A Palace Fit For A King
Children's sermon
Here Comes The King
Sermons And Children's Lessons For Advent, Christmas And Epiphany
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the temple and the king's palace had already been built. When he was born - 30 years before he rode triumphantly into Jerusalem as the King of kings - the stable had been constructed, probably within a cave on the outskirts of Bethlehem. He was proclaimed "Christ the Lord" at his birth and, later, sought out by the wise men as the "King of the Jews." There were no special preparations made for either event - birth or his strange entrance into Jerusalem. It seems a bit like a fantasy, doesn't it? It happened so long ago, so far away.
Right now, the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, is about to celebrate its annual Winter Carnival. The centerpiece of it will not be an ice palace as it was last year. Much of the world saw the ice palace in January, 1992, during the Super Bowl broadcast. It was the largest structure ever built out of blocks of ice. Each block of ice weighed 550 pounds, and each had to be lifted into place by a crane because they were so heavy. The ice was cut out of a Minnesota lake during December and early January, and then was trucked to St. Paul.
The Ice Palace was about as tall as a football field is wide - 165 feet - and was lit every night to provide a beautiful ornamental setting for the St. Paul Winter Carnival. All sorts of activities, including ice skating around the palace, took place once the palace was completed and the carnival began. It was lit every night with lights that changed color by computer. It was spectacular to see, and as many as two missing people viewed it in all its splendor.
But as soon as the winter carnival was over, the palace was demolished and the smashed ice was dumped into the Mississippi River. It was expensive to build - about $1 million - for something so temporary, and it seemed like a waste of money at times. A television program about the ice palace called it a frozen fantasy.
Why build it? Because it was the temporary home for the legendary king of the Winter Carnival, King Boreas. Of course, he never lives in the palace; he couldn't, because it had no rooms, no amenities, within its icy walls. It was only a shell of a palace. But it certainly looked like a palace for a king, even if he is a make-believe king who "reigns" for less than two weeks.
Jesus, who is the King of kings of all people, and forever, never had a palace built for him. He was born in a cave-stable and buried in a cave-tomb; that's all he got. But Jerusalem, the city of God, with its holy temple, which was the only palace Jesus would know, was his city. That's why the people welcomed him with shouts of joy, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," because they knew that he was - is - the King of kings forever.
Right now, the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, is about to celebrate its annual Winter Carnival. The centerpiece of it will not be an ice palace as it was last year. Much of the world saw the ice palace in January, 1992, during the Super Bowl broadcast. It was the largest structure ever built out of blocks of ice. Each block of ice weighed 550 pounds, and each had to be lifted into place by a crane because they were so heavy. The ice was cut out of a Minnesota lake during December and early January, and then was trucked to St. Paul.
The Ice Palace was about as tall as a football field is wide - 165 feet - and was lit every night to provide a beautiful ornamental setting for the St. Paul Winter Carnival. All sorts of activities, including ice skating around the palace, took place once the palace was completed and the carnival began. It was lit every night with lights that changed color by computer. It was spectacular to see, and as many as two missing people viewed it in all its splendor.
But as soon as the winter carnival was over, the palace was demolished and the smashed ice was dumped into the Mississippi River. It was expensive to build - about $1 million - for something so temporary, and it seemed like a waste of money at times. A television program about the ice palace called it a frozen fantasy.
Why build it? Because it was the temporary home for the legendary king of the Winter Carnival, King Boreas. Of course, he never lives in the palace; he couldn't, because it had no rooms, no amenities, within its icy walls. It was only a shell of a palace. But it certainly looked like a palace for a king, even if he is a make-believe king who "reigns" for less than two weeks.
Jesus, who is the King of kings of all people, and forever, never had a palace built for him. He was born in a cave-stable and buried in a cave-tomb; that's all he got. But Jerusalem, the city of God, with its holy temple, which was the only palace Jesus would know, was his city. That's why the people welcomed him with shouts of joy, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," because they knew that he was - is - the King of kings forever.
