Palm Sunday Messages from New Hope Assembly of God, NuMine, PA
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- Christianity
This morning, we celebrate Palm Sunday. Though this is a man-made holiday, it is based on a Biblical prophecy that both has been fulfilled and also will be fulfilled again in the future. Like Jesus, we’re not into man-made traditions around here, but we certainly do love prophecy!
Not only because prophecy is awesome, but because God’s word also tells us to eagerly desire it and not to despise it. Prophecy is encouraging and reveals God’s plans and purposes for our future that gives us hope.
1 Corinthians 14:1
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 (ESV)
20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.
Although prophecy is great, it is also commonly misunderstood. God’s ways are certainly not ours and although He always follows through with what He says, it may not be how we expect it to happen.
In today’s prophecy, the people had it so right and yet so wrong at the same time. Unfortunately, we often follow in their footsteps still today…
The prophecy that we remember and celebrate on this Palm Sunday comes from Zechariah 9. It’s where God promises to come riding in on a colt, the foal of a donkey, to save His people. He promises to come as a king to deliver God’s people from all of their enemies and to protect them; restoring double all that has been taken. He is coming to establish His kingdom across the whole earth.
When the crowds heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, they were right that they were about to personally see this prophecy come to pass. However, it only partly looked like they expected it to.
We pick up this morning where we left off last week after Mary anointed Jesus for His upcoming burial.
Matthew 21:1-11/Mark 11:1-11/John 12:9-19
A large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was in Bethany and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
Jealousy and rage blind us and lead us to make some pretty, well, let’s just call them what they are; stupid decisions. If Lazarus dying and then being raised again to life caused large crowds to gather and to believe in Jesus, then what could killing Lazarus again accomplish?
It would either cause the crowds to hate the chief priests for murdering Lazarus or, if Jesus raised him to life again, cause even more people to believe in Him. I don’t think that their plan was very well thought through… In any case, they were determined to murder them both.
Religion desires to put people back into their grave. Religion prefers to keep dead bones hidden away in the closet so that we can look good on the outside.
Freed people want everyone to know how exactly how lost they were and yet now they are found; how completely dead they were and now they’re alive! There’s no denying the truth and no sugar-coating just how sinful we were when Christ called us out of our graves! All that this does is bring even more glory to God!
Sadly, these were the chief priests entrusted to intercede between God and man; anointed for this very task. There were definitely issues with the Old Covenant not because of God nor His covenant, but with His people who were supposed to be representing Him. In response, Jesus came to fulfill the old covenant and to create a new covenant with us.
As they approached Jerusalem the next day and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.
This morning, we celebrate Palm Sunday. Though this is a man-made holiday, it is based on a Biblical prophecy that both has been fulfilled and also will be fulfilled again in the future. Like Jesus, we’re not into man-made traditions around here, but we certainly do love prophecy!
Not only because prophecy is awesome, but because God’s word also tells us to eagerly desire it and not to despise it. Prophecy is encouraging and reveals God’s plans and purposes for our future that gives us hope.
1 Corinthians 14:1
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 (ESV)
20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.
Although prophecy is great, it is also commonly misunderstood. God’s ways are certainly not ours and although He always follows through with what He says, it may not be how we expect it to happen.
In today’s prophecy, the people had it so right and yet so wrong at the same time. Unfortunately, we often follow in their footsteps still today…
The prophecy that we remember and celebrate on this Palm Sunday comes from Zechariah 9. It’s where God promises to come riding in on a colt, the foal of a donkey, to save His people. He promises to come as a king to deliver God’s people from all of their enemies and to protect them; restoring double all that has been taken. He is coming to establish His kingdom across the whole earth.
When the crowds heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, they were right that they were about to personally see this prophecy come to pass. However, it only partly looked like they expected it to.
We pick up this morning where we left off last week after Mary anointed Jesus for His upcoming burial.
Matthew 21:1-11/Mark 11:1-11/John 12:9-19
A large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was in Bethany and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
Jealousy and rage blind us and lead us to make some pretty, well, let’s just call them what they are; stupid decisions. If Lazarus dying and then being raised again to life caused large crowds to gather and to believe in Jesus, then what could killing Lazarus again accomplish?
It would either cause the crowds to hate the chief priests for murdering Lazarus or, if Jesus raised him to life again, cause even more people to believe in Him. I don’t think that their plan was very well thought through… In any case, they were determined to murder them both.
Religion desires to put people back into their grave. Religion prefers to keep dead bones hidden away in the closet so that we can look good on the outside.
Freed people want everyone to know how exactly how lost they were and yet now they are found; how completely dead they were and now they’re alive! There’s no denying the truth and no sugar-coating just how sinful we were when Christ called us out of our graves! All that this does is bring even more glory to God!
Sadly, these were the chief priests entrusted to intercede between God and man; anointed for this very task. There were definitely issues with the Old Covenant not because of God nor His covenant, but with His people who were supposed to be representing Him. In response, Jesus came to fulfill the old covenant and to create a new covenant with us.
As they approached Jerusalem the next day and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.