As I get ready to preach Sunday after a week long of study, preparation and prayer on The Glory of the Cross, I wanted to ask you men of the Word, who have been in the ministry longer than I have, for some last minute input and insight on this glorious subject. So please send a sentence or two, or if you feel so led, an epistle or a good quote--who knows I might just quote you and you will sound like a great theologian of old. The body won't know the difference between R.C Sproul and Earl Thompson.
I am excited to preach on this subject since the Cross is what the Lord has been dealing wiht me about for over a year. More specificially, that everything in our Christian life eventually goes and should go back to the Cross or rather should point to the cross. This was the message of the apostle Paul's life---"but we preach Christ crucified." (I Cor 1:23) "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (i Cor 2:2). May God's grace be upon each of you.
Send in your input.
Calixto
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4 comments:
Calixto,
I am humbled that you would think of me when looking for a source for a quote etc., in preparing to preach about the cross! And my commenting about the eternal significance of the cross is, in my opinion, so insignificant to your study, all I can do is tell you of the philosophy I have used over the last 35 yrs. of pastoring.
It is paramount to stress the fact that as someone has stated, "All ground before the cross is level groud." That simply means that, as far as God is concerned He is really not interested in our earned college or university degrees; He is not impressed with our nationalities, or from "what side of the tracks we hail." In fact, God is really not even impressed that we are even on the level ground before the cross to begin with, because we are all sinners before Him. I think so many who come to the cross are simply guilty of looking at the cross and miss seeing the suffering Savior who hung there. After all, it's a whole lot easier to hang a cross around our necks, (with Christ on it or off it, really doesn't matter) than to live the Christian life before a lost and dying world. That takes guts, and it must be prefaced with biblical converstion; otherwise to "live it" will only end up being another show with no meaning.
Hope you can at least communicate the thought.
Earl
Praise God that there are men out there still who preach truth... not just the happy, comfortable truth... but the humbling truths from God's Word. Preach it, Calixto! God bless you as you prepare and then deliver this message. What a neat priviledge we have in this family to dip into such a wealth of wisdom among the uncles... all four! Plus the cousins... wow!
Calixto,
I have not responded before this because like Uncle Earl said, You have spent the time studying and I have not had time to answer this immense topic with an inteligent thoughtful answer. The cross is such an incredible subject. We could and do preach the cross week by week and will never run short of things to say. (Of course most think we preachers can make a sermon out of anything anyway) One quote that has stuck with me is from Dietrich Bonhoefer in The Cost of Discipleship. "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die" Jesus went to the cross for the Joy set before him. What an amazing thing that Jesus would look beyond the cross and see the joy in forgiving my sin. Of course it is also in the cross that He is exalted. An instrument of shame became the instument of glory. Peter speaks of this in his first sermon at Pentecost. And now I must come to the cross with absolutely nothing to offer. And yet he calls me to the cross to lay my burdens down and pick up the cross and walk in His ways. I am praying for you as you bring God's word in God's power to God's people.
Tom
Calixto's message on the cross was very powerful, very well done. He did a great job!Christopher said "it was the best he has done in years!"
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