December 15, 2025
Lay Down Your Crowns
During this Christmas season, let’s bow in self-abandoned surrender and confess that every honor, accomplishment, and triumph we possess comes from the Lord, who alone deserves the glory.
Articles for tag: Crown of Thorns
March 1, 2022
Authentic Messiah
By Jerry Harris Belief has incredible power, doesn’t it? And to think, in some ways, we believe the same story of the Messiah the people of Israel have believed for thousands of years. It is quite revealing. Christ is a Greek term translated from the Hebrew word Messiah, and it’s more a title than anything else. It came from a compilation of Old Testament Scriptures like Deuteronomy 18:18. It means “anointed,” and it was reserved for prophets, priests, and kings. But this one person, this “super” person, would be all three. The Jews placed all their hopes and dreams in
January 24, 2022
His Face
Since God sent Jesus “when the set time had fully come” (Galatians 4:4), we must conclude it is God’s will that we worship the person of Jesus instead of the image of Jesus.
May 31, 2021
Crown of Glory
The only earthly crown Jesus ever wore was made of thorns. Yet it was through his suffering that Jesus received a spiritual crown no human eye has ever seen.
October 29, 2019
The Inspiring Leader
By Stuart Powell After Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Messiah the Jews had long anticipated (Matthew 16:16), Jesus began explaining God’s plans for this long-promised deliverer: From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” (Matthew 16:21, 22, New English Translation). Matthew didn’t record all of
February 20, 2018
Flesh and Blood
By Ronald G. Davis John declared it: “In the beginning was the Word . . . and the Word was God. . . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1, 14). Though John’s Gospel account may emphasize the deity of Christ, it gives full attention to his humanity. Incarnation! The eternal, the nonmaterial, became flesh and blood. Here, we celebrate that fact. Jesus was fully human. He grew from infant in Bethlehem to toddler in Nazareth to a boy of age at the temple to a man . . . at the cross. As
January 22, 2017
A Comprehensive Review
By Becky Ahlberg “When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.” Isaac Watts penned those words in 1707. He was a masterful preacher and poet and was known for writing hymns as part of his sermons. This particular hymn has lasted more than 300 years precisely because it captures the ethos of the cross for each of us personally. Watts was known to have three “rules” for writing: make it personal, make it sensuous (as in appealing to the senses), and
March 15, 2016
Missing God
By Mark A. Taylor Being a soldier can be boring. Especially when you”re far from home, in a dry, dirty, dusty place. When the assignment is to keep order among a stubborn people who resent you and all you stand for, the duty is all the more distasteful. And so, when a strange peasant called a king is assigned to your watch, who could blame you for having a little fun? Nothing about him looks like royalty, that”s for sure. So you find some thorns and make him a crown. Your buddy has a robe he took from some unlucky
January 6, 2016
Kingdom Power
By Jim Tune Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water in a basin and began to wash his disciples” feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him (John 13:3-5). There was never any question regarding appropriate etiquette. It was the privilege of the most powerful person in the room to never need to worry about his
March 5, 2015
Getting Ready for Easter: Plainfield (IN) Christian Church
Remembering the Final Week By Todd Dillon, worship arts pastor, Plainfield (Indiana) Christian Church We always have a pre-Resurrection Day service on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Some of our favorite have been Tenebrae services based on different approaches to the final week before the crucifixion. Some of these have been based on the last seven words of Christ, as told through the eyes of various biblical characters, entwined with Scripture and music. We have used the traditional Tenebrae approach, using lighted candles that we extinguish at intervals until we are left in darkness. Another favorite was “a meal of remembrance.” We had tables
April 7, 2014
Lesson for April 13, 2014: A Messianic Priest-King (Jeremiah 23:5, 6; Zechariah 6:9-15; John 19:1-5; Hebrews 7:13)
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone All of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. Today we hear from two prophets, Jeremiah and Zechariah, before turning to John”s Gospel to see how their predictions came true. Jeremiah is often called “the weeping prophet” because of the difficult message he had to deliver. Chapter 23, however, brings vibrant hope for the future. Zechariah prophesied years later, after the Jewish people returned from exile. He challenged them to complete
