The Purpose of the Cross

Returning to the Cross Sermon Series

“The Purpose of the Cross”

KEY PASSAGE: 1 Peter 2:21–25 (NASB)

Thank you, Worship Team and Church, for a wonderful time of praise and worship. We give You all the glory, praise, and honor. Father God, we thank You for this church. May the Holy Spirit empower this church to help us fulfill Your kingdom and let Your will be done in the lives of Your people.  I pray, Lord, that You will draw us close to the feet of the Cross. We pray this in Christ’s holy and righteous name and let everyone say Amen.  You may be seated.

Kenny Hughes’ Death Announcement

I am sure most of you are aware of the passing away of Kenny Hughes, our Church Music Director. Kenny passed away on Tuesday in Cleveland at the age of 73. Kenny was a wonderful man who loved God, and he did such an excellent job with the worship team here at the church.  The family has asked the church to hold a Memorial Service on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. here at the church. I want to invite everyone to the memorial service to honor the life that Kenny lived. 

THE LORD’S SUPPER – COMMUNION SERVICE  

The Lord’s Supper: Is A Celebration of God‘s Gift  [And every first Sunday we serve you Communion]

Our church recognizes two ordinances established by Jesus Christ for His people to observe: baptism and the Lord’s Supper, also known as the Communion. And we take Communion every first Sunday here at this church. Jesus Christ took the cup and the bread, and He transformed them into a meaningful spiritual experience for us believers. And the value of this experience depends on the hearts of those who partake of the Lord’s Supper.

First, we should look back. The broken bread reminds us of Christ’s Body, and the cup reminds us of His shed blood.  Second, we should look ahead. We observe the Lord's Supper “till He comes. The return of Jesus Christ is the blessed hope of the church and the individual Christian. Jesus died for us, He arose on the third day, and He ascended to heaven; one day, He will return to take us to be with Him in heaven. Third, we should look within. To come to the Lord’s Supper with unconfessed sin in our lives is to be guilty of Christ’s body and blood. When the church gathers together for the Lord’s Supper, we must be careful not to be “religious detectives” who watch others but fail to acknowledge our [own] sins. And finally, we should look around. We should not look around to criticize other believers but rather to discern the Lord’s body. We should discern the Lord’s body in the bread and also in the church, for the church is the body of Christ.  Communion is not a time of spiritual grief, even though we confess our sins to God. Communion is a time of thanksgiving and joyful anticipation of seeing the Lord Jesus! Jesus gave thanks, even though He was about to suffer and die. Let us give thanks also.

Let us pray. 

Gracious Father, we have so little to say in comparison to Your great sacrifice. The only thing left is “Thank You.” Remind us how hard it was to give Your Son for us. Remind us of the pain He suffered on the cross, and remind us of Your love. Remind us of our hope in You and refresh our souls with the joy of our salvation. Thank You for Your love and forgiveness. We pray all this in the name of Christ. Amen. 

TITHE and OFFERING

We will call on the ushers to pass around the [offering] plates so we can give our gifts to God. Please follow the instructions on the screen on how to give to the church. The worship team will lead us [again] with a song as we collect our tithes and offerings.

PRAYER FOR TITHE and OFFERING

Our gracious heavenly Father, our gifts come to You from hearts filled with gratitude and generosity because You have been, first of all, generous with us. Gracious Father, as You have freely given us all things, we now freely give ourselves and the substance of our hands to You. I pray that You accept these gifts as a token of our sincere worship of You and Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior; in His name, we pray. Everyone said Amen.

WELCOME

Welcome everyone to our Sunday Worship Service. Please stand up, greet some folks around you, and welcome them to worship. Our first-time visitors, please stand so we can see you. We also welcome all who join us online.

ANNOUNCEMENT

·  Wednesday Night [Remember] is our Bible Study Connect at 7:00 p.m. Please join us on Wednesday night to study and navigate the Word of God.  We are almost done with the Book of First Corinthians.

· Our Corporate Meeting is every Saturday at 8:00 a.m. If you have a prayer request, please complete the online or in-person prayer request form so we can pray for you.

· Good Friday Service will be on April 18, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the church.

· Worship Night is held on the last Friday of each month. This month’s Worship Night is scheduled for April 25, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.

· Women's Night is on April 26, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. This is a time for women to come together, pray, and encourage one another.

· Due to Kenny Hughes’ Memorial Service on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. here at the church, there will be no Community Meal on that day.

· All the weekly activities for the church are posted online on the church’s website.  

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together.

Please remain standing as we pray.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Join me in prayer, please.

Let’s close our eyes, and let’s be still. In the quietness of this room, our Father, we acknowledge Your Holy presence. Our head, the Lord Jesus, watches over those of us who worship in spirit and truth. May our souls be still before You, our sovereign God. May this church proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ openly, freely, and boldly so that lives will be transformed for Your glory. We worship and honor You, Father, in the name of Christ, we pray. And everyone said Amen.

You may be seated.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

Our sermon series is called “Returning to the Cross.” This is a foundational theological truth that is often overlooked, ignored, neglected, and disregarded. You have heard me say this over and over: the Cross is the centerpiece of our Christian faith because [The Cross] represents the sacrificial atoning work of Jesus Christ. The Cross is the centerpiece because everything else revolves around it has to pass through it or point to it. In other words, the Cross should be your reference point.

The Cross has a threefold connection with us Christians; it has a past connection, called justification, where God declares the sinner righteous. It has a future connection called glorification, where we will be eternally transformed to live in the presence of God forever. The present Purpose of the Cross in the life of the believer is called sanctification, which is the process by which God transforms the life of the sinner into a saint and brings them into the family of God.

Many Christians have lost sight of the Cross. They have not lost sight of it in terms of justification. They know that they were saved when they placed their faith in Jesus Christ, and Christ came into their lives; they were forgiven, and they received eternal life. They have not lost sight of the Cross for the future because they anticipate the glories of heaven, and heaven being their home. But what we have lost is the power in the present, in the now, of the Cross. We remember it on Easter, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday. We perhaps think of the Cross a bit around Communion, but we have lost sight of its current contemporary potency.

SERMON EXPOSITION

Today, I want to draw your attention to 1 Peter 2. We will examine the final section of Chapter 2, focusing our attention on verses 24 and 25. And He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the Cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds, you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls?”

Peter says that on the Cross… [Watch This] Jesus Christ bore our sins. If you are saved and born again, you have perhaps heard that repeatedly. Jesus died for my sins. But let’s magnify that a little bit. The Bible says two things about Jesus’ death connected to sin. In some contexts, as in John 1:29, it says, “He died for the sin.” … but here, as in other places, it says, “He died for our sins.” The same word with a different letter or an additional letter … with the “s” added.

When the Bible declares that Jesus died for the sin of the world, that is an umbrella statement that the grouping called sin was placed on Jesus Christ. When it says Jesus died for our sins, with an' s', He has now entered specificity into the discussion about sin. No longer is it a general umbrella grouping, singular sin. It is now specific to the individual thoughts, deeds, and actions that are sinful. Jesus Christ not only died for our sinfulness.

According to 1 Peter 2:24, Jesus bore our Sins on the Cross; that is, the individual actions and attitudes that are offensive to the Holiness of God. Everything that has ever been wrong about you – is wrong about you, or will be wrong about you was borne by Jesus Christ on the Cross. Whether they are your attitudes or actions, Jesus bore our sins on the Cross. Peter says five things about the death of Christ.

1. In verse 21, Christ suffered “for us.” 2. In verse 22, Christ did not deserve to suffer. 3. In verse 23, Christ willingly and voluntarily suffered. 4. In verse 24, Christ suffered to the ultimate degree: He bore our sins in His own body. 5. Lastly, in verse 24, Christ suffered for our sins so that we might die to sin[s] and live to righteousness.

SERMON EXPLANATION 1

One of the great truths is our union with Jesus Christ. When you and I trusted Christ, we merged with Him. We merged with Jesus, like a car merging onto the highway from the access road. We were united with Jesus Christ, and Jesus bore our sins on the Cross. When you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, the benefits of the Cross are applied to you.  You were forgiven, regenerated, you were born again. You were converted, you were justified by faith, you experienced redemption.’ All the theological terms we talked about a few weeks ago in this sermon series were applied to you. All of that happened; [Watch This] even though the Cross was two thousand years ago, it became effective to you the moment you believed in Jesus. So, a two-thousand-year-old event became contemporary when you responded to Jesus Christ, and so you were Born Again!

But in our text for today, Peter is writing to people who are already saved. He is writing to Christians. These are folks who are already saved. Here is what he wants you and me to know today. The Cross of two thousand years ago, which takes people to heaven, is the very same Cross that, when applied, gives us victory over the sins we commit today.

The same Cross that was two thousand years old that became alive in our justification is at work in our sanctification. That is why we sing the song “There Is Power In The Blood.” There is power, power, wonder-working power in the Blood of the Lamb. In the precious Blood of the Lamb…..because the Cross has a contemporary reality that you and I are dealing with today.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 1

If you have a car, you likely have jumper cables to help jump-start your car when the battery is dead. The jumper cable has positive and negative terminals, and you connect the positive terminal to the positive terminal and the negative terminal to the negative terminal so that the life of a living battery is transferred to the life of a dead battery through the jumper cable. The reason God has given us the Holy Spirit [Watch This] is to establish a connection to the Purpose of the Cross, which is a two-thousand-year-old cable. It is a long cable, and this cable extends from the time Jesus died until today and beyond.

SERMON EXPLANATION 2

Why did Jesus bear our sins the Cross? So that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Why did Jesus bear your sins? The individual thoughts and actions that are antithetical [opposing] to God’s will? So that you and I might die to sin and live to righteousness! The purpose of your salvation and the purpose of Jesus bearing your sins on the Cross is so that you might die to sin and live to righteousness!

What is righteousness? Righteousness is the standard that God requires of people for them to be acceptable [adequate] to Him. Righteousness is the standard of God! Sometimes, God’s standards don’t seem practical. It seems that God doesn’t understand how the real world operates. God doesn’t know what I'm going through or what I'm facing. [And] God doesn’t understand what it is like to be human.

What Jesus Christ wants you to know is that on the Cross, whatever you think is impractical and cannot work and which you consider sin has already been addressed on the Cross. Jesus bore our sins so that we might die to sin’s occupations over our lives and live unto God’s righteous standard over our lives.

SERMON EXPLANATION 3

The last phrase in verse 24 says, “For by His wounds, you were healed.” Peter says, ‘By His wounds, you are healed.’ You will often hear Christians misquoting the passage from Isaiah 53. The death of Jesus Christ assures me that I won’t get sick. When you die, it is because something was wrong with you; something wasn’t working right; maybe your heart wasn’t working right, and your kidney wasn’t working right. Something wasn’t working right. There is a shallow brand of popular theology today that claims that Christians will not suffer if they are in the will of God. “Trust God, and you won’t get cancer.”

Some very godly people have gotten cancer and died. God is not saying, “Follow Jesus, and you will never get sick.” Follow Jesus, and you will never get a headache. Follow Jesus, and you will never go to the hospital to see a doctor. Follow Jesus, and you will never have an accident. That is not true. Some of God’s best servants in the Bible had infirmities, including Job. The Bible says, “Job was a righteous man,” … and yet he had boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, allowed by God.

If you are sick and don’t feel good, go to the hospital and see a doctor. But Peter made a profound statement in verse 24, “By His wounds, we are healed.” Many.… of us in this building today need healing. Some of us need physical healing because we are physically sick. Some of us require emotional healing because we have been emotionally wounded and abused. There are couples here today who need relational healing because the relationship is in trouble. There are various kinds of pain in this building right now.

The Bible says, at the end of verse 24: “By His stripes, or by His wounds, you are healed.” [Watch This] The healing of Jesus is tied to His wounds; His wounds are tied to the Cross because [His wounds] [came] as a result of His suffering at Calvary on the Cross. But why did He suffer at Calvary? For our sins… Jesus went to the Cross because of sin, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness so that by the wounds, we get healed.

Many people want healing, but they don’t want to deal with the sin in their lives. Jesus’ wounds were tied to Him, bearing our sins on the Cross. What a lot of folks want is they want healing, but they don’t want to address the sin problem. Lord Jesus, heal me; Lord Jesus, heal my marriage; Lord Jesus, heal my mind; Lord Jesus, heal my depression; Lord Jesus, heal my circumstances. HEAL ME! HEAL ME! HEAL ME! LORD JESUS! BUT THEY DON’T WANT TO ADDRESS THE SIN PROBLEM!

The Cross can only [help] your healing if the sin in your life that caused the problem is addressed. You cannot appeal to the Cross if there is a sin involved in the pain that has gone unaddressed. People want to come to church for Jesus to change their situation, but they are not willing to let the Cross address their sins. If Jesus is not free to address the sin, He is not free to address the wound or the consequence of the sin that causes the pain.

God wants to address our actions and attitudes that offend His Holy Standards, bringing repercussions or consequences that result in physical, emotional, relational, and circumstantial pain that requires healing healing in our lives. Peter says that Jesus bore the sin, and by His wounds, He will bring healing —but only if the sin in our lives has been addressed. Many people want preachers to make them feel better as long as they don’t address the sin. But once you start dealing with my sin, I want to leave and go to a different church. The Cross cannot bear the pain that you need to be healed if the sin is left unaddressed and unrepented.

Jesus didn’t die for your circumstances, He didn’t die for your issues, Jesus didn’t die because you made a mistake in life. Jesus died on the Cross because of sin, and unless you and I acknowledge and treat sin as sin, the Savior [The Lamb of God] cannot heal the wound that sin has caused.

SERMON EXPLANATION 4

Folks come to church, and they want you to make them feel good. Make me shout… make me happy.… make me get my praise on….make me fall to the ground….but that is not going to change you. That is not going to change you into the glorious image of Jesus Christ. That is not going to bring healing to your messed up soul; you will show up next week on Sunday to church or Bible Study on Wednesday for another feel-good session at church. We are talking about transformation in a person’s life through the power of the Cross. That you might die to sin, live in righteousness, and experience healing.

So, the question is, do you want healing? Or do you want to feel better for the moment? Peter says, “By His wounds you were healed.” Peter is referring to the wounds that result from the sin that remains unaddressed, which Jesus died for on the Cross. Many people want healing, but they want it without the Cross, and the Cross exists only to deal with sin in our lives. That is the Purpose of the Cross: to deal with sin! The Cross is here, and it is available today to bring mental healing, emotional healing, relational healing, and even physical healing if it is related to sin. The Cross is available because, by His wounds, we are healed.

SERMON EXPLANATION 5

And then, in verse 25, Peter says, “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” When you return to the Cross, you return to the Shepherd and Guardian [The Bishop] of your soul. There is a great need people have: to return to the Lord – to return to the Cross. We have been as sheep going astray. We have wandered away from God. We must return to the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.

Sheep are dumb and ignorant! This is why the Bible says, “We have all gone astray like sheep.” We are sheep going astray because our souls are messed up. Every person is composed of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. Your spirit is the means by which you communicate with God. Your soul is how you communicate with yourself—that is how you know you exist. Your body is how you communicate with the world around you through the five senses.

The problem is that everybody’s soul has become distorted and contaminated. That is why you don’t have to teach a baby how to sin. You don’t have to teach your children how to lie or be selfish. You have to teach them to tell the truth. The way God ordained life to work is that He communicates with the spirit, the spirit communicates with the soul, the soul communicates with the body, and the body acts based on that information.

So, God would communicate with the spirit, the spirit would communicate with the soul, the soul would communicate with the body, and the body would act based on that information. The shepherd will allow the sheep to stray because the Shepherd cannot compromise His character just because He likes the sheep. The Shepherd cannot …dumb down and reduce His standard. The Shepherd is He is available. The shepherd will let the sheep go until the sheep comes to the realization he cannot make it without the Shepherd.

God will allow the sheep to stray until they discover, ‘I cannot fix this!’ ‘And I need somebody who is an expert in healing to make me better [set me free and deliver me] because my soul is messed up.’ The question is, how messed up is your soul? Most of the problems in our lives emerge from our souls, not from our bodies. Far too many Christians today are treating the wrong thing. We are trying to treat sinful things with physical pills. You cannot fix a spiritual problem with a physical pill. We are focused on soul management, and not soul transformation. But Jesus is not into management; Jesus is into the transformation business! Jesus wants to bring healing, and for Him to do that, He needs to deal with the sin that He died for on the Cross.

FAITH APPEAL, CALL to ACTION and ALTAR CALL

In closing, Peter says, “But you have returned.” … that means, come back home. “You come back home to the Shepherd, the the One who Guide and Bishop, the overseer of your soul.” The word “bishop” means overseer, caretaker, and protector. It is the picture of Christ watching over our souls and looking after them with the greatest of care. Jesus Christ is our Overseer, Caretaker, and Protector. When we come to Jesus, He takes complete charge of our lives. Guess what God wants to do? God wants to be your Overseer! God wants to govern and guide your soul. Within your soul, there are three elements: your mind, your emotions, and your will. Your thoughts, feelings, and choices reside in your soul. Your soul governs what you think, the soul governs what you feel, and the soul governs what you do.

The body carries out the mind through the brain; it executes the choices we make through our physical actions, and the body acts on what the soul directs it to do. So, if you have a messed-up soul, you will do messed up things with your body. See, the person who is struggling with drug addiction, sexual addiction [sexual sins], or gambling addiction may do those things with their body, but the reason they are doing those things with their body is because there is confusion in the soul. But the soul gets confused because sin has gone unaddressed. God wants you to “change your altitude” and start looking to the Cross, where Jesus died, who is now the Shepherd and Guardian of your soul. The Cross is relevant today for my life, for your life, and for our lives! As we deal with sin, Jesus will bring healing to our lives. The unsaved world is watching us, but the Shepherd in heaven is also watching over us, and we have nothing to fear. But we must submit to Jesus and return to the Cross, and He will work everything together for our good and [for] His glory.

God bless you.

If you are here today and you don’t know Jesus, I will ask that you come to the Cross and accept Jesus and the gift of eternal life. It is yours to believe, but you must [accept] it by faith in Jesus Christ.  And if you need prayer, please come forward so we can pray for you.

Let’s stand on our feet.

BENEDICTION [CLOSING PRAYER]

Let us pray.

Father God, we Thank You for Your Word today. We pray that You will help us through Your Holy Spirit to understand the death of Jesus on the Cross in such a way that we die to our sins and live to righteousness that we have peace, that we have joy, that we have self-control, that we have patience, that we should show other people kindness, that we have strength in the face of disappointment, that we have bold, clear consciences. Thank You that we have seen Jesus as our sin-bearing replacement, the One who paid the penalty for our sins and the One who died in our place. Help this church to see how great a salvation You have given us through Jesus Christ on the Cross. May we never forget what Jesus did for us on the Cross. We thank You that You have given us salvation, and we pray that through Your Holy Spirit, you will enable us not to neglect it but to use it to Your ultimate glory. In the name of Jesus, we pray with great praise and thanksgiving. And everyone said Amen. 

God bless you. We will see you next week at 10:30 a.m.