We focus our lives on the cross.

“Inevitably [a cappella singing is] the first thing [visitors] notice about us -- and it almost always leads to awkward discussions about theology and doctrine that don’t focus on the Cross.”

† The cross needs to be central to our lives, not just the way we worship. † “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). † “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14).

Why Orient Our Lives Around the Cross?

† The Saving Cross. † My sin caused Jesus’ death. † “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10). † “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8). † Only Jesus’ blood can cleanse me from sin. † “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt 26:28). † “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7).

† The Slaying Cross. † At baptism, I died through that cross. † “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4). † “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

† The Scornful Cross. † Phil 3: NOT † I am absolutely NOT saying that someone who worships in error is an enemy of the cross. † Notice, however, what Paul says: † “Their god is their belly.” † Physical Pleasure. † They “set their mind on earthly things.” † The things of this world.

† The Splendid Cross. † “Shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). † Because He paid a high price for it, shouldn’t Jesus get to determine how we worship?

We focus our lives on the cross.

† To focus your life on the cross, you Support the Cross (carry it). † “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt 16:24). † The cross means death. † Jesus spoke metaphorically. † Sometimes that metaphor still meant physical death (Stephen, James, & Antipas). † Sometimes that metaphor meant dying to self. † “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt 16:24). † “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:20).

How do we deny self?

† We get rid of our passions and desires. † “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24). † You must rid yourself of sinful passions and desires (Rom 6:1-6). † How? † Do the opposite. † “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold” (Lk 19:8). † How can you do the opposite of your sin? † What about non-sinful passions and desires? † Peter, Andrew, James, and John left their fishing business (Mk 1:16-20). † What can you do this week to follow Jesus?

† To focus our life on the cross, you Sacrifice to the Cross. † “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1, ESV). † All of life is not worship. † Greek term in Romans 12 refers to the work of a priest in sacrificing. † How can you sacrifice your body in God’s service?

† Worship is not only about having all the externals right; it’s about having the heart right. † “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me” (Matt 15:8). † The scribes and Pharisees (Matt 23:2-3).

your Where is your heart?