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J.R. Miller

James Russell Miller (1840 - 1912). American Presbyterian pastor, author, and editor born near Frankfort Springs, Pennsylvania, to Irish-Scottish parents. Educated at Westminster College and Allegheny Theological Seminary, he was ordained in 1867, serving First United Presbyterian Church in New Wilmington. He pastored Bethany Presbyterian in Philadelphia, growing it from 75 to 1,200 members by 1878, then led churches in Illinois and at Hollond Mission and St. Paul Church in Philadelphia, reaching 1,397 members by 1912. Miller served as a U.S. Christian Commission agent during the Civil War, later becoming Editorial Superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication in 1880. He authored over 80 books, including In Green Pastures, selling over two million copies in his lifetime. Married to Louise King in 1870, they had three children. His devotional writings, emphasizing practical faith and pastoral care, influenced millions globally.
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J.R. Miller emphasizes that the Cross represents the ultimate expression of divine love, where Christ, embodying God's love, sacrificed Himself for humanity's redemption. He acknowledges the mystery of this love, which is beyond full human comprehension, yet is illustrated through the profound act of Christ's sacrifice. Miller reflects on the imagery of the Crucifixion, suggesting that while we may not fully grasp the depth of this love, we can be assured of the redemption it offers to those who humbly approach the Cross. He highlights the personal nature of Christ's love, as expressed in Paul's words, making it clear that each individual is cherished in the heart of the Redeemer. The sermon concludes with a poignant reminder of Christ's suffering and the personal nature of His sacrifice for each of us.
The Great Mystery of Love
The Cross was the culmination of divine love. The life of Christ was all love. He was the love of God come down to earth, interpreted in a human life, so that all could understand it. At last, on the Cross, this love found its highest expression, when the Son of God gave Himself up to redeem sinners. We can never understand the mystery of this love. We have hints of it—but hints only, in some of the higher expressions of human love. The immeasurable distance between the divine Redeemer and those He died to redeem—makes the love forever inexplicable. Some artists have suggested this mystery in their pictures of the Crucifixion. One artist has left nearly everything to the thought of the beholder. Where the form of the Savior is—there is only darkness, with some traces, little more than suggestions, of light, which, as you study the picture closely, reveal in dim, shadowy outline, the form of a Man on a cross. The face appears in merest outline, and a ray of light shows the figure of one kneeling at the foot of the cross. The picture suggests two mysteries—the mystery of the love of Christ in its great sacrifice; and then the mystery of redemption by which the blessing of that sacrifice is communicated to penitent human souls that bow at the Cross. The Cross is now the center of the world's hopes. We cannot understand the mystery—but we are sure of the fact that there is redemption in the blood of Christ. Paul puts the truth in a few great luminous words in one of his letters, "The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me." This concentrating of the love of Christ and its great sacrifice upon himself, as if Paul had been the only one Christ loved and for whom He gave Himself up—shows us that we are all individualized in the heart of the Redeemer, and in the meaning of His work. Each one of us may say, "He loved me, and gave Himself up for me!" "Under an eastern sky, Amid a rabble cry, A man went forth to die—For me! Thorn-crowned His blessed head, Blood-stained His every tread, Cross-laden, on He sped—For me!"
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James Russell Miller (1840 - 1912). American Presbyterian pastor, author, and editor born near Frankfort Springs, Pennsylvania, to Irish-Scottish parents. Educated at Westminster College and Allegheny Theological Seminary, he was ordained in 1867, serving First United Presbyterian Church in New Wilmington. He pastored Bethany Presbyterian in Philadelphia, growing it from 75 to 1,200 members by 1878, then led churches in Illinois and at Hollond Mission and St. Paul Church in Philadelphia, reaching 1,397 members by 1912. Miller served as a U.S. Christian Commission agent during the Civil War, later becoming Editorial Superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication in 1880. He authored over 80 books, including In Green Pastures, selling over two million copies in his lifetime. Married to Louise King in 1870, they had three children. His devotional writings, emphasizing practical faith and pastoral care, influenced millions globally.