The Cross Changes Everything | Pastor Joel King

tonight, the cross stands before us. It tells us that we are more sinful than we have ever dared to believe, but also that we are more loved than maybe we dared to hope. And because of Jesus, what we were is not what what we are. Because of that great exchange, what we were is not what we are. That is why we call this Good Friday. Amen? Amen. Pray with me, would you? [00:13:31] (32 seconds)  #GoodFridayTruth

What we were, Christ took upon himself. What he is, he gives to us. On the cross, Jesus stood or hung, if you would, in our place. Understand that. Our rightful place is on the cross. Your pastor's rightful place, if he paid if I paid for all the things that I thought, done, that was outside the way that God designed me, the just penalty would be I would end up on a cross, separated from God. [00:06:40] (36 seconds)  #ChristTookOurPlace

We are truly alienated and hostile. First step. Second, then marvel at the depth of Christ's love. If I'm that bad, I can't believe that he entered the world, took on flesh, and went through that for me when I was his enemy. And last but not least, we receive the gift of reconciliation. Right? Two two sides are at odds. But right now, we're praying for reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine and Iran and Israel and on and on and on and on. That's what reconciliation is. [00:12:34] (33 seconds)  #GiftOfReconciliation

We need to acknowledge the depth of our sin. That's what my was my point. The way the appropriate way to respond is just to acknowledge. And not just a little bit. Not just like, you know, I'm not I'm not perfect. Well, like, duh. But not only are not perfect, if you really truly looked at yourself, even now for those of you who've been following years after Christ, I always tell people, the longer I follow Jesus, I don't become less of a sinner. I actually become more. [00:11:38] (27 seconds)  #AcknowledgeSin

Well, that's the way the cross is. But it's where justice and grace meet. It's where sin is not ignored but fully dealt with, and where hope is not imagined but actually secured. So tonight, we gather on this Good Friday, even though that initial evening was not good, to remember why Jesus had to go through that punishment and what his death accomplished for us. And so we're gonna we're gonna ask and answer two fundamental questions this evening. [00:01:48] (36 seconds)  #JusticeAndGrace

You you you thought it was you you know, just don't cheat on your your spouse. But I'm saying even if you imagine it, you've done that. He raised the bar. We are all short. And then comes the hope. But now here's our current place. But now he has reconciled us, you, by Christ's physical body through his death. This is the great turning point. This is the I would call the great exchange. [00:06:16] (24 seconds)  #ReconciledThroughChrist

It stands at the very center. It was long what we're gonna do on Sunday morning at the very center of the Christian faith. It's not a symbol of defeat, but of divine purpose. And again, if if that doesn't strike you, it's because it's you sanitized it. It would be like saying, hey. You know what? The the guillotine, a noose, is a sign of God's divine purpose. And if I said that, you go, what? Well, that's the way the cross is. [00:01:18] (32 seconds)  #CrossAtTheCenter

Believe it or not, in terms of capital punishment, those things were preferable to the cross. But we wear our cross and it it just doesn't have the same impact because it's so far back and it's it's so distant and quite frankly, it was so gruesome that they stopped using it because it was not very nice, even for those who deserved a penalty. But for us, the cross changes everything. The cross changes everything. [00:00:39] (34 seconds)  #CrossChangesEverything