Palm Sunday Sermon @ First B Jackson April 13th 2025

In one paragraph

Palm Sunday at First B Jackson this year took a different route than usual. Instead of walking through the days of Holy Week, Pastor Mark focused on the psalms Israel would have been singing as they walked up to Jerusalem for Passover, the Psalms of Ascent, concentrating on Psalms 117, 118, and 136. The thread running through all of them is a single repeated phrase: his steadfast love endures...

Read together

1. Matthew 21:6-9 Matthew's account of the triumphal entry, the disciples bringing the donkey and colt, the crowds spreading clothes and palm branches, and the cry of Hosanna
2. Psalm 117 Read in full as one of the Psalms of Ascent sung on the way to Jerusalem, praising God whose steadfast love is for all nations and peoples
3. Psalm 118 Read at length as the next Psalm of Ascent, covering themes of calling on the Lord in distress, the stone the builders rejected, this is the day the Lord has made, and Hosanna
4. Psalm 136 The greater Hallel sung on arrival at Jerusalem for Passover, with its repeated refrain about God's steadfast love enduring forever, covering creation, the exodus, and God's provision
5. Revelation 5:9 Referenced to connect Psalm 117's call to all nations with the great multitude from every tribe tongue and nation surrounding the throne
6. Revelation 7:9 Cited alongside Revelation 5:9 as the same vision of every tribe tongue and nation before the throne
7. Psalm 86 Referenced in connection with calling on the Lord in distress, noting Dustin Flueckenjerg had preached on it a few weeks prior
8. Psalm 19 Cited twice: the heavens declaring the glory of God day after day in a language understood by all, and creation as God's general revelation
9. Romans 1 Referenced as teaching that creation alone is enough to make humanity responsible before God
10. Hebrews 12 Paraphrased in connection with the line that the Lord disciplined the psalmist severely, noting no discipline is pleasant at the time but produces good
11. 1 Peter 5 Quoted on humbling yourself under the mighty hand of God so he may exalt you, casting cares on him, and the God of all grace perfecting and establishing you after suffering
12. Exodus 34 God's self-proclamation to Moses describing himself as merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity
13. Joshua 2 Rahab's speech to the spies recounting what she heard about God drying the Red Sea and destroying Sihon and Og, and her declaration that the Lord is God in heaven above and earth beneath
14. Psalm 106 Noted as one of several Psalms beginning with the same phrase praising God whose steadfast love endures forever
15. Psalm 107 Noted as another Psalm beginning with the same opening praise about God's steadfast love enduring forever

Talk about it

1. The pastor talked about chesed, the steadfast love of God, as a 'sticky love' that stays with us. Where in your own life have you seen that kind of love show up in a way you did not expect or feel you deserved?
2. The sermon made the point that if we think God's blessing is only for 'us', we stop transmitting and start hoarding. Honestly, where do you think our church lands on that spectrum right now, and where do you personally land?
3. Psalm 118 says 'I shall not die but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.' What is one specific thing God has done for you or your family that you feel a responsibility to keep telling?
4. Rahab heard the people of Israel habitually praising God for what he had done, and that is what moved her to say 'the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.' What does that suggest about how we talk about God in ordinary life, outside of a church building?
5. The pastor ended by saying that in our highs and in our lows, including hard personal losses, the steadfast love of God endures forever. Is there a situation you are carrying right now where that is genuinely hard to hold onto, and what would it look like to trust it anyway?