Crossroads International Church of the Hague

14/09/2026

𝗪𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱

𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟮:𝟰𝟮
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴’ 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨...

Throughout the book of Acts we find this recurring theme. The apostles, who walked with Jesus, saw 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 as one of their main responsibilities. To that end, they retold the story and stories of Jesus to an eager audience who then put what they were learning into practice.

This is so important. A consistent diet of balanced, biblical teaching is essential to a growing faith and a deepening relationship with God. We need to be 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 to flourish. Trees need wind as much as water to thrive. The water nourishes, but the wind gives the tree something to push against, it’s what deepens their roots and causes their trunks to grow strong.

This was underlined for me in the fall of 1991, when a group of scientists from the University of Arizona were sealed into an airtight, three-acre mini-world called 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝟮, a $150-million futuristic facility in the desert of Arizona, to conduct a daring, high-profile study of sustainability and the new science of biospherics. It was right out of a science fiction movie, and unlike anything previously attempted on such a scale. The goal was to spend two years studying how a mini-biosphere — complete with wilderness areas, a farm and a group of humans— would work with as few outside inputs as possible.

Placed in this controlled environment, without wind, the trees in the biosphere grew more rapidly than in the wild only to, ultimately, collapse under their own weight. They grew tall, but without wind, the trunks weren’t strong enough to support the growth. Now, it doesn’t thrill me to compare teaching and preaching to wind, since some people see it as so much hot air anyway, but you get the idea!

Planted in a nutrient-rich environment, in a growing community, many followers of Jesus grow rapidly, but if the Scriptures are not central, if Bible teaching is not at the foundation of that church, if the environment is Bible-lite, or if the culture emphasizes demonstration over proclamation, works over word, doing over teaching, the people in that church might grow tall but, with nothing to challenge them, they will eventually collapse under their own weight. God means for us to grow strong and tall! Is regular Bible teaching a regular part of your life?

09/09/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘆

C.S. Lewis, in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, confronts this idea that at death we lose everything, that we’re like mists or ghosts floating through the air. That’s certainly not the Jewish mindset that wrote the Old and New Testaments. In the next life, you don’t lose, you gain! The New Creation is more permanent, more substantial than anything we experience on earth. Your life in the future will be like a solid house compared to the flimsy tent you live in now. So in Lewis’ book, when the "Ghosts" from Grey Town arrive on the outskirts of Heaven on a day-trip bus, they discover that Heaven is not a misty, vague realm of floating clouds, but hyper-real. The grass is so hard and sharp that it hurts the Ghosts' phantom feet to walk on it. A single raindrop can knock a Ghost down. But the "Solid People" (the redeemed) walk on the ground effortlessly. Heaven requires souls to become heavier, stronger, and more "real" so they can endure and enjoy the infinite weight of divine glory.

01/09/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲

When the guards came to take theologian and pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, to the gallows at the end of World War II, he turned to a friend and said,

“𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.” ~ 𝗗𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝗵𝗼𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿

How, then, are we to think about this transition? What can we expect as we leave our earthly bodies? I know it’s a lot to think about, but early Christians often referred to those who had passed as being 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱. There’s an obvious similarity between a body at rest and that of one who has stepped across the threshold from this world to the next, and the similarity didn’t end there for the early church. As 𝗗𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗱 wrote,

“Consciousness continues while we are asleep, and likewise when we ‘sleep in Jesus’ (1 Thessalonians 4:14; Acts 7:60). The difference is simply a matter of what we are conscious of. In fact, at ‘physical’ death we become conscious and enjoy a richness of experience we have never known before.” ~ Dallas Willard

Before death we’re conscious of this world, the limited universe. After death, all those limitations are removed and we see the wider universe, the bigger picture. Before death, we know in part, after death, we see the whole. Death is not to lose consciousness or become unconscious. Consciousness continues. The only thing about you that passes away is your physical body, what one person referred to as your 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵. It helps you get along down here, just as it did for Jesus. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, even after your body can no longer serve you. It’s simply time for a new arrangement.

01/09/2026

𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝟵𝟬:𝟯-𝟲
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴.” 4 𝘈 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺, 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 5 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 — 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨: 6 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘯𝘦𝘸, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.

The Bible frequently uses the image of cut flowers or grass to describe the brevity of our lives here on earth. We’re like the new grass of morning that withers and fades, here today and gone tomorrow. Life is fleeting. I don’t want to depress you, but the process of dying begins the moment we’re born. There’s no way around it. Aging is the process of dying. You can try to delay the effects of the advancing years through exercise, skin creams, plastic surgery, diets and so-called miracle drugs, but death awaits us all. Thankfully, for the follower of Jesus, that is NOT the end of the story. This message explores what awaits us on the other side of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱.

Thresholds | The Final Threshold | Mark Warner - Crossroads International Church of The Hague

31/08/2026

𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝘆!

I love the writings of Dallas Willard on death, heaven and eternal life. Rooted in Scripture, they are a comfort to me. Here's a short paraphrase from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 (p. 393-4).

When a Christian dies, our spirits separate from our bodies and we are immediately in the presence of the Lord. When we pass through this 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱, normally called death, we won't lose anything but the limitations and powers that specifically correspond to our present life in the body. We’ll no longer be able to act or be acted upon in the physical realm, but we should be familiar with that. Loss of those abilities begins to occur, in most cases, long before death. It’s a normal part of aging. The body, as our intermediary between us and the physical world, loses its function as we age, while the soul is preparing for a new arrangement, a new house. 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀! But as we cross over this threshold, we do not lose our sense of who we are and our knowledge of and relationships to other people remain intact.

𝗟𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝟮𝟯:𝟰𝟯
Today you and I will be together in paradise.

𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝟭:𝟮𝟭
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

31/08/2026

https://crossroadsthehague.churchcenter.com/episodes/732324

Thresholds | Jonah 3 | Szaszi Bene

19/08/2026

𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀

The fact is, after you’ve failed, it’s quite possible that the people you love and care about the most may not give you a second chance. That’s entirely possible given the situation. You may have so abused their trust, so tarnished your reputation, so deeply wounded them that they can't find it in their hearts to forgive you, at least not immediately. But with God, it’s different. God throws open the door to second chances every single time!

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.” God's word can come to you a second time. The hope of every believer is that the Lord doesn't slam the door on you. You can be recommissioned, reassigned. Your failure doesn’t define you, it doesn’t sideline you forever, it doesn’t disqualify you from service. And, in Jonah’s case, the call didn’t change. The word of the Lord that came to Jonah a second time was the same word he got the first time.

It’s amazing that simple obedience means so much to God. We feel like if we’ve obeyed on 999 points out of 1000 that we’re okay, we’ve done the job right. But the Lord keeps circling back to the one point of disobedience, the one place where we’re running from him. As Helmut Thieleke wrote,

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱. ~ 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗺𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗸𝗲

We open the windows, the backdoor, the front door, and the Lord keeps knocking on the one door we’ve bolted shut. He brings Jonah back to that one point of disobedience. In my experience, God will always circle back to the moment we turned away from him, the one point of failure we feel most guilty about, the door that’s shut, bolted, barred and chained. Is there such a door in your life? Is there a moment of failure that regularly causes you pain? Does anyone need a second chance?

18/08/2026

𝗢𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁 (Short)

17/08/2026

𝗚𝗼𝗱'𝘀 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

I know this isn’t a popular idea, but God will sometimes intervene in our lives through circumstances, even putting us in difficult situations, designed to increase our dependence upon him. You may see it as discipline. You may choose to believe God is vindictive or unkind to allow these things to happen to you. But nothing could be further from the truth. 𝗛𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 he won’t let you run from him forever. He won’t let you go your own way unchallenged. He won’t let you thumb your nose at him without trying to win you back. He won’t just go away and stay away. He loves you and God is not idle. He won’t stand idly by and let you sabotage your life and family. He won’t let you live life apart from him, without reference to him, unchallenged. He made you for himself! 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱! God loves you enough to confront you. He loves you enough to arrange the circumstances of your life, allowing you to feel the consequences of your sins. He loves you enough to let you experience pain if that’s what it takes to rescue you from yourself. And I, for one, am grateful, grateful for the constancy of his love, grateful that he relentlessly pursues me, grateful for his kind interventions.