Hosanna: The Steadfast Love of the Lord Endures Forever

April 10, 2022 · Harmony of the Gospels

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Series · Harmony of the Gospels · Week 11 of 36

Scripture referenced 11 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

John 12 Palm Sunday triumphal entry, large crowd with palm branches shouting Hosanna

1 Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
2 So they made him a supper there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him.
3 Mary, therefore, took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
4 Then Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, one of his disciples, who would betray him, said,
5 “Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?”
6 Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into it.
7 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial.
8 For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
9 A large crowd therefore of the Jews learned that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests conspired to put Lazarus to death also,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
12 On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him, and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written,
15 “Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
16 His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him.
17 The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it.
18 For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign.
19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast.
21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus.
23 Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this cause I came to this time.
28 Father, glorify your name!” Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
29 The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice hasn’t come for my sake, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
33 But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die.
34 The multitude answered him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.
37 But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this cause they couldn’t believe, for Isaiah said again,
40 “He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.
42 Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they didn’t confess it, so that they wouldn’t be put out of the synagogue,
43 for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.
44 Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me.
45 He who sees me sees him who sent me.
46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.
47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day.
49 For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”

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Psalm 118

The Hosanna cry identified as coming from this psalm, the lesser Hallel sung on ascent to Jerusalem

1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

2 Let Israel now say that his loving kindness endures forever.

3 Let the house of Aaron now say that his loving kindness endures forever.

4 Now let those who fear Yahweh say that his loving kindness endures forever.

5 Out of my distress, I called on Yah. Yah answered me with freedom.

6 Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

7 Yahweh is on my side among those who help me. Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in man.

9 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes.

10 All the nations surrounded me, but in Yahweh’s name, I cut them off.

11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In Yahweh’s name I indeed cut them off.

12 They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In Yahweh’s name I cut them off.

13 You pushed me back hard, to make me fall, but Yahweh helped me.

14 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation.

15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. “The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.

16 The right hand of Yahweh is exalted! The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly!”

17 I will not die, but live, and declare Yah’s works.

18 Yah has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to Yah.

20 This is the gate of Yahweh; the righteous will enter into it.

21 I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation.

22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

23 This is Yahweh’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day that Yahweh has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!

25 Save us now, we beg you, Yahweh! Yahweh, we beg you, send prosperity now.

26 Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name! We have blessed you out of Yahweh’s house.

27 Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will exalt you.

29 Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

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Zechariah 9:9

Prophecy of the king coming humble and mounted on a donkey, fulfilled at the triumphal entry

9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

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Amos 3:3

Can two walk together unless they be agreed, used to call people to agreement with God

3 Do two walk together, unless they have agreed?

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John 14:2

In my Father's house there are many dwelling places, quoted in prayer of thanksgiving

2 In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.

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Psalm 34

Taste and see that the Lord is good, used as a giving song

1 I will bless Yahweh at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall boast in Yahweh. The humble shall hear of it, and be glad.

3 Oh magnify Yahweh with me. Let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought Yahweh, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.

6 This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

7 Yahweh’s angel encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

9 Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him.

10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.

11 Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.

12 Who is someone who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?

13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies.

14 Depart from evil, and do good. seek peace, and pursue it.

15 Yahweh’s eyes are toward the righteous. His ears listen to their cry.

16 Yahweh’s face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth.

17 The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.

20 He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken.

21 Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

22 Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.

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Psalm 105

Sing to Him, sing His praises, tell everyone about His wonderful deeds

1 Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples.

2 Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works.

3 Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.

4 Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more.

5 Remember his marvelous works that he has done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,

6 you offspring of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

7 He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth.

8 He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,

9 the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac,

10 and confirmed the same to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant,

11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance”;

12 when they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it.

13 They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.

14 He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes,

15 “Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!”

16 He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies.

17 He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave.

18 They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons,

19 until the time that his word happened, and Yahweh’s word proved him true.

20 The king sent and freed him; even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.

21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all of his possessions;

22 to discipline his princes at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom.

23 Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham.

24 He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.

25 He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.

26 He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

27 They performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

28 He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn’t rebel against his words.

29 He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.

30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the rooms of their kings.

31 He spoke, and swarms of flies came, and lice in all their borders.

32 He gave them hail for rain, with lightning in their land.

33 He struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.

34 He spoke, and the locusts came, and the grasshoppers, without number,

35 ate up every plant in their land; and ate up the fruit of their ground.

36 He struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood.

37 He brought them out with silver and gold. There was not one feeble person among his tribes.

38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen on them.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night.

40 They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the sky.

41 He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places.

42 For he remembered his holy word, and Abraham, his servant.

43 He brought his people out with joy, his chosen with singing.

44 He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession,

45 that they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Praise Yah!

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1 Kings 1:32-34

David commanding Solomon to ride on his mule to Gihon to be anointed king

32 King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” They came before the king.

33 The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

34 Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel. Blow the trumpet, and say, ‘Long live king Solomon!’

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Judges 5:10

You who ride on white donkeys, shout out in praise

10 “Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way.

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Psalm 136

The greater Hallel, steadfast love of the Lord endures forever, read responsively

1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods; for his loving kindness endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords; for his loving kindness endures forever:

4 To him who alone does great wonders; for his loving kindness endures forever:

5 To him who by understanding made the heavens; for his loving kindness endures forever:

6 To him who spread out the earth above the waters; for his loving kindness endures forever:

7 To him who made the great lights; for his loving kindness endures forever:

8 The sun to rule by day; for his loving kindness endures forever;

9 The moon and stars to rule by night; for his loving kindness endures forever:

10 To him who struck down the Egyptian firstborn; for his loving kindness endures forever;

11 And brought out Israel from among them; for his loving kindness endures forever;

12 With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm; for his loving kindness endures forever:

13 To him who divided the Red Sea apart; for his loving kindness endures forever;

14 And made Israel to pass through the middle of it; for his loving kindness endures forever;

15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea; for his loving kindness endures forever:

16 To him who led his people through the wilderness; for his loving kindness endures forever:

17 To him who struck great kings; for his loving kindness endures forever;

18 And killed mighty kings; for his loving kindness endures forever:

19 Sihon king of the Amorites; for his loving kindness endures forever;

20 Og king of Bashan; for his loving kindness endures forever;

21 And gave their land as an inheritance; for his loving kindness endures forever;

22 Even a heritage to Israel his servant; for his loving kindness endures forever:

23 Who remembered us in our low estate; for his loving kindness endures forever;

24 And has delivered us from our adversaries; for his loving kindness endures forever:

25 Who gives food to every creature; for his loving kindness endures forever.

26 Oh give thanks to the God of heaven; for his loving kindness endures forever.

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1 John 4

We know and rely on the love God has for us, God is love, whoever lives in love lives in God

1 Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

3 and every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.

5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them.

6 We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God, and knows God.

8 He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.

9 By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.

12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God.

16 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

17 In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is, even so are we in this world.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

20 If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

21 This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Palm Sunday 2022 found us in John 12, with Pastor Mark stepping away from the regular flow through the Harmony of the Gospels to look at Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The message traced the political and historical weight carried by a crowd waving palm branches, and then turned that lens on our own tendency toward fickleness when God does not deliver what we expect. Psalm 136 closed the service as a congregational call and response, anchoring the whole morning in the steadfast love of the Lord.

What was said

The crowd that greeted Jesus on Palm Sunday was not simply being festive. Palm branches carried a specific meaning that every person in that street would have recognized instantly. The Maccabean revolt, roughly 141 years earlier, had ended with Jews re-entering Jerusalem carrying palm branches, and that image was stamped on their coins. Coins from the time of Herod Antipas carried the same symbol. Coins from the Simon Bar Kokhba rebellion a century later bore palm fronds with the words "for the freedom of Jerusalem" hammered over filed-off Roman imagery. When that crowd came out waving palm branches, they were making a political statement: send us a deliverer, our oppressors have been in charge long enough.

The particular kind of deliverer they expected is visible in how Jesus arrived. He rode not a war horse but a young donkey, fulfilling Zechariah's description of a humble king mounted on a colt. Pastor Mark connected this to 1 Kings 1, where David directed that Solomon, not the self-appointed Adonijah, should ride on the king's own mule down to Gihon to be anointed. Adonijah came with the trappings of a conqueror; Solomon came on a humble beast by the king's own arrangement. The pattern was old. Jesus was following it deliberately, and his disciples only understood that later, after he was glorified, when they remembered what had been written.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem before he entered it. He said that if only they had known the things that make for peace, but they did not. The crowd wanted a nationalist deliverer. What they got was a king who taught in the temple every day, drew Greeks who had come seeking him, and said "my hour has come" at exactly that moment. When that kind of king became clear, the same voices that shouted Hosanna shifted. By the time of the trial, the chief priests were telling Pilate, "We have no king but Caesar."

That reversal is the center of the message. "Hosanna" is drawn from Psalm 118, part of the Hallel sung on the way up to Jerusalem. It means "save us now." Every generation feels the need of saving, and the feeling is not wrong. But the crowd's version of salvation was specific, political, and bounded by what they could imagine. When Jesus turned out to be something larger and stranger than that, they let him be crucified. Pastor Mark quoted Emerson: "We are a puny and fickle folk. Avarice, hesitation, and following are our diseases." The question he sat with is whether that story simply repeats itself in us.

The answer offered was Psalm 136, the greater Hallel, read as a congregational call and response. The congregation read the refrain, "the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever," after each verse. The psalm moves through creation, the exodus, the wilderness, the defeat of Sihon and Og, and ends with God giving food to all flesh. The point Pastor Mark drew out is that God's steadfast love is not tribal. Rahab, a woman of Jericho, heard what God had done at the Red Sea and said, "the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath." The songs Israel sang about God's faithfulness made a way for someone outside Israel to know and trust Him.

The practical weight of that is that habitual praise, naming God's faithfulness even under difficulty rather than only cataloguing the oppressor's wrongs, is itself a form of witness. The Psalm does not end with "save us from our enemies" but with "oh, give thanks to the God of heaven, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever." That steadfast love, described in Hebrew as something sticky, something that pursues and clings, is available to everyone, though not everyone will accept it. Pastor Mark suggested that recognizing it, and saying so out loud, is what arrests the fickle pattern the morning had been tracing.

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Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Pastor Aaron described the crowd waving palm branches as a nationalistic symbol, people who wanted God to do things their way, and said that less than a week later many of those same voices were crying 'crucify him.' Where do you see that kind of fickleness in yourself, and what do you think produces it?
Pastor Aaron pointed out that Jesus wept over Jerusalem before entering it triumphantly, saying 'if only you had known the things which make for peace.' What do you think it looks like today when someone is close to the things that make for peace but still misses them?

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Speaker 2All right. Hey. Good morning, everyone. How are you this morning? It's good to see you.

It's good to see you. We we celebrate Palm Sunday today. How cool is that? Isn't that great? Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

And here here's a little verse from John 12, and it says this about it. It says a large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches, and they went down the road to meet him, Jesus. And they shouted, praise God. Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hail to the king of Israel.

What do you say we? Start singing. Hosanna, and let we'll stand for it too.

Speaker 3Glory glory

Speaker 2Yep. We're on tomorrow, and we're in the book of James. So James two tomorrow, and it's about how faith and deeds are inseparable. They they go together. We can't really have one without the other.

Faith and deeds.

Speaker 1Faith and deeds.

Speaker 2And and I think we'll just do pizza night tomorrow. So, 06:00 meal, music message, and at the same

Speaker 1time, Alana is happening at the same time. Back on spring break is over tomorrow. So, Awana's back on which is great. Kids matter to God and we're pouring scripture into their minds to reach their hearts and just love em. There are lots and lots of volunteers required for that and there are they are here and they're going to be here.

So, Juana is happening same time, 06:00 tomorrow night. There is a prayer group that meets on Wednesdays in the church office at seven: 3zero am. This this is kind of the heartbeat of the church. This is a little group that was meeting long before I got here which they've been doing this for a long time. They get together to pray for missionaries but also any other request that you have.

So, if you'll send your request in, we'll be praying for em there at seven: 3zero am in the church office. There are directories available. Church directories are available out by the front door hanging in those little baskets out there. If you want one, grab one from there and next week, Erin Anderson and her small group and her family have said they're going to put on a Easter breakfast for us between services. So, 10:00 next week, there will be Easter breakfast plan on joining us down the hall for that.

Anything else? I think that's the last announced. Wait. Wednesday morning, Jackson Hole Benz Alliance. Please down

Speaker 3the hall. Is monthly,

Speaker 1weekly? What is this? It's monthly and when is it normally? Six: 3zero am, Wednesday morning, down the hall, fellowship hall, Jackson Hole Men's Alliance. So, that's a great group.

Six: 3zero am this Wednesday, down the hall, fellowship hall. We don't have a slide for it but it's still important. I think that's it. If you would, stand with us and we will sing How Great Thou Art.

Speaker 2From Psalm one zero five. Let's do this this morning. Sing to him. Yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.

Amen. Amen.

Speaker 3Lord,

Speaker 2as we we sing together, I just I I I can't help but just think thank you. Thank you for the gift of faith that you impart. I don't know how it it it works. I don't always know and understand how does your spirit move. How is this faith that you impart to us?

I how does how does all this happen? I don't know. But we believe, and we just say it. We declare it. We we believe in you, and we thank you.

We thank you for the gift of Jesus. We thank you for the gift of the spirits to your spirit to awaken us, to illumine us to your truth, to who you are. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Speaker 3Not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You are for me not against me. I am who you say I

Speaker 2God, thank you for these beautiful songs that we get to sing of truth of truth from John fourteen two. In my father's house, this is what you've said. In my father's house, there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I wouldn't have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. Thank you, Jesus, for that.

We believe it in faith. Amen. Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service song.

We're gonna gonna sing a song called taste and see from Psalm 34. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him. Ray, would you pray?

Speaker 1Yep. God almighty, we are thankful, lord, and come together to worship and adore you, to praise you. It's in Jesus' name that we're gathered, Lord. We want to be used by you. We want for all that you have given us to be accessible for kingdom advance.

So, Lord, would you direct us in that way? Show us the the person that we need to talk to, the the people, Lord, perhaps that we need to meet up with. Lord, would you show us the divine appointments that you have in place? And Lord, would you use the resources that we that we give, whether it's putting financial resources in these plates or giving up our time, or whatever it is, Lord, would you use it, for your king's purpose? We know that nothing that is done for the Lord is ever in vain.

So, lord, would you help us in Jesus name to do your will and your way. Amen. Amen. It's time for children's church downstairs Palm Sunday edition, I guess. And there they go.

So we're up to Palm Sunday, right? Have been wait a second, that is not the right set of slides. Maybe it is. Is April 10 today? Okay.

I just put the year wrong. I'm sorry. Golly. That kind of scared me. I have admitted this freely in front of you before.

I'm not apologizing. I'm just telling you. Alright? I like to stay in the flow of scripture where we are in scripture. I think that it removes the agenda from my hand and I just like an even smattering.

Right? We get the whole New Testament. All of it's good. We do it chronologically just because that made sense at the time. So when I come to something like Palm Sunday or Easter or Christmas and I pull away from the normal flow of the text, it gives me the heebie jeebies all week long because I'd rather stay with what we're doing.

And you all know the next time we get together in our Harmony of the Gospels, we're right at the parable of the four soils, and I'm looking forward to that. So I've been thinking about that one. I've also been thinking about an Old Testament sermon that's pursuing me and rather than preach that one this morning, which I'm already preparing, it's it's rather it's a book of nine chapters. It's not like Jonah with just four chapters and 48 verses. It is one of the minor prophets where I mentioned last time that we got together that Jonah gave Jeroboam the king a message that, yeah, everything's good.

Thumbs up. Amos said, no. Everything's not good. So I'm gonna ask you all if you will. Just read the book of Amos.

It's going to be challenging and it's hopefully going to be a blessing. And it might allow us to start kind of taking a better look at where we are in society and where we individually are. So would you read the book of Amos? It's nine chapters long, but it's not super long. It's nine chapters but it's a really, really good message.

I feel like it's a good message for today but Palm Sunday is today. So, this is where we're going to go. Hosanna, hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. John 12. This is where it is.

Now you know we're in a harmony of the gospels where Matthew, Mark, and Luke is what we've been going through. But we're gonna hit this down the road in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I'm not gonna spend a ton of time in the synoptic gospels. I'll just lay it out. The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So they took branches of palm trees and they went out to meet him. The next day after what? The next day after the raising of Lazarus. That was a big deal. Jesus raises Lazarus.

Now, we have seen in the past few weeks that in the middle of Jesus' ministry, he raised the widow of Nain's son. We saw that. It's happened before, but that was way off in Nain. This is less than two miles. This is between here and the maverick.

Okay? It's that close to the center point of all Jewish theology. It's where it's less than two miles from the temple. And so when he raises Lazarus at Passover time, just before that, it kicks off all kinds of stuff. So we'll go back to the text and it says, so they took branches of palm trees, hence Palm Sunday, and they went out to meet him crying, Hosanna.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel. The king of Israel, they're hailing Jesus as the king of Israel. Now, if you're keeping up in the gospels, there are a few people who believe this, but it's not a huge, huge, huge, mighty throng of people as far as the populace goes. But this is looking like a whole lot of people are coming together and hailing him as king. What does hosanna mean?

Hosanna, hosanna. It means save now. Now political rallies being what they are. Isn't that what most both sides we've got two main sides. So, isn't that what both sides are screaming out for?

Save us now. We've been oppressed for long enough. Well, this is a Psalm. It's Psalm one eighteen. It's the lesser Halel.

It's the one that they would sing, a song of a sense when they're going up to Jerusalem. They would be singing these songs. It's an old song. Every generation feels like we need saving. Well, we do need saving.

But Psalm one eighteen, this is, I beseech you, save us now, but it's imbued since they're singing it to Jesus. It's imbued with a lot more. Right? Send prosperity now. That's what we want.

We want to be safe and secure. Save us, we pray, o Lord. O Lord, we pray. Give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

We bless you from the house of the Lord. Here's a little that's the Dead Sea. Those are the hills. It's just in between Jerusalem and Jericho. I mean, in between, sorry, in between it's before you get to Jericho heading up to Jerusalem.

Jesus found a young donkey and he sat on it just as it is written. This is weird. I have done this message. This is another reason why breaking away from the text is hard for me because I have studied and studied and studied. This week, I ended up studying animal husbandry for crying out loud.

I don't care anything about that at all. But it's interesting. This says donkey and some places it says white donkey and other places it says she donkey, he donkey. It's all kinds of different donkeys in scripture. Just as as it is written, he found a young donkey and he sat on.

It's not a conquering war horse. You can see that and he sat on it and he goes in. Oh, Zechariah nine nine comes to mind. Humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Those are each individually different ways of saying that.

But it matches with all four of the gospels depictions of it. John says, fear not daughter of Zion. Behold, your king is coming and he's sitting on a donkey's colt. That's Zechariah just as it is written. And think about this, the Lord this is from Amos since I've asked you to read Amos.

Right? In Amos three. Actually, Amos three three is probably the most famous quote that you'll remember from Amos. Can two walk together unless they be agreed? Can two walk together unless they be agreed?

We've been given a book. We've been given a manual. We've been given God's word. And if we can strive for unity and agreement, we can walk together. But through Amos the prophet during the time of Jeroboam the second, he was saying through this rhetorical question that is absolutely answered no.

Can two walk together unless they forgive? Of course not. Some of you are walking with God and some of you are straying away. And rather than demonize the other side, why don't we work on agreeing? For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants, the prophets.

We should pay attention to what they say. So I'm asking you again, read the book of Amos. It's good. It's good for our times. Good for every time.

Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, your king is coming. He's sitting on a donkey's colt. His disciples did not understand these things at first. Isn't that true?

It's a progressive understanding that when we're going through, God gives us a little at a time and he his disciples didn't understand these things at first but when Jesus was glorified, they remembered these things. Oh, okay. Jesus was glorified, and then they remembered. He told them that in the upper room discourse. You will have brought to your remembrance.

All of these things. It'll make sense later. Further down the road. Right. Sorry.

Further on down the road, the blue song. Farther along is the hymn. Right? Farther along, we'll know more about it. Farther along, we'll understand why.

Then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. So what are these things? Oh, Zechariah, that prophecy. Yeah. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, that's one of the crowds that was present on this Palm Sunday.

The the crowd that had been present when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, they continued to bear witness. I know he did it. I promise he did it. I saw it with my own eyes. I saw the guy come out.

He wasn't there when they put him in the tomb and when he called him out, he came out and he told us to take the grave clothes clothes off of him. So that's the background. Those people saw it with their own eyes. Right there. Bethany.

Two less than two miles, like I said, in between here and the Maverick. They continued to bear witness. That's crowd one. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard that he had done this sign. So there were people who heard that he had done it that weren't there.

And they were like, uh-oh. It's getting real. This might be our guy. We've been oppressed for so long. It's been horrible for a long time.

Do you remember the Maccabean revolt? Do you all know what that is? The Hasmonean revolt? I've seen three historians go, yes. The time of the Maccabees.

If you have a revised standard version of the Bible and you have the Apocrypha in there, you've got Maccabees in your in your hand there. Maccabees is a book that tells about this revolt, and that had happened like a hundred and forty four years before this. And it's funny that over and over, they see somebody as being their deliverer. And sometimes it works to an extent and sometimes it doesn't. But it had happened before, and they're saying, this could be it.

So this crowd that heard that he had raised someone from the dead, surely, this is our guy. They go out to meet up because they heard he had done this sign. They're meeting up with palm branches. Why palm branches? This is a coin of the Maccabees, the Hasmonean dynasty, if you wanna call it that.

This is around 135. So 140, 141, I think, is where they seized Jerusalem again. One hundred forty one BC. And then 135, they're stamping their own coins. And look at what's on the back of them.

Can you see that palm branch right there? That's a palm branch. And it this is Maccabees. By the way, most of you don't have a revised standard or an apocryphal, you know, what y'all would call a Catholic Bible. And I'm not saying it's not.

Don't get me wrong. I don't need letters or emails about that. It's a historical document. It's from way back. So I don't think it's canonical, neither do the Catholics.

Don't let's don't argue about it. First Maccabees says this, that then they this is the oppressors. They cried out to Simon because they had been whipped. They've been seized and whipped, they wanted to make peace at that point, and Simon did so. But he expelled them from the city and cleansed the citadel from all of their pollutions.

And on the twenty third day of the second month, the one hundred seventy first year, this is one forty one BC, the Jews entered into it with praise and palm branches. It's a symbol. It's a nationalistic symbol. It's our side symbol. Okay?

And with harps and with cymbals and with stringed instruments and with hymns and with songs because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel. And Simon decreed that every year they should celebrate this day with rejoicing, and he strengthened the fortifications of the temple hill alongside the citadel. And he and his men lived there. Now, this was not the same time of year. It was not the celebration for palm branches.

It was not Sukkot, which is another festival in the fall that is also where you use palm branches. It wasn't that. Normally, Passover does not have any palm branches associated with it. Bitter herbs, yes. Palm branches, no.

But there it is. That's during the Hasmonean or the Maccabean dynasty. This is a coin of Herod Antipas. Looks a whole lot like this, doesn't it? It's similar.

And this one is concurrent at the time of Jesus. This is one of the Herods we know a lot about. This is the one that Jesus was tried before. We're gonna see Herod in the next few pages if we keep reading. Right?

This is a coin and it has palm branches on the back. Now the Jews had a certain amount of self governance that they could do, and this was a little bit of a stick it to the man. Right? They have the Romans over them, but they've been given some measure of control. And with their measure of control, they're gonna say, it's coming buddy.

Our day's coming. We hear a lot about dog whistles these days. This is something that everybody that carried these coins would know. This is a symbol of rebellion against our oppressors. So that's happening in the day of Jesus.

And they're thinking, when is it how long, oh Lord, will our enemies triumph over us? Send us a deliverer. This is actually later than that. These coins, I just think it's interesting. This is a lulan.

The lulan is what they carry during Sukkat, but it is a palm frond right there. This is the temple which at the time this coin was minted in around one thirty something AD. This is the Simon Bar Kokhba rebellion. By the time this one was minted, the temple had been destroyed. And so they have remembered from sixty something years before, and they put the temple on the front side of the coin, and they put on the back the lulan palm fronds on the back, and it says for the freedom of Jerusalem.

That's what it says around it. Another coin, same time. So that's the lu line, which is a palm frond. Another coin makes it more obvious. This one, for the freedom of Jerusalem around this.

These coins, they took Roman coins and filed the image off of the front of them and the back of them, put them in their in on their steel plate, and hammered their own image for the freedom of Jerusalem. So they took what was a Roman coin with some value and they, in their rebellion, said, for the freedom of Jerusalem. Palm branches. Now that one was a hundred and thirty years before, another one's a hundred and thirty years after. You think that they don't think about this stuff?

It's thoroughgoing about wanting to be set free from the oppressors. By the way, this one is another coin at the same time and it's trumpets and a liar, which that to me was interesting because we all hear a lot about the trumpets blast. You know, we sing about the trumpet blast. We're looking forward to the time of our freedom from our oppression by rapture or whatever other means. And David played the lyre, you know, trumpets and lyre.

So the raising of lyrers is context. Political, economic, and religious background. I've shared a little bit as we go. And if you ever want to go back, you can go back to any Palm Sunday since and I share most of that most of the time. I'm trying to get to something else today.

Few weeks ago, we covered this, that the men of Nineveh will stand up against this generation, these pharisees who were demanding a sign. And says the men of Nineveh will stand up against this generation at the judgment. They'll condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And the queen of the South will rise up against this generation. The queen of Sheba, you know, she'll rise up against this generation at the judgment.

We'll condemn it because she came from the very ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold, Jesus says, something greater than Solomon is here. First Kings. Do you all remember the story? Do you remember the story of David being nigh unto death? He's about to die.

And Adonijah sets himself up as the next king. He is getting ready, and he's invited everybody on his side. He very conspicuously did not invite Solomon to this party. He did not invite Zadok to this party. He didn't invite several people who he thought might disagree with him, and he was setting himself up to be king.

He was doing all the political wrangling that he could do to put himself on David's throne. David had already said Solomon would be the king, but he thought he could do it anyway. It's an interesting chapter if you wanna go back and read first Kings one. It might surprise you in several places. First Kings one thirty two to 34 says this.

Then King David said, summon to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoida. And they came all into the king's presence and the king said to them, take with you the servants of your Lord and have my son Solomon ride on my own mule. That's one of those places why I'm studying animal husbandry. Because it's not exactly a donkey, but it is a beast of burden. Right?

If you don't, well, I don't want to get into it. Look it up. It's very interesting. It's a beast of burden. It's not a conquering war horse.

Now Adonijah, had he come into town, he was coming on a big white horse. Right? He's coming in as a conquering guy because he is usurping. He is taking the throne. But David is saying, y'all, the ones who weren't invited to his party, come on.

Let's get this done. Get Solomon. Put him on my own mule. Bring him down to Gihon and have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him right there as king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and say, long live king Solomon.

If you read the rest of the story, that's exactly what they do. And Adonijah and his other guys were all conspiring to take the throne and they're all in there and they're getting ready and they're planning the party. They're planning the situation. And all of a sudden, they hear a roar from outside. What's that sound?

That's Solomon. He's king. You missed it. It's pretty awesome. But Solomon doesn't come on a war horse.

Actually, David wasn't able to build the temple, right, because he had blood on his hands. Solomon asked for wisdom. Who do you want to be king? The wisest man ever or somebody who just sets themself up and pretends really? This is a precedent, I think, for coming in to Jerusalem on that donkey.

Judges five ten actually mentions it too. You who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who travel on the road, shout out in praise. Shout out in praise. This is one of those. And Jesus rode on a white donkey by the way.

Rejoice greatly. We've already covered this. And oh daughter of Zion. Shout out in triumph, oh daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you.

He is just and he is endowed with salvation. He is humble and he's mounted on this humble beast, a bird, and a donkey. Even on a colt, not even a big one, the foal of a donkey. When he approached Jerusalem, Jesus saw the city and he wept over it. This is before.

This is before he comes in triumphantly. He weeps over it saying, if only you had known in this day, even you the things which make for peace. Now, some of them heralded him as king as he's coming in. Oh, and the Pharisees hated that. Right?

Sadducees hated that too. Threat to power. If only you had known in this day even the things which make for peace, but but you don't. That's his point. You don't know it, and it's not gonna go well for you.

Oh, how long I've wanted to gather you under my wings like a mother hen does her chicks, but you would have none of it. Hosanna. Save us now. Send prosperity now. These sorry so and so's have been in charge for too long.

Great is thy faithfulness. We sing this a lot. And there's a reason why we sing great is thy faithfulness because great is our fickleness. It's so holy other. Look at this.

Great is thy faithfulness. Oh, God, my father. This is a Carl special we call it when he puts the chords over the words in just the right place. He sets us up to win. Great is thy faithfulness, oh God, my father.

There's no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not. Thy compassions, they fail not. They can be depended upon. As thou has been, thou forever will be.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Blessings all mine with 10,000 beside. Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see.

All I have needed, the hand that's provided, the greatest thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me. It's personal. But if we are honest, are we not fickle? If we're honest, aren't we fickle? It's an adjective marked by a lack of steadfastness.

Do you feel it? Do you feel like you're just kind of weighing on your steadfastness sometimes? Or your constancy or your stability given to erratic changeableness? Fickle. Of mankind, this is an old I wouldn't call him a saint by any stretch.

This is actually Machiavelli. Of mankind, we may say in general, they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of game. Even a blind squirrel. Right? Finds a little acorn now and again.

Why so why do I give this message on Palm Sunday? This this is because of the palm trees, obviously, but it's also because it's a nationalistic symbol of people who wanted their way and expected God to do it their way. And less than a week later less than a week later, after the trials and we're gonna get together next Easter Sunday, resurrection Sunday, but there's a lot that happens between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Right? He's in the temple teaching every single day.

And while he's there teaching in the temple, he's meeting with people from all different stripes and the Greeks are even seeking after Jesus. Right? This is unheard of. And that's when Jesus says, my hour has come. When the people who were afar off are coming to him.

And the people who are trying to set him up to be their deliverer find out he's not that kind of king. And they're so disappointed. And if you read through this, Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and a purple robe. And Pilate said to them, behold the man. Therefore, when the chief priest and the officers saw him, they cried out and said, crucify him.

Crucify him. And Pilate said to them, you take him and you crucify him yourself. I don't find any fault in him. He's innocent. Before Roman law, he hadn't done anything wrong.

From then on, Pilate sought to release him because he was innocent, and the Jews cried out saying, if you let this man go, political shenanigans. Do we see him all the time? If you let this man go, you're not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar, does he not? When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and he sat down in the judgment.

And he said to the Jews, behold your king. How prophetic is that? Behold your king. He's right here. But they cried out, away with him, away with him, crucify him.

Pilate said to them, shall I crucify your king? And the chief priest answered, we have no king but Caesar. Where is your allegiance? Where is your allegiance? Is it to Christ or is it to something else?

Chief priest answered, we have no king but Caesar. And then he delivered him to them to be crucified. And so they took Jesus and they led him away. This is not Machiavelli. We are a puny and fickle folk, are we not?

Avarice? Greed. Hesitation? I don't really know what to do. And following are our diseases.

That's Ralph Waldo Emerson. Think about that. We are a puny and fickle folk. Actually, back home, puny means sick, like where I'm from. If somebody says, I'm feeling kind of puny today, it means you're sick.

And when I say it, Tanya says, you're six six and two forty something. Right? Don't say you're puny. Alright. That's not what it means everywhere else.

We are a puny sick. Small, insignificant. We are a puny and fickle folk. Avarice hesitation and following are our diseases. So is the story just going to repeat itself?

The story of, yeah, but no. I want to pray. And I wrote it down this time as I was in there. And then we're going to just change directions a little bit or change channels a little bit and go to the greater Halal. So when they're walking up the hill from Jericho to Jerusalem and they're walking up the song of ascents, there is a there are certain songs that they sing over and over.

And one of them is about the steadfast love of the Lord, great is thy faithfulness. And even when we are fickle, Lord, you are faithful. And if we will follow after you, you will increase our steadfastness. You will decrease our fickleness, and you will bear us up. You'll draw us in.

You'll keep us. So I'm going to read through this prayer, and then we're gonna go to a responsorial Psalm. Okay? Are you ready for that? Your part is the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

Okay? Lord God, we come to you confessing that we are indeed a fickle people. We say we want you to be in our life and we applaud you, but often, Lord, we wander. Prone to wander. Lord, I feel it.

We don't always wanna listen to the truth that you're teaching us about ourselves. So there are times, Lord, when we don't wanna hear your truth. So if you won't tell us what we wanna hear or if your truth makes us uncomfortable, we'll all often, we will listen to someone else. Today, you're calling us to be more loving and compassionate. Do you believe that's true?

I do too. And to arrest our fickle behavior, to fully trust in Jesus, to strengthen ourselves in the faith. You want us, Lord, to trust that you love us. You want us to know and to trust Jesus, not religion or procedure or protocols or politics, tradition, even education. Lord, you're calling us to love you with all our heart and mind and soul and strength and with everything that we have in this world and to put our relationship with Jesus first and in so doing to begin to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Lord God, you want for us to do our part to help make this world a better place that's free from any form of hate or brutality, will you start to work in us, Lord? You want us to fill this world with your unconditional love and compassion through living out the gospel. Would you just Lord, would you show us how? You want us to demonstrate the kingdom of heaven on earth by loving others in such a way that you could call others to your grace and to repentance for them to earnestly seek your face and your truth. Thinking about the kingdom of heaven for a moment, God.

Thinking about the kingdom of heaven. You are the king. May we be your willing and obedient subjects. You want us to be with you forever and ever and not shrink back in fear or pull away in pride. I pray, Lord, that you'll speak and you'll teach and that we will listen and learn.

Amen. So Psalm one thirty six is the greater halal. That's what we're gonna go to. But Psalm one zero six, one zero seven, and one eighteen, because we need to be reminded, start off exactly the same way. And so we're gonna start off the same way.

When we get to something in purple, y'all read it. I'll read it too, but y'all read it. I'll read the white words. Y'all read the purple words. Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

So this is the way it starts off in Psalm one thirty six, and it's gonna be a lot. It's good though. We need to be reminded. We need to have this thought on our mind. So here we go.

I'll stop at intervals and and point out what we're thanking God for. Okay? Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

So we're thanking him for his goodness. He is good. Don't believe TikTok. God is good. Okay?

Really. The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. To him who alone does great wonders, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. To him who by wisdom made the heavens, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. To him who laid out the earth above the waters, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

To him who made the great lights, for the steadfast love, the Lord endures forever. To the sun to rule by day, for the steadfast love, the Lord endures forever. The moon and stars to rule by night, for the steadfast love, the Lord endures forever. For creation, thank you, lord, that you made this and that you made us. It's a good thing, not a bad thing.

I don't know how you did it, but I know you did it. I'm thankful for it. To him who struck Egypt in their firstborn, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever and brought out Israel from among them, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. With a strong hand and an etched outstretched arm, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. To him who divided the Red Sea in two, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

And made Israel pass through the midst of it, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. But overthrew pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. Did pharaoh have a chance by the way? He did and he hardened his heart. Does everyone have a chance?

They do. But people sometimes harden their hearts. We should be living in a way that declares the glory of God. It's hard to read. He struck the firstborn and that the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

To be stiff necked and to be harsh necked is a good translation of that. Says that we can harden our hearts against God's will. And so, let's live a life of soft answers that turn away wrath and convincing lives that God's steadfast love endures forever. To him who led his people through the wilderness, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. To him who struck down great kings, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

And he slew famous kings, all worldly powers. For the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. Sihon, the king of the Amorites, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures. And Og, the king of Bashan, for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. And he gave their land as a heritage for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

A heritage to Israel, his servant for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. Now on this one you might go, yeah, he loves everybody but Og and Sijon. God is reaching out. He is reaching out. He's doing it through his people.

Part of the reason for them wandering in the wilderness is so people could die off who had rejected him. You have the opportunity of softening your heart towards God. So this is actually all for his gracious provision in the past. That's my dad at a sawmill, by the way. That's just a reminder for me.

I don't know anything about the Red Sea. Right? Never been there. But I do know that what put food on the table was God, and he did it by way of that sawmill, which they kinda resurrected in 2014. And they've been running so much now.

There are logs all over the place, and they're cutting lumber all the time. He has provided. Who remembered us when we were in our lowly estate? For the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. And he rescued us from our enemies for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

He rescued us. It feels like, oh, it's all about us. And we get that accusation a lot in the church. We get that accusation a lot. All you care about is is yourselves.

You're a little community that only cares about yourself. That's not true, but that can be the way that it appears to people. Who gives food to all flesh? For the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

Right? He gives food to all flesh for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. Why did I reverse those? I don't know. It's not just about us though.

It's not. He has saved us and he wants to use us to save others. If you look at Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and Og, the king of Bashan, you think, yeah, well he just smited them. He still uses absolutely everything. Do you remember Rahab, the story of Rahab when she kept the spies that were coming in and Rahab is a harlot, right?

That's yeah, that's what we've always heard. So what's Rahab doing harboring these guys? It's against the law where she is, isn't it? Yes, it is. And they're coming in to spy on her people.

And this is what she says to them. We, this is the people of my city. We have heard how the Lord, capital l, dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan to Sihon and to Og, mighty kings. Right? Whom you utterly destroyed.

And as soon as we heard these things, our our hearts melted. Neither did did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you for the Lord your God. The Lord your God. He is God in heaven and above and on earth beneath. The fact that they cry they sang out these songs of deliverance makes a difference.

The fact that you say, you know what? Even as difficult as it seems right now, I know that the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. And I'm gonna proclaim that even in the midst of difficulty, and I'm not gonna just blame everything on the oppressors. I'm gonna say, you know what, God? Show me how you want me to act under this oppression.

I know that your steadfast love endures forever. I know that your God in heaven above and on earth beneath who gives food to all flesh for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. It's not just about us. No. He he wants to use us in the midst of this suffering.

In our habitually praising God, God will make the way for others to know and trust in him. That's the truth. He listens to our praise and he uses it. So Hosanna, yes, has save us now or salvation, yes. This psalm closes with this verse.

It says, oh, give thanks to the God of heaven for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. The steadfast love of the Lord is forever. It's available for everyone but sadly, not everyone will accept it. But no no one will stand without it. And with it, no one will be defeated no matter how bad the situation may seem.

The steadfast love of the Lord is pervasive and it's everlasting. And that is worthy of praise. That's worthy of praise even if you feel that that's not what's happening at this moment. I think it will arrest our fickle behavior if we'll recognize that God's love is steadfast and endures forever and he has a plan that he's working and plan a is our carrying this good news with us to people who do not yet know it. Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven for the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.

I think that's the last slide. God, would you keep us in a place where we recognize your steadfast love? Other translations say, Lord, mercy. Other translations say, oh, the love of the Lord. But steadfast is better.

Mercy is good. He said in Hebrew, Lord, sticky love. Something that stays with us. Something that pursues us and stays with us. It sticks to us, Lord.

That's the way that you love. Your mercy is new every morning. Lord God almighty, would you forgive us for our misdeeds and would you allow us to see our new opportunities? In Jesus name, amen. Would you stand and we'll sing?

Such an awesome God. If you want to, the altar is always open for prayer and we're always here afterwards till the last customer served. Such an awesome guy. Amen. From first John four, it says, and so we know and we rely on the love that God has for us.

You know why? Because the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. We know that and we rely on the love that God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love, whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in them.

God, would you help us just be instruments of your steadfast love, your mercy, and your grace. Lord, go with us this week. In Jesus name, amen. There there are I think snacks down the hall. That's always the case in between.

Next week, there will be breakfast down there. I know that several of you went on mission trips. I want to hear from you. I would love for other people to hear from you. Will y'all go down the hall and tell us all about it?

Okay. Thank you. Bye.

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Fickleness Hosanna Meaning Palm Branches Symbolism Palm Sunday Steadfast Love

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