Sermon Notes: It's Palm Sunday! 2019~ Revisited in 2026

It's Palm Sunday!

Today is Palm Sunday!!  I hope that your church recognized this eventful day in the life of Christ, which begins the Holy Week leading up to Resurrection Sunday...Easter! 

Sadly, today, March 29, 2026, I was unable to attend church due to illness, but here is the message from our pastor and the choir singing "Welcome the King", which was pre-recorded this past week. I am sorry I wasn't able to be there today to actually sing with the choir in person, but I am sure they sounded just fine without me. I hope you will enjoy this song and our Pastor David Miller's message for today, if you wish to listen. I'm sure you'll be blessed.

Welcome the King!

Here begins the original post written back on Palm Sunday back in 2019.  The sermon notes that I have quoted from (below) were given by our former Pastor, Rev. A.C. Myers, who has since that time passed on to heaven. I can well imagine that he is enjoying eternal life with the King of kings, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ...and seeing Palm Sunday and Holy Week and Easter from a whole different perspective now. I wonder what his message to us would be today if he could come back to preach again!  I expect there would be even more conviction and urgency in his delivery of God's Word to us...because I can well imagine that he recognizes even more the consequences of not obeying God's Word and what we would be missing if we don't accept God's free gift of salvation now...before it's too late...

(The Palms sung by the Crystal Cathedral choir)

  Our choir sang the song shown above (in 2019)...We may not have sounded quite the same as "the Crystal Cathedral" choir shown above, but I can assure you we sang it with our whole hearts and souls!

The palm branches that the throngs of people waved as they cried "Hosanna! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mark 11:9) may not have looked exactly like these palmettos that we have here in Florida, but they were definitely similar to these...

Listen to how John's gospel  (John 12:12-13) described this scene:

"The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out, 

'Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' The King of Israel!"

Our scripture for today's sermon actually came from Mark's Gospel of this same scene, found in Mark 11:1-10.  and in these verses we see Christ entering Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey colt.  (See also Matthew 21;1-11,  Luke 19:29-38, and John 12:12-19 for more details).

The people of Jerusalem were hailing Christ as the King of Israel...their Savior, the Messiah.  But their expectation of what that would mean for them was not exactly what Jesus came to do.  At this particular time in history, Jerusalem was held captive by the Roman government.  The Romans occupied their country and ruled the Jewish nation with a very powerful and demanding government.  The people of Israel were in hopes that Jesus had come to save them from this evil government and to set them free from the tyranny of Rome.  Jesus did not come exactly the way they thought a conquering king should come...on the back of a young donkey? Where was His white stallion, where was His sword? He had no weapons, He had no saddle...only the clothing of the throng as they laid their clothes on the ground and on the back of the colt and waved the branches and shouted Hosanna...

But what we see instead of a conquering king, we see the heart of God.  Jesus does not come to us on our terms.  He comes on God's terms.  The people wanted a Messiah to rescue them from the evil and oppression of the  Roman government...But Jesus came to rescue their hearts from the evil of sin...He came to change their hearts inwardly...

Our expectations vs. God's answer...

God's answer is always the best for us.

The crowds wanted Jesus to conquer in a worldly way...But Jesus would conquer through laying down His life for their sins...

Jesus comes as our King to bring salvation...not from an oppressive government, but from self hatred, selfishness...to save us from greed, fear and death.

To restore our broken relationship with God...

Jesus gave us life--life of humble service and love...

A little side detail...The colt had never been ridden...and yet Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an unbroken colt...one that should have bucked Him off and been difficult to manage...

But Jesus was able to transform that wild unbroken colt into a peaceful animal.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem as a hero...

Is your life like that unbroken colt? Is life trying to throw you off...we may think that life seems to want to get rid of us...but God has a better plan for us.  Jesus is the only One who can ride into my heart and give me what I need to live...

Back to the crowd at Jerusalem...they were cheering and shouting Hosanna that day...they believed He was the Messiah and coming King, but then they still called for His death several days later...

We've all seen the bumper sticker that says, "Honk if you love Jesus".  Perhaps a better one would be: "Tithe if you love Jesus...any fool can honk!"  Or, how about, "Serve if you love Jesus", or "Humble Yourself if you Love Jesus", or "Love your neighbor if you love Jesus"...

On Palm Sunday Jesus came with a choice...We could join the crowd...cheering and waving palm branches, welcoming Him to our "city",  but that is as far as it goes as far as a relationship goes...On Sunday we cheer and wave our palm branches and proclaim Him King,  but what about the rest of our week...our lives...it's harder to actually serve the King of kings...

What does it truly mean to welcome Jesus into our hearts?

When we make a decision to follow Jesus, we choose to leave the old world behind...we choose to march to the tune of a most fulfilling and different kind of drum.

Jesus is the only way to peace, joy and real life...Jesus came to die for us...

John 15:13

"Greater love has no one than this, 

than to lay down one's life for his friends."

As followers of Christ we are to love each other as Jesus loved us when He went to the cross.

Palm Sunday is a great time to become a true follower of Christ.

There is no such thing as "Spectator Christianity".

Jesus conquered evil when He died on the cross.

People then did not understand He was offering them more than just to stand and cheer as He passed by...He was offering them an opportunity to make something beautiful out of their lives...

Think about the potter and the wheel...we are that blob of clay...a horrible mess...

But God can take our mess and shape us into what He wants us to be.

It is our choice...the invitation is here now...

Will you just be a spectator along the road, cheering Him on as He passes by...or

Will you follow Jesus all the way to the cross?

Our final hymn of the day...

(this is not our church choir singing, but please sing along and enjoy the music)

This is a song of triumph!

Christ is triumphant over death and hell,

and we are victors with Christ.

"Hosanna!!!

Blessed  is He who comes in the name of the Lord!!!

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David

That comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!"

Mark 11:9-10

Sermon Notes: FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Pastor A.C. Myers, 4/14/2019

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.

This cross is from our front yard. This photo was taken a few years ago. I wanted to do this again today, but it is extremely windy here today and the palms would just blow away, so I'm glad I have this picture.

I hope you will be blessed on this Palm Sunday, and draw even closer to our Lord throughout the week as we approach Good Friday and then the glorious Resurrection Day on Easter Sunday.

Welcome the King!!!

Sermon Notes "Just Like Them!"

Before I get into the message from Sunday's sermon,  I'd like to share these thoughts from my morning meditation beside the waters as I watched the mist rise up from the surface much like the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters:

Genesis 1:1-5

1. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2.  The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.

 And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

 3.  Then God said, "Let there be light";

and there was light.

4.  And God saw the light, that it was good;

and God divided the light from the darkness.

5.  God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.

So the evening and the morning were the first day."

What a powerful way to start the day! I Praise God for this gift.

This past Sunday was "Laity Sunday" at our church, and thus the Pastor was given the day off from preaching and our lay people took charge of the service.  This is also in conjunction with October being Pastor Appreciation Month.  Of course, our Pastors should be appreciated every month because they are there for us 24/7/12 months of the year. Trust me, I know...my hubby spent quite a few years in the ministry, and as the Pastor's Wife, I know what kind of hours the Pastor puts in.  But it is a calling...called to serve the Lord and His people, and any person who believes he or she has been called to serve in the capacity needs to be aware that it is a full time, life time commitment. Not something you can just walk away from, even when retired.... (and wives and family are a big part of this "calling". If you don't think you can take it, best not marry a pastor!)

All that being said, we appreciate our Pastor very much, and thank the Lord for his dedication to the flock of God at our little church.

In light of this special day, one of our laymen delivered the message entitled "Just Like Them",  from the scripture passage found in I Samuel 8:4-20.  In this passage the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel the Prophet and demanded that he "make us a king to judge us just like all the nations." (see verse 5)

Verse 6 says, "But the thing displeased Samuel when they said , 'Give us a king to judge us.'  So Samuel prayed to the Lord."

7.  "And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them."

God apparently was not surprised that His chosen people of Israel would demand a king to reign in place of Him.  Way back in the book of Genesis 35:11 He told Jacob (who was renamed Israel by God), 

"I am God Almighty.  Be fruitful and multiply; 

a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, 

and kings shall come from your body..."

Israel had rejected God's leadership. Their basic problem was disobedience to God.

• In Leviticus 20:26 God said to the people of Israel: "You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the people, that you should be Mine."
• Israel was called to be a holy nation, but they no longer wanted God to be their nation's ruler.
• They wanted to be like other nations with a human king
• They did not understand that only God's strength can make them flourish.
• 
  
• We, too, are disobedient to God and not listening to Him as a nation (and as a people)
• In Deuteronomy 28:1, God told Israel:
• "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth."
• But we, as a nation, have turned away from God. Our nation is divided.
• We are His people also, not just Israel.  
• Romans 12:2 says: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
• The world is corrupting our minds and our nation.  
• Our refusal to conform to world "values" must go deeper.
• Only when the Holy Spirit renews, educates and redirects our minds can we be firmly planted in Christ.
• We need to pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us.
• 
  
• Read God's Word, the Bible.  Let God's Holy Spirit do His job of leading us.
• Romans 8:5 says:  "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit."
• There are two kinds of people:  Those who let themselves be controlled by SIN
• Those who let themselves be led by the Holy Spirit.
• Ask yourself:  What would Jesus want ME to do? Then do it eagerly!
• Make God YOUR king, and follow Him!

Thank you to our layman and Sunday School teacher, David Perez, for this excellent message from God's Word. We are so blessed to have such excellent leadership in our little church.

Are You a Fan? Or a True Follower?

I've started writing down my "sermon notes" from Sunday's Sermon here...both for me, and for you in case you are interested!  I checked with our Pastor first to make sure it was okay to quote him or use some of his "material", and he was quite pleased and hoped that it would benefit more people than he could possibly reach each Sunday.  I don't think my "congregation" is all that large, but one never knows just who needs to hear this word of encouragement or admonition or exhortation...it could be a life-line to someone teetering on the brink...God has promised that His Word would not return to Him void...

Isaiah 55:10-11

10.  "For as the rain comes down,

and the snow from heaven,

and do not return there,

but water the earth,

and make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11.  So shall MY Word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

but it shall accomplish what I please,

and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

And so I will proceed to share these notes with you...they may not be in the same order that they were originally presented, and the interpretation may be per my own personal application, which could be different than how they were intended, and might also be not exactly the same as you perceive it to be...but God's Holy Spirit applies His Word to our hearts in the way that HE intends us to hear and receive it.

The Scripture reading comes from Mark 15:1-15, which is the story of Jesus standing before Pilate.  After questioning Jesus, Pilate asked the crowd in verse 9 if they wanted him to release to them "The King of the Jews?"...but the "chief priests (verse 11) stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them".

In verse 12 Pilate asks them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"   

13: "So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"...in verse 14 they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"...and so Pilate (15), "wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified."

Now comes the question...Am I a crowd pleaser? What would I have done if I had been in that crowd of people shouting out "Crucify Him!"  Would I have had the courage to stand up against the crowd and tell Pilate to let Jesus go? Or would I have slipped away and gotten out of there as fast as I could...or would I have given into peer pressure and shouted along with them...

Obviously, as a believer in Jesus Christ,  I like to think that I would have fought for Christ...that I could have had the power to resist the crowd. But too often today the tendency is to just keep quiet...don't make waves...keep my opinions to myself rather than be ridiculed and insulted by the "crowd"... I turn my head, shut my mouth and slink away, hoping no one will notice me there and force me to speak up...

But then...am I putting myself in danger of what Jesus warned in Matthew 10:33?

"But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven..."

I could rationalize my way out of this by saying that I wasn't really denying Him...I just wasn't saying anything at all...but I'm not sure this would stand up in God's court...

Jesus said in Matthew 10:32, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven..."

This can be difficult in today's society...we are inundated with "the crowd" all around us...if you participate in social media at all, you know how quickly you can get bombarded with negative comments if you dare to speak up for a conservative issue or stand up for Christ and Christians in general.  It has caused many of us to withdraw from that crowd altogether, or to be very selective in who we communicate with and comment upon.  I tend to speak my mind much more freely here in my own blog, where most of my "friends and followers" tend to be agreeable with my point of view. This is a safe space, or at least it seems to be.

But I don't want to always just be in a "safe space"... Jesus calls us to come out from among the crowd and "Follow Me".  (Matthew 4:19)  He exhorts us to not just be a "fan", following along on the outskirts of the true followers, but to enter into a personal relationship with Him..."be connected to Him", which means things could get difficult from time to time.  

Matthew 10:34-36 says, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.  For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter in law against her mother in law; and a man's enemies will be those in his own household."

Wow...I know we've all probably experienced this in our own families already...I don't need to elaborate here.

Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 10:38-39 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."

Some strong food for thought here...

1.  What would I be willing to do if the "crowd pressure" is high enough?

2.  Who is in my "crowd?"

3.  Am I just a crowd pleaser...afraid of being rejected if I take a stand?

4.  Am I just a "fan" of Jesus Christ, or am I a true "Follower"?

5.  Am I willing to take up my cross and follow Christ...no matter what?

6.  Am I leading others to follow Christ...or to be a crowd pleaser?

Lord, please help me to be a true follower of Christ...and not just a fan...Help me to stand strong in the face of pressure, and not be a crowd pleaser. 

Forgive me, Lord, for the times I've stayed quiet or slipped away out of fear.  

Give me courage and wisdom to know when to speak, 

and when to stand.

Thank You, Lord, for Your loving guidance and help in a difficult world. 

Amen.

What Are You Looking For?

"But when Jesus turned around and saw them following, He asked them, "What are you looking for?"   John 1:38a NIV

Have you ever asked yourself the same question? I know I have...many times...like, when I go from one room to another in search of something...I often have to stop and ask myself..."Now why did I come into this room? What was I looking for?"  Please tell me I am not alone.  Just a few minutes ago I went in search of my glass of water. At least I remembered what I was looking for...I just couldn't remember where I had left it.  After retracing my steps throughout the house, rethinking all of the places I'd been and what I'd been doing over the past hour or so since I last took a sip...(of water)...I finally discovered it on a shelf in the sunporch

next to the rocking chair that I was GOING to sit on while I talked with a friend on the phone, but as I recall now I decided to go outside and sit on the new front porch while I chatted, and apparently left my water behind. 

I've been talking quite a bit about the word "FOCUS" lately...my new One Word for 2015...and obviously it is an action word that I need to learn to do.  

Today's devotional reading and later Bible study in our home this morning "focused" on the theme of following Christ...as seen in John's Gospel, chapter one and verses 24-49.  Jesus noticed two of John the Baptist's disciples following Him, and in verse 38 it says that Jesus turned, "and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"...or, "What are you looking for?".  The disciples said that they wanted to know where He was staying...and Jesus said to them, "Come and see."  (verse 39).  Then these disciples went out and invited others to come and see Christ, as they discovered that He was in fact "The Messiah".  (verse 41).  Throughout the rest of these verses several others joined the group as Jesus simply said to them "Follow Me," and they did.  So simple...and yet so profound.

Today I have asked myself the question, "What are you looking for?" as if Jesus Himself was asking me.  Perhaps He is asking me, "Where are you focusing your attention?...Is it on Me? Do you want to follow Me? Or are you seeking something else?"... 

Hubby enjoying the new porch

We've been focusing a lot of attention on getting our house in order...new porch, new roof, new kitchen cabinets...

Cabinets, BEFORE

Cabinets AFTER (work done by my son)

And these things in themselves are not bad...they were all much needed home improvements...and God provided the way...But I've had to stop and ask myself the question, "What are you looking for?"  Where is your focus?  Is it on these nice new things...or is it on Jesus, the One Who is calling me to follow Him?  

In the past several months God has been leading us to begin a Bible fellowship in our home on Sunday mornings.  Already we are seeing God blessing this venture with new people coming to our home who needed a place to worship and study God's Word in a non-threatening, personal small group.  I could say that we are getting our house in order to be better equipped to provide this place of worship, and that would be true.  But I don't want to get my eyes off of the purpose for the gathering place so that I focus on the place instead of the purpose. I don't want to misplace my focus.  

Lord, Help me to seek YOU in all that I do each day.  May our home be a place that is centered on YOU...and not just centered on being a place.   Thank you for helping me to refocus my sights on YOU today. Amen.