, trusting His generosity exceeds your greatest hopes. Scripture: Matthew 7:7-11; Ephesians 3:14-21 Topics: Prayer, God's generosity, Faith, Provision, God's abundance
Carl Trueman lectures on the church's role in addressing contemporary identity confusion. The church provides biblical identity rooted in God's truth as an antidote to the cultural chaos surrounding personal identity in modern society.
Ground your identity in the church's historic, biblical understanding of personhood rather than cultural narratives.
Topics: Church, Identity, Culture, Truth, Community
Shai Linne celebrates the union and joy found in the Trinity and the believer's participation in it. Drawing from Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-26, Linne explores Christ's desire that believers experience the same oneness with God and one another that exists within the Godhead, and that they behold His glory and experience the Father's eternal love for the Son.
Jesus prays that believers may see His glory and experience the Father's love that has existed since before the foundation of the world, creating the possibility of participating in the eternal joy of the Trinity itself. The love, unity, and delight of the Godhead becomes the model and promise for all believers. Cultivate your awareness of the eternal joy and love within the Trinity that you are invited to share and delight in.
Scripture: John 17:20-26 Topics: Trinity, Unity, God's glory, Eternal love, Joy in God
John Piper examines God's sovereignty in tragedy through the lens of a 2001 incident where a Peruvian Air Force plane shot down a missionary aircraft, killing Veronica Bowers and her 7-month-old daughter Charity. Piper confronts the difficult theological question of how to affirm God's meticulous providence when innocent lives are lost in service to Christ. True hope in God's providence means trusting His sovereignty even when we cannot explain why He permits tragedy, and recognizing that many who follow Christ internationally will face suffering. The call of missions is beautiful but comes with a real and sometimes devastating cost. Examine your theology of God's providence—can you trust Him when His plan permits loss and suffering? Topics: God's providence, Suffering, Missions, Tragedy, Faith in hardship Scripture: James 4; Ephesians 1:11
Ajay Thomas preaches on the power of the gospel moving from head to heart. Through Ephesians 2:1-10, he shows how believers can move from knowing about salvation to truly feeling its transformative power. The gospel's victory is not just a mental assertion but a heart transformation that occurs when God's grace becomes personally real to us. Believers should examine whether they have truly allowed the gospel's victory to penetrate their hearts, not just their minds. Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 Topics: Gospel, Heart transformation, Grace, Salvation, Faith
Afshin Ziafat opens CROSS CON26 by pressing the gospel into the center—its news so precious that Jesus says it is worth losing your life for, and so powerful that Satan works tirelessly to keep us blind to it.
From 1 Thessalonians 1, Ephesians 2, and Romans 3, Afshin shows that we are dead and destined for wrath apart from Christ—but that "But God," in mercy, made a way for God to be just and the justifier through Jesus' finished work.
The call is simple and weighty: repent, believe, and turn from idols to serve the living God—no matter the cost.
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1; Ephesians 2; Romans 3 Topics: Gospel, justification, repentance, assurance, Christian joy
Matt Bennett offers practical advice for those aspiring to serve in missions. He emphasizes the need for humility by submitting your aspirations to church elders, seeking mentorship, and serving locally. Rather than rushing into the field unprepared, he encourages aspiring missionaries to pursue discernment through the local church, develop a strong theological foundation, and gain strategic ministry experience.
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