THINK TOGETHER.
Does your church celebrate Palm Sunday? What did they do this past Palm Sunday?
READ TOGETHER.
Matthew 21:1-11. 1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Sometimes this story is called The Triumphal Entry. It happened on Palm Sunday. Have you ever heard of these before? Does your church celebrate Palm Sunday?
Palm Sunday is the beginning of what is called Passion Week. This is the week that Jesus will die on the cross. On Palm Sunday Jesus rode into Jerusalem like a king. People spread out their cloaks and palm branches from the trees. They cried out Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna means “please save us,” or “please rescue us.” The people see Jesus as their king and rescuer. Their hero.
The amazing thing is that by Friday of this same week Jesus will be crucified on the cross. The people went from worshiping him to wanting him dead.
Those two things can sound pretty extreme can’t they. Worshiping Jesus or killing Jesus. Is there something in the middle? Maybe liking Jesus. Or, maybe, thinking Jesus is pretty cool, but not actually worshiping him as God?
But there really is not middle with Jesus. If Jesus is who he said he is – the Son of God, Creator of the universe, Savior of the world – then you HAVE TO worship him. And it he’s not who he said he is, then he is the biggest liar ever, a fake, the biggest deceiver to ever live. If Jesus isn’t who he says he is, then he is from Satan. In which case we SHOULD crucify him.
Do you believe that Jesus is who he says he is? That he is God? The Creator? The Savior? The king of the universe?
If you believe that he is all these things and more, then practice worshiping him. Ask him to save you today – HOSANNA – Please save me! Jesus will never say no when you ask for his help.
Because of Jesus we can be rescued from all our sin.
With Jesus we can worship God through him as our rescuer.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Make an acrostic with the word H.O.S.A.N.N.A. listing things that Jesus can rescue us from.
PRAY TOGETHER
Hosanna! Rescue us Jesus, from our sin, from temptations, from ourselves. Amen.
TLICfamily 