Sunday Sermon Starter 12-19-11

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The Christmas season is, among many things, a time for gift-giving. Its an opportunity to put serious thought behind some token of affection and give a gift that you hope will add some joy to the life of someone you love. Billions of dollars worth of clothes, electronics, printed materials, toys, and even dust-collectors will be exchanged in the next week but even combined they pale in comparison to the gift that was given by God. The scope of redemption is far beyond anything we can possibly imagine but when we look to the cross, which made redemption possible, the true love displayed by this gift is eternally life altering.

Title: Seen in the Cross

Text: Hebrews 10:7-13

Main Point: In the last 48 hours of Jesus’ life the Jewish leaders planned to kill Him, Judas betrayed Him, Peter denied Him – then there was the trial, the scourging, the crown of thorns, His bearing of the cross, and ultimately the crucifixion. What could cause, even the God-man, to suffer in such extraordinary ways? Seeing as the cross is the drawing power of Christianity (John 12:32) we should seek to examine what is seen in that cross.

Discussion Points:
1. The Motivation of Christ’s Sacrifice – Love was the motivation behind the cross. Additionally Hebrews 10:7-9a indicates that the sacrifice of Jesus stood as an affirmation of God’s united and undying desire to sanctify and unify mankind looking toward eternity. God’s will for man exists because of His love. John 3:14-17 affirms God’s love and will as being coexistent and complementary. Man cannot rely on his own insufficiencies for salvation, but Christ fully fills the need we have. That is why Jesus came – to do the loving will of God.

2. The Mission of Christ’s Sacrifice – Just before giving up the ghost, Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished!” His suffering was finished, but even more importantly, His mission in coming to earth was accomplished. What was the fullness of that mission? Hebrews 10:9b-10 – (1) to bring man under a new covenant, not sealed by the blood of animals but by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 9:15), and (2) to sanctify man once and for all through the shed blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11). Thus on both accounts, we know that everything about Jesus’ mission was humanity minded – it was done for us!

3. The Magnitude of Christ’s Sacrifice – To fully undertand the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice, we have to know something about the Old Testament system of sacrifices. Leviticus 16:29-34 – there were very stringent and periodic demands made in the Old Testament for the purpose of atonement. With Jesus’ sacrifice that all changed. Hebrews 10:11-13 – no longer would man have to depend on the imperfect and blemished blood of animals because now he would have access to the perfect and pure blood of the sinless Lamb of God. And now, mission accomplished, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father until such time as He will “appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28).

What a marvelous gift of pure and perfect love was displayed on that old rugged cross. It is the motivation, mission, and magnitude of Jesus sacrifice that should motivate us to become mission-minded in making an impact of high magnitude in this world. That is all seen in the cross and what greater gift could we have been given?

-Andy Brewer

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