Scripture
– Matthew 21:1-11 NKJV
Now
when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives,
then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite
you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose
them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say,
‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
All
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
“Tell
the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting
on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
So
the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and
the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great
multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the
trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and
those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna
to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna
in the highest!”
And
when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”
So
the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Bob’s
thoughts:
When
God directs us to a church, we always hope to find out why. Today we knew.
We
were welcomed by a number of people and I got a great smile from a beautiful
little girl. I felt pretty special that she stopped to show me her toy till I
saw she did the same with everyone who entered.
I
found a number of crosses to focus on before the projection screen was raised
to reveal a beautiful white back-lit cross. I didn’t get to go forward after
the service but the baptismal looked impressive. The ceiling lights were
conventional square fixtures but with colored blocks down the side like stained
glass.
We
were told how the new assistant pastor/youth pastor had been injured on his motorcycle
and found out later that he is the pastors’ son.
The
music was good, but at times loud enough to drown out the singing, making it
hard to find where we were with the words. I’m sure the textured ceiling helped
with the acoustics.
During
the greeting time we met a woman who had also lost a son as a Marine. I also
met a Marine there.
The
Palm Sunday message mentioned how God could use a donkey, I immediately thought
of Balaam. He posed the question where are you in your Christian walk, a
believer, along for the ride, or crucifier? I liked the Scripture reading, with
emotion and emphasis.
I was
pleased we could talk to the mother who lost her Marine son and blessed to pray
over her.
Jan’s
thoughts:
From
the parking lot to the main entrance is a slight uphill grade, and instead of
walking up the driveway hill, we opted for the steps. We were immediately
impressed that the steps were wide with a small riser, easily navigable by
children and older folks, and with bright yellow paint across the front and top
corner of each step, including one with little more than a crack to it but
still enough to trip over. It seems like a small thing, but it’s really not
small. They were excellently done.
When
we reached the door, a gentleman opened it from inside and shook our hands in
welcome. The restroom signs could not be overlooked, which was helpful, and I had
to take a photo of the wooden cross in the entryway.
I
enjoyed the color coordination of the spacious sanctuary, with the matching
carpet and pew padding and charming decoration of the worship space.
Several
people stopped to welcome us before and after the service. And the bulletin was
colorful and easy to read.
The
music was contemporary, which surprised me for some reason, and quite well
done. I thought the violin contributed greatly.
As
usual, Bob wore a Marine t-shirt, and during the greeting opportunity a woman sitting
behind us introduced herself. It turns out she lost a Marine son also, so we
spoke for a while and then caught up again after worship to talk some more and
pray.
The
sermon was untitled from what I could tell. The pastor stated there were three
categories of people present on that first Palm Sunday: the true believers, the
hangers-on, and the religious who knew who Jesus was and hated Him. He said of
course everyone would put themselves in the first group, that of the true
believers, but he asked what if believing in Jesus meant you were never healed?
Or never happy? Or it meant you had to suffer? What about the hard things Jesus
said? And what if Jesus did not condemn what you condemned? He reminded us that
Jesus does not fit in a box.
Then
he asked a most intriguing question: Would Jesus look at you as a friend?
We
believe Jesus is our Friend, but would He see us as His friend? That is a
question worth pondering.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray Your church is encouraged to pray for and with those You bring to their
door. Amen.
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