What does it mean to truly recognize Jesus as King? Are we ready to obey Him, even when it feels uncomfortable? This Palm Sunday, let’s explore how our worship can transform into action. Join us as we prepare our hearts for a powerful message from Matthew 21. Let's dive in together!
Prayer Prompts
Use these prompts to guide your prayer time as we prepare our hearts for Sunday.
As we gather this Palm Sunday, we lift our voices in worship, declaring, 'Jesus, you are our King, our Savior, and our God. You are holy, strong, and present in our lives. Help us to always recognize and proclaim who You are, not just in our hearts but in our actions, as we prepare to share Your love with the world around us. Amen.
In the spirit of obedience demonstrated by the disciples, we pray, 'Jesus, let us obey You no matter the cost. Give us the courage to follow Your calling, whether it be in our church family, our workplaces, or our communities. May we be faithful in sharing Your message and living out our faith boldly, trusting in Your guidance every step of the way. Amen.
Hey Cross Church family and welcome to
the Sunday setup. This is our time each
week, Thursdays at 2:00 that we
digitally gather together to prepare our
hearts for the text that we're diving
into this weekend.
Well, Sunday is Palm Sunday. And this
Palm Sunday, we're going to dive into
the story
that we get this day from and we find it
in Matthew chapter 21. And we're going
to be ending our series through Let's
Go, kind of unpacking this two-year
initiative, but it so perfectly fits in
with Palm Sunday and what God has for
us. And I want to start in verse one.
We're going to read 11 verses and we
have two prayer prompts that are going
to just help prepare our hearts for
God's word that we'll receive this
Sunday and how we can praise through it,
pray through it, preach through it, and
practice it next week.
But we start here in Matthew chapter 21
starting in verse one. It says this,
"When they approached Jerusalem and they
came to Bethphage at the Mount of
Olives, Jesus sent two disciples telling
them, "Go into the village ahead of you.
At once you will find a donkey tied
there with her colt. Untie them and
bring them to me. If anyone says
anything to you, say that the Lord needs
them and he will send them at once."
This took place so that what was spoken
through the prophet might be fulfilled.
"Tell daughter Zion, see your king is
coming to you, gentle and mounted on a
donkey and on a colt, the foal of a
donkey. Verse 6, the disciples went and
they did just as Jesus had directed
them. They brought the donkey and the
colt and they laid their clothes on them
and he sat on them. A very large crowd
spread their clothes on the roads.
Others were cutting branches from the
tree and spreading them on the road.
Then the crowds went ahead of them and
those who followed shouted, "Hosanna
anna
to the son of David. Blessed is he who
comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna
in the highest heaven."
When he, being Jesus, had entered
Jerusalem, the city was in an uproar
saying, "Who is this?"
And the crowds were saying, "This is the
prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."
As we look at this passage and as we see
how this prepares us for the Palm uh
Sunday story, but how it also prepares
our church as we enter into this season
wrapping up our series through Let's Go,
but really beginning our two-year
commitment. Is this Sunday is commitment
Sunday and as we unpack that, we do
through do so in the midst of the story.
And here's the first thing as we attempt
to pray through this so that we're
preparing ourselves for it. Is I love
this question that is asked in verse 10.
Is who is this?
And actually they answered, the crowds
answered saying, "This is a prophet
Jesus from Nazareth." But really they're
not answering the question that we know
who Jesus is. We know Jesus is God. We
know Jesus is savior. We know Jesus is
the one who came to change everything.
And that is our prayer prompt today. Is
when they ask this question, "Who is
this?"
We get to pray to the Jesus we know.
And this is our first prayer prompt, a
prayer prompt of worship. Is Jesus, you
are
so small, so simple, but so profound.
Jesus, you are Jesus, you are holy.
Jesus, you are strong. Jesus, you are
present. Jesus, you You our you are
creator. Take some time. Pray through
this prompt, wherever you are.
Jesus, you are
Jesus, you are God.
Jesus, you are the ultimate prophet.
God, the ultimate healer.
God, you are the prince of peace.
You are the one who cleanses our sin
for all of eternity.
Jesus, you are king.
And Lord, as we prepare our hearts, God,
we do so in a stage of worship answering
the question that the city had at that
time, that our world has today is who is
this? Is Jesus, you are our God.
But, it does not stop there.
You see in the story
where it asked who is this,
it starts and the disciples are obeying
every single word he said. He's giving
them these directions that seem odd,
that to seem weird. Have go get a colt,
go get a donkey, go make sure it's in
this specific way, but they just obey.
You fast forward after the crowds turn
on him and they go from shouting Hosanna
to shouting crucify him, many from the
same mouth, the disciples don't play
those games. Instead of in Matthew 28,
after they witnessed
them coming in in a triumphal entry,
after they witnessed Jesus put on a
cross, after they witnessed him die,
after they witnessed him raise again, as
Jesus giving them the great great
commission, they are still obeying every
single word he says.
And here as we say, Jesus, you are, we
answer our world who Jesus is.
As the second part moves our worship
into action.
And Jesus, this is our prompt, Jesus,
let me obey you no matter what.
Jesus, let me obey you no matter what in
however he has called you to. Maybe in
being a part of a church family, in
inviting my neighbors to Easter, in
being a light in my workplace, in giving
my resources back to his kingdom. Jesus,
let me obey you no matter what in
Pray those prayers to our God.
>> Jesus,
let us obey you no matter the cost,
no matter the lack of comfort. Jesus,
let let us obey you and God being bold
about our faith
and being faithful in our families. Let
us obey you in putting you first in
worship, in our finances. God, let us
obey you in whatever you ask us to do
that moves us out of our comfort, that
convicts our sin, that calls us to do
something that maybe, Lord, we are
scared to do
that God we be obedient in following
your word, in following your spirit, in
following the vision and the purpose
that you have put in our life.
God, let us be obedient in the things
that you have called us, the commission
that you have put upon us, and let us
obey that no matter what our world
throws at us. God, we thank you that you
are king. We thank you that you are God,
and Lord, we just lift all this up in
Jesus' name. Amen.
Thank you guys for joining us today. We
cannot wait to worship with you this
Sunday. Have a great rest of your day,
and we'll see you soon.
>> Oh.