Today’s Meditation;

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, a wondrous beauty I see, for ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, to pardon and sanctify me. So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown. ~George Bennard

Welcoming Guests and Announcements – Pastor Ross

Hymn Sing – Congregational Hymn Pick

Prayer Concerns – Pastor Ross

Pastoral Prayer – Silent Prayer, Pastoral Prayer, Lord’s Prayer

Scripture Reading – 2 Peter 2:19-25 – Pastor Ross

Message – Substitution – Jesus Takes Your Place – Pastor Dave

Communion – Pastor Linda, Ross, Dave

Benediction – Pastor Dave

2 Peter 2:19-25 – New Revised Standard Version

¹⁹ They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them.

²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them.

²² It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog turns back to its own vomit,” and, “The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud.”

Christians and our scripture have long claimed that Jesus’ death saves us.  But exactly how does that happen?  And what did Jesus’ death actually accomplish?  Jesus died in our place, repaying our debt, so that we don’t have to. Sin is a debt so large we cannot possibly repay it, and our efforts to do so are useless. On the cross, God has done what we would never be able to do for ourselves.

The power of sacrificial love and self-sacrifice, that Jesus offered for our lives and our world. Live in gratitude to God for the gift of sacrificial and life-giving love, that offers an alternative to revenge and hatred in our world.