April 9, 2017
In the gospel of Luke, the seventh and last word of Jesus on the cross was a prayer that expressed His total dependence in the Father to bring Him home. God hears and answers the prayers of those who will express their total dependence in Him.
April 2, 2017
Do you ever feel defeated? Have you ever felt as if you were a failure at everything? School, work, marriage, parenting…? Do you ever feel defeated by sin? Like certain sins continue to beset you? Jesus took what looked like complete failure and turned it into total triumph!
In the Gospel of John, Jesus let out a triumphant cry from the cross that He had finished the work of salvation. This salvation is a finished work, yet we still have to respond to it. How can we respond to Christ’s finished work of salvation? The text gives three ways to respond to Christ’s finished work of salvation.
March 26, 2017
What are you thirsty for? What desire goes unsatisfied, so that you thirst for it always? Have you tried to quench your thirst with material things? You spend money you do not have to purchase things that will not satisfy. Yet, the thirst remains, so you keep spending. You thirst for love and relationship, so you give your body away, and settle for lust rather than waiting for covenantal love. So your thirst remains. We thirst for significance, for meaning, for happiness, yet the more we have, the more we drink from every worldly fountain, the more we thirst!
In the gospel of John, Jesus cried out from the cross “I thirst,” so that the deepest thirst of humanity might be fully satisfied. We can have our deepest thirst fully satisfied in Christ. How does the cross of Christ fully satisfy our deepest thirst? The text gives three ways that Christ fully satisfies our deepest thirst.
March 19, 2017
Have you ever cried out to God like Jesus did? Have you ever felt forsaken and alone? Have you ever felt distant from God? Have you cried, “God, where are you?” We all feel lonely at times. We all want acceptance. We want to be accepted and approved. But instead, we often feel rejected and alone.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus cried out in despair to God as He experienced the extravagant exchange that it cost Him for our reconciliation. We can understand the cost of this extravagant exchange. Why did Christ cry out in despair when He paid for this extravagant exchange? The text offers three reasons for why Christ cried out in despair when paying for this extravagant exchange.
March 5, 2017
Who is in need of salvation, of a rescue? I know I do, how about you? “Then what must I do to be saved, How can I be sure I have salvation, What happens to us when we die?”
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus responded with a promise of salvation to the criminal hanging on the cross next to Him, who had called on Jesus to remember him. In Christ’s response to the criminal on the cross, He revealed the promised salvation He has for us. How can we respond to Christ’s promised word of salvation? The text gives three insights on responding to Christ’s promised salvation.
February 26, 2017
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
In the gospel of Luke, we have the record of Christ’s first word on the cross and it was a word of forgiveness. It was a prayer to His Father, that He would forgive those who were crucifying Him. In this prayer, Jesus revealed the boundless forgiveness He has for us.