Dear friend, look at the cross. See the horror of your own sins. See how dearly He loves you. His arms are stretched out on the cross.
They are stretched out to reach you.
They are stretched out to welcome you home.
See the price He pays for you: suffering so that you can live, dying so that you can be born again.
Jesus said that He would be “lifted up” in order to save lives. By this He meant that He would die on the cross in order to save us.
People used to kill animals in sacrifice to please God, but Jesus was the far better sacrifice. Though He was innocent, He came for the very purpose of dying. On His cross He carried all the wrong things we have done.
His death finally satisfies the full punishment for all sins, making all things right between God and humans.
Memory Verses
1) Exodus 12:13 – The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
2) John 12:32-33 – “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
3) Isaiah 53:6-7 – All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
God and Father of Jesus, our hearts are cut deeply by the death of Jesus. On the cross, we see the result and penalty of our own sins. You refuse to turn a blind eye to sin.
Yet, how infinite also is your love for us, the sinners! We truly thank and praise You for such awesome love.
We do not deserve what You did for us. But we truly appreciate it and we want to follow You in faith.