Children’s Message (aimed for adults as big kids) including scriptures…
“Students – ready for our science lesson?” – Pass out palms to congregation –
Show PLANT STUFF – PROPS with tablecloths– about photosynthesis, chloroplasts, thylakoids, CF1 CF0… Stomata… so many interesting workings…
“So, science students, if this in the plant leaf – in the cell – in the chloroplast is more than we knew or even could fathom, then OH – we are here on Palm Sunday for someone greater and all-knowing WHO ARE WE WAVING THESE PALMS FOR? OH JESUS!!!
“Students – so is Jesus more than we can imagine? YES – Jesus is the Messiah – and there were even prophesies for His coming – many – Here is but one of them: from Zechariah 9:9 in prophesy of this day Palm Sunday – the day beginning holy week:
“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
“These people waiving Palms knew that Jesus had just risen Lazarus from the dead – and had performed many miracles – they believed the hand of God was on Him.
“Here is the gospel of John 12:12-16 telling Jesus Coming to Jerusalem as King…
“The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting : “Hosanna!” – “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” – “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.”

big HOSANNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KEEP WAVING………….

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Psalm 118:1, 14-15, 22-29 Read in between songs
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
…
The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
…
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

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PALM SUNDAY SERMON
HOSANNA!!!!! Let’s say it again waving our palms!
Don’t you just love that we are walking into Easter? – But it is going to be a long hard week for Jesus – and we humbly know that His Steps are what He took for His Love of us. His deep deep LOVE. May we hope to return that love to Him today and always. May our JOY be more than our sorrow – May our JOY be a realization that He died for us when we were yet still sinners – and that NOW we know that God’s VICTORY is everything to us. Therefore, we can sing even when we still have trouble in this world.
Forever God is Faithful – we could sing that all day – Forever God is faithful – Forever God is strong – Forever God is with us – Forever …. His love endures forever – Sing praise, sing praise… I love this line: For the life that’s been reborn, His love endures FOREVER !!!
Yes, “Sing praise, sing praise”, Forever is brought to us by Jesus – not just in Easter – not just Palm Sunday but FOREVER – even in the deepest of winters of our lives, we are to hold out for spring… hold out for FOREVER… HOLD ON TO JESUS… STRENGTH – remember the little card scripture here – He stands by us –
I appreciate that we are in the Spring – today it stopped raining (finally) although I was thankful for the rain to knock down the pollen allergies – and yet with spring we can talk about renewal and life and love and the blessings of Easter’s Promise and Hope – We see this in spring renewing every year with the new blooms – the greening up of the grass – the April showers bringing May flowers and May flowers? – well – PILGRIMS – we are the pilgrims on this journey. A journey WITH Jesus this week.
Recounting our kid’s message: I hope you enjoyed learning about the intricacies of plant leaves and the fascination of complex photosynthesis, thylakoid pancake grana stacks, knob-shaped ATP producing and using protein complexes CF0CF1, F0F1, and yes the antenna-like photosystems of chlorophyll and accessory pigments – the complexity that takes in CO2 – makes life-giving Oxygen gas, make Carbon complex sugar molecules, stores up, uses, and makes renewing energy – and allows flower to bloom and fruits to be set. We love to learn and we barely scratch the surface!!!
It is WISDOM for us to know that as much as we learn, we realize we don’t even know a fraction of how it all works, let alone comes together all in an area smaller than a speck – it is more than we can even imagine – more than our microscopes can see – more than our imaginations too. Us not knowing makes me hunger for more knowledge and all of us realize that we cannot know all things – but we are to know they work together in concert … And Have Faith in the unseen…

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SO… I want us to learn today more about God – know and believe in the things that we cannot even see – to know God is to know how He brings things together for the GOOD… and for us to barely scratch the surface of all that He does for us…. All He has and that He is still doing.
To know God is to know Love –
His Love is AMAZING, VAST, more than we can ever imagine.

When we learn about God’s Love – knowing God’s LOVE – we learn about Jesus – and in our Knowing God series of sermons – I present today that we continually want to know God more – and more – and WOW, Jesus, Messiah, is more than we could ever imagine….

Previously, we brought up our prophet Jonah was told to cry to Ninevah, scooped up inside that whale because he did not want to go – Jonah experienced 3 days of repentance, remorse, and surely fear – I don’t know how you would feel inside of a whale – but fear is a human emotion that we experience… And Jonah came OUT of the whale to preach as God directed him, to preach to all the sinful people – even if he could never imagine they would repent. For us to know God – we know and imagine Jesus coming out of the tomb, 3 days later to SAVE all the sinful people – already KNOWING to be their Shephard – to be the Word – to be our All in All.

Jesus walking into Jerusalem (actually riding on the donkey) – Jesus KNEW His Mission – no whale was needed – Jesus DID choose to walk this path… Jesus chose to save us before we even knew Him.
As our scriptures recounted: Jesus came into Jerusalem at the what we now call Palm Sunday – John’s gospel tells us that Jesus had been there multiple times – of course we know of him as a boy going there to the temple, losing mom and dad, this journey was common in that time – and known to Him, taking the trek as a human and as the Savior. And so, it is no surprise that the timing of this entry was expected, known, prophesized, and palatable and real to Jesus. Others were in awe, Jesus was in fulfilment of “doing His job” which He knew from before time, it was a path He was to take. Jesus did come into Jerusalem knowing the week ahead – the hard steps –– We know the crowd was there in cheers on Sunday – and yet the crowd later would take to jeers by Friday on crucifixion day – disillusioned and disappointed… The Sunday crowd thought Jesus was an earthly king. Oh, Jesus was much more than that – as many would discover in one week’s time with the resurrection of this the Christ. There would be many who would turn away but come back again – we too who have turned from Him are always welcomed back – to know Jesus is to know He is Always there for us.

On that Palm Sunday, Jesus came in “on His Word” fulfilling prophecy – and even if the crowd was in cheers, Jesus came in – on that donkey – IN TEARS… Luke’s gospel states the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” – “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”… As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

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Should the people have known? Should they have been looking for more than an earthly king appointed by God? They surely thought Jesus or any potential earthly king would swoop in and save them from Roman rule and oppression. So many times we hear that the peoples’ eyes had been closed and ears had been closed – how many times did Jesus petition for those to hear – to see… We know from the reading of Psalm 118 and from the prophet Zachariah, that God’s messenger and God’s fulfillment would come… Zechariah’s prophesy came in the rebuilding time – after Babylon’s rule – His visions were surely complicated to the future but this portion is about a Messianic King – to understand that the people would cheer this Heavenly messenger – would come humbly and then be rejected – and there was a complicated time frame to understand that people were likely not aware of – and then there is that “crowd mentality” that took over – especially end of the week…

EXCEPT for the ones whose eyes and ears were starting to be opened – to those who were filled with Spirit like 30 years prior for Simeon and Anna in the temple when Jesus was brought in as a baby… but unfortunately most did not imagine this Jesus would be amazing and King to come.
It clearly states in John’s gospel of wisdom years later that: “Only after Jesus was GLORIFIED did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him” ….
And Psalm 118 probably attributable to King David – mentions the Messianic King – who we now know in spirit-site to be Jesus – to be prophesied to reign on and restore the Kingdom – this too speaks of the coming and the rejection of Jesus: stating The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone – so Jesus knew this plan – helped author the plan – and ached for those who did not understand and don’t understand.

Jesus’s tears – if one could have seen them – they would have spoke volumes if not these words: “Forgive them Lord they know not what they do”, spoken on the cross and surely felt deep inside by Jesus riding in: Forgive them Lord, they really don’t know WHO I am….
I pray we understand Jesus as the LOVE that God sent – remembering John 3:16-17 “ For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” —
Knowing Jesus aching in His hear there for the crowd there that day – and for us to Know Him now – to request us to REPENT of sins – we learn our God is a God of sacrifice. Jesus sacrificed out of LOVE for giving His Way to repentance – for giving God’s Grace and Mercy. Knowing God is knowing that Jesus came to save. Psalm 118 again: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”

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One of my favorite favorite scriptures of Jesus – stating how IMPORTANT it is for Him to come in saving Grace is from Luke’s Gospel: Jesus’s disciples were hoop and hollering this Hosanna – and “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” – “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” – WOW – [hold up rock with smiling face] – We are encouraged and told to both believe and shout it out – that the rocks will cry out if we don’t acknowledge this greatness of the Glory of God bringing Victory over Sin and Death.

I want to acknowledge and celebrate that this has been the week of Passover – the most celebrated of the Jewish faith – and we too should have the reflection of God’s amazing act in the Book of Exodus – of Moses’s charge to bring the slaves out from Egypt – and the preparation of their meal before the escape – to put the blood of the lamb on their doors and have the angel of death pass over and skip their houses from a terrible plaque. The Lord told the people who did escape to pass these stories down in generations to generations – it is in Leviticus to remember this time of Moses and the enslaved people.

And so for us to Know God – we must on faith be in the knowledge of God’s Plan – and to Know Jesus is to know Him as our Passover Lamb – His blood shed…

We can raise our branches of palms in Hosanna for both His entrance to Holy Week – and wave them for the sake of having our lives now – and for our entrance to Heaven by Way of His Way…

I am going to wrap up my sermon in a practice of understanding Jesus – so many things He is to us – I want us to take a deep absorbing of these truths about Jesus – as I read them – let us think of Who Jesus is to us personally – to that crowd that day – and to know Jesus Forever as we KNOW His entry into Holy Week turns into His Resurrection – and our FOREVER….
(so here we go – please mediate on all these – and imagine each step of Jesus this week like the movement to the Cross):

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[slowly read] TO KNOW JESUS IS TO KNOW:

To Know Jesus is to KNOW:
Jesus, is MORE than just the earthly king.
Jesus is the Passover Blood
Jesus is David’s descendant
Jesus is David’s Lord
Jesus is our purifying fire.
Jesus is establisher of His Kingdom
Jesus is the greatness of His governing
Jesus our Victory
Jesus our Righteousness
Jesus our Hope
Jesus our Lord
Jesus our Savior
Jesus All in All…
Wonderful counselor.
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace
Jesus is the Author of never-ending Peace between God and man…
Jesus is the sword of truth, as the divider
Jesus is the conqueror over evil
Jesus is the crusher of the snake
Jesus the lamb suffering
Jesus the burden holder
Jesus the healer of our ailments
Jesus the healer of our sin
Jesus the conqueror over death
Jesus, Immanuel, God with us
Jesus our brother
Jesus our Shepherd
Jesus the Teacher, “Rabboni”, Rabbi
Jesus as God’s Chosen Son in which He was and IS well pleased
Jesus our Groom for the church as a Bride
Jesus is our daily bread
Jesus is our breath
Jesus is our Strength
Jesus is our Spirit
Jesus is our Judge
Jesus is our forgiveness
Jesus our JOY
Jesus the Christ
Jesus Holy Redeemer
Jesus the Blood
Jesus the Body
Jesus the Sacrificed
Jesus the Master
Jesus the Servant
Jesus the Word made Flesh
Jesus is Love
Jesus is the LIGHT…
JESUS is THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES
Jesus, is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end.
Jesus, Messiah, more than we could EVER imagine.
Jesus walks to the Cross this week –
FOR GOD – and FOR US Amen and AMEN