07 Apr All Things Crucified
Last Sunday, Pastor Will Jackson closed our Genesis series: God Will Provide, with a sermon from Genesis 25. We considered the legacy of Abraham, that of loving God and loving people, and the call to live in that legacy ourselves.
Read: Luke 16:19-31
This Sunday, Pastor Jeremy Chasteen will begin a new series called Eternity: Answering Life’s Ultimate Questions, with a sermon from Luke 16:19-31. We will see that death is the beginning of life everlasting for everyone, whether in Heaven or in Hell, and prayerfully consider the question: Are you ready? As you prepare for our corporate gathering, be encouraged by this devotional from Milton Vincent.
Reflect: “All Things Crucified”
Thankfully, the gospel teaches me that dying is not an end, but a beginning. For after Christ took up His cross and died, God raised Him from the dead (Ephesians 1:20), exalted Him to the highest heaven (Philippians 2:8-9), and drew Him into His bosom (John 1:18). These facts surrounding Christ’s resurrection stand as proof positive that God will not leave me for dead, but will raise me similarly, if I would only allow myself to die. Indeed, on the other side of each layer of dying lie experiences of a life with God that are far richer, far higher, and far more intimate than anything I would have otherwise known (Romans 6:4).
In God’s economy, death is the way to life. “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,” Jesus says, “but whoever loses His life for My sake, he shall find it (Luke 9:24).” Indeed, the more conformable I am made to the death of Christ, the more I experience freedom from sin (Romans 6:6-7) and taste the power of the resurrection of Jesus Himself (Philippians 3:8-10). The path to such power is paved with many dyings, and each stage of resurrection is achieved with each incident of dying to myself and reckoning myself dead to sin (Romans 6:11).
The more I contemplate the gospel, the more I understand that this “word of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18)” stands as a blueprint for my own life story. The death that Christ died is the death to which I also am called, and the death to which I am called is my entry point to union with Christ and life at its fullest (Romans 6:5). So, come what may, I’ll let no one take this death from me!
“All Things Crucified, Part II,” in A Gospel Primer for Christians, by Milton Vincent
Sing: Song List for Sunday
1. “All the Earth,” by Vertical Worship
2. “I Stand Amazed,” Arr. Aaron Keyes
3. “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery,” by Matt Boswell
4. “Come Ye Sinners,” by Vertical Worship