The church body to which I belong finishes their convention today. We met under the theme “We Preach Christ Crucified.” I was happy to hear many of our speakers remind us that our overall task is to do just that:  Preach Christ Crucified.

One of our presenters was “Flame.” He is a Christian rap/hip hop artist who earned a Master of Arts degree from Concordia Seminary in Systematic Theology. He spoke powerfully about discovering that God’s grace is what saves us, not our efforts or what we do. He shares that in his music.

Wikipedia says that when he discovered Lutheran theology, Flame rejoiced:

“It wasn’t until I stumbled upon Lutheran thought that I discovered the treasure found in the liturgical and sacramental side of things.” He praised the Lutheran tradition for its “ancient truths that will comfort contemporary consciences” and said that those “Truths that will bring people out of their heads and lift their heads from navel-gazing onto the sweet means of grace that God has provided outside of us.”

 This is why we must continue to keep our focus on preaching Christ crucified. He took our punishment, paid our debt, redeemed us from death and gives us forgiveness. It was all His work, His doing, and we get the benefit of it.

I pray that we will all strive to preach Christ crucified in our individual circumstances.