06
Sep
2026
The Message of the Cross
Passage: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, 30-31
REFLECTION QUOTE
“The resurrection is the revelation to chosen witnesses of the fact that Jesus who died on the cross is indeed king – conqueror of death and sin, Lord and Savior of all. The resurrection is not the reversal of a defeat but the proclamation of a victory. The King reigns from the tree. The reign of God has indeed come upon us, and its sign is not a golden throne but a wooden cross.”
—Lesslie Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” —Galatians 6:14
SERMON OUTLINE:
1. How Does the Cross Form a Divide?
2. Why Is the Cross Foolishness?
3. How Do We See the Fullness of the Cross?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Share a time/experience of a perspective change from your life, in a book, or movie, etc. What is the process of changing perspectives like? What contributed to the change?
Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. What does this passage show you about God’s character and about being his follower? What challenges, encourages, or sparks questions for you in this passage?
C.S. Lewis, in God in the Dock wrote of Jesus, “You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.” This gets at the divide the cross forms. Why is this divide important for us to understand? Why does the world push again understanding this divide? How do our lives reflect how we understand the cross? (Consider the two thieves on crosses on either side of Jesus in Luke 23.)
In what ways was the cross seen as a problem to the Jews and the Greeks? How is it seen as a problem in our current culture/context? Another way to consider this would be to ask, what did the Jews boast in, what did the Greeks boast in, and what do we (or our culture) boast in? Consider the contrast below.
| Worldly Wisdom |
Godly Wisdom |
| Gaining |
Giving |
| What is new |
What lasts |
| Make an identity |
Receive an identity |
| Be true to yourself |
Die to yourself |
| Hate your enemies |
Love your enemies |
| Create your purpose |
Discover God’s purpose |
Verse 31 says, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” We usually think of boasting in negative terms, but what might it look like for us to boast in the Lord?
When we proclaim Christ crucified, what is the fullness of what we are declaring with our words and lives? What are the benefits secured for us in believing what Jesus’s death on a cross has accomplished?
What from this passage and this discussion is something you want to put into practice or be more aware of this week or praise God for?
PRAYER
Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Doxology
