2. ______________________

3. Meet Me At The Cross Meet Me At the Cross O Jesus, meet me by the manger where, a babe, you lay; Reveal to me your blessed plan For which you came to earth as man, That I my part might play. O Master, meet me in the village where the blind you healed; May I behold your guiding light, Retain it ever in my sight And to its urgings yield.

4. Meet Me At The Cross Meet Me At the Cross O Saviour, meet me by the sea where crowds around you surged; I long to hear your words of love, Your promise of a home above, To know my sins are purged. O Jesus, meet me at the well where you my drink may pour; That I might sip the water pure, Discover the eternal cure And thirst for nothing more.

5. Meet Me At The Cross Meet Me At the Cross O Master, meet me at the Cross where selflessly you died; Like Mary, may I with you stay, Observe the tomb wherein you lay That oils I might provide. O Saviour, meet me at the gate of your eternal home; Extend to me your loving hand, Receive me in your Promised Land That I may never roam. Copyright ©2007 by Lorraine Buck

6. Meet Me At The Cross We don’t preach and teach about the cross as often as we should! The cross of Christ does not have the same “message appeal” as God’s love, grace, mercy, etc. This morning, I hope to…

7. Meet Me At The Cross Show how Jesus willingly went to the cross and that we should meet Him there. Demonstrate how Jesus used the cross to make things better. Use the Scriptures to show how Jesus used the cross to bring us together.

8. The Cross Was Part of God’s Plan… From the beginning!

9. Psalm 22:16-17 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.

10. John 3:13-15

11. The Cross Was Part of God’s Plan… From the beginning! Jesus willingly laid down His life as part of that plan!

12. John 10:11, 15, 18 Verse 11 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” Verse 15 – “As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” Verse 18 – “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.”

13. The Cross Was Part of God’s Plan… From the beginning! Jesus willingly laid down His life as part of that plan! For us to emulate His Son!

14. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

15. The Cross Was Part of God’s Plan… For a better covenant (to separate old and new)

16. Hebrews 8:6-8 “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—”

17. Hebrews 9:15

18. The Cross Was Part of God’s Plan… For a better covenant (to separate old and new) For a better priesthood

19. Hebrews 8:1-4

20. 1 Peter 2:4-5

21. The Cross Was Part of God’s Plan… For a better covenant (to separate old and new) For a better priesthood For a better tabernacle

22. “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

23. The Cross Was Part of God’s Plan… To bring together Jew and Gentile

24. Isaiah 42:6-7

25. Isaiah 42:7-9 Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 8 I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

26. The Cross Was Part of God’s Plan… To bring together Jew and Gentile To offer salvation to all nations and classes of people

27. Galatians 3:26-28

28. The Cross Was Part of God’s Plan… To bring together Jew and Gentile To offer salvation to all nations and classes of people For peace

29. “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”

30. Meet Me At The Cross Jesus willingly went to the cross and we should meet Him there. Jesus used the cross to make things better. Jesus used the cross to bring us together.