By combining a compelling sermon series with an insightful group of monologues, "At The Cross With Jesus" offers flexible, effective resources that will keep the cross central in your congregation's minds and hearts during Lent. Practical for use in any church, large or small, the material in "At The Cross With Jesus" is perfect for midweek worship or Holy Week services, and could also be used for a Bible study.
The five moving messages in The Symbols Of The Cross examine Jesus' final days by focusing on powerful images from the Passion story. Each homily relates these events to our everyday lives by exploring a specific symbol and the human characteristic it exemplifies. There are also directions for creating a searing memory of these symbols by placing visual representations of each image on a wooden cross.
Symbols included are:
- The Palms (a symbol of our fickleness)
- The Money Bag (a symbol of our greed)
- The Towel (a symbol of servanthood)
- The Crown of Thorns (a symbol of mockery)
- The Nails of the Cross (a symbol of suffering)
In Five Who Knew Jesus, five persons who were intimately acquainted with Jesus describe their personal relationships with him. Through hearing the perspective of those who played critical roles in Jesus' life, we are encouraged to look more closely at our own relationships with Christ during the introspective season of Lent. The monologues may be performed in readers' theater format, but are even more effective if memorized. Few props are required, and costumes are a nice touch but not essential.
Characters represented are:
- John -- a hot-tempered man who becomes the disciple of love
- Mary, the mother of Jesus -- a woman who suffers a mother's pain while humbly accepting God's will
- Peter -- an arrogant man who becomes a humble disciple
- Judas -- the disciple who failed because he thought he knew best
- Mary Magdalene -- a woman of the world who strives to love herself as Jesus loved her
Carl B. Rife has pastored United Methodist congregations throughout Maryland and Pennsylvania for more than 30 years. His sermons and worship resources have appeared in several CSS publications, and he is the author of "Bumper Sticker Religion" (CSS).
Harold D. Shaffer, an active member of St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Arbutus, Maryland, is a licensed clinical counselor who currently serves on the staff of an addictions clinic in Catonsville, Maryland. Shaffer is also on the adjunct faculty of Baltimore City Community College and the Maryland Office of Education and Training for Addiction Services (OETAS).

"A few years ago I saw a bumper sticker on a car that said, "Let Our Kids Pray." I had an immediate reaction.... I went to my car and got a pen and paper and wrote on the paper, "Who's stopping them?" and put it under the windshield wiper." (from "Let Our Kids Pray")
Carl B. Rife found sermon themes on bumper stickers. With the help of his congregation, he identified seven familiar themes and crafted sermons from them.
The sermons in this book are sometimes an elaboration, sometimes a correction, sometimes an argument, and sometimes a discussion of the particular sentiment found on the bumper sticker.
This book touches a number of basic Christian themes including:
Creation
Forgiveness
The second coming
God's word
Prayer
Grace
Discipleship
Carl Rife is pastor of Milford Mill United Methodist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. A graduate of Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pennsylvania, and United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, he received a doctor of ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington DC.

"The Church Is You and I "is a simple but significant Confirmation service and message. The service reflects on the meaning of Confirmation in terms of our relationship to the church. Confirmation is seen as covenant -- an affirmation of our new covenant with God and the church. That covenant calls us to service. It is this theme of service and mutual sharing that is found in the message. The church is seen as people -- not as buildings. The sermon/message is written in poetic form and may be presented in dialogue fashion using three voices or many voices.
Carl B. Rife is pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a graduate of Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pennsylvania, and United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio. He received his Doctor of Ministry degree in 1973 from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. Dr. Rife has also taken graduate courses at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Carolyn Bishop is the Director of Program at Grace United Methodist Church in Baltimore and Assistant Professor at Towson State University and Essex Community College. She received her BS degree from New Jersey State College and her MRE from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Ms. Bishop has served as a teacher in the public schools of New Jersey and as Director of Christian Education in several churches.