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In Leviticus 1:4 it says, “Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.” This verse is found in the laws of God for sacrifices. The man who was doing the sacrificing would lean onto the live animal and it was symbolism for a transfer of sin. The man’s sin was transferred to the bull, then the bull died. This is the picture of Jesus Christ. He was made sin for us. We, like the children of Israel, are called to lean upon the sacrifice with faith. In the burden and guilt of sin, believers can lean on the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. That’s good news. However, unlike the multitude of bulls that were slaughtered in Israel over the years, our substitutionary sacrifice defeated death. Christ did die. He had to in order to pay for the sins of His people. But death couldn’t defeat the creator of life. The Sin-Bearing Savior not only purchased for us union with God but rendered death and the fear of it useless. Rejoice and worship at the sacrificial work of a living resurrected King of kings.

I remember reading a story about a church in England. The church had the words, “We preach Christ crucified” etched into the stone on the front of the building. As time went on, the moss and ivy grew up the stonework so that the message was partially covered. It now read, “We preach Christ.” Within a short time, the vegetation continued to grow so that the building simply read “we preach.” That short simple story is a great picture of what’s happened in the church today. As people turned to seeker-friendly, or church growth focused, they stopped preaching offensive messages and started simply talking. Paul was clear that our message is Christ and Him crucified. What a great time of year to be reminded of the importance of preaching the cross as we head into our Easter celebration and the victory of God’s plan at Calvary.

As we get closer to Easter and we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, I want to remind you that the Messiah was
not simply a tragic, unjust martyr at the hands of wicked men. Yes, Christ was murdered unjustly by evil men,
but He ultimately did it willingly. Christ’s death was God’s plan. It was the key to the redemption of sinful man. So
instead of His death being a tragedy, it was a victory. The cross shows us divine love. The unjust death of Christ
that’s seen by sinful men killing Him reveals the just nature of God and makes him a justifier of the otherwise
doomed. Rejoice in the glory of the cross of Christ

I was reading from the life of George Muller this week and I was inspired by something he said regarding his dying wife.
“The last portion of Scripture which I read to my precious wife was this: “The Lord God is the sun and child, the Lord will give grace and glory, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Now, if we have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received grace, we are partakers of grace, and to all such he will give glory also. I said to myself, with regard to the later part, “no good thing will be withheld from them that walk uprightly” I am in myself a poor worthless sinner, but I have been saved by the blood of Christ and I do not live in sin, I walk uprightly before God. Therefore, if it is really good for me, my darling wife will be raised up again; sick as she is. God will restore her again. But if she is not restored again, then it would not be a good thing for me. And so my heart was at rest. I was satisfied with God. And all this springs, as I have said before, from taking God at His word, believing what He says.” Muller took God at His word. He believed in the scripture that He read. In his trouble, he turned
to the Word of God and found his answers. When I looked at this statement from him, I couldn’t help but highlight some of the truths he learned from taking God at His Word. He believed he was a poor and worthless sinner. He believed he was saved by the blood of Jesus. He believed that God would do not what they wanted, but what was good for himself and his wife. He held onto the sovereignty of God and his heart was at rest. The key to his happiness was his satisfaction in God and knowing that sovereign God is good so he could trust Him no matter what the outcome was. Rest in that same truth and let God’s word transform you.

I am so thankful that North Street has gotten to a place where our service can be broadcast into the homes of those who are physically unable to attend. Church online is a great tool. However, it is in no way our desire that this would be a substitute for anyone that can be here in the flesh on Sunday morning. The Church is to come together and worship. The coming together of the body of Christ is where believers can use their gifts to edify one another and glorify God together. Please grasp that God didn’t design the church to be individuals sitting at home and listening to the preaching of His word through technology. So, if you are physically able, please come join us in person and be the church together.

A debtor to mercy alone,
Of covenant mercy I sing;
Nor fear with Your righteousness on,
My person and offerings to bring;
The terrors of law and of God,
With me can have nothing to do;
My Savior’s obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions from view.

The mercy of God which allowed us to be freed from guilt is mind-blowing. Christians are no longer chained up in sin, they are free in Christ. There was once no option of being near the Father, now He can be approached boldly. This is the joy of salvation. What a promise that “there is therefore now no condemnation” to the Christian. All of this blessing is a result of being graciously given the merit that Christ deserves. He took your sin, you get His righteousness. Let the redeemed marvel at the mercy of God.

Luke 24:45 says “Then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” This is a passage that takes place after the resurrection of Jesus. He appears to His disciples and they are startled thinking they saw a spirit. But Jesus proceeds to tell them who He is then opens their minds to understand the scripture. I was thinking about this passage this week as a preacher of the scriptures. I have a role (and technically you do as well) of teaching the text. I’m humbled by the fact that many laborers deliver the text of scripture, but it’s only Jesus that can open one’s mind to understand the scrip-tures. I can deliver a message to your ears, but it’s only God who can allow that to penetrate your hearts. In our study and our worship, let us sit at the feet of Jesus Christ and pray earnestly that he would illuminate the truth to our dull minds. Marvel at the fact that the almighty God of everything is willing to reveal Himself to us.

Last week we saw the importance of prayer. We said that somehow God’s providence works through the prayer of His people. Today in this article I will continue some thoughts on prayer. Numbers 23:19 tells us that “God is not man that He should lie, or a son of man that He should change His mind.” If God doesn’t change His mind, but His providence works through the prayer of His people, then God had to foreordain how His will would be accomplished. God predetermined that through prayer, He would accomplish His will. This idea is confusing, it’s bigger than our brains can fully grasp, but we must not go mute because of the mystery, we should marvel in it and pray God’s way. While the mystery of prayer can be hard to swallow, I encourage you with the necessity of it. At the very least, Christians should hang onto the necessity of prayer because Jesus exemplified it to be so. Hebrews 5:7 says “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence”. Christ knew that He would be crushed by the Father, but He still prayed. Christ believed in the necessity of prayer, so we should as well.

John 3:36 -“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” I was focusing on that verse this week and wanted to share it with you. There is a contrast in John 3:36. The contrast is not belief versus unbelief, but it is belief versus disobedience. That means that we should be able to identify true believers simply by looking at their lives. The way one lives will reveal their status as a believer. Faith obeys God. Many people morally know the truth or affirm accurate facts, but they don’t believe it enough to change their lifestyle. People who made a one-time decision of “faith” and yet their lifestyle lacks evidence of outward obedience need to heed the warning this verse gives. It’s the ones who follow that truly believe. So who are you following? Eternal life depends upon it.

It’s been several Sundays since we left John to look at Christmas in the Old Testament. Today we return to the book of John and continue to follow this carefully written account of the life of Christ. Jesus has been fulfilling the Father’s will in the form of seeking the lost. He has performed many miracles that validate His message. Now, on the last day before His crucifixion, He spends his time with the eleven faithful apostles in the upper room. This large section of chapters (13-17) can all be summed up with LOVE. As Christ loves them, He makes them some incredible promises, then goes to the Father and prays about those promises. As we continue to navigate this text together we will see Christ institute the Lord’s supper, we will hear Him give two more “I Am” statements and we will dive into the amazing chapter 17 where God the Son prays to God the Father. There is so much to learn through this text as we watch God’s perfect plan of salvation unfold. Bring your Bibles with you on Sundays and come ready to dig through the book of John.