This is a message from leading the way with Dr. Michael Youseth. We pray that it will encourage you in your walk of faith.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. Yousef or leading the way, please visit lTW.org.

If you read surveys like I do and read studies that are being done, you will discover

that in the past 20 years, there is very little preaching has been done on the cross.

There are very few faithful voices here and there who are continuously preaching the cross

of Christ.

And the fact is, as goes the pulpit, so goes the pew.

And as goes the pew, so goes the pew, so goes society and our culture.

In this short series of message that I'll be doing, cross conundrum,

I'm going to be talking about the power of the cross, but also I'm going to talk about the

stigma of the cross and the enigma of the cross. And beloved, it is not by accident that the

early Christians chose the cross above And beloved, it is not by accident that the early Christians chose the cross

above all other symbols to represent the Christian faith. They could have chosen the manger

scene where Jesus was born. They could have chosen the carpenter's bench where Jesus worked in Nazareth. They could have chosen the boat from which Jesus preached in Galilee.

They could have chosen the apron that Jesus wore when he washed the disciples' feet.

They could have chosen the stone that has been mightly and powerfully removed from the tomb where he mightly rose from the dead.

They could have chosen a throne that would represent his sovereignty and his rule and his power and his reign.

They could have chosen a dove that was symbolized the Holy Spirit that testified at the time of Jesus' baptism,

this is my beloved son. They could have chosen any of these seven symbols. They could have

chosen anyone. They could emphasize one or two or three of the aspects of his ministry.

They could have taken all those seven symbols and put them together

in an emblem, but instead they saw all of the symbols together in the cross of Calvary.

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