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Brampton Blog - Entries from May 2011
TueTuesdayMayMay31st2011
John Stott: The Cross
I've been greatly helped in my own relationship with God through the writings of John Stott. Here are three powerful paragraphs that I shared at the close of this week's sermon to focus our attention on the cross of Jesus Christ.
The concept of substitution may be said, then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives that belong to God alone; God accepts penalties that belong to man alone.
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The doctrine of substitution affirms not only a fact (God in Christ substituted himself for us) but its necessity (there was no other way by which God’s holy love could be satisfied and rebellious human beings could be saved). Therefore, as we stand before the cross, we begin to gain a clear view both of God and of ourselves, especially in relation to each other. Instead of inflicting on us the judgment we deserved, God in Christ endured it in our place. Hell is the only alternative. This is the “scandal,” the stumbling block, of the cross. For our proud hearts rebel against it. We cannot bear to acknowledge either the seriousness of our sin and guilt or our utter indebtedness to the cross. Surely, we say, there must be something we can do, or at least contribute, in order to make amends? If not, we often give the impression that we would rather suffer our own punishment than the humiliation of seeing God through Christ bear it in our place.
- John Stott, The Cross of Christ, pp159-160
“Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.”
John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians (London, 1968), page 179.
FriFridayMayMay13th2011
NEW SONG: How Great is the Love!
I'm really excited to introduce this new song to our people this Sunday.
How Great Is The Love (Live) from Harvest Bible Chapel on Vimeo.
"How Great Is the Love"
Words and Music by Paul Baloche, Meredith Andrews, Jacob Sooter
click here to find on itunes
Thank You for the way
That You love us
How You love us
Thank You for the way
You have made us
We were created
For Your pleasure
For Your presence
For the glory of Your name
Thank You for the way
That You love us
Jesus
Faithful King
Lord with grateful hearts we sing
How great is the love
How great is the love
Of our Savior
The weight of the cross
The curse of our shame
You carried it all
And rose from the grave
Thank You for the grace
That has saved us
You forgave us
Thank You for the way
You have freed us
We have been ransomed
We've been rescued
We've been purchased
With the price of Your own life
Thank You for the way
That You love us
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