Know Jesus Christ and His Crucifixion as Center

Feb 08, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Simple Power of Knowing Christ Crucified

In a world that often values persuasive words and human wisdom, there is a profound power in the simple message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is not a message of human invention or cleverness, but a divine revelation of love and sacrifice. It cuts through the noise and speaks directly to the deepest needs of the human soul. When this truth is proclaimed, God’s own power is at work to transform hearts and bring weary souls to rest. [26:51]

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:2-5 (ESV)

Reflection: What are the 'plausible words of wisdom' or human solutions you sometimes rely on, instead of resting in the simple, powerful truth of Christ's love and sacrifice for you?

Day 2: God Takes the Initiative to Reveal Himself

Our knowledge of Christ does not begin with our own seeking, but with His gracious initiative to reveal Himself to us. Just as He interrupted Paul's life on the road to Damascus, He breaks into our darkness with His light and truth. This revelation is a gift of grace, not a reward for our efforts or understanding. It is an invitation into a relationship that He Himself has made possible. [28:54]

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.
Galatians 1:15-16 (ESV)

Reflection: Where can you see evidence of God's initiative in your own life—a time He broke through your plans or understanding to make Himself known to you?

Day 3: Withdrawing to Know Him More Deeply

A deeper knowledge of Christ often requires withdrawing from the busyness of life to a quiet place. Like Paul in the Arabian desert, we are called to create space to listen and receive from the Lord. This is not an escape from mission, but the necessary preparation for it. In the stillness, we move from knowing about Jesus to truly knowing Him, as He teaches us by His Spirit. [30:24]

And I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
Galatians 1:16-17 (ESV)

Reflection: What practical step could you take this week to create a quiet 'desert' space to simply be with Jesus, away from the noise and demands vying for your attention?

Day 4: Knowing Christ Through Shared Mission

We come to know someone deeply by partnering with them in a shared purpose. Our knowledge of Jesus grows as we join Him on His mission in the world. This journey will include trials and challenges, but in them we learn the faithfulness of His presence and the reality of His power. As we obey His call, we move from theory to experience, discovering who He is in the context of doing life with Him. [37:20]

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

Reflection: In what current circumstance or relationship might God be inviting you to partner with Him in a new way, trusting that you will discover more of His character through the experience?

Day 5: A Continual Journey of Knowing

Knowing Christ is not a one-time event but a lifelong journey of continual revelation. Our understanding of Him must constantly expand, often requiring the breaking of our comfortable, limited perceptions. As we seek to know Him more, we discover that His glory, love, and majesty are infinitely beyond what we can fully comprehend. This pursuit becomes the central, organizing purpose of our lives. [42:52]

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9 (ESV)

Reflection: What is one comfortable or familiar understanding of Jesus that you feel He might be inviting you to see in a new, deeper, or more expansive way?

Sermon Summary

The congregation is invited into a clear summons to re-center life around the living Christ and his crucifixion. Drawing on Paul's testimony, the sermon insists that vitality in faith is not manufactured by technique, performance, or clever persuasion but by an encounter with Jesus who takes the initiative to reveal himself. Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus and subsequent retreat into the Arabian desert become the model: revelation precedes ministry, solitude deepens knowing, and mission flows from intimacy. The power that changed Corinth and transformed lives in a basement youth group alike was not rhetorical excellence but the simple proclamation of a crucified and risen Savior.

A pastoral imagination is used—lost in the woods, a flashlight, a father’s voice—to show how prayer is the line that connects fear to rescue and discovery to guidance. The preacher confesses the temptation to fix churches with cultural tricks but returns again and again to the basic posture: know Christ. Knowing him requires Jesus’ first move, personal time with him, willingness to be crucified to self, and steadfastness in mission amid trials. The text of Paul is lifted as both authority and encouragement: revelation came not from human teaching but from Christ revealing himself; likewise, the believer’s life is transformed when Christ lives within and faith replaces self-sufficiency.

Practical implications thread through the address: when Christ is the main thing, worship, study, service, and spiritual disciplines become natural outflows rather than burdensome obligations. The call is for a humble prayer — “Lord, help me to know you” — that invites fresh awareness, a breaking of old images, and a willingness to have idols dimmed. The closing pastoral prayers and announcements frame discipleship as communal work: resources are offered, small groups and visual media recommended, and the community is urged to let Christ’s agenda trump private agendas. The final charge is to put Jesus first, to live crucified-and-resurrected lives, and to expect God’s power to follow the faithful proclamation of simple gospel truth.

Key Takeaways

1. Know Christ and him crucified A single, focused aim—setting Christ’s crucifixion at the center—reorders desire and decision. When this becomes the governing lens, moral effort no longer drives identity; union with Christ does. This clarifies priorities, sustains in suffering, and reshapes ministry from performance to faithful witness. [27:15]
2. Christ takes the first action Salvation and revelation begin with God’s initiative, not human ingenuity. Paul’s eyes were opened because Jesus interrupted a life of zeal for law; conversion is primarily an acted-upon encounter. Expecting God to move first cultivates humility and dependence rather than clever strategies or self-reliance. [28:54]
3. Simple gospel bears powerful fruit Plain talk about Jesus—his love, cross, and resurrection—catalyzes genuine transformation more reliably than polished rhetoric. The Spirit often uses ordinary language to meet deep need, turning a scripture phrase into life-changing comfort. Ministry should prioritize clarity and fidelity over persuasion or spectacle. [34:14]
4. Die to self, live by faith Cruciform living means surrendering self-led agendas so Christ can live through the believer. This paradox—dying to self yet coming alive in Christ—reframes sacrifice as participation in resurrection life. Such a posture produces endurance for mission and freedom from idols. [38:02]
5. Prayer opens eyes to Christ A humble prayer for revelation invites ongoing enlargement of sight and affection for God. Petition is not merely asking for solutions but for reorientation: removing barriers, exposing idols, and granting ears to hear. Regular, expectant prayer positions the soul to be reshaped by fresh encounters with Jesus. [45:40]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[07:45] - Worship: "Open My Eyes"
[10:28] - Prayer and Confession
[16:14] - Launch Pad: Children's Moment
[16:38] - Lost in the Woods Illustration
[25:11] - Corinth: Cultural Pressures
[27:15] - The One Thing: Christ Crucified
[30:56] - Paul's Revelation and Arabia
[34:51] - The Power of Simple Gospel
[38:02] - Crucified with Christ: New Life
[45:40] - Prayer for Knowing Jesus
[49:05] - Pastoral Prayer and Sending
[58:51] - App Resources and Lent Plans
[1:01:12] - Benediction and Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Galatians 1:11-17 - For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

Observation questions

According to Paul in Galatians 1, what was the source of the gospel he preached, and how did he receive it?
What was Paul's life like before this revelation, and what was he zealous for?
What specific actions did Paul take (or not take) immediately after he was called by God's grace?
In the sermon, what was the simple message that had a powerful effect on the young man named Adam? [34:51]

Interpretation questions

Why is it significant that Paul's knowledge of the gospel came directly from a revelation of Jesus Christ and not from human teaching?
What does Paul's retreat to Arabia after his conversion suggest about the relationship between solitude, revelation, and being prepared for ministry?
The message "come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest" brought a powerful response. Why do you think a simple, direct gospel promise can sometimes have a deeper impact than a complex or persuasive argument? [34:51]
How does the idea of "Christ living in me" change the motivation for Christian living from one of performance and obligation to something else? [38:02]

Application questions

Knowing that salvation and revelation begin with God’s initiative, not human ingenuity, how does this truth affect your approach to sharing your faith with others? Does it create a sense of relief or a new responsibility?
What are the "cultural tricks" or self-reliant strategies you are most tempted to use to try and manufacture spiritual growth or church vitality in your own life, instead of simply seeking to know Christ? [24:19]
The prayer "Lord, help me to know you" was presented as a starting point. What might it look like for you to consistently pray this simple, humble prayer in your daily routine this week? [45:40]
The call is to let everything—worship, study, service—become a natural outflow of knowing Christ, rather than a burdensome obligation. Which of these areas feels most like an obligation to you right now? What would it look like to approach it instead as a response to knowing Jesus?
Cruciform living means surrendering self-led agendas. What is one specific "self-led agenda" you are holding onto that Christ might be asking you to surrender so that He can live more fully through you? [38:02]
The story of being lost in the woods illustrated our need to call for help rather than just relying on our own "flashlight." In what current situation do you need to stop trying to figure it out on your own and simply call out to God in prayer? [19:42]

Sermon Clips

41s

#SimpleWordOfGod

“It's amazing when god takes a simple word of a preacher or of a brother and sister in Christ who lets people know about Jesus and illuminate it in in his heart. I remember a time I was in my basement and had a little youth group meeting. I was really pondering what the word was, and I remember praying and asking Jesus, and he said, just just take out this scripture. Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. I'll give you rest. I thought, well, that's gonna be an easy message to to these young people. It's and he says, you don't have to do much more than that, Glenn.”

52s

#ComeToJesusRest

“I got a flip chart, and I I put the words come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. I said, isn't that amazing that Jesus doesn't wanna give you a lecture? He wants to give you rest. One of the guys, Adam, who was on the edge fell over and started weeping. He wept and he wept and he wept and he wept. He was so tired. So tired. Family was falling apart. His life was falling apart, his future. Anxiety just ripped his soul. And Jesus took his word and brought him to faith.”

51s

#ChristRevealsHimself

“And and the only way Paul would know Jesus Christ is that Jesus Christ made himself known to Paul, that Jesus took the initiative to show Paul that his way rooted in works religion and him trying to destroy the gospel, it wasn't the way. And so he hears from on the road to Damascus, Christ breaks in and says, Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me? We're told that he got blinded, and then he he went away, and, and the ice came to him and began to minister to him and heal him, and and Paul began to know Jesus.”

49s

#DieToSelfLiveInChrist

“He's saying, listen. The life I live now, like I've learned that I have my way about doing things, but I've learned that the more I set my way aside and listen for Christ, the more I'm crucified to my way and I'm living for his way, something I die, but something else happens. He lives in me. It's like it's like there's this cross that I have. I take it, and it's it's a burden that I bear, but then there's something of new life that happens. This resurrection, I become a new creation.”

37s

#RemakeMeInChrist

“It it's like the Costco in Hamilton. Remember, it was a smaller Costco and and the problem was there was just too much demand. I mean, I came there too often. I spent too much money at Costco and so did all the rest of you. And so they had to destroy the old Costco in order to put the new Costco. But when you get to make Christ the focus of your life, when you get to know him, well, the old Jesus gets broken and a new one emerges, and yet it's not just one time, it's all the time.”

59s

#ChristTheMainThing

“If we would make that the main thing of our lives, the main purpose, and allow everything else to revolve around that. And, Lord, for that to happen, there's lots of idols in our life that need to be dealt with, all the things that keep us away from you, the world, the flesh, the lies that have been sown into us. We ask that you would help those things to be strangely dim, that you would somehow by your power, by your grace and mercy, just awaken us like you did Paul.”

50s

#SimpleGospelPower

“Simple gospel language. It it wasn't persuasive words. It wasn't oratory. It wasn't a TED talk. And and and some would mock him and some would belittle him, but others, when they heard the word, the simple gospel, something happened within them. Something resonated deep within their soul. Somehow, they knew it was truth. Paul would say in in this letter to the Corinthians that although he preached simply, god had power.”

36s

#KnowChristCrucified

“Like like and he says, I didn't come to you with this, like, wisdom of the world. I came with you in humility, like like, I wasn't a great speaker, but I told you the message of God. And and so I've learned this one thing in all of my ministry that that what I need to be about as a leader is to focus on knowing Jesus Christ and him crucified. Like, making that the main thing about my life.”

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