Jesus of Nazareth: Atonement

Good morning!  Today, we will have a time of communion where we take the bread and the cup and remember our Lord Jesus.  But, before we do, we are going to continue in our current series, Sound Doctrine.   We have a very fitting subject for today as we continue to talk about Jesus our Savior.  We are going to talk about the Atonement.  It is through the Atonement that we are reconciled to God, so it is a pretty cool thing and a very big deal and one of the main things to reflect on when we take communion.  We don’t have so much time today, so let’s pray and jump right in to the topic.

Lord Jesus, we thank You that you came and lived a sinless life, that You sacrificed Yourself and allowed Yourself to be killed on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.  Please help us right now to reflect on the amazing work that You accomplished to make things right between us and God.  Teach us we pray.  Amen.

Let’s start at the top.  What is atonement?

Jesus of Nazareth: Incarnation

Jesus said in the book of Revelation, “Behold! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” –Revelation 3:20

Today, we have reached the last Sunday before Christmas.  I feel like in a lot of ways Christmas comes rushing upon me each year.  I know this familiar visitor.  I know it comes but once a year, and I know it comes the same time.  And yet, I don’t think I’m ever quite ready in one way or another. 

So, this last Sunday comes sort of like that verse from Revelation, “Behold!  Christmas stands on the door and knocks.”  Are you ready to open the door and let Christmas in?

Part of the struggle is trying to figure out what is Christmas anyway?  Christmas is supposed to be the celebration of Jesus’ birth.  In our culture, it has become just a teensy weensy bit about some other stuff than Jesus.

Jesus of Nazareth: The Object of Foreshadowing

Welcome! When I was a kid, my Mom would often take me to the library. I would check out as many books as they would let me and read like crazy. Mostly I picked fiction. Most of the books were forgettable, nothing special, although I would also read some of the classics. Once, though, when I was around age 10, I checked out The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, the first of seven books about an alternate world called Narnia where a mysterious but good talking lion named Aslan ruled. I had read many other fantasy works, but with Narnia I was enraptured. I soon checked out and read the rest of the series, all 7 books, and they became my very favorite works of fiction. I would check them out of the library again and again and read them about once a year. I think the only other books I read more than twice were the Lord of the Rings books by Tolkien, which I read maybe three times. I kept rereading Narnia yearly through high school, and even in college, on summer and other breaks, I would read some of them again. During this time my own religious beliefs moved from Judaism (in which I had been raised) to full-blown atheism, but during all this time, my love of Narnia never waned.

Years later, in Graduate School, after reading through most of the Bible I became convinced that the Bible was true, and after an internal struggle, finally put my faith in Christ. Some months after this, something (I don’t remember what) made me think about the Narnia books again. And then it suddenly hit me – these books weren’t really, ultimately about a lion; the lion was written to be a picture of Christ. Upon making this realization, I was amazed. How could I have missed it? It was all so obvious now. I read them again and was shocked to see how they were filled with veiled references to Biblical truth on page after page after page. I was actually embarrassed that I hadn’t made the connection earlier, and I only told a few people about my discovery.

I tell this story because the Old Testament is like Narnia in a lot of ways – it too tells the story of Christ, but you need to know where to look. Unlike Narnia, which is fiction and also symbolic of Christ, the Bible is literal history but also symbolic of Christ. C.S. Lewis and others have said that the Bible is “true myth.” I would say it is true foreshadowing. But where do we look?

Jesus: The Focus of Prophecy

 

Welcome! Today we continue our series on Sound Doctrine, continuing our “mini series” on Jesus. Our drama had the surprise character “Holy,” that is, the Holy Spirit, who helped Riley to begin to live a life of grace and peace and, yes, joy, as she allowed Him to lead her life. Galatians 5:16 tells us to walk by the Spirit, and we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. A little later in Galatians 5 we are told of the fruit, or results, of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. A life yielded to God, a life seeking Him, wanting to know Him and follow Him, will be a life that demonstrates this fruit in increasing measure over time. I think of 2 Peter 1:3-4 –

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. – 2 Peter 1:3-4

Do you believe this? I have heard one of the longest serving pastors in our association of churches, Herschel Martindale, speak on this passage multiple times, so much so that I can no longer read verse 3 without hearing his voice saying the words! He would ask you, do you really believe this? His divine power has given us everything we need (not a few things only but everything) for a godly life (not just an average life, or even a better-than-average life, but a godly life) through what? Knowing Him. He has called you by name. He knows you, and you are precious to Him. He has called you by His own glory (that’s a lot of glory!) and His own goodness. A life truly yielded to God, truly seeking to know God, a life led by “Holy,” is a life that over time you yourself will know is a life displaying the miraculous power of God. This power of complete transformation is available to you, to every believer.