xSermon
4-13-14 palm
Sunday Lk 19:28-41
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to
Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the
hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go
to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied
there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If
anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had
told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked
them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and
put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their
cloaks on the road.
37 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:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher,
rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones
will cry out.”
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over
it…
Its palm Sunday.
Later
this week, Maundy Thursday/good Friday invite
Next
sunday easter. Ride the shuttle. Skip 1010
Its
palm Sunday - Lets tell the story.
Parade
Donkey
Palm
branches
Welcome
Disciples
Pharisees
Jesus
This is a story of two teams.
The
team that is against jesus and the team that is for him
The
team that is threatened by him and the team that is exalting him
The
team that sees what is wrong and the team that sees what is right
Shawn
is quoting yoda today: Yoda
to Luke: “Beware of the dark side.
Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side
of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight.”
How do you see the world?
This
is more than a glass half full half empty question
I
know a theologian who believes that the entire notion of sin, the entire sense
of our relation ship with God revolves around this question.
Let
me explain
Imagine
the world prior to the fall. Prior to
the apple.
Adam
& eve, men & women, simply loved life and enjoyed being with God.
They
were alive in their natural state.
Trusting, praising, enjoying, seeing the good.
Living
the life for which we were created.
We
were not created to be dominated by fear
and worry. God wants more than that for us…
The
first humans had a clean heart with God.
All was well.
Then
sin entered.
Its
about me. I want what I want. Its not going my way. Were kicked out of the garden. We want to go back. We cant.
Life becomes a series of difficulties.
Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food
until you return to the ground since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
until you return to the ground since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Threatened
by every moment of pain, we build cocoons of self worth around a heart that is
out of kilter
We
can continue to live this way.
Its
about me. Spend your entire life
fighting to get it your way.
We
can even employ god on this self centered journey
God
I want this. God I want that.
God
I am mad at you because you wont give me this or that thing
This is where the Pharisees lived. Team one
A
system that looked good on the outside but inside their hearts were dark
Jesus
told them they were whited seplechurs clean on the outside, nasty on the inside
They
were threatened by Jesus
We
react from our insecurities
We
live out of fear, not out of love.
They
were not open to any message other than their own
They
resisted change. They felt insulted by Jesus
Even
if it came from God, they were not listening
They
knew how the world worked and nothing was going to change that
No
wonder they were annoyed when the disciples praised a shaggy rabbi from
Nazareth that drank wine and ran with sinners.
They
were self centered, fearful, insecure and angry.
They
wanted him dead.
Then there is the life of the disciple.
Team
two
They
have tried their own way, and it did not work.
They
are tired of exalting themselves
Something
inside of them tells them that there is another way.
There
is a better way.
The
gospel is like this…..it comes to us and hits us in a good spot.
We
know its real
They
hear the message of Jesus. God loves
you. You are forgiven. The kingdom is here.
Get
on board. Become a person of love
They
see it. They want it. They go for it.
They
receive jesus. They become his follower.
They
find the life for which they were created.
No
wonder they line the road when he comes into Jerusalem
On
palm Sunday there are two teams.
In
our world today there are the praisers, and the groussers
Which
of these two teams do you want to be on?
Some
Christians choose to believe in jesus, but then spend the rest of their life
filled with doubt and fear
Last
week we talked about the suffering of Jesus. Difficult sermon
He
did not go thru all of that so that we could live in fear.
He
promises those who believe in him the abundant life.
That
is a life that is based in joy, not despair. Hope not fear. Trust not worry.
By
the way, worry leaves when trust arrives.
What do people do that see the good.
Well
first of all, they see the good. They
are awake to life.
They
see the sky, not the clouds.
They
don’t walk by flowers without taking notice
That
translates to people. They become those
who look at people, even broken people and see the good
Consequently
they become brokers of praise
In
the midst of a world that some think is going to pot, they become those who are
telling everyone that all is well.
Lynn
shiffreen, everything will be alright in the end. If everything is not all right, then its not
the end.
People that see the good tell others that every thing is
ok.
They
are calm in the midst of a storm. Or
they lose it for ten minutes, then right their own ship and get back on
message.
They
may feel the negative messages in the world, but they refuse to be dominated by
them
Their
prayer lives are usually not about things that they want, but focus on turning
their lives over to god
Not
my will, thine be done.
People that see the good are leaders. They get it, but that’s not enough for
them. They want to help others get
it. So they speak what they see into
every chance that they get. Their life
isn’t just a fairytale existence, blindly seeing the good, they are also
engaged in ending negativity. They take
the time to encourage everyone that they possibly can to join them in this
outlook on life.
Such
people may not be counselors, but they r instrumental in healing
marriages
They
may not be certified teachers, but they teach.
They
may not be pastors, but they are speaking the words of God.
And
into a world where so many are done with God and done with the church, the
speak praise.
Its
palm Sunday. Which team do you want to
be on?
My friend Sherri Swanson is facing a
difficult issue in her life. She is in
Princeton today talking about it. And
talking about how one must choose to see the good, even in difficult times. She shared this poem sent by a friend
In Happy Moments-Praise God
In Difficult Moments-Seek God
In Quiet Moments-Worship God
In Painful Moments-Trust God
In Every Moment-Thank God
There
are two teams in this life. Lets choose
to be among the praisers.
Lets
pray
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