from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2GaLHox
via IFTTT He preached Jesus. Only Jesus. What else is there to talk about that effects the life of man? What truth can be important enough to spend time on? It truly is all about "Jesus and Him crucified". That is the good news! The point here is that everything since the garden of Eden points to Jesus. Every scripture, every story. Why? Because He is man's only hope. Without Jesus, there is nothing. Without Jesus all is a waste. Even if you followed the law down to the letter, perfectly, without fail all of your life. Even if you could, heaven would not be your destination. Nothing man can do makes him worthy of life in heaven with God. While it is true that man cannot keep the law, the truth here is that even if he could, it wouldn't matter! Man already sinned. "In sin did my mother conceive me". We are each born of a sin filled race called mankind. Man was condemned to death by his actions thousands of years ago. We truly have no hope beyond this life, without Jesus. Jesus was born of a virgin, thereby inheriting no sin from Adam. That is why the Christmas story is so important. Jesus had no original sin, no debt to pay. Yet He was full human. And, the best part, He chose of His own free will to take the sin of all of mankind on Himself and die in our place. That is the only reason we have a future, a chance, a hope. Grasping this truth is what makes songs like "amazing Grace" come alive with meaning, depth, and tears. We truly are a wretched and lost being. We are nothing but dust destined to become dust. Yet He loved us and died a horribly painful humiliating death to pay our debt in full, a debt we could never pay. Don't ever get caught up in thinking we "deserve" anything but judgement and death. We are not worthy of life. But through Jesus' death we are granted life, out of pure grace and love. We live, because He lived. We do not die, because He died. So preach Jesus. All of the old testament preaches Jesus. Everything points to Jesus. All of the new testament points to Jesus. He is the beginning, the middle, and the end. Don't waste time on things that do not bring the message of the good news, of Jesus, to the world . Preach Jesus and Him crucified
