This blog post is my sermon notes from a message preached by Brian Onken at Southside Fellowship on October 25, 2009. I post them here because I believe the message of the Cross is the most important message that any person could ever hear. All other blog posts come in a distant second to the message of the Cross of Christ. No counseling makes any sense outside of a right understanding of the Cross.
God is acting decisively at the Cross to work his purposes and his plans to bring all people from all nations, at all times to himself. Apart from the Cross there is no way to understand or enjoy life the way God intends. -Brian Onken (a paraphrase quote)
Prayerfully Engaging God at the Foot of the Cross
Dear Father, help me to not be like the soldiers that day who were playing at the foot of the Cross. Help me to not be like the passersby who were too busy to understand the Cross. Help me to not be like the priests who thought they understood the Cross and, thereby, missed the point of the Cross. Help me to not be like the prisoners who died beside The Cross, one of whom totally missed the point of his own death as well as the death of the Savior.
Understanding the Happenings at the Cross Through the Lens of John 3:16
❑ “Save yourself, and come down from the cross!“ He can’t because God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…
❑ ”He saved others; he cannot save himself.“ Of course he can’t because His Father so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…
❑ ”My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?“ I am forsaking you in this moment because I so love the world that I’m giving you, my one and only Son…
❑ ”Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.“ Elijah will not come because God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…
❑ ”And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.“ It had to be this way because God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…
❑ ”The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.“ Can’t you see how much the Father so loved the world by the giving of his one and only Son…
Practically Applying the Cross to My Life
❑ If no one fully understood what was going on that day, could it be that I also don’t fully understand the cross?
❑ The realities of the Cross have not fully impacted me the way they should. What do I need to do?
❑ What I see at the Cross and the people around the Cross, will help me understand the Cross. Which person or people group around the Cross best represents me? How do I need to change?
Practical Cross-Centered Prayer Requests
❑ Dear Father, help me to be defined by the Cross; may I be centered in your Son’s work on the Cross in fresh ways.
❑ Dear Father, help me to understand the Cross; that I may experience the realities of the Gospel in practical ways.
❑ Dear Father, remind me of the Cross today. Teach me how to preach your Gospel to myself each day.
Click the Links Below for Related Articles
- Mommy, Can I Take My Sister’s Punishment
- Excellent Cross-Centered Worship Music
- Convinced by Love
- Cross Gazing, Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3
- Exposed by the Cross
- If I Told You I Didn’t Sin, How Would You Feel?
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Thanks, Rick, for the summary and expansion of several things from yesterday’s message.
Raydell