From the Pulpit ................................................................Pages

November is a month of change; leaves have fallen on the ground and we change our tires for the winter months that lie ahead. But it really is a lot more than that, isn't it? We take this time to remember our men and women who gave their all for our country and the freedom that we enjoy today. Most of us know someone who serves or has served in the Armed Forces, whether it was in World War I, World War II, Korea, Afghanistan or all the many peacekeeping missions.

My dad served in Europe, as did my uncles and other family members. Family members on both my dad and mom's side served in World War II. My mother-in-law's dad served in World War I. In November, we remember the sacrifices that our Veterans made so that we could enjoy our freedom. Many of our veterans were not drafted, although some were, but many just volunteered.

My dad and uncle were a couple of them; my dad joined the Northshore Regiment, Pictou Highlanders; my uncle, Albert Leonard Wood, joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Flight Sergeant. Albert was a tail gunner on a bomber Lancaster. He was killed when his plane was shot down over Bremen, Germany on July 25, 1943.

My dad, Robert Allan Wood, was wounded in Cannes, France where he took shrapnel to the leg. They both sacrificed so much, as did many others, for us and our freedom that we have today. Thanks to all of our Armed Forces that have gone overseas to fight evil and tyranny. November, therefore, is a time to put on our poppies and remember all those who sacrificed themselves for us. There is no greater love than that. John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

The following is a story of a First World War soldier, Cpl. Harry Miner, who was born in Cedar Springs, Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Harry earned the British Empire's highest military award for bravery, the Victoria Cross, as well as the highest French citation, the Croix de Guerre. Harry was recognized for his brave actions in the battle of Amiens, on August 8, 1918.

Even though Harry had multiple wounds, including a very serious wound to the head and to his shoulders, Harry would not withdraw from the battle; he refused medical help. Instead, Harry chose to ignore his horrible wounds. Harry would then rush a German

From the Pulpit...His Sacrifice for us! machine gun post, where he killed the machine gun crew, then turned the gun on the enemy. When Harry ran out of ammunition, he tossed the machine gun aside and Owner/Publisher: attacked two more

Rob Wood enemy positions while killing a few more enemy soldiers in hand to hand combat, before being hit by a grenade, where Harry died from his wounds. That is the sacrifice that the soldiers made when they volunteered and went overseas to fight for their country. Some would come back with life altering wounds, some even with wounds that no one could see, but they knew they were different, and some died on the battle field making the ultimate sacrifice. I'm not sure what their sacrifice reminds you of, but it sure reminds me of what happened almost 2,000 years ago, outside the gates of Jerusalem, where Jesus was whipped, beaten and crucified on a cross, where He died for your

sins and for mine as well. Let's go and look at why Jesus had to become a perfect sacrifice for us.

The many focal points of the Gospel is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins and that He rose again three days later. Jesus took our sins, the sins of mankind, upon Himself on the cross. Without this pure act of love from the Son of God, we wouldn't have any hope.

When John the Baptist was in the Jordan river baptizing people, he saw Jesus walking towards him. In John 1:29 he said, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

The "Lamb of God" goes back to the time when Israel was being delivered out of the hands of ancient Egypt under the direction of Moses. Now before the 10th plague that brought the death of the first born, Israelite families were told to kill a lamb and brush the blood on top of the door frames of their houses. The lamb that was to be slain for the purpose of the door frame was called the Passover lamb. This ceremony was known as the Passover.

That first Passover in Egypt, God accepted the blood of the Passover lamb on the door frames of the Israelites' houses in place of their first born. Now the first born of the Israelites that rejected that notion and did not put the blood on the door frames would not be saved from death. The blood from the lamb had allowed the Israelites to escape the penalty of death that came upon the land in Egypt. Exodus 12:21-24 says, "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever." The Passover was supposed to be a yearly festival, a celebration in Israel so that they would remember how God delivered them from death. The Passover from the Old Testament was a prelude to the New Testament, as Jesus Christ then became the Passover lamb for all of His church. I Corinthians 5:7 says, "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump,

From the Pulpit...His Sacrifice for us! since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." Jesus Christ became the propitiation sacrifice for our sins, because without Jesus Christ sacrificing Himself on the Cross, there would be no forgiveness for anyone. 1 John 2:2 says, "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." We now go back to the book of Genesis to see why Jesus had to become the perfect sacrifice. After Adam and Eve sinned against God, they found themselves removed from the Garden of Eden and there were angels placed at the entrance so they could never enter again, Genesis 3:24 says, "See He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."

Access was no longer possible to the tree of life. Their relationship with God was changed forever; sin had now entered into human life and caused a separation from God.

God is perfect and righteous and sin is the total opposite of God, it's filthy and dark and ugly; it leaves you feeling down, depressed; it's heavy on your soul; it destroys you from the inside out; it is a terrible stain on God's perfect creation. Sin is the cause of all pain and suffering and this world is filled with evil. People ask, "Where is God through all the world's pain and suffering?" This might be why some people don't believe in God. It's because God cannot tolerate or look upon sin; He cannot accept or co-exist with sin. There is unrepentant sin in people's lives; God will not answer them or have anything to do with them until they repent of their sin and give their lives to Jesus. That is why when Jesus was on the cross, He could no longer see God the Father and He cried out to Him. Matthew 46:27 says, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

God will not tolerate unforgiven sin as Isaiah 59:1-2 says, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear." God is a just God; He will not just remove awful disease of sin; He has to totally remove it and cleanse us from all it's evil effects in our lives. This is the exact reason why the sacrifice of Jesus Christ had to happen. Jesus had to pay the ultimate price, the penalty for all of our sins. They were all put upon Him on the cross and He became our Lord and Savior.

The Gospel contains all the information we need about how humanity can be forgiven, and once again we can walk with God everyday and, thanks to all that Jesus did for us on the cross, we can now receive the promises of life in heaven with the Lord after our physical death.

The apostle Paul is telling us about how the foundation of the Christian message is one of total reconciliation. Paul says to us in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation."

God has authorized that separation to be healed through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. It was God's unimaginable love for all of us that moved Him to give His own Son as a sacrifice for mankind. John

From the Pulpit...His Sacrifice for us! 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." The plan for our salvation is God's plan. Also the method in which He chooses for the removal and forgiveness of our sins was from a member of the God Head or family, the Word who came down and became flesh. John 1:1-2 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." Also John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Jesus Christ would come to earth as a baby, God born in the flesh. He came down to us, so we could go up to be with Him. He went willingly on the cross to die for our sins, as Philippians 2:5-8 says, "Let this mind be in you as it was in Christ Jesus,

November 2021 Remembrance Month! Page 7 From the Pulpit...His Sacrifice for us! who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

Through the death of Jesus Christ, God demonstrated to us the depth of His love for us all and the horrific nature of sin. If God had dealt with the sins of the world in a casual way, it would have sent a message to the world that rebellion and the rejection of God's laws were not that big of a deal. But by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be mocked, beaten and crucified on the cross, the price of our forgiveness was very costly for God. This powerful demonstration shows us that evil does matter and it was defeated at the cross. The details of Christ's crucifixion was prophesied in the Old Testament as Isaiah 52:14 said, "Just as many were appalled at you, his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man, and his form did not resemble a human being." Jesus was scourged and severely beaten just before His crucifixion. This was prophesied by Isaiah; he said He would be almost unrecognizable and that it was the most horrific beating that any man had ever survived. He was beaten for all of our transgressions and He gave His blood as the complete sacrifice for all of us, to reconcile us, so we could be with the Father God, by offering Himself on the cross. This was God's will and His plan to bring humanity to be forgiven, and have eternal life with Him. Isaiah 53:45 says, "Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." will forgive our sins. Because of Jesus' God promises to sacrifice, God will forgive us and freely now allow us to come give us the gift of the into His presence if we Holy Spirit through acknowledge and accept baptism. If we do these what His Son did for us. things, God will forgive If we acknowledge our and forget all of our sins, 1 John 1:9 says, sins. Hebrews 8:12 says, "If we confess our sins, "For I will be merciful to He is faithful and just their unrighteousness, to forgive us our sins and their sins and their and to cleanse us from lawless deeds I will all unrighteousness." remember no more." Acts 26:20 says, "but Have you thought any declared first to those more of where you will in Damascus and end up when you pass in Jerusalem, and away? There is only one throughout all the region of two places, heaven of Judea, and then to or hell. Please, act now; the Gentiles, that give your life to the Lord they should repent, Jesus Christ and He will turn to God, and clear your sins and you do works befitting will have eternal life repentance." Then God with Him in heaven. WOOD Ministries

Publisher/Sales/Graphic Designer/Writer:

Rob Wood wood.ministries.2020@gmail.com

Editor/Writer:

Donna Wood wood.ministries.2020@gmail.com

Writer:

Lynne Wood wood.ministries.2020@gmail.com Owned and published by Rob Wood of Wood Ministries. Contact us @ 905-380-4489, or email us at wood.ministries.2020@gmail.com