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The Crown Of Thorns

Sermon
Carl B. Rife
Harold D. Shaffer
At The Cross With Jesus
10 Sermons And Monologues
We have been looking at the symbols of the cross during this season. Like the symbols of the rest of the Christian message, these symbols are cumulative. When we put them all together, we see something of the full message of Jesus. The first symbol is the palms which represent the fickleness of the crowd whose Palm Sunday commitment became dry and dead like the palm branches on our cross by the end of the week. The money bag symbolizes on one level greed and on another level the attempt to manipulate Jesus into a different role as Messiah than the one which Jesus understood his role to be.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready to hear today’s story? (Let them respond.) Let’s get started!

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P: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.

P: God calls us from our rebellion, from our bondage of sin to seek him and to delight in his ways. He calls us to fast in humility, to serve our neighbor, to share our bread with the hungry, and to bring the homeless poor into our houses. He calls free the bonds of the oppressed. Let us, therefore, examine our hearts in the light of his commands.

Silence for reflection and confession

P: Gracious and holy God,

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