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(Nm.21:4b-9;\xa0\xa0 Ps.78:1-2,7,34-38;\xa0\xa0 Phil.2:6-11;\xa0\xa0 Jn.3:13-17) \xa0 \u201cGod greatly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.\u201d \xa0 And why is it that \u201cat the name of Jesus every knee should bend\u201d?\xa0 Why does \u201cevery tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord\u201d?\xa0 It is because \u201cHe humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.\u201d\xa0 It is precisely because \u201cHe emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness\u201d and dying as a cursed criminal, that this innocent dove who was \u201cin the form of God\u201d became the praise of our race and the source of our salvation. Yes, He and His cross are now the source of our salvation.\xa0 By His cross we find the forgiveness of our sins.\xa0 Now that \u201cthe Son of Man has been lifted up\u2026 everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.\u201d\xa0 Now that we have been shown both our sins and the love God has for us sinners in the Lord\u2019s being nailed to the cross, we may find the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.\xa0 Just as the Israelites looked upon their sin, recognizing their guilt in the serpents God had sent among them \u2013 and finding also its conquering in the serpent\u2019s being bronzed and \u201cmounted on a pole\u201d \u2013 so now we who look upon our crucified Lord cannot help but see how we have injured our God, and at the same moment find cleansing for those sins in His blood upon the cross to which we have nailed Him.\xa0 \xa0Do not be afraid to come to His cross, brothers and sisters.\xa0 Do not shy away from His love or turn away from the recognition of your guilt.\xa0 By it alone will you, too, be exalted with the Lord who has humbled Himself and died for you.\xa0 By it alone will you find glory in God eternally. He loves us so, brothers and sisters.\xa0 \u201cGod so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that He who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.\u201d\xa0 And so the cross becomes a sign of triumph not only for our Lord, but for ourselves; for indeed by it we are saved \u2013 without it we would yet be lost in our sin.\xa0 But as it is He \u201chas come down from heaven.\u201d\xa0 As it is He has been \u201clifted up\u201d before our eyes.\xa0 As it is He has sacrificed Himself in absolute love to draw us unto Him and His love.\xa0 As with the Israelites \u201cHe, being merciful, forgave their sin and destroyed them not,\u201d so now He forgives our sins and carries us \u201cup to heaven,\u201d whence He has come.\xa0 And so we rejoice in the victory of His holy cross. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, let us be saved from our sin by the sacrifice of your only Son.\xa0 YHWH, to be saved from our sin we needed first to recognize our sin and repent of it.\xa0 And how could our sin be made clearer to our eyes than in the crucifixion of God Himself, than in the suffering and death of your only Son?\xa0 What could better bring us to repentance than to see the effects of our sin so graphically displayed? And how could we better know your love for us, LORD, than in Jesus\u2019 willingness to undergo all the tortures the sins of men could inflict upon Him, all only that these same men might be saved from the hatred that had taken hold of our hearts?\xa0 Your Son has humbled Himself even to the point of death, death on a Cross; and so, what should we do but glorify His Name and the Cross which is the source of our salvation? Forgive us, O LORD, our bitterness toward you.\xa0 Raise us up with Christ, your Son.