Those
who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were
untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
They
replied, “The Lord needs it.”
They
brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he
went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
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.”
As
he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you,
even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is
hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build
an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They
will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will
not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s
coming to you.”
It
was good to again worship in a church that isn’t embarrassed by the cross. I
was heartened to see a large one on the rear platform wall.
I
guess it has been a while since we visited this church last. I don’t know if
there is an entrance that doesn’t bring you to be back of the building first,
but we sure could have used some signage. We followed some people around the
building and the main entrance was apparent.
I
noticed almost every row had someone sitting on the end and most of the center
seats were empty…it looked as if everyone was saving seats for someone.
I was
glad the female lead singers were also allowed to be heard, and enjoyed their
voices.
This
church is planting a church in Moon Township and asked for 100 volunteers to
worship there to help get the church established.
The
message was from Luke describing Christ’s compassionate entry into Jerusalem on
what became known as Palm Sunday.
The
pastor related the three entities that responded to Christ’s entrance: those
exuberant at the coming of the King, those in defiant resistance who were so
caught up in their religion that they thought they were pleasing God by
opposing Christ. The third was the unbridled compassion of Christ, driven to
tears at how Jerusalem had fallen.
Each
in their own way, all in, “No Turning Back.”
The
city of God was overwhelmed by the spiritually dead. Christ’s knowing what the
week held for Him and how it would end reminded me of Marines running toward
the gunfire, fully engaged, “no turning back.” Our Savior is like that.
He
raised good questions: are we fully engaged in worship? What makes you weep?
And calling us to be fools for Christ.
I
was once referred to as one of those Jesus jerks, the highest praise I have
received.
We
visited this church twice before when it was called Chippewa Evangelical Free
Church. It has recently changed its name to Pathway Church, so we thought we’d
see what else might have changed. As it turns out, not much, which is just
fine.
In
March they plan to launch a new campus in Moon Township and today presented the
pastor they have identified to lead this new campus. What impressed me most were
the details of how God prepared this pastor for this position of leadership: first
he spent a fair amount of time learning and serving this church in various
capacities, until the time was right and God indicated to those involved and
who knew him that he was His choice for this position.
The
praise band had a great sound, and the volume was good even for us.
At
very large churches with 2 (or more) services like this one, visitors are
anonymous unless they identify themselves. Since we arrived a few minutes late,
there was no time to do that, and we ended up approaching no one and no one approached
us. I miss the personal contact and conversation when this happens, but it was
not unexpected.
The
message was the first in the series “No Turning Back” and was entitled “All In.”
It was introduced through a brief video of Felix Baumgartner’s 24-mile parachute
jump from the edge of space in October 2012…a pretty terrific depiction of “no
turning back” I thought.
The
pastor taught that three groups responded to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday. The first group was comprised of His disciples and those who
believed in Him, who responded with exuberant praise. They were as fully
engaged as Jesus, and some may have even recognized Jesus riding the colt as
the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Throwing their cloaks, a cherished
staple of their wardrobe, was the equivalent of an ancient red carpet, and
their praise was loud and sincere.
The
second group consisted of the Pharisees who responded with defiant resistance. The
pastor likened their telling Jesus to rebuke His disciples to the Browns coach
telling Coach Mike Tomlin to quiet down his fans in the heat of a football game…a
ridiculous request. Strangely enough, the Pharisees’ request was based on their
commitment to please God. We may be committed, but are we submitted? Are we
committed to our practice or religion, or are we submitted to God?
The
third “all in” response came from only Jesus, Who responded with unbridled
compassion. He was heartbroken because He knew the people were spiritually
dead, and He did not just weep…the Greek word indicates intense sobbing. The
peoples’ rejection of Jesus left them spiritually vulnerable, and He was well aware
of their need and despair as well as what the future held.
The
pastor boldly pointed out that “If you only spend one hour per week with God,
you are part of modern-day Jerusalem.”
“All
in” is indeed a choice.
Holy Lord, we pray we don’t wait for the very stones to cry out in praise, that we come to worship and glorify You with no turning back. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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