Monthly Archives: December 2018

Why We Christmas Differently

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

Since our first Christmas together in 2011 we have not met over the Christmas holiday, some years we took three weeks off and some years we took two weeks off, depending on the calendar. Typically, our last gathering of the year has been our evening Christmas party and then we’ve seen each other again the first Sunday of the year. I am not opposed to meeting through the Christmas holidays, it has just worked out that way because most of us usually were off doing other things like visiting family. However there is one little hang-up I have that has prevented me from getting excited about scheduling any type of Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service commemorating the first Advent of our … Continue reading →

Top 5 Posts in 2018

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

Here are the top 5 searched and viewed posts in 2018 from our www.crosshopechapel.org website. That means that people searched the internet for a specific topic or question and our website post came up on that search so with our #1 post there were close to 1000 people and the other posts were all around 100 people. I would never have guessed that my “CSB, ESV, and Translations” post would head the list but apparently a lot of people were wondering about the translations, too.   #1. CSB, ESV, and Translations https://www.crosshopechapel.org/csb-or-esv/ #2. Calvary Chapel Split https://www.crosshopechapel.org/calvary-chapel-split/ #3. Vote Biblically https://www.crosshopechapel.org/vote-biblically/ #4. Sanctified by Truth https://www.crosshopechapel.org/sanctified-by-truth/ #5. Rapture: A Sequence of Events  https://www.crosshopechapel.org/rapture-sequence-events/   … Continue reading →

Fear at Christmas

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

Christmas time is nearly always portrayed in the media as a happy, positive, encouraging season but that is simply not always the case. The good news is that our God knows that. When the sun sets tonight and it’s Christmas Eve, some will be filled with emptiness, loneliness, and grief. Christmas Eve is often the accumulation of weeks of fearful anticipation of just that. It’s time to see what it is to experience Christmas without a loved one because death has stolen their love from you, or the justice system has distanced them behind bars, or it could be as simple as the miles between you and yours leave you feeling abandoned. That’s the sad news. It’s the news of … Continue reading →

After Thoughts

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

Last Saturday evening’s CrossHope Chapel’s Christmas Party was such a blessing! I have to admit that my knee was starting to really ache and just before everyone arrived I was beginning to feel like I would rather curl up in the corner with a pain pill and a nap. Of course, I am glad I didn’t and I am glad we were able to gather and enjoy fellowship together. It still amazes me that we can all hang out together and still have things to share and speaking for myself, still like being around each other. The years since we first started meeting on January 6, 2011 have caused some changes in our lives, but we are still here providing … Continue reading →

2018 in Scripture

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

I wanted to share a thought with you about where we have been in 2018, as a church in the Scriptures. We have been in 3 John, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians. We have systematically and intentionally journeyed through 3 books of the Bible, a total of 30 chapters, and 2 writers…which is not a whole lot in the big scheme of 66 books in the Bible, a total of 1189 chapters, and 40 writers. So why do I share this possibly not so high achiever news? Because now I want you to reflect on how many topics and questions we were still all able to address and speak too without doing it the other way around. As in 52 … Continue reading →

Top 10 Classic, Rock, Country, Reggae, Ska Songs In My Christmas Playlist

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

If you are looking to change up your usual Christmas songs, here are 10 of my favorites that are part of my 50+ songs Spotify Christmas playlist… Father Christmas by The Kinks Christmas by The Who Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley Merry Christmas From The Family by Robert Earl Keen Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer by Reel Big Fish Lickle Drummond Bwoy by Reel Big Fish Must Be Santa by Bob Dylan All I Want For Christmas by Ini Kamoze This Time of Year by The Mighty Bosstones     … Continue reading →

My Top 25 Spotify Songs in 2018

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

While the majority of my radio listening time is talk radio I periodically listen to my Spotify playlists, especially when I am down by the beach because of reception issues. This isn’t all I have in my playlists but the app says this it is the top 25 most listened to songs from my personal Spotify, counting down…   25. Shot of Love by Bob Dylan 24. Morning Is Coming by Sting, Shaggy 23. Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes by Jimmy Buffett 22. Paisano’s Wylin’ by Andy Mineo, Marty from Social CLub 21. Everything’s Gonna be Alright by David Lee Murphy, Kenny Chesney 20. Street Corner by The Skataltes 19. Island Song by Zac Brown Band 18. Jokerman by … Continue reading →

Why Not to Start a House Church

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

Don’t start a house church because you want to be in charge. That’s not a good reason. Worse yet, you can not sustain a house church if you just want to be the boss. My personal opinion is that it is perhaps the one really bad reason to want to start a house church. I happen to think that starting a house church because you disagree with your current church or minister are not actually bad reasons to start a house church. That shouldn’t be the only reason, but it is not actually a bad reason. Wanting to start a house church because you prefer to wear shorts or don’t like driving so far or hate being badgered about working … Continue reading →

Dumping the Dove

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

CrossHope Chapel is making two changes in 2019. We are adding “Bible Church” to our full name and we are discontinuing the use of the Calvary Chapel dove logo. First, let’s deal with our name… We will still be CrossHope Chapel, but our longer name will be CrossHope Chapel Bible Church and we will begin using “Bible Church” as a descriptive tagline on our website and certain outreach material. Churches that use the Bible Church moniker are ones that seek to intentionally communicate that they doctrinally uphold the Bible as God’s authoritative and infallible word. A Bible Church is non-denominational, based on the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and teaches the Scriptures chapter-by-chapter verse-by-verse. The Bible Church had its origin in years … Continue reading →

Dear Step-Siblings

Pastor Steve Durkac Posted on by avatar

We share the same mom, at birth anyway, but her influence was just as intentional upon my life as with yours. You experienced her influence through the awesome privilege of knowing her, loving her, holding her, building a bond with her, while I have only had gratitude for her. That gratitude is all I carried with me for 54 years before that transformed into information, people, and families. For myself, like all children given up for adoption, there is a real biological and emotional impact that psychologists have identified and often explained as “a sense of missing something” by adult adoptees. It has to do with a 9-month gestation period when a pre-born child actually bonds to its mother’s voice, … Continue reading →