Scriptures: Galatians 6:14, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22, Acts 2:23, 1 John 4:10, Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:15

There is a shadow that every Christ-follower should willingly and joyfully live under. Not a shadow of burden, doubt, worry or stress. It is in the shadow of the cross. From the time that Jesus Christ was born He lived in that shadow. The cross was never absent from His mind, never far from His soul, and never out of His heart. He spent three years with twelve men called “disciples.” The first time it is ever recorded that He sat down to teach them anything, what did He talk about? The cross (Mark 8:31). When we live with Christ and the cross at the forefront of our thoughts, it helps us put all of life into perspective, enabling us to more freely live in Christ and because of what He has done for us. In this message, Dr. Merritt explores the wonderful cross of Christ, and what living in its shadow really means. The cross of Jesus Christ is not just a symbol of the Christian faith, but it is the secret of the Christian life. In fact, our entire lives should be lived in the shadow of the cross and built around the truth of the cross.

"To the Jews, crucifixion was the same as hanging. It was a curse to them. It was the way that common thieves, murders, and the lowest class of criminals die. To the Greeks, the cross was absolute nonsense. It was foolishness. Christianity was so difficult for them to fathom, because they could not understand how any son of any god would allow himself to be crucified. It is not the cross that makes Jesus Christ so special, but it is Jesus Christ that makes the cross so special. We are not to just be proud of a cross. Our pride should be in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: cross, crucifixion, shadow, remember, understand, praise, live, life, purpose, meaning, died, death, Messiah, Christ, Jesus, Roman, torture, demonstration, symbol, power, belief