Congratulations to Joni Sgaggero who was the TSF Cross Words series puzzle solving champion (though a friend of mine who lives outside the area actually got them both correct previously).  The final puzzles were in the devotional on Monday April 15th, and you can see them HERE.

The first and more simple puzzle was solved with the words “cross words for life.”  Indeed, the words that we have been studying are words that give us eternal life with Christ.

The second and more difficult puzzle was the word “infralapsarianism.”  Never heard of that one, eh? Perhaps you’ve heard of its sister term, “supralapsarianism?”  We’ve looked at some big words during this series, and it has been fun to see people really grasping what these words mean, being blessed by the gracious work of God on our behalf, and being equipped to better communicate the Gospel.

These last two big words are theological terms that seek to understand the order of God’s decrees… when did God determine to save mankind – like, before or after man feel into sin? The arguments are exceedingly complicated, and are of course difficult in that we are attempting to understand the God who is above and outside of time … and to bring into the dimensions of our finite world an understanding of what he has done and is doing in salvation.

For winning the puzzles competition, Joni was awarded a brand new BMW M4 in church today … pictured here…