PALM SUNDAY                                               

 April 9, 2006

Isaiah 50:4-9a   Isaiah voices the way God's servant will move forward in hope.

Philippians 2:5-11 The way of Jesus Christ — emptying himself, taking the form of a servant, dying on the cross. God exalts him and gives him a name above every name.

- Kenosis Hymn is generally recognized by scholars to be an early Christian hymnic affirmation of faith quoted secondarily by Paul.

- It is significant to note that while Paul customarily establishes his authority as an apostle in writing to the churches (as in the first verses of Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians), in this Epistle he simply calls himself (along with his coworker, Timothy) "servant."  Bratcher

Mark   Mark 11:1-11 , 14:1—15:47 or Mark 15:1-39 (40-47)

 The account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. The shorter and longer forms of Mark's story of the passion of Jesus  

-When the last journey is over, we will be left with a dead Jesus in a tomb

- There's no Easter in the lessons today.  Nor will there be all week. Unless we can walk these paths, leaving our comfort zone, our self-satisfaction, daring to walk beyond safety into the darkness of evil and death, carrying Jesus to the tomb, we will not even begin to grasp the power of the Resurrection

-We might call this Sunday, "Journey Sunday. From a field near Bethany to Jerusalem, from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, from there back to Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem to Golgotha. Finally there's the journey from Calvary to the tomb.

-Each of these journeys draws us into a world of darkness, of betrayal, of naked power, of cowardice and of death.

   Items 1-5 Rev. Anthony F.M. Clavier

-"Remember merciful Jesus, I am the cause of your journey."  Mozart's Requiem

- The road less traveled.  Frost

-Jesus took a  journey of faith:  to promise land; through wilderness.  Faith was sustaining power, God's grace was underground river which preceded Him and  followed Him. God took the journey with Him!

-Selected sermon, A clever rendition of Palm Sunday as seen through the eyes of the donkey. 

-Presumably Jesus followed this course of action in order to fulfill the prophecy from the OT book of Zechariah 9:9, "Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass."

-But it is not suffering, not even the suffering of Jesus, that makes this week holy. Rather, it is holy because of the inexplicable and immeasurable love that prompted that suffering. Dianne Bergant

-When we relate to a celebrity we are a spectator, and by definition spectators are not involved. Spectators cheer and boo, spectators form deep opinions for and against the behavior of their celebrities, but spectators don't make a real difference. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the celebrity doesn't know the spectator exists .  Jesus was a different kind of celebrity. The Palm Sunday crowd were spectators but when danger came they refused to be participants. We are called, not to be spectators, bystanders, or onlookers, but we are called to disciples and to keep His story alive. Mickey Anders

 PALM SUNDAY

-The dynamic tension between the two moods (palms and passion) is normal for this day. We can have both. In fact, we do! That is why the two different readings.

- A normal population in Jerusalem of about 50,000 at this time, had at least tripled in size because of the influx of pilgrims celebrating the Jewish holiday Passover.

-William Stringfellow, a distinguished lawyer who became a very distinguished theologian and who died much too soon, was a strong critic of the church. He was particularly feisty about Palm Sunday. He used to say that Christians go to church on Palm Sunday because they love a parade.

-The custom of Palm Sunday may be traced back at least to the 4th century.

-Hosanna means:  "save now" (Not a cry of praise) Barclay

-We find the seeds of the crucifixion lying among the palms.

-Who WERE you in that crowd? What kind of Jesus were you looking for? :   Pharisees?(keep the law), Disciples? (victorious, long-living) , Zealots?  (take up sword).  What kind of Jesus ARE you looking for?  A plastic Jesus? (keeps us safe)  A prozac Jesus? (keeps us happy, relaxed, secure, etc..)  A Mr. Rogers Jesus?(non-threatening). A Saviour?  Dr. Mickey Anders

-This Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday to commemorate the beginning of Holy Week and Jesus’ final agonizing journey to the cross

-Lent is a 'liturgical roller-coaster ride.'  a slow, steady, difficult climb to Palm Sunday, followed by the jubilation of the crowds, then plummeting to the depths of Good Friday, before finally returning home at Easter, elated and changed by the ride

-The best way to send an idea is to wrap it up in a person. J. Robert Oppenheimer

-"Parading our dreams down the streets of reality"  Pulpit Resource

-The power of the cross  was the refusal to use power.

-Pastor Bill Hybels wrote a book entitled, Descending Into Greatness.  Too many Christians only come to church for the triumph of Palm Sunday and then skip directly to the triumph of Easter missing the trip down through the week.  They skip from the wave crest of Palm Sunday to the wave crest of Easter, and they miss the descent into greatness.  The only way up is down. Jesus is calling us to that same journey downward into greatness     Mickey Anders.

ILLUSTRATION

1.When I was a child, I climbed up on a billboard to see a soldier who had returned from an unpopular assignment. We waved flags and cheered. It was thrilling, despite the fact that this hero had come home in disgrace. I was proud that I could say, “I was there; I saw him.” I wonder what the people of Bethphage and Bethany thought as Jesus processed toward Jerusalem.

2.  Years before Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, Alexander the Great, Son of King Phillip of Macedon, rode his fiery steed, Bucephalus into city after city as he conquered them. But Jesus didn't use a war horse for His Triumphal Entry. Because Jesus was coming, proclaiming the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of man.

3. the significance in the palm branches and "Hosanna's" are found in Jewish history about one hundred fifty years earlier. A hero, by the name of Simon Maccabaeus had delivered Jerusalem. On that occasion, which is known as the Second Maccabaen Revolt, a great celebration was held with praise, palm branches, and musical instruments. So, the palm became a symbol of the Jews' desire for deliverance.

4. The Mayan Indians had a kind of basketball game in which, at the end, the captain of the winning team was sacrificed--killed--by the captain of the losing team. His head was cut off. What was the message? For the Mayans, the
"name of the game was to become worthy to be sacrificed to God."

HUMOR

CHILDREN

-Teach the children to say it as a donkey would.  The "ee" is said as the donkey breaths out through both mouth and nose, the "aw" is said as aid is breathed back in through the mouth.  Saying "ee-aw" like a real donkey is more difficult and the children will find it an exciting challenge.  (Hamor is Hebrew for Donkey)  Rev. Bill Versteeg

--How to Make Palm Crosses

PRAYER PHRASES

-Have the same mind as Christ Jesus, who emptied himself, taking the form of a menial servant.  Sharing our human condition,  he humbled himself, obedient to the death, even that shameful death on a cross. I put my trust in you, O God. I say: “You are my God, every day is in your hands. Deliver me from all temptation and from those who persecute me.”

-Blessed Jesus, ride into our city today, into the ruined places, into hearts broken and afraid, come into the midst of all that has changed, assure us that you will be with us, even to the end of the age. Amen.

"If you haven't seen http://www.textweek.com/  you're missing a great resource for ministers."

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