THE DECORATIONS OF CALVARY

TEXT- LUKE 23:39-46

INTRODUCTION

This Christmas has been a very busy one for the Jackson family.  We didn’t even get our tree up until this last Tuesday night just two days before Christmas.  If we had waited any longer we might not have had a tree at all.

Most homes have Christmas trees and a lot of beautiful decorations on them.

Just about everything on our Christmas tree is connected in some way with a family tradition or has something to do with someone in our family.  For instance, one of the bulbs on our tree was made by me when I was a child.  It was given to me by my parents and I plan to pass it on to my kids when they become adults.

One of the reasons why we were so late in getting our tree this year was because we couldn’t all go and get one together.  In our family that’s a tradition.  Even decorating the tree is a tradition.  I’m the one who puts the tree on the stand and then puts the lights on it.  Then Debra and the kids put the ornaments on the tree.

What would a Christmas tree be like without decorations?  It would just be another pine tree.  The decorations are what make it so special.

When I think of the Christmas tree I also think about the cross of Calvary.

Galatians 3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

By itself, the cross is just a piece of wood.  It isn’t special at all.  What makes the cross so special is the person who hung on it.  What makes the cross significant is that Jesus died on it for all mankind.

The cross of Calvary was decorated with some very special ornaments.  This morning I would like us to consider four decorations that make the cross of Calvary so significant to our lives today.