When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:13‭-‬15 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/col.2.13-15.NIV 1. The Cross means love. Christ died for sinners. He died for people who had lost their way. He did not die because it was forced upon him. It was a choice. A choice made in love. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Jesus still loves sinners. He came and gave his life for them. The message of the Cross remains a gift of love to those undeserving. Above all, the Cross is a symbol of love. 2. The Cross is personal. In most religions, people strive to reach deity. Christianity is the only faith where God has reached down to us. Our response to such a God is to know him personally. Jesus died so that he could know you. It was personal. I want to know Christ... I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death (Philippians 3:10). 3. The Cross is willful humility. Christ’s death was an act of his will.  In Philippians 2:7-8, Paul states that Jesus humbled himself in obedience and died a criminal death on the Cross. Sometimes we mistakenly think that he made that decision as God. Jesus came to the conclusion to die for humanity as a human. He willed his flesh, mind, and emotions to die on the Cross. And by that will (that is the will of Jesus as a human being, not the will of God), we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:10). Christ hung on the cross on purpose. He could choose to live as he pleased, but he chose to give his life for our sake. Galatians 2:20 says that we have been crucified with Christ – past tense. As Christians, we are to be dead to our will, as Christ was. Our life’s prayer should be, “Not my will, Yours be done.” And just like Jesus, it is our responsibility to act on our prayer. Being in the will of God is not a passive thing. It is an act of the will. 4. The Cross is prophetic. There are many prophecies of the Cross in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. From the beginning of time, God has been planning to rescue humanity from the clutches of evil by horrific death on a cross. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed (Isaiah 53:4-5). He was disfigured, tormented, completely abused. But not only was his punishment prophesied, so was our atonement. Pierced for sin. Beaten for wholeness. Whipped for healing. A divine exchange. Blessings for curses, completeness for brokenness, unrighteousness for holiness. The redemption was prophesied. 5. The Cross is final. So many gaze at the Cross and yet hold on to past hurt, pain, and problems. They don’t belong on your back any longer – Jesus has taken them on his. The debt is paid. Look to the Cross and receive your salvation. And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll  and break its seals and open it. For you were killed, and your blood has ransomed people for God  from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become God’s kingdom and his priests.  And they will reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10, NLT) Redeemer, Lamb of God, he is worthy. Thank you for the Cross, Lord. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pastor-lucy-paynter/support