Pastor Tom Kang shared the part of the scripture where the word “love” appeared for the first time.
Pastor Tom Kang
The lead pastor of NewStory Church, Tom Kang, preached about “love” in one of his sermons. According to him, the word ‘love’ first appeared in Genesis 22:2, “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’” He explained that among all the places and situations in scripture, it was particularly striking to know that the first time it appeared was in the story of Abraham and Isaac. This story mainly emphasized the depth of a father’s love for his son, whom he was willing to sacrifice.
Eventually, he mentioned that this story was familiar not because it may be the first story recorded in the Bible, but because it was not the last. There were truths revealed at the beginning of the Bible that echoed like waves throughout the scripture — from the Old to the New Testament. One of those truths was hidden behind the story of Abraham and Isaac, a tale of a Father’s Love and a son’s willingness to follow his father.
NewStory Church. (Screenshot). (2024). Isaac, Retrieved March 14, 2024 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ebtO4rlpOY
Father’s Love
Furthermore, he discussed that centuries later, the gospel presented a new story of a Father’s love and the perfect Son’s willingness to obey even when it meant carrying a wooden cross. Only this time, instead of God providing the substitute, the Son became the sacrifice.
“Jesus, in this second portion. He is the sacrificial lamb. Who substitutes who? Substitutes you. He substitutes me. See, Jesus finished what Isaac started. Jesus finished what Abraham and Isaac never could,” he highlighted.
Moreover, he emphasized that what Jesus did on the cross was amazing and beautiful. Then, he read Romans 8:42, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Watch the full sermon here.
Reference | NewStory Church
Header Image: NewStory Church. (Screenshot). (2024). Isaac, Retrieved March 14, 2024 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ebtO4rlpOY
