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15 looking at a short section during Jesus time on the cross
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I'm going to read Mark 1529 through 32 and those passing by were hurling abuse at him wagging their heads and
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saying ha you who were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days save yourself and come down from the
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cross in the same way the chief priests also along with the scribes were mocking him among themselves and saying he saved others he cannot save himself let this
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Christ the King of Israel now come down from the cross so that we may see and believe and those who were crucified with him were casting the same insult at
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him let us pray father we have just just sung a number of hymns praising our Lord Jesus
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Christ What A Savior what a friend what a help in time of troubles and he will be with us to the
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end father we see him on the cross we see those who hurled these abuses at him and yet we know that he had a strength
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even in his own weakness he had a strength that was meant for our Salvation we ask that you would help us see him that you would by your spirit
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help us to understand these things to meditate upon them and to give you all glory and honor for what you have done through Jesus Christ we ask these things in Christ's name
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amen so much surrounding the death of the Messiah the Messiah was not what the Jews were hoping for at the beginning of Mark in chapter 1 we read
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how Mark says Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the
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gospel and yet from the very beginning uh in the words of one writer who puts it in a little more contemporary language Jesus announcement
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did not check the boxes that the Jews were expecting from the very beginning of Jesus Advent from his
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Incarnation there were hostilities toward him and his message and his works I mean King Herod wanted to kill him when he was still a baby and the
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Pharisees from the beginning of his ministry and word and the temple plotted his plotted his demise his hometown people wanted to
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throw him off a cliff he was a threat to the elite and his talks about traditions of men opposing the Commandments of God and
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his views of even the law and the Sabbath caused Myriad problems for him
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but the gospels tell the story of Jesus as Israel's God returning in love and in compassion even in death as the author NT wri
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writes Jesus death is seen right across the New Testament not as rescuing people from the world so that they can avoid hell and go to heaven but as as a
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powerful Revolution that is a revolution full of a new sort of power within the world itself Mark's narrative at golgatha as
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we've said it doesn't go into the blood and the gore and the horribleness of the crucifixion itself but here
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interestingly Mark centers on the people who were who were there that day the people who mocked a power the power that they could not
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believe a power that they said we have to see in order to believe and yet that power was power was real and that power would rock the world
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that power was the coming of the Kingdom but not in a way that they expected who were these three groups that we see
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here in this section there are others that we'll encounter further down in Mark but there were the passers by and there were the chief
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priests and there were the two thieves the two the two robbers on the crosses one on Jesus right and one on
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his left who were these passers by why well the the writers the historians tell us that Jesus would have been as we said
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marched through the city in places that were populous so that people would see and the Romans would use that as a deterrent to criminal activity but there
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were people who would stand and see the procession going to golgatha and even Simon of sirene happened to be one of those pastors by who
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was put into service to carry Jesus cross it's the Passover there were lots of people there it was early in the morning on the day of preparation and so
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there were people who were passing by but there were also people who were passing by on purpose I believe that had
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heard the testimony of those in the nighttime trial we call of the Sanhedrin or had heard the arguments that people were making but they had completely
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misunderstood the words that we see in Mark chapter Mark chapter 14 we hear the testimony at that trial they said and some stood up and began
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giving false testimony against him saying we heard him say I will destroy this Temple the eye will destroy this Temple that was made
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made by hands and in 3 days I will build another made without hands well they totally misunderstood what Jesus had actually said about destroying the temple and
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building it up in 3 days but they were hurling abuse at him they were blaspheming and
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blaspheming is to speak against God or anything pertaining to God and it can be according to the definitions can be done in two ways and
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I think they're here done in anger and disrespectful ridicule why be be because of the things that he said and did during his
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ministry people objected to the fact that he would tell the paralyzed man remember the four men who couldn't get into the house and they dropped the paralyzed man through the
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roof and set him before Jesus and what does Jesus say to him son your sins are forgiven no you can't say that
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Jesus later he says all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men except blasphemy against the
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spirit and then he tells them neglecting you neglect the Commandments of God and you hold to the traditions of men and so they rail against him and revile him because of his words but also
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because he had claimed to be divine and so they wag their heads you can you can picture it in Mark you have
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that again that kind of cinematic view of the people just kind of wagging their heads and as I can understand and
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probably still today wagging the head can can be three different motions it can be this and it can be this this and it can be this it can mean a negation
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and again I one or all of the following and as I read Mark there there is a lot of mockery there is a lot of cynicism a lot of sarcasm in here and I'm going to
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take all take all three when you do this it's a negation but in Jesus case a negation saying no implying that this is not our Messiah
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but it it can also be this an this an affirmation a gesture of aent this is what that man
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deserves he's getting his just punishment hanging on that cross but I think we also hear in these words again hurling abuse as The New
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American Standard translates it they say ha you who are going to destroy the temple and rebuilding in 3 days save
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yourself and come down from the cross an expression of malignant Triumph a sort of applauding
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acclamation applied ironically to Jesus as one who promised a lot but he can't
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deliver they see Jesus condemned and executed condemned because they said well he's been found guilty by the highest religious Court of the land of blasphemy against our God he's been rejected for this barabus
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guy this guy this insurrectionist he's been set free but this man has been delivered up by political Authority they saw him
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executed crucified on a cross as a common criminal as a danger to Roman rule an evil influence to the
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Jews and an enemy of God that's what they saw that's what they perceived and notice again how they
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address Jesus address Jesus directly they say it out loud to him you you who were going to destroy the temple you save
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yourself if you can do such a mighty work as destroying the temple and rebuild it by yourself in 3 days and by the way it only took 46 years to build
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it the first time Jesus if you can do that you can save yourself from this little situation that you've gotten yourself into
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you come on down from the cross oh but we see that you can't you who talk so big the coming of
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the Kingdom God visiting his people you who would save others and the passers by again totally
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misunderstood let me read the words that Jesus actually spoke from John 18 the Jews said to him what sign do you show us as your Authority for doing
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these things Jesus answered destroy this Temple notice he didn't say I will destroy this Temple he really means you
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destroy this Temple and in 3 days I will raise it up and then the Jews said it took 46 years to build this Temple and yet you will raise it in 3 days but he was speaking of the Temple of his
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body their rejection of the Messiah God's true Temple the symbol that God had dealt with sin and the symbol that he was coming again to dwell
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nation in the same way vers 31 tells us in the same way the chief priests also along with the scribes were mocking him among themselves the chief priests here
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remember the chief priests the scribes and the elders make up the Sanhedrin but it's very clear the way Mark writes it in the same way the chief priest along with the scribes they were the ring
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leaders they were the ones at the top of the hierarchy they were the authority they were leading the mock in
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cheers and here they are at the base of the cross on that Hill called golgatha in the public eye we don't know how many of the 71
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that have made made up the Sanhedrin were there some of the commentators believe that it was quite a few because of their indignation and their hatred of
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Jesus but here they are in the public die and as our brother read from Matthew they can't follow that same
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behavior here in public can they they've got to put on their best robes and their best sandals here in the public eye they can't spit at
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him they can't strike him with a blow with a with a whip but they can stab him with cowardly and insulting words
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I say cowardly because notice in verse 31 it says in the same way they were mocking him among themselves the passers by spoke directly to Jesus but what did
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these holy men do they're he saved others but he can't save himself they were talking among
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themselves addressing each other as they mock Jesus now some of the authorities uh commentaries that I read believe this is an admission the first part of this
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statement he saved others and maybe they're looking back at Galilee and all of his sitting and the people couldn't even get to the house because they were
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he was healing so many people and they were bringing the lame and the the BL to him to heal them but I don't see this again in the words of Mark I do not see
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this as an admission I see this as a sneering conditional statement if he rescued and delivered others and brought them to some safe
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State then he could at least be able to save himself but since he's obviously cannot
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not save himself he's stuck there on that cross we deny that he ever really saved anyone that's what I believe the depth
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of this mockery is and therefore they would say to one another all those Miracles he's purported to have
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done all of those healings all the great compassion that this man is supposed to have their suspect under
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suspect under suspicion we don't really believe that he did all that they're actually bringing a taunt against his ministries of mercy and
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mercy and healing and the way in which he poured himself out for many it's an exaltation in his supposed loss of any
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saving power and so they issue this cruel challenge in verse 32 and again listen to the sarcasm let this Christ the King
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of Israel now come down from the cross so that we may see and believe see they're picking up on the fact that in the nighttime trial before Caiaphas what
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was the charge that he's calling himself the Messiah he's blaspheming God and before Pilate what was he indicted for calling himself King of the Jews but
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notice what they say here they do not say king of the Jews they say king of Israel pilate would use King of the Jews because it's it's the people it's the
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Jewish people but here the chief priests are using that religious term of honor of Israel but again it's dripping with sarcasm let this Christ this one who
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purports to be the king of Israel let him come down and they totally Dishonored his
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claims and they say we will only acknowledge we will only believe his pretentions when they appear before our
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eyes and according to G Campbell Morgan the chief priest committed two blunders a literal blunder and a spiritual
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over Jesus je Jesus didn't accidentally stumble into a trap in Gethsemane he he didn't allow himself to
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be tricked he was was not caught unawares he laid down his life he was crucified because even though he could have
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escaped he did not he had options some of the commentators list three options that he had in fact some
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are very surprised sometimes that he didn't take one of these three options he could have had some kind of diplomatic discussion diplomatic discussion with pilate pilate thought he was
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innocent many expected Jesus to explain himself to pilate you didn't understand here's who I am but Jesus did not take that
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route some thought he should go back to the city and make another popular appeal I remember that great Palm Sunday when they acclaimed him him as
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popularity and as our brother read Jesus had already said I could call down 12 Legions of angels and they would rescue me but Jesus did not resort to calling down Divine wrath upon
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his father's enemies he did not resort to diplomacy he did not rely on the fickleness of men but he
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remained silent because he committed himself to God because only by dying could he slay
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death he could only make an end of sin by being made sin for us he had to stand alone because he came to save his people
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from their from their sins he did not call on Divine wrath but instead he instead he exercised his act of
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Salvation as one of divine love he could not save himself because he was the one who with God was
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destroying sin and healing Sinners and again in the words of G camel Morgan to save others he did not save
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himself and what about these two thieves two robbers one on his right and one on his left I believe they are Central to the revolution of which Wright speaks the
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revolution which is now begun this is not original with me but I would ask you to listen again to the words from Mark chapter 10 where James
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and John the two disciples come up to Jesus and asked this question that the others were very indignant
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about and he said to them what do you want me to do for you and they said grant that we may sit in your Glory one on your right and one on your left but
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Jesus said to them you do not know what you're asking for you were able to drink the cup that I drink or to be baptized with the baptism which with I am
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baptized and they said to him we are able and Jesus said to them the cup that I drink you shall drink and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized but to sit on my right or on
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my left that is not mine to give but it is for those for whom it has been prepared is it possible that these are the two men for whom it has been
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prepared for the coming of the Kingdom for the time for the kingdom to come because the
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revolution that revolution that John and James were expecting was a a struggle a batt attle
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a military of military might that the kingdom will come with that kind of power but listen to the rest of Mark chapter 10 when Jesus answers this
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question when the others began to feel indignant they're asking for something that's for themselves and not us as all
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disciples but Jesus reminds him he says you know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and their great men
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exercise authority over them but it is not so among you but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant and whoever wishes to be first
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among you shall be slave of all for even the son of man did not come to be served but to but to serve and to give his life a ransom for
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the kingdom of God will come when he accomplishes his work and that work is to die on the cross it's a different Power it's a revolutionary power a power not like the kingdoms of the
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world but he is going to give his life a ransom for ransom for many over all the powers of the World there is a power of His self-giving love they would destroy his body but in
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three days he would be raised he would be raised as God's Temple the dwelling place they would dismiss him as impotent
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to save to save himself but he would indeed save others they would dishonor him as numbered among the criminals but he way would lay down his life as a ransom for
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many in order to save others he did not save himself let us pray Our
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pray Our Father the things that our Lord did the things that he endured the mocker mockery the cruelty of the
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of the Cross all of these things being totally misunderstood even by those who were closest to him and yet he endured the cross he despised the shame and he now
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sits at your right hand in glory to make intercession for his Saints father we cannot express too much we cannot express even
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in words we need the Holy Spirit to give size that are too deep for words to express our express our gratitude our awe our Wonder at what
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Christ has done we thank you for these things we thank you for the cross in Christ's name we pray amen you please rise for the
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benediction from Romans chapter 14 Paul writes for not one of us lives for himself and not one dies for himself if we live we live for the Lord or if we
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die we die for the Lord therefore whether we live or die we are the Lords for to this end Christ died and lived again that he might be the Lord both of
