April 3
8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven.” (Mark 11:8-10, The Jesus Bible)
Happy Holy Week family! With all the business of March in Savannah, the horrible news from the shooting in Nashville, more tornadoes claiming lives and destroying large swaths of the country, I forgot that Sunday was Palm Sunday until I was preparing my routine for teaching the three and four-year-old’s at our Kids Ministry. But I tell you what, the moment that I did realize it was the start of Holy Week, I felt such a sense of joy and purpose wash over me. And I poured that happiness out like the oil from an alabaster jar over the kids of Compassion Christian Church.
This is the most important week of the year for us Christians. This is the week that separates us from every other religion in existence, as we worship and serve a LIVING Savior. This is the remembrance of the week leading to Jesus’ crucifixion and, of course, His resurrection to set mankind free from sin and establish a lasting covenant between His followers and the Creator of the Universe. And it all began with Palm Sunday.
Palm Sunday is the day that Jesus returned to Jerusalem for the THIRD time during His ministry at the start of the Passover festival. Jesus rode into the city on a donkey to fulfill the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9:
“See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9, The Jesus Bible)
The crowds laid down their robes and palm branches to create a royal procession for their beloved King. They shouted “Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest”. And the same crowd that shouted “Hosanna” on Palm Sunday, would be shouting “Crucify” on Good Friday. But until we get to that bitter truth, we have a week to celebrate all Jesus did as He rode into the capital of the Jewish nation to establish His throne as the one true King.
I love this week. It is such a beautiful story. And I can not wait to highlight each day, from Holy Wednesday to Easter Sunday. I will be with y’all through it all. God bless you. Let us celebrate our Risen King.
To help us, I want to share the inspirational word from Pastor Steven Furtick that you have to watch. If not for anything else except to answer this question: What happens when you put “Go” in front of “Disable”?
And to kick off our musical celebration of Easter, here is a new single from the OG’s Newsboys called “He Lives”. And He does. He lives. He’s Alive and we are shouting that truth for all to hear.
Common Sense Reborn 