Celebrating Who Jesus Is!
Psalm 76
1 God is renowned in Judah;
in Israel his name is great.
2 His tent is in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.
4 You are radiant with light,
more majestic than mountains rich with game.
5 The valiant lie plundered,
they sleep their last sleep;
not one of the warriors
can lift his hands.
6 At your rebuke, God of Jacob,
both horse and chariot lie still.
7 It is you alone who are to be feared.
Who can stand before you when you are angry?
8 From heaven you pronounced judgment,
and the land feared and was quiet—
9 when you, God, rose up to judge,
to save all the afflicted of the land.
10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,
and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.[c]
11 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;
let all the neighboring lands
bring gifts to the One to be feared.
12 He breaks the spirit of rulers;
he is feared by the kings of the earth.
This Sunday’s service can be viewed on our Facebook page @Sunday, April 2, 2023
What has Jesus saved you from?
The crowds that went ahead of Jesus 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."
Matthew 21:9-11
What an incredible day that must have been. Jesus riding into Jerusalem with the crowds all around Him shouting and waving branches and coats and figuring that the good times were rolling now…the KING IS HERE! You know, the KING! He’s the one who’s going to save us from the rule of the Romans, the one who’s going to take over and lead us to greatness again. He’s the one we’ve been waiting for over 500 years! Our parents told us about him, as did their parents, and their parents, and their parents…we’re ready to be saved! That’s what ‘hosanna’ means…save us…save us now! Bring on salvation! Bring on the king!
Do you realize how desperate the people of Jesus time were for someone to save them? They knew they could not get out of the oppressed environment they were in on their own. They had tried and it had failed. Now Jesus was coming to make that all different. They truly needed Him!
How much do you really need Jesus? Seriously. What has He saved you from? When have you cried out in desperation because you feel trapped by your situation in this broken world? I can honestly tell you that Jesus did much more than “spiritually” saving me from a future hell. He saved me at a time I was going through such emotional, mental, and physical hell that I felt completely trapped. I was in more deep pain than anyone around me ever knew. Jesus reached out and gave me a new life that I never thought was possible.
This Sunday we celebrate the saving power of Jesus promises… even when the way ahead looks bleak! During this Holy Week we will go through the ups and downs of what Jesus did to truly save us!
Grateful to be on this journey with you,
Pastor John