THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS

Highlights from Pastor Richard & Pastor John and Pastor Jerry’s Good Friday Messages

April 18, 2025

“What the Scripture Says About the Love of God” – with Pastor Richard Schofield

Romans 5:8 – "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  This is comforting to know that God will never give up on us. He is doing a good work in us (Philippians 1:6) – "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  God will continue the good work He has started in believers until the final completion at Christ's return. 

Leviticus 10:18 – "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."  Don’t try and get even.  Hatred stirs up strife!  Show God’s love!

 Deuteronomy 6:5 – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”  God wants 1OO% of us to love Him!  

Matthew 5:43, 44 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…”  We are to love people the way they are!  We need a change in attitude! 

John 14:6, 15 – “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (v.15) “If you love Me keep My commandments!”  If you love God keep His commandments. Teach your children to show love and show love to them.  It covers a multitude of sins. 

John 15:5,7 – “5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. … If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”  It’s all about love within us!  In V. 12 Jesus says, “"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." This verse emphasizes the importance of love within a family of believers, inspired by Jesus' own love for them. God so loved us from the beginning. We are to love – all the time.

Romans 12:9 – “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Cling to love – cling to what is good - all the time!  Hate goes against God’s Word.   Love edifies.

 1 Corinthians 13 – “If I speak in the tongues, if I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails… And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

 Love edifies! Let our lives reflect God’s love!  Stay in tune with God!

2 Corinthians 5:14,15 – “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

Galatians 5:22 –Love is a fruit of the Spirit; there is no law against love.  When we walk in love, we will be more fruitful.

Ephesians 5:25 – STAY IN LOVE! Husbands are to love their wives; and wives are to submit and respect their husbands. This speaks of communion with God and one another.  Titus 2:2, 3,4 – “Older men, be sober, sound in faith, love and patience; older women, be reverent, teachers of good things; admonish younger women to love husbands and children…”

1 John 3:14 – “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.”

LOVE IS THE KEY INGREDIENT IN WHAT WE DO –

IT CANNOT BE SEPARATED FROM WHAT WE DO!

“Behold the Lamb of God” - with Pastor John Keating

Hebrews 12:2 “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus’ dying on the Cross is important to all of us, providing the way so the Holy Spirit can live in us.  A set of rules we cannot keep is no longer needed. 

We have been justified by Jesus and not by the works of the law. Galatians 2:16 says, “… knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”

The Law required continual sacrifice. We are made righteous through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.  Now God lives in us.   We now have the Holy Spirit as our helper when tempted. (“You don’t want to do that!”)

It is finished! Jesus completed His work on earth.  He is the only way to God.  We are now in the family of God – joint heirs with Christ.  We have been made righteous through Jesus Christ apart from the Law that we may be justified (Romans 3:21).  God is a just God. Sin had to be paid for, and no man could pay!  He has made a way through perfect justice.  We were destitute without a Savior.  A debt of sin is too much to pay.  Jesus said, “I will go…” Perfect justice!  He paid the price instead of the guilty party – through faith in His blood shed for us.

In the Old Testament it was a set of rules. As believers we have right standing with God. Romans 4:3 says, “For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Hebrews 11:3 states, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." The worlds were framed by faith.

Jesus recognized faith in people: “great faith, little faith, your faith, no faith, all faith, one faith, holy faith…” 

Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We can’t see with our senses. (Abraham had no children when God promises that he would be the “father of faith”. Sarah was past childbearing age, and he was 100 when Isaac was born yet “he judged Him faithful who had promised.” Faith is a force that can move mountains (things not out of reach with our Lord and Savior). The shed blood opens the abundant life.

“Come follow Me” – with Pastor Jerry Kendrick

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayer, “Your will not mine be done!”  Three important words of Jesus are, “Come follow Me!”  We have a free choice.  God is not pulling our strings like a puppet.  Adam and Eve were tricked by Satan, they violated their free choice and sinned. God is constantly asking us, “Where are you?”  Don’t be fooled - we cannot escape His presence.  In Genesis 3:15 God promised to send a “SEED” – a Redeemer who would defeat “crush the serpent.”

A seed must go into the ground, in fertile soil.  The SEED is promised, the SEED comes, the SEED lives, the SEED teaches, the SEED dies and is put into the ground.

The women come to the tomb while still dark to anoint the body of Jesus. Always be eager to worship! It leads you our to darkness.  Every resurrection is a memorial to what Christ has done.  Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!  The world needs the truth of the Resurrection!

Think it not strange when correction comes.  We have hurts, we need healing! When Jesus went to the Cross He was saying, “This is how much I love you.”  In the love anointing nothing will be impossible. If there is fear in your eyes, you are following the wrong person. 

Great things are going to happen People are going to come through the doors.  Jesus endured the Cross.  We can’t coast over it!  Our sins did it! 

In 1 Corinthians 2:4 the Apostle Paul spoke in a jail cell: “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of [a]human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power…”

Or 2 Corinthians 2:4 – “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.”

It matters how close you get to God!  We have a divine protection from a divine authority – the Creator. Do not bargain with the spirit of fear.  You cannot separate the Word from the Cross and the Resurrection!