The hymn 101. The hymn 101, we're singing just the first two verses. The hymn 101, blessed be the fountain of blood, for a world of sinners revealed, blessed be the dear son of God, only by his stripes we are healed. Just the verse one and two, and if you are leaving, then please do so at this time, and God's people will remember the Savior's death after we sing these two verses of the hymn 201. Blessed be the fountain of the love for a world of sinners we Oh. Oh. ♪ The reason where sorrows be born ♪ ♪ A body suffered, a soul found in vain ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I to the heart of Tim be led ♪ ♪ May I shall be. Our loving Father, we come to remember Thee. We thank Thee for the pitcher that is before us, the broken bread, the poured out wine. We bless Thee for the broken body of our Savior, the pouring out of Christ so long to death, the offering of Himself to the Father on our behalf. Wash me in the blood of the Lamb, and I shall be whiter than snow. Bless our time, though brief around thy word, and may our sights be fixed on Christ, the only Redeemer of ourselves. We offer prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. Returning to Mark 15, just a single thought. Mark chapter 15, we'll begin reading the verse 15 of the chapter. Mark 15, verse 15. Word of God says, and so Pilate, willing to contempt the people, released Barabbas unto them and delivered Jesus when he had scourged him to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall called Fraternium. And they called together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and plaited a crown of thorns, and put it upon his head, and began to salute him, Heel, King of the Jews. And they smote him on the head with a reed, and they spit upon him, and bowing their knees, worshipped him. When they had mocked him, he took off the purple from him and put his own clothes on him and led him out to crucify him. Amen. The kings and queens of England have stored their ceremonial regalia at the Tower of London at the Jewell House for many years. Since the 1600s, the coronation regalia itself commonly known to us as the crown jewels, and being protected in the tower. One of the most important items for any royal family's coronation regalia is the crown. Royal crowns have long been the symbol of authority, of power, of sovereignty, and they've been made from the most prestigious and rare materials possible. But for a few moments, I want us to consider the crown that was given to the Lord Jesus Christ by the Roman soldiers just prior to his death on the cross of Calvary. Mark 15, verse 17, we're informed that the soldiers draped the Savior's body with purple, the color of royalty, and they planted a crown of thorns and put it about his head. The King of Kings, was given a crown of thorns. The imperial state crown that Queen Elizabeth wears on many important occasions including the state opening of Parliament contains 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls and 4 rubies. How different his crime and her crime. His crime was not made of diamonds. It wasn't made of feathers or flowers. It wasn't made of straw. It wasn't made of paper. It was made of thorns. Thorning was the crime that he bore. Thorns find their first appearance in scripture at the fall. In Eden's paradise, cursing the ground, God declared to Adam in Genesis 3 verse 18, thorns also and thistles shall I bring forth to thee. Thou shalt eat the herb of the field. Before this occasion, roses had no thorns. It was a thornless world. But whenever the fall came, so were thorns. They are a symbol of the fall, and they are a symbol of the subsequent curse. Now the curse must find a place to rest. It must find an object for its wrath. The curse of God. Christ is my Savior. By God, the curse passed from my head and onto the head of my substitute, Jesus Christ. And it is the same for you. The curse began in Thorns in Genesis 3, 18, and it ended in Thorns. It was a cruel coronation, instigated by Roman soldiers. And yet amidst their scorn, a deeply poignant and instructive truth is pictured in that thorny crown, and it's this. Christ bears sin's curse. He bears it. And he takes it to the cross, the crown. Because while they take from him the purple robe, in verse 20, we do not read of them taking the thorny crown from his head. And so he's enthroned upon the cross, and he bears the curse there for us. Cursed, cursed of God. is he who hangs on the tree. He bears the curse. Thank God this afternoon, Calvary's victor no longer wears the crown of thorns, but instead he's crowned with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne. Hebrews 2 verse 9 puts it this way, but we see Jesus, who's made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. Today he's crowned with glory and honor. He's king and he's returning as king. Thank God the curse has been born by our Savior, and thereby we are freed from it. And all of its terrible, terrible wages, we're free because Christ has borne it for us. to the cross and see our Lord and Savior die there for us. Some words from 1st Corinthians chapter 11. I received with the Lord that which also I delivered on to you with the Lord. The same night in which it is And with the bread having been broken, we now invite some brother to lead us in prayer to give thanks for the bread before us, a symbol of the broken body of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Some brother, please lead us in prayer. Thank you. Lord, we thank you for what thou didst on the cross for our sake. Lord, all for our sake are peace to me. There would be no peace with God, and there would be no peace of God. We'd still be at war with God. We'd still be rebels against him, and the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, the more we think of him, We'll have all those crimes cast at Eiffel for the most terribleest of crimes, the most cruelest of crimes that man could have done. Thank you Lord. But it was not only that classical crime, but the curse itself. Lord, sand came upon me when that crime came upon me. Lord, something we never felt before. Sand. The Son of the Saviour became the Son of the First. Lord, thank you for my mercy. Lord, we rejoice that Lord so little of her thought life has processed. Many thanks, Lord, to thee. And we pray, Lord, that Thou would give us help, Lord, and even to study out, Lord, for each and every one of our lives, Lord, what You've offered for us. And Lord, that will enable us to, Lord God, be more like Thee, even when we're in the times of suffering, when we're in the times when we realize, Lord, that it's not anything like what You saw. My, my, my. Lord, thank you that you suffered once to just for all of us, and now you bring us to God. And Lord, that's what we pray for. That many will be brought to God, even Lord, this day. That Lord, those in our congregation and those in the wider community who have seen that you don't have to be old today. There's no age for death. That they would realise, Lord, that they need to get their houses in order. They need to set their lives in order. That they might, Lord, not be unarrested. And where the next bottle or can or anything else comes from, that they'd be unarrested. and for our soul's salvation. Lord, answer prayer and bless me, God. Bless service, Lord, and everything that takes place in Christ's name. Amen. again as some rather a leading prayer to thank God for the cup that we are about to receive, the cup which is the New Testament, the covenant and the blood. Thank God for his Heavenly Father, I'm sweet. Think of them, that thorn, that crown of thorns laid upon thy brow. Thee, the sinless one. Thee, the very Son of God. And why did you have to go through it? Because of my sin. And oh God, we just want to say thank you again We want to say thank you, Lord Jesus, for obedience to thy father, obedience even unto death, because you loved us. You loved me. And O God, just as them thorns were a pain to the Lord Jesus Christ, show us our sin upon that sin that he bore on Calvary's cross. And oh God, it bore that much pain because all of his life, Christ and you were at one. What you knew, Christ knew. Nothing was between you and him. And yet our sin, when he was made sin by my sin, you had to turn your back upon him. What pain. What suffering. For all of eternity before, and for all of eternity, ever after. You, O God, and your Son, Jesus, was at one. But on that cross, while he bore our sin upon his own body, you had to turn away from him. O God, we thank you. that he was obedient. We thank you for that precious blood that flowed freely on Calvary. This I-word tells us neither the blood of calves nor of goats can wash away our sins, but we thank you and we bless thee that his blood Wash us afresh even here today, Lord. Wash us whiter than the driven snow. And O God, may in that washing may we become obedient unto Thee, even as Christ was. O Lord, we have heard afresh here of Thy Word this morning. even about this thy holy day. And O God, may each and every one of us not only hear thy word, but obey. O God, may we be prepared, as Christ did, to be obedient to thee and to thy word. Lord, we thank you for thy word. And we thank you for thy love towards us. Oh, just give us a greater love for thee. We pray in his great name. After the same manner also he took the cup when he had stopped saying, This cup is a new testament in my blood, this do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till ye come." Exclosing prayer, please. Our Father, we thank Thee for Christ, the bread of life. We rejoice in Him who satisfies the soul. Recognize, Lord, that that which we have partaken today will never satisfy the natural appetite for having tasted and seen that the Lord is good. We thank thee that our souls are satisfied today. We thank thee that he, that scapegoat has borne our sins to that land uninhabitable, taken it far away from us, so far that they are forgotten. Nearby we are, delivered from sin, its guilt, its shame, its disgrace, and its eternal wages. We glory in the cross. Our boast is there. Our confidence is in another. May this day we find the greatest prophet to our souls, greater prophet than we've ever experienced before. Help us go out into the world and live for thee, and to bear a good testimony before others. We offer prayer and through the same Thank you.