Cruciform Love

Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims


Scripture Focus: Luke 4:31–44


Service Summary: At the beginning of the Church
Year, many sang the hymn “Love Came Down at Christmas.” Indeed,
the Bible says, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only
Son” (John 3:16). It is only on Good Friday, however, that we
discover the depth and power of God’s love in the cross of the
Lord’s death. And so it was that ever since the beginning of His
earthly ministry, after His Baptism, we are given clear hints
about the true nature of God’s love. Initially people marveled at
Jesus’ preaching and miraculous healings. Yet not only did the
crowds quickly reject our Lord, but Satan also was actively
opposing Him from the beginning. The love of God is the power of
God to defeat Satan and free the world from the grip of sin and
death. The standard of love is the cross of Christ. In today’s
Epistle, Paul describes love in and through Christ. Substitute
“Christ” for “love” and you get, “Christ is patient and kind;
Christ does not envy or boast; . . . Christ rejoices with the
truth.” This love of Christ is given to us and through us.
“Faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of
these” is the cross of Christ!