The Covenant Gift
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Read more…
Sermon Note:
Early in the sermon, reference is made to this ancient Roman graffiti.
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
I really enjoy giving presents to people. Not the kind you’re obligated to give regardless of how well you know the person on the receiving end, but the kind you want to give because you know and appreciate the person. I enjoy searching for the right gift – the one you know they’ll enjoy. I don’t always get it right, but when I do, I love it.
God likes giving presents too. Sometimes His presents are spectacular, and we can’t help but say thank you over and over again, like when He heals us or someone we love, or provides something we desperately need. But sometimes God’s presents leave us scratching our heads, wondering how such a thing could possibly have come from such a supposedly good God, like just about any loss in life. We don’t usually even name these as presents until long after, when distance has allowed a different perspective.
I think the cross is the second kind of gift. I think that’s what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he wrote to the Corinthian Christians, “we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block…and foolishness.”[1] On the face of it, the cross – Christ who is the hope of the world, crucified – is a horrible gift. It’s bloody and violent and destructive. In a world that values power and strength, it is the epitome of weakness. To think such a thing good, is the definition of foolishness. And yet, it is the cross that renders sin powerless. It is the cross that defeats death. It is the cross that opens the way to life.
When we gather on Sunday, we will be invited to remember our need of the cross. We will be invited to reclaim our dependence on the cross. We will be invited into a time of confession — a time of naming our sin and handing it to our crucified Saviour. In that confessing we are reminded that this seemingly awful gift from God — the gift of a crucified Saviour — is the best, most extraordinary gift we have ever or will ever receive. It is the gift of life itself.
As you prepare for Sunday, I invite you to spend some time with the words of confession we’ll be praying on Sunday. Perhaps take some time to listen and discern if there are things in your life you need to hand over. This is the prayer we’ll be praying on Sunday:
Merciful God, we confess to You that we have sinned.
We confess the sins that no one knows.
We confess the sins that everyone knows.
We confess to You the sins that are a burden to us.
We confess the sins that don’t bother us because we are used to them.
Father forgive us.