Atonement: Covered by the Cross

Brief summary (what’s the point of this text/sermon?):

This was the last sermon in a four-part series on biblical words/themes that help us understand the overall Story of Scripture. The first three were Glory, Holiness, and Covenant, and Sunday’s sermon was on Atonement.

“Atonement” is based on a Hebrew word group that has “cover” as one of its root meanings — you can see how this might be related to sin with the idea that God “covers” (atones for) our sin. It’s also reflected by the New Testament concept of “propitiation” (see 1 John 2:2 in our text), which is a big theological concept that has to do with how God addresses the sin problem in our lives.

The sermon emphasized the problem of sin and how God deals with it. We discussed how God’s work on our behalf in overcoming our rebellion is an important theme from Genesis to Revelation. We discussed how the cross fulfills the sacrifices of the Old Testament and how it beautifully portrays God’s love for us as Christ atoned for our sins (“covers” them) on the cross.