WELCOME
Communion Worship Service
Good morning First Baptist. We welcome you to worship this morning. Be sure to remember your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the week as you pray for them, and as the Holy Spirit brings their faces to your mind. Be sure to also connect with them in the ways that are possible. And if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to contact the church through the church telephone and leave a message. (519-733-4144)
Songs
Call to Worship
Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
Rejoice for the Lord is in our midst. He comes with joy and hope.
He comes to set us free from fear. Hosanna! Glory to God in the Highest Heaven.
Good morning FBK – and welcome to worship.
Songs
Prayer
Prayer of Confession & Assurance
God of all glory,
We sing, we wave our branches, we shout ‘Hosanna.’
Then, we turn away, to go back to our old ways,
our old lives, our old sins.
But God is in the business of granting forgiveness
and filling us with new life.
Let us confess to the One who comes to fill us with grace.With eager hearts and open hands, Holy One,
we welcome Jesus,
Who willingly chose to become our servant.
We pick up the faith we had laid on the ground before him,
and put it back on the shelf of our given lives – where it belongs.
Our pride keeps us from being able to follow him
all the way to Calvary.
Hosanna, Steadfast God, save us!
Help us to let our fears, our doubts, our faithlessness
slip from our lives to fall at your feet,
so we may stand with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
who comes in your name,
in your glory,
in your grace to save us.
Assurance of Pardon:
Friends in Christ, our God is patient, steadfast, and understanding.
Christ has come to save us!
Hosanna!
We will give our thanks to God,
who comes to bring us grace, hope, life.
Hosanna in the highest.
Amen!
Come Alive
Above and Beyone
Today's Message: Pastors Marlee Page and Dave Page
More than two thousand years ago, God’s plan of redemption altered the world forever. The power of sin and death was broken through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ that first Easter. Death was defeated. True life, spiritual life, God’s life triumphed.
Over the next week, we will journey together through the events of Holy Week and come alive to God’s story, which transforms our lives and our world by His grace.
Our Holy Week journey will include coming alive to Jesus’s life, sacrifice, and power. Today is Palm Sunday, so we start by coming alive to Jesus’s life, which was above and beyond human understanding. On Maundy Thursday Evening, we will participate in that last evening of Jesus’ life – in our own special way here at FBK. On Good Friday we will not look down in fear or defeat but hold our heads high as we focus on the cross and come alive to the sacrifice Jesus made. And then on Easter we will celebrate…yes we will celebrate Jesus’s resurrection and come alive to His power to change our lives.
The life Jesus offers to you and to me and to all of us is reason to celebrate! It is reason to respond to God’s open arms and His invitation to draw near to Him. I’m so glad you are here on this Palm Sunday as we begin to experience the life-giving truth of Holy Week and of God’s power to transform each one of us into a new creation.
The events of Palm Sunday, often referred to as Jesus’s triumphal or triumphant entry into Jerusalem, are recorded in all four of the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. That’s a sure sign that this day was very important! It marked what we think of as the beginning of Jesus’s journey to the cross. But really, that journey began long before Palm Sunday! That journey began before He started His public ministry. It began even before He arrived here on Earth in that Bethlehem manger. Jesus’s purpose was part of a much bigger plan established before the creation of the world. It went far above and beyond what the people there that original Palm Sunday knew.
You see, Jesus’s journey wasn’t just about the immediate circumstances—it would impact eternity.
And His journey was not just about the earthly events swirling in those dusty streets in Jerusalem that day—the true significance was in the spiritual realm. And while today marked a triumphal entry, Jesus’s journey was not about human approval or cooperation—it was one of obedience to the Father and fulfillment of His plan for redeeming the world.
As we look at the events that happened on that day in Jerusalem, I have here three simple symbols to help us remember the lessons of Palm Sunday:
- A donkey
- A palm branch
- Some rocks
These are all pretty common items, but they remind us of the uncommon journey of Jesus. They represent the ways He went above and beyond our understanding or abilities in order that we might come alive to His life.
Donkey
Take a look at this animal. What do you think of when you see a donkey? Stubborn, right? That’s what they are known for. And when we think of Jesus making a triumphant entry into the Jewish holy city, it’s a logical question to ask: “Why a donkey?” It’s probably not what you or I would have chosen.
At first glance, it might seem that Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey was just a practical matter—He was tired of walking, and there was a donkey available nearby. Not a horse. All the camels were taken at the rent-a-beast. Just a donkey.
But no, the meaning of Jesus riding on the donkey went above and beyond the immediate or the practical. Even this detail—and this lowly animal—was part of God’s bigger plan.
Way back in Zechariah 9:9, in the Old Testament, there was a prophecy that the Messiah would come riding on a young donkey. Matthew quoted Zechariah when he wrote about Palm Sunday
Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:1–7
As they approached Jerusalem 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 took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.
Jesus specifically wanted a donkey. What might seem to us like a “plan B” practical solution to the immediate situation was actually a specific fulfillment of thousands of years of promise.
Take another look at this donkey. You have to admit, it’s kind of cute. But I wouldn’t go so far as calling it majestic or royal. The top Roman soldiers of Jesus’s day rode on fancy, majestic horses—now those were a show of power and position. Those said power, strength, authority. The donkey? Not so much.
But while the donkey can represent the humility of Jesus, the ironic twist of the story is that by riding on this donkey, Jesus was also proclaiming that He was the Messiah, the King! The dedicated Jews gathering in Jerusalem at this time for the celebration of the Passover feast would have known this Old Testament prophecy. So this simple act demonstrated a connection to the past by fulfilling the prophecy. And it also pointed to the future of Jesus as king—not an earthly king as some imagined, but as the true King who would reign forever in God’s story of love, forgiveness, grace, and redemption. The Messiah, whom the Jews had been waiting for throughout the centuries….He was coming…
Here He came, riding on a donkey.
Palm Branch
Now let’s talk about this palm branch.
Imagine you’ve loaded the family into the car and you’re headed for the Dairy Freeze – you know it’s open now, right? The kids cheer loudly because you are driving toward the Dairy Freeze, and they can almost taste that chocolate dipped goodness. But, surprise! You drive right past the ice cream store, all the way to the airport, and board a plane for Disney World! The kids should be ecstatic, right? They are on a trip of a lifetime. But instead they are crushed. They were so looking forward to ice cream. It just wasn’t what they expected. It didn’t fit their idea of what should happen.
Okay, most of us don’t have a surprise trip to Disney in our back pocket. But that imagery gives us a glimpse into what happened to Jesus’s disciples and followers on Palm Sunday. They were cheering with excitement. They thought their king had arrived! They could almost taste the victory as Jesus rode into town.
Matthew 21:8–11 (NIV)
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
The crowd waved palm branches, which were a traditional symbol of victory. This is where we get the name Palm Sunday. The people spread their cloaks on the road for their new king. They could almost taste the goodness of freedom. Finally—finally!—their Messiah, their rescuer, had come. Finally, He was going to kick some Roman tail and overthrow their oppressors and set up the perfect kingdom for the Jews. Right?
Um, no. The crowd would soon discover that this king wasn’t what they expected. He wasn’t here to set up an earthly, political kingdom. Instead, He went above and beyond what the people imagined. He was a spiritual king, not an earthly one. And His victory—the ultimate victory over sin and death—would be more than freedom from their current oppression. It would be the victory that restored all of creation and made a way for every person to have a right relationship with God. He would throw off and defeat the oppression of their souls.
Now, there obviously were many people who approved of Jesus when He rode into Jerusalem. They were the ones cheering. And there were many who did not approve of Jesus, including the Pharisees and other religious leaders who were threatened by Jesus’s popularity. But none of them understood the magnitude of what Jesus was preparing to do. Even Jesus’s disciples didn’t get it. John told us so:
John 12:16 (NIV)
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
What about you? What do you expect from Jesus this Easter? Are you prepared for His power and victory in your life to go above and beyond those expectations?
Rocks
Palm Sunday is really a snapshot that represents all of Jesus’s life: His love, sacrifice, and commitment to a greater story, to God’s ultimate work. When He rode into Jerusalem, He didn’t arrive in order to raise more support or gain more approval. This was not a campaign rally where He was trying to make sure enough people liked Him to get elected. There was no make Jerusalem great flag being waved….That wasn’t His goal, and He knew what was coming. He knew in the coming days He would die on a cross.
Only days later the same crowd that was shouting “Hosanna” would shout “Crucify Him.” And yet it didn’t change Jesus’s purpose or His actions. Jesus’s purpose was not dependent on human approval or praise. Jesus made this clear as recorded in the Gospel of Luke:
Luke 19:37–40 (NIV)
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen painted rocks, and I’ve even owned a pet rock, but I’ve never heard stones actually cry out. It seems impossible. But that was just His point—the importance of the day wasn’t about who sang praises and who kept quiet. It was about all of creation, which was in need of redemption; all of creation, which was held under the curse of sin and death; all of creation, which would praise God when its Creator was at work in such a significant way to lift the curse and make a way of restoration for all the ultimate good He originally created.
You have to get this!! Jesus’s purpose was not to be liked by a majority of people. It was to offer the ultimate sacrifice—His own life—so that everyone and all of creation could worship God in new freedom and truth. Whether the people approved or disapproved, recognized or had no idea what was going on, Jesus’s purpose never changed. It was above and beyond earthly understanding.
Today we have the privilege of hindsight. We see what the disciples did not. We know the end of the story. And so as we watch the events of Holy Week begin to unfold, we come alive to His life, which was dedicated to God’s ways—ways that are above and beyond our own. They were when Jesus entered Jerusalem that Palm Sunday and they still are today.
The words of Isaiah were appropriate then, and they are appropriate for us today:
Isaiah 55:8–9 (NIV)
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
There is no doubt that God is above and beyond us in every way. Yet, from above and beyond, God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth in a way we never would have imagined or planned or chose. Jesus came to us in humility.
He lived among us in solidarity.
He sacrificed everything in obedience.
Perhaps the most well-known verse of all tells us:
John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus’s life purpose was to bring God’s love and life to the world. His love bridged the gap and provided a way for us to cross over into the holy presence of the God of the universe, to know Him and relate with Him.
If you are here today wondering what this journey of Holy Week means for you, don’t miss God’s invitation. He loves each one of us and invites us on the journey through Holy Week and into relationship with Him. It may be an unexpected journey—it probably will be a surprising journey. But what was once impossible because we were separated from God by sin and death is now possible when we come alive to the life of Jesus. Because of what He did, we can respond as the writer of Hebrews directed:
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Today we come alive to Jesus’s life. As we continue our journey through Holy Week, prepare to come alive to Jesus’s sacrifice through the intimacy of his last night together with the Disciples, His death on Good Friday and to celebrate Jesus’s power through His resurrection on Easter Sunday. But just as Jesus entered that swirling city thousands of years ago and entered into the final stages of His work on earth, let’s invite Him to enter our hearts and lives. Let us shout praises of “Hosanna” for the Messiah King that He is, but also let us join Him in humility and obedience. With our eyes open and our hearts full of gratitude, let us join Him in God’s ultimate work of restoration, healing, and true life.
Prayer
God,
On this Holy day of Palm Sunday and Passion,
we have so many mixed feelings in side of us.
We remember your son’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem
with the people shouting praises and waving Palm Branches.
And we join them with our own praises and yet….
we remember too that this wonderful parade for your son, becomes
another kind of parade before officials and the booing crowds.
And instead of the crowds singing his praises they are shouting to crucify him.
And our hearts are broken by those very shouts,
and the pain and suffering he bore that day.
And yet we know that it is because of his choosing to enter
Jerusalem and taking the path he knew he was taking,
there is hope, grace, love and salvation for all.
And there are still many in need of hope in our world.
There are still many in need of your grace in our world.
There are still many in need of your love in our world.
And there are still many in need of salvation in our world.
Lord, enter our lives, our churches, our cities, our countries
once again today.
Heal us, Lord.
Transform us.
Renew us.
Draw us closer to you in this journey of Holy Week,
empower us with strength and courage and
with the assurance that you are with us, world without end.
Amen.
Communion
As we hear once again the words of Paul describing the Last Supper Jesus had with his friends before his arrest, trial and death, let us each feel a new commitment to journey with Jesus to face the music, to face hardships, disappointments, and even suffering and harm for what is right.
Hear the words Paul shared with the people of Corinth, explaining this mysterious and powerful gathering:
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when we has betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Break Bread:
When we share the bread, we share in the bread of life.
Raise Cup:
When we drink from the cup, we share the cup of suffering.
Come for all things are ready.
Sharing the bread and the cup:
Bread: The bread of life!
Cup: The cup of suffering! The cup of salvation!
Prayer of Thanksgiving
On this first day of the week that is called “Holy Week,” we thank you for Jesus’s courage to do your will. Strengthen us through this meal to stand by him, to truly be the courageous body and blood of the faithful, and to accept risk and confrontation as elements of faithfulness. As this week passes, speak to us through its events, reminding us of your constant love, surprising grace, and caring power. Amen.
Song
Benediction
May God, whose arms were spread on the cross to embrace the whole world, help us this week to take up the cross and follow him. Amen.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO CELEBRATING HOLY WEEK WITH YOU!