Hope Presbyterian Church: Columbus, OH

The Cross

When you read the Bible you get the sense that God clearly wants his people to understand not just that the cross saves, but how the cross saves. Not in a way that removes mystery. But in a way that is true and that would fuel our worship and mission. So it’s good to explore the cross: God invites us. And that is reason enough to spend the next three months on it. But we are also excited for reasons that are unique to our time and place. 1/ Our cross is too small: We tend to reduce the cross to one or two biblical truths. Neglecting so many others! But as we will see, each saving benefit of the cross needs the others to avoid imbalance. And whether we realize it yet or not, we need them too. 2/ Our cross is too confusing: Maybe we are tired of all the church debates, so we have thrown our hands in the air. Maybe we have harbored concerns about the cross. Most of us, if we are honest, are confused about the cross of Jesus. 3/ Our cross is too irrelevant: Many of us wonder what Christianity offers that other religions or ways of living cannot provide. We may wonder if the cross of Jesus has anything to say to the issues of our day. Well, join us this Summer as we trust God to bring clarity about the cross to our confusion; relevance of the cross to our daily lives; and increased awe as we discover there is more to the cross then we first realized.