"[Our present sufferings in these bodies] will not be worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed in us."Here are a couple ("O Come, O Come Emmanuel" pt 1 & 2) excellent sermons from my church this Christmas season. Even if you've heard them already, they worth a second listen. The above quote comes from the second sermon discussing the glory to come in eternity. It reminded me somewhat of what Dostoevsky wrote in The Brothers Karamazov:
I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage... that in the world’s finale... something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, of the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood that they’ve shed; and it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify what has happened.
With that in mind, here are 25 great essays centered around Christ's final days. Many of these were first given as sermons.
1 & 2. True Contemplation of the Cross (Martin Luther) and He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem (John Piper)
3. An Innocent Man Crushed by God, by Alistair Begg
4. The Cup, by C. J. Mahaney
5. Gethsemane, by R. Kent Hughes
6. Betrayed, Denied, Deserted, by J. Ligon Duncan III
7. Then Did They Spit in His Face, by Charles Spurgeon
8. The Silence of the Lamb, by Adrian Rogers
9. The Sufferings of Christ, by J. C. Ryle
10. Father, Forgive Them, by John MacArthur
11. With Loud Cries and Tears, by John Owen
12. That He Might Destroy the Works of the Devil, Martyn Lloyd-Jones
13. I Am Thirsty, by Joseph “Skip” Ryan
14. God-Forsaken, by Philip Graham Ryken
15. Cursed, by R. C. Sproul
16. Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit, by James Montgomery Boice
17. Blood and Water, by John Calvin
18. He Descended into Hell and Ascended into Heaven, by J. I. Packer
19. A Sweet-Smelling Savor to God, by Jonathan Edwards
20. The Most Important Word in the Universe, by Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.
21. Resurrection Preview, by Francis Schaeffer
22. Peace Be unto You, by Saint Augustine
23. Knowing the Power of His Resurrection, by Tim Keller
24. Sharing His Sufferings, by Joni Eareckson Tada
25. Crucified with Christ, by Stephen F. Olford
(HT: JT)
If you want to be broken anew as we approach the Easter week, spend some time contemplating what Jesus went through in Gethsemane. One great way to do so is by listening to this message by CJ Mahaney... beware, your eyes could become sprinklers.
