Not only was Barrabas' shame, sin and guilt passed over to Jesus, but yours too. The cross that Barrabas deserved was transferred to Jesus. The cross you deserve was transferred to Jesus. Barrabas was set free. You are set free. Our liabilities are transferred to Jesus. His righteousness is transferred to us. On that day, the cross was endured once and for all.
Watch, listen or download Good Friday to hear more.
Why does God need sacrifice? Why does blood have to be shed? Well, we can't come to God in just any old way. In ancient times, the Temple was a holy place that only the select few could enter and, in order to communicate with God, they had to offer some kind of sacrifice. They couldn't just come to him. Why? Sin has to be dealt with before we can experience Him.
Watch, download or listen to The Way to Praise to hear more.
What is it that binds us? What's putting us into bondage? The answer is simple. Sin. We're self-centered. We want what we don't have. We want attention, praise, affirmation... so what do we do with that? Some have responded with more rules and religion, which only devastates us more. So if that doesn't work, what does?
Download or listen to The Way To Purpose to hear more.
Do you like to lose? Does anyone actually like to lose? Chances are the answer is no. Nobody thinks losing is good. Nobody goes out into the world wanting to lose. Except for the Apostle Paul. It's as if he eagerly raises his hand and embraces it. What happened to Paul that got him to this point? To this point of counting all gain as loss? What does that mean? Paul understood something that we don't inherently understand—the cross itself is first and foremost a symbol of loss.
Watch, download or listen to The Way to Perspective to hear more.
There's no doubt the cross of Jesus is the death most talked about than any other death in history. For a lot of us, the cross is just this thing we talk about when we take communion or at Easter, and we don't see it as something that has implications for us on an everyday basis. The cross has a way of speaking into our daily life. As we experience challenges in our daily lives, we all struggle with identity, insecurity, self-worth and more. Behind all of that is this thing called guilt—something we don't like to talk about, don't want to admit to... but we all struggle with it. So what does the cross have to say about it?
Watch, download or listen to The Way to Peace to hear more.
Together is better than alone. That the whole christian life and experience and ministry is meant to happen together—in relationship with one another and the community that creates is vital. We see that over and over in how Paul and our current leaders do ministry. Paul could easily seem like a loner, but he knew the key to his ministry was the people around him. God uses all kinds of people to accomplish his work. There isn't one kind of person with one kind of story... He's uses every single one of us.
Watch, listen or download Strong & Confident in Christ to hear more.
Think about where God has placed you in this moment. What place or state do you find yourself? A new job? An old job? Your marriage? Your school? How about your neighborhood? Are you physically healthy? What about your family? Could it be that God has you in whatever place or condition you're in for something bigger than you? Perhaps is has nothing to do with you at all. God is writing a story, and the story is not about you.
Watch, download or listen to Walking & Talking to hear more.
