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Watch the whole message here.

Over numerous conversations with Pat Abellon, he would tell me how he doesn’t enjoy speaking in front of people, how he gets extremely nervous, that English is not his native language. He doesn’t like the attention. What if he freezes up and can’t remember anything? What if people hate his painting? Even before the service on Sunday during our warm up interview, he was visibly nervous.

But then Sunday happens… Yeah… About all those concerns…

Pat’s passion filled the room and drew us in. His heart was on full display, and it was incredible to watch the audience get completely drawn in. When we revealed the painting, you could here the audience gasp. The room just locked onto him, and he did a fantastic job of not just presenting his painting, but revealing his heart.

Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us settle the matters,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

4 Big Thoughts On Crucified

Affirms the testimony of the Old Testament
From Genesis 3, we’re told without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. God has to kill something innocent to cover Adam and Eve. That’s the true nature of sin – more on that in a moment – and the entire sacrificial system was a reminder of this. The cross ultimately fulfills this.

Shows true nature of humanity
What happened on Easter was just a microcosm of humanity’s entire history with God. God is brought to trial for being…God. For being good and just and holy. And humanity has the arrogance to act as judge, witness, jury, and executioner in the trial.

In the garden, humanity deemed that God was lying, that God was holding out on them. Humanity took the fruit of knowledge and rejected the life God offered. The brothers of Joseph rejected God’s plan. The people rejected God’s provision of the Exodus. They rejected God’s provision in the dessert. They rejected the Promised Land – didn’t want to take it when and how God said. The whole time of the judges is exactly this. They reject God’s reign for a king. They refuse to listen to the prophets. And now in the Crucifixion – they refuse to listen to the very Son.

It still continues today. There is no Jesus; he’s not God; there is no god. What follows is a life full of despair, hurt, corruption, evil and death. And then, out of our ignorance and arrogance, we hold God accountable.

The cross is the worst that humanity can throw at God.

Shows true nature of sin
Sin doesn’t just lead to death, it is death. All sin, not just some sins. Why? Because sin is the rejection of a relationship with the Giver of Life.

We underestimate sin. It’s not something to be managed or controlled. It’s not some bad habit that really isn’t that bad. It’s not a flaw. It is something that will kill us. It’s something that NEEDS to die. On the cross, God deals with it the only way it can be dealt with — He kills it.

Shows true capacity of God’s grace
The cross is the worst of humanity. The cross is the worst of sin. The cross is the best of God. He takes all of that, absorbs it, defeats it, redeems it with His unconditional love and grace.

Looking Forward… Cullen Swearingen
The first time I met Brad LeDuc and Michael Mize, they said to me, “Cullen needs to be one of our 5 artists.”

“Cullen? Our Cullen? The Bearded Youth Pastor Cullen? Why would we ask Cullen?”

Then Brad busted out Cullen’s portfolio from his AP Art days in high school. Cullen won some awards for his art when he was in high school, and Brad had kept it all these years.

Yesterday I got to stare at the piece that Cullen painted for our series. Speechless. It is absolutely stunning. We are going to be blown away by this painting on Sunday.

There is also something very beautiful about having a student of Michael Mize and Brad LeDuc in this mix. It perfectly models discipleship. But we’ll unpack all of that on Sunday.

Art is important, because it says what we can’t put into words. It helps the soul sing. It speaks to the emotions. It moves us when we least expect it. So glad that we are on this journey together.