Dear Christian friends:

This evening I will explain to you about the Greek Cross. As you can see from the one here, which Mr. Robert Harris has made for us to look at, the Greek Cross is very beautiful. The four arms of this cross are equal length. Therefore it is easy to use it for decorating church furnishings. It is one of the oldest forms of the cross and was first used by the Greek Christians. That is why it is called the Greek Cross. The Greeks always liked to make things perfect and beautiful.

The Greek cross is often used to decorate the front panel of the altar. A cross like this one is placed in the center of the front panel. When the Lord's Supper is celebrated the bread and the wine are placed directly over this cross on the altar top or table. Four smaller Greek crosses are also placed in the four corners of the front panel of the altar, making five Greek Crosses to remind us of the five wounds of Christ when He was crucified, two nail wounds in His hands, two in His feet and one spear wound in His side.

I am sorry that our altar does not have these five Greek Crosses on it to show you. Do you remember the old altar that was in the Church last year when we first began to worship here? That old altar had the five Greek Crosses on it.

The Greek Cross is also called the Cross of Faith. Why? Because when you see the perfectly designed cross with the four equal arms you are reminded of Jesus, our perfect Savior. Jesus was perfect, without sin, therefore He could take our sins and suffer the punishment of all men. If He was not perfect, He could not be our Savior. The Bible says, "Christ willingly gave Himself to God to die for our sins - He being perfect, without a single sin or fault." (Hebrews 9:15) In the Old Testament God commanded the Israelites to offer perfect sheep, cattle and other animals on the altar. They could not kill and offer a sick one or crippled one or blind. It had to be a perfectly healthy sacrifice. These animals prophesied of Christ, the perfect, holy Lamb of God, whose sacrifice upon the cross takes away the sin of the world.(John 1:29)

In our text we read, "It was through what His Son did that God cleared a path for everything to come to Him - all things in heaven and on earth - for Christ's death on the cross has made peace with God for all by His blood." By Jesus' death on the cross God "cleared a path for everything to come to Him." And how can a sinner come to the holy God? By faith! By believing in Jesus Christ, that His blood shed on the cross washes away all our sins. By believing that God has nothing more against us, that we have peace with God. The beautiful, perfect Greek Cross can help us believe that we have a beautiful, perfect Savior. So we can sing with Joy as we did before:

My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine (most holy, perfect).
Now hear me while I pray;
Take all my guilt away;
O let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
(TLH 394 My Faith Looks Up
to Thee, verse 1)

Yes, we have a perfect Savior. His blood and death is good for all people, even the worst sinner. When you see the beautiful, perfect Greek Cross, let it remind you of your beautiful Savior. Then your faith will be strengthened and your love and zeal for Christ will be warm and never-changing.

Amen.