Hey! Thanks for dropping by my blog. I had planned on posting one more time before this weekend but a quick and last minute trip to Ohio to visit with our daughter and grandson took precedence and me out of the loop. So I’m playing a little bit of catch up and this is one of those places. I have to forego the post I was going to do and post this one instead.
The old hymn used the refrain, “So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross/’Til my trophies at last I’ll lay down.” The question which begs to be asked is, “How can someone cherish the cross? What we know of it and the horrors and torture which surrounded it says anything but “cherish.” It was an ugly instrument of death.
The past two weeks I have been looking at the cross and will do the same this week. This Sunday is commonly called Palm Sunday because it showcases the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem surrounded by followers laying palm branches on the ground. It introduces what is called Holy Week, so-called because it is the last week of Jesus’ earthly life/ministry before His crucifixion and resurrection. Some have called this week and crucifixion as being the week where we get to see a perfect example of cosmic child abuse. Progressive “Christianity” is whacked and the purveyors of it are complicit in its and their “whackness.”
The cross was absolutely essential to the story of salvation. Take away the cross and you take away the heart of the whole story. The Bible tells us this is the way it had to be! JESUS DIED WILLINGLY, laying down His life on His own accord. He wasn’t forced or tricked or blackmailed or threatened with the extinction of His people. He did all of this willingly. In fact, Hebrews 12 says, “For the joy set before Him.”
My purpose this Sunday is to show the heart of the cross. I want to show how Jesus defied common wisdom and practice and instead of whining and crying and fighting, He willingly laid down His life for me, for you.” I even have a great story which Charles Dickens included in The Tale of Two Cities which I will be using in the sermon. (If you are unable to watch or attend and are good, I will include it in a post this coming week). 🙂
Please join me in person or online on the church’s FB page or YouTube channel. You can check out the church’s website for those links. And as always, if you are unable to do either, please pray for me, for us. Thanks.
I will definitely be on board this week, Bill. Prayers for you!
Thank you Martha.