Palm Sunday April 10th 11 am Serivce

In one paragraph

Palm Sunday lands differently when you sit with the whole week instead of just the parade. Pastor Carl worked through what the crowd was really shouting, what they expected, and how quickly that crowd turned, and he asked us to be honest about our own fickleness before the Lord. The shout of "Hosanna" carries more weight than a Sunday school answer. In Hebrew it means "save us now," and it was a...

Read together

1. John 12 primary text for Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry
2. Psalm 118 source of the Hosanna cry, a psalm of ascent sung going up to Jerusalem for Passover
3. Zechariah 9:9 prophecy of the king coming humble and mounted on a donkey, quoted in John
4. Amos 3:3 can two walk together unless they be agreed, used in the context of walking with God
5. 1 Kings 1 Solomon's coronation on David's mule, compared to Jesus riding a donkey
6. Judges 5:10 reference to riding on white donkeys, connected to Jesus riding a white donkey
7. Luke 19 Jesus weeping over Jerusalem as he came over the ridge before the triumphal entry
8. John 19 Pilate scourging Jesus, the crown of thorns, crucify him cries, and Pilate declaring Jesus innocent seven times
9. Psalm 136 the greater Hallel, read responsively as a closing meditation on the steadfast love of the Lord
10. Psalm 106 begins with the same verse as Psalm 136 about the steadfast love of the Lord
11. Psalm 107 begins with the same verse as Psalm 136 about the steadfast love of the Lord
12. Joshua 2 Rahab the harlot's speech about hearing of the Red Sea and the defeat of Sihon and Og
13. 1 John 4:16 closing benediction, God is love, whoever lives in love lives in God

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl described the crowd on Palm Sunday as people crying 'Hosanna,' which means 'save us now,' but with expectations of political and military deliverance from Rome. How do you think unmet expectations shape the way people respond to Jesus, then and now?
2. The disciples did not understand the significance of Jesus riding on a donkey until after he was glorified. Can you think of a time when you looked back on something and only then recognized what God was doing in it?
3. Pastor Carl read from Psalm 136, where the refrain 'the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever' follows even difficult moments like the striking of Egypt's firstborn. How do you hold together God's steadfast love with the harder parts of his story?
4. Pastor Carl pointed out that verse 25 of Psalm 136 shifts from 'us' to 'all flesh,' and said that if the church only cares about itself, that is a fair criticism. Where do you see your own life or this congregation living that out well, and where might there be room to grow?
5. The sermon described the crowd moving from 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord' to 'Crucify him' within the same week, and named fickleness as something true of all of us. What tends to pull you away from trusting Jesus when circumstances get hard or uncomfortable?