Advent Week 4 - The Wood of the Cross

ADVENT 2025 – Overarching Theme: “Wood to Wood: From the Manger to the Cross”Thesis: The cradle and the cross are not two disconnected symbols but a single redemptive storyline. The wood that held the newborn Christ would one day give way to the wood that held the crucified Christ. -              Advent is the season where we behold the humility of His coming (reflection) and herald the purpose of His mission (response).  (12/21) WEEK 4(A) — THE WOOD OF THE CROSSThe Wood Of:1. Promise     2. The Manger                      3. Obedience             4. The Cross(A)        New Creation(B)Advent, The Message Of:I. Hope           II. Peace        III. Joy                        IV. Love Theme: Love - The Fulfillment of Perfect LoveBig Idea: The cradle finds its meaning in the cross; the cross finds its redemption in the resurrection. The Child born in Bethlehem is the Lamb sacrificed at Calvary.Opening Reading: Acts 10:34-43(V36) The Greek word kerygma (KAY-roog-mah) means “proclamation.” In the New Testament, the term is often associated with preaching the Christian message, especially the fundamentals of the gospel. Primary Passage: 1 John 4:7-12Cross References: Galatians 3:13; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 2:13-15Burning Question: What is love?-              The “simple” or “churchy” answer. Love is sacrifice, specifically the sacrificial love that is poured out for another without expectation of reciprocation.  Textual Movements:Focus: How love is revealed within the economy of salvation.A. The Father as the Source of Love (vv. 7–8)7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.·       God’s very nature is loveo   V7 – Love’s command and origino   V8 – Love and the knowledge of GodB. The Son as the Revelation of Love (vv. 9–10)9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.·       The sending of the Sono   V9 – Love manifested in sending the Son·       Atonement (“propitiation”) as love’s climaxo   V10 – Love defined as atoning sacrificeC. The Community as the Manifestation of Love (vv. 11–12)11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.·       Divine love reaches completion in mutual loveo   V11 – Love required in response·       God abides in believerso   V12 – Love perfected through mutual indwelling  Hard Reality: Love has consequences, good or bad. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins.-              hilasmos[1] (hē-läs-mos'): Propitiation, Atoning Sacrificeo   A fully satisfying payment for a debt that is owed. o   Love paid our cost… Conclusion (Bringing It All Together):The wood of the Manger is the altar that appears again in Christ’s life as the altar of The Cross. -              The love that saved and transformed the world, was costly o   God gave His’ Sono   The Son gave His all Reflection: How does the cross reshape the way I understand the birth of Christ?Response: An invitation to lay one’s life at the foot of the cross and embrace Christ as Savior AND King.[1] 2434 hilasmós – properly, propitiation; an offering to appease (satisfy) an angry, offended party.  2434 (hilasmós) is only used twice (1 Jn 2:2, 4:10) – both times of Christ's atoning blood that appeases God's wrath, on all confessed sin. By the sacrifice of Himself, Jesus Christ provided the ultimate 2434 /hilasmós("propitiation").