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First Mennonite Church
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“Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in
your troubles, and pray at all times. —
Romans 12:12
What's Happening @ FMCTuesday, March 3
6:30 pm Administration Commission Thursday, March 5
6:30 pm Church Board Friday, March 6 6:00 pm
Ladies Night In. All ladies are invited to join the First Mennonite Ladies for dinner (Bring a favorite food to share) and games or crafts Quick Links:
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Sunday Worship: 9:00 AM (Sunday School following) You are welcome to join us on Sunday, or stop in for a chat! We want to meet you! |
Sermons on YouTubeFollow link above to our church page on YouTube
`````````````LENT - 2026
````````*Road Signs Pointing to the Cross* ```````````“Unusual Sightings On The Road to The Cross” ```````MARCH 8 “Crowning Jesus the King” Mark 15:16-20 Our Worship Preview Jesus talked much about his kingdom. And yet, at his death, his kingdom was nowhere to be found. At least that’s how it looked to most people. Anybody can be a king if they don’t need a kingdom, if their kingdom is only in their mind. But the reason people didn’t see Jesus’ Kingdom, is that they were looking in the wrong places. And granted, Jesus’ Kingdom was not very visible at first. But then, Jesus’ Kingdom wasn’t like any kingdom people had ever seen before, or even imagined. Jesus’ Kingdom would not have geographical boundaries, or armies to defend it, or a flag to identify it. When Jesus was arrested and taken to Pilate, Pilate questioned him about being a king, and Jesus replied that his kingdom is not from this place (John 18:36). Pilate took that to mean that Jesus’ kingdom was merely a figment of his imagination, and was nothing real, and nothing to be concerned about. When Pilate handed Jesus over to be flogged, the soldiers immediately began mocking Jesus for imagining he was a king. They thought Jesus was delusional and lived in some imaginary world, so they dressed him up as a king, with a robe, and a crown, and a scepter, and they bowed before him, all in mockery, all to feed his delusional imagination. But what they didn’t know was that God was using them to introduce Jesus the King to the world. The soldiers soon got rid of the robe and other vestures that would make Jesus look like a king, but very interestingly, they left the crown on Jesus’ head. It was a crown of thorns, put there in mockery. And Jesus was still wearing the crown of thorns when they nailed him to the cross. What the soldiers did in mockery, was to announce something of very great spiritual significance to those who had the eyes to see it, but hidden from those who only mocked Jesus. So, what is so significant about the crown of thorns? To find out we need to go back to the beginning of the Bible, when Satan came into the Garden of Eden and deceived Eve and Adam. The result of disobedience to God, was that a curse entered creation that would infect all of creation (Genesis 3:14-19). From that day on, thorns and thistles, wasteful plants, would contend with food crops that grow from the ground. And from that day, the thorns became the symbol of the curse. Now, we find the thorns at the cross! Recently, we discovered that the aroma of the anointing nard lingered on Jesus’ feet all the way to the cross to provide a sweet aroma as Jesus sacrificed himself for the sins of the world. Today, we see that Jesus bears the curse to the cross. And all of a sudden, for those who have eyes to see it, the cross of Jesus becomes not some sad symbol of death, but a sign of our liberation.
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