This week we are going to focus on the love, grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are going to focus on the very power of God to redeem mankind from the bondage of sin. From all eternity, God has been full of grace and mercy. He has always loved us with an everlasting love, with a love that surpasses our comprehension. Before the foundation of the earth, God had a plan for our redemption. He always planned to accomplish His saving work at the cross. He demonstrated His great love for all mankind through His redeeming work at the cross. He knew the world would see it as foolish. Yet His mind was not and will never be on what man thinks. His purpose and will shall always be worked out by His wisdom and His plan.
When Jesus began his ministry, His disciples never realized that Jesus was going to ultimately, willingly, lay down His life. He was going to lay it down of His own free accord. Remember, Peter, rebuked Jesus in Matthew 16:22 when he told the Lord, “Never, Lord! . . . this shall never happen to you!” Jesus immediately responded to him and said, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
