Author Archives: Steve Durkac

A Brief Reflection on Christmas

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The Christmas season is an opportunity for us to reflect on the first advent of our Savior, even though we may not buy into it as a religious celebration. Since leaving Catholicism I have lost a sense of obligation to celebrate Christmas with religious significance or requirement. There is no biblical command to celebrate the Savior’s birth, no certainty in the timing of the event, and Christmas has certainly become a cultural celebration. However, I … Continue reading →

What About Natural Disasters?

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The recent deadly tornado strike in Kentucky and neighboring states has caused many of us to question how we should understand natural disasters. Here, I want to share with you some thoughts and biblical principles to help us all do just that. First, let me begin by pointing out that natural disasters remind us that sin has marred creation, not just humanity. We see this in Romans 8:19-22 where Paul states that “the whole creation … Continue reading →

End of Life Spiritual Strength

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One of the saddest things for me to witness is a person who is nearing the end of their days without any spiritual strength to draw from. It’s something I’ve seen many times in my pastoral and hospital chaplaincy ministry. An individual is facing death but having no spiritual strength in them their emotional stress is compounded with spiritual distress. There is a common anxiety among all men in facing death because it causes the … Continue reading →

Revelation 4-5 — Study Highlights

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Sunday at CrossHope Chapel we opened to Revelation 4 and 5 and talked about John’s vision of the throne room in Heaven. Chapters 4 and 5 are a transition of sorts from the seven letters to the seven churches and to the seven seals. When we are back together on Sunday, January 16, 2022 we will get into the 6th chapter of Revelation and see that the seven seals will lead us to the prophecies … Continue reading →

Revelation 3 — Study Highlights

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Sunday at CrossHope Chapel we opened to Revelation 3 and talked about the three churches mentioned in the chapter. Jesus dictated to John letters for these seven churches and in this chapter we have the letters for the last three: Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The letters have application to each of the local churches of John’s time, an application to the church universal today, and an application as seven consecutive eras of church history from … Continue reading →

Revelation 2 — Study Highlights

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Yesterday at CrossHope Chapel we opened to Revelation 2 and talked about the four churches mentioned in the chapter. Jesus dictated to John letters for these seven churches and in this chapter we have the letters for the first four: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, and Thyartira. The letters have application to each of the local churches of John’s time, an application to the church universal today, and an application as seven consecutive eras of church history … Continue reading →

Revelation 1 — Study Highlights

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Yesterday at CrossHope Chapel we opened to Revelation 1 as we began our journey through this new study series and I want to share with you some of the highlights from our study and discussion… Revelation 1:1 — It is important to note that this is the revelation of Jesus Christ, not the Anti-Christ. Some translations say “the revelation from Jesus Christ” because the word used means both “from” and “of” but the meaning is … Continue reading →

Post Resurrection Appearances of Jesus

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Yesterday at CrossHope Chapel we completed our study through the book of Matthew when we opened to its final chapter. In Matthew 28 we dealt with the resurrection of Jesus and the Great Commission. One of the things that caught our attention was Matthew’s account of how the soldiers were bribed by the priests to lie and report that the disciples stole Jesus’ body out of the tomb while they were sleeping. In particular, we … Continue reading →

Pandemic, Western Church, & Simpler Community

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I want to continue some thoughts from my last post and email sent to CrossHope Chapel titled “Pastor Appreciation & Keeping Community.” It had occurred to me that some good may come out of  the COVID-19 pandemic for the western church. My thought has been that a remnant within today’s western church may be nudged back to a more biblical practice of gathering for fellowship through smaller, simpler community approaches. So here, I want to … Continue reading →

Pastor Appreciation & Keeping Community

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I want to mention my deep gratitude for the Pastor Appreciation gift you all gave to Steph and myself on Sunday, October 10, 2021. Your kindness and love is greatly appreciated and we dearly love you all in our Lord Jesus Christ. This year has posed some challenges to our small group, mainly to our gatherings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has been encouraging to me that there has remained a … Continue reading →

Closing Scenes in Matthew

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This coming Sunday, October 17th, at CrossHope Chapel we will open to the 27th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew and continue through the closing scenes of Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. We will cover Matthew 27:1-44 this coming Sunday, and on the following Sunday, October 24, we’ll look at the remainder of Matthew 27 into Matthew 28 as we study the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Finally, we will conclude our study of … Continue reading →

59 and Thinking

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Yesterday I turned 59 years old and I wasn’t feeling good about it. I took my 50th birthday hard, because I realized that 50 years of my life just filtered through my hands like grains of sand at the beach. Turning 59 was not as bad for me as when I turned 50, but I am wondering about my next birthday. I’m already thinking about my next birthday when I turn 60. I’m expecting that … Continue reading →

Matthew 25 and Being Ready

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Last Sunday at CrossHope Chapel we opened to the 25th chapter of Matthew and read two parables and an explanation of the separating of the saved from the unsaved at Jesus’ return. This chapter was a continuation of the same discourse found in Matthew 24 where Jesus was warning His disciples to be watch for the signs of the end and be ready for His return. In Matthew 25 Jesus uses two parables to show … Continue reading →

Signs of the End

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This past Sunday we opened to Matthew 24 and had a good discussion on the signs of the end as given by Jesus to His disciples. We saw that Jesus gave this discourse with the purpose stated in Matthew 24:42-44 that we would all “Therefore keep watch…So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (NIV). Jesus wants us to watch for … Continue reading →