1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Let's pray. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 Let's pray. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 Let's pray. 4 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:59,000 And then we're going to sing, and the kids are actually going to do something fun while we're singing today. So just cheer them on for that. So, all right. Let's go ahead and get started. We'll go ahead and stand. 5 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:15,000 And today we're going to be reading together out of the book of Jonah, chapter 2, and we're going to be reading verses 7 through 9 together. It starts, 6 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:42,000 "When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord." 7 00:19:42,000 --> 00:20:01,000 This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. God, we thank you for the opportunity to gather here today together, and we thank you for those that are watching online with us, and we thank you for the hope that we have of your steadfast love, and we thank you that salvation belongs. 8 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:09,000 We thank you for Palm Sunday and a time that we can remember when Jesus entered Jerusalem and was welcomed and praised. 9 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:24,000 And we hope that we can have that much enthusiasm as we gather together each week to praise you. Thank you so much for your mercy and your grace, Lord, and allow our service to glorify you today. In Jesus' name. Amen. 10 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:37,000 So today, with that, we're going to be focusing on the word "Hosanna" a lot. So, "Hosanna" is often thought of as a declaration of praise, similar to "Hallelujah," but it's actually a plea for salvation. 11 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:54,000 The Hebrew root words are found in Psalm 118:25, which says, "Save us, we pray, O Lord." The Hebrew words, "Yasha," "deliver and save," and "ana," "beg," "beseech," combined to form the word that in English is "Hosanna." 12 00:20:54,000 --> 00:21:05,000 Literally, "Hosanna" means "I beg you to save," or "please deliver us." And so as we think on that, I just wanted to read out of Zechariah 9:9, which says, 13 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:19,000 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation is he. Humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." 14 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:30,000 And so as we start our service today, we're going to be doing that. We're going to be singing "Hosanna." The kids want to go to the back now. They can do that. They have a special job during this song. 15 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:41,000 So, we're going to sing together. We're going to praise the Lord, and we're going to be just focusing on his salvation and his love for us. 16 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:25,000 We're turning to you. We turn to you. Hope is stirring. Hearts are yearning for you. We long for you. 17 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:47,000 'Cause when we see you, we find the strength to face the day. And in your presence, all our fears are washed away. Washed away. 18 00:22:47,000 --> 00:23:16,000 Hosanna. Hosanna. You are the God who saves us. Worthy of all our praises. Hear the sound of hearts returning to you. 19 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:45,000 We turn to you. In your kingdom, broken lives are made new. You make all things new. 'Cause when we see you, we find strength. 20 00:23:45,000 --> 00:24:14,000 To face the day. And in your presence, all our fears are washed away, washed away. Hosanna, Hosanna. You are the God who saves us. 21 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:39,000 We are ready of all our praises. Hosanna, Hosanna. Come heavy way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. 22 00:24:43,000 --> 00:25:12,000 Give them a hand. All right. If you'd like or if you want to keep standing, you can. There you go. We're going to be moving on into our prayer and share time next. If you're watching online, there will be a phone number for you to text on the slide to 23 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:21,000 send us any prayer requests you have or anything you'd like to share with us here. We're going to be muted here during that time, so just give us a few minutes as we have that time here 24 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:29,000 together, and then we'll be back and be moving into our time of communion. And so we're going to be singing together in Christ Alone. 25 00:25:41,000 --> 00:26:10,000 My hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song. This cornerstone. This solid ground. Firm through the fiercest drowning storm. What heights of love. What depths of peace. When fears are still. When strife. 26 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:39,000 When strife seeks. My comforter. My all in all. Here in the love of Christ I stand. In Christ alone. Who took on flesh. Fullness of God in helpless faith. This gift of love. 27 00:26:39,000 --> 00:27:08,000 And righteousness. Scorned by the ones he came to save. Till on that cross. As Jesus died. The wrath of God. Was satisfied. For every sin. On him was laid. Here in the death of Christ. 28 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:37,000 I live. There in the ground. His body laid. Light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth. In glorious day. Upon the grave he rose again. And as he stands. 29 00:27:37,000 --> 00:28:06,000 In victory. Sin's curse has lost its grip on me. For I am his. And he is mine. Brought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life. No fear in death. This is the power of Christ. 30 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:35,000 The power of Christ in me. From life's first cry. To final death. Jesus commends my destiny. No power of hell. No scheme of man. Can ever pluck me from his hand. Till he returns. Or close me home. 31 00:28:35,000 --> 00:29:04,000 Here in the power of Christ I'll stand. No power of hell. No scheme of man. Can ever pluck me from his hand. Till he returns. Or close me home. Here in the power of Christ I'll stand. 32 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:33,000 Good morning. We are glad that you're joining us this morning. This is our prayer and share time. It gives us some 33 00:29:33,000 --> 00:30:02,000 time to share those things that we need prayer for and to celebrate those things that God has done for us. So in the interest of protecting privacy, we don't live stream this portion of our service, but we are glad that you're here. If there's a way that we can pray for you, we would love to be able to do that. You can send us a message, or you can leave a comment, or there is a phone number on the side that you can go ahead and text, and we would be happy, 34 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:31,000 very happy to be able to pray with you. I just want to think with you just a little bit about how we learn to pray. We can learn by reading about prayer. We can see sample prayers, but one of the ways that has been helpful for me on learning to pray is seeing examples of how godly people pray. One of my favorites is in the book of Nehemiah, and it begins with Nehemiah hearing about the destruction of Jerusalem. Now, this is not new information 35 00:30:31,000 --> 00:31:00,000 for Nehemiah, but it hits him in a new way, and he will spend an extended period of time in prayer and fasting. We're not talking about just a few minutes or a few hours. We're talking about days and weeks of focused prayer. But then if you go just a little farther in Nehemiah, you will find Nehemiah before the king, and Nehemiah's face is downcast, and the king asks him, "What is wrong?" And that's kind of a loaded question, 36 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:29,000 because the king has the power over life and death, and so if he doesn't like your answers, it can go very badly for you. And so Scripture will tell us that Nehemiah just very briefly prays, maybe just a few words, "Lord, help me," and then he answers the king. And then throughout the book of Nehemiah, you'll see Nehemiah praying when surrounded with enemies, when facing difficulty. Nehemiah always spends time in prayer, and it's a wonderful 37 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:58,000 lesson for us that there's times we need to be devoted in prayer in sort of an extensive period of time, and then it's also okay when we face those situations to simply very shortly ask God to help us. We need to pray, as Paul says, in all different kinds of ways and for all different kinds of things and all different kinds of people. So would you pray with me this morning? Father in heaven, we thank you for grace. We thank you that you are a good Father who hears our prayers and answers our prayers. 38 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:17,000 and answers our prayers according to not necessarily what we want, but what we need. We thank you that you watch over us. So we ask that you be with those who are watching this morning. Encourage them. Help them. Be with them as they move through this life. Help us to be an encouragement to them as well. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. 39 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:23,000 So thanks for joining us. We'll be back with you in our service in just a few minutes. 40 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:32,000 We'll be back to you in our service. So we'll be back to you in our service. 41 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:36,000 We'll be back to you in our service. Let's pray. 42 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:39,000 We'll be back to you in our service. So we'll take you in our service. 43 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:42,000 We'll be back to you in our service. We'll be back to you in our service. 44 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:47,000 We'll be back to you in our service. We'll be back to you in our service. 45 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,000 We'll be back to you in our service. We'll be back to you in our service. 46 00:33:53,000 --> 00:34:20,000 I see it now. You love me from the start. I won't forget the faithful God you are. I'm confident. I'm covered in your grace upon grace upon grace. You cover us with grace upon grace upon grace. 47 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:42,000 You wash away my guilt and make me clean. Revealing what you meant for me to be. Mercy bring my heart, now I can see. You love restoring every part of me. Come on. 48 00:34:42,000 --> 00:35:10,000 Jesus, I'm yours. Forever I surrender all my heart. I see it now. You love me from the start. I won't forget the faithful God you are. I'm confident. I'm covered in your grace upon grace upon grace. 49 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:27,000 You cover us with grace upon grace upon grace Can't get enough of grace upon grace upon grace You cover us with grace upon grace upon grace 50 00:35:39,000 --> 00:36:08,000 It's your grace on top of grace Grace in the driest desert Grace when I'm feeling warm Grace when I don't believe it Grace found at every turn Grace in the deepest valley Grace when the night is long 51 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:37,000 Grace found in every season Grace has the final word Grace breaks the power of darkness Grace mends a wounded soul Grace moving every mountain Grace fills the deepest void Grace overtakes my battles Grace resurrects these bones Grace lifts me from the ashes Grace is my victory soul 52 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:39,000 Grace is your grace on top of grace 53 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,000 Thank you. 54 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:39,000 Thank you. 55 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:09,000 Thank you. 56 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:09,000 Amen. 57 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:39,000 Amen. 58 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,000 Amen. 59 00:50:37,000 --> 00:51:05,000 Praise be to God. 60 00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:28,000 All right. Our theme this morning as we approach Palm Sunday and as we prepare our hearts for Good Friday and Easter is that we would see the salvation of the Lord. 61 00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:40,000 And in the 130th Psalm, you have this glimpse of the longing for the salvation of the Lord and the fact that salvation belongs only to the Lord. 62 00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:49,000 So we're going to pray, and then in a few minutes, we're going to be in Matthew, the 21st chapter. We're going to spend some time there this morning. Let's go ahead and pray. 63 00:51:49,000 --> 00:52:01,000 Father in Heaven, I thank You for Your Word. I thank You for the words of Jonah this morning that we have heard that remind us that salvation belongs to You. 64 00:52:01,000 --> 00:52:11,000 I thank You for the account of Luke that we have seen, where we see how You open eyes and You invite the outsider into Your family, 65 00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:18,000 and that we learn that Your Son came to seek and save those who were lost, bringing salvation with Him. 66 00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:27,000 As we heard the words of the songs of Your people this morning, we hear the hope for salvation, that You would encourage our hearts, 67 00:52:27,000 --> 00:52:33,000 that You would strengthen us, that You would fix our eyes upon You in the midst of a troubled and hurting world, 68 00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:41,000 that we would help us to see the love that You have for us as we see Your Son entering into Jerusalem this morning. 69 00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:45,000 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 70 00:52:45,000 --> 00:52:51,000 One of the things that I love about the Gospels is, in fact, there is four of them. 71 00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:57,000 There's an important reason why there is more than one book about Jesus. 72 00:52:57,000 --> 00:53:04,000 And I remember growing up when we moved from Arizona to Vermont, we moved to an area that was primarily dairy farmers, 73 00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:10,000 most of whom were Dutch. Many of them were, their kids were second generation, their parents were first generation. 74 00:53:10,000 --> 00:53:16,000 I remember one of the first times, it would have been probably second or third grade, that I went over to one of my friends' house, 75 00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:21,000 and it was a new experience for me because at dinner table, everybody spoke Dutch. 76 00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:24,000 And so I'm sitting there going, "I have no idea what's going on." 77 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:28,000 If you've ever been in this situation, every time somebody laughs when they're speaking another language, 78 00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:31,000 the only thing you can think about is now they're laughing about me, right? 79 00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:34,000 They're talking, they're just sitting there having a big conversation about me. 80 00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:38,000 Probably not happening at all, but that's how you feel. 81 00:53:38,000 --> 00:53:43,000 And when we don't understand something, sometimes we get fearful, sometimes we get defensive, 82 00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:46,000 sometimes, right, we get frustrated. 83 00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:57,000 And one of the things that I like and I love about how God communicates with us is He does so in a way to bring us to understanding. 84 00:53:57,000 --> 00:54:02,000 And so you have four Gospels, Matthew, primarily written to Jewish people. 85 00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:07,000 And so if you read through Matthew, one of the things you'll find as he tells God's people 86 00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:14,000 that the Messiah has come, he's going to go back continually to all of these Old Testament prophecies, 87 00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:21,000 these things that they would have longed for and hoped for, and he'll say, "Look at how Jesus fulfills these prophecies." 88 00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:27,000 And then you have Mark, who is writing to Romans, who had a tendency to sort of want to get to the chase, 89 00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:33,000 "Show me what Jesus does." And so Mark primarily focuses on the sort of the actions of Jesus. 90 00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:41,000 It's interesting, I read a statistic this week that the word "and" is like 1,375 times as used in the Gospel of Mark. 91 00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:51,000 Basically, Jesus did this, and he did this, and he did this, and he did this. Mark, the shortest Gospel, but filled with the most action. 92 00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:59,000 And then Luke, as he writes to Theophilus, his first volume, Luke, second volume, Acts, his first volume, 93 00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:08,000 he says, "Look, I've gone through, and I've studied, and I've laid this out in an orderly account, and I've talked to the witnesses, and I've interviewed them." 94 00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:17,000 And then John, as he writes likely to both Jews and Gentiles, the last Gospel written, as he writes likely to Christians, 95 00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:22,000 he writes, and one of the things I love, as he writes to the Gentiles, he'll explain the Jewish stuff. 96 00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:28,000 And so as he writes about Jesus turning the water into wine in his first miracle, he'll have this little side note that's like, 97 00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:35,000 here's these big pots that you probably don't know about, and here's what they were used for, and he does so that the people can understand. 98 00:55:35,000 --> 00:55:42,000 And one of the reasons we have these four Gospels is because these different cultures needed to hear Jesus in their own language. 99 00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:51,000 Same reason why this morning I'm not speaking French, or speaking Greek, or speaking Spanish, because we understand English. 100 00:55:51,000 --> 00:56:06,000 And so, God speaks to us in a way that can be understood, right? To the Jews in a way they'd understand, to the Greeks in a way that they would understand, to the Romans in a way that they would understand, so that Jesus would be understood. 101 00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:17,000 Now in the four Gospels, you find that there are these pivotal moments, and this account of the triumphal entry of Jesus is one of those, right? 102 00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:27,000 As these Gospel writers are writing for their specific audiences, each one of them oftentimes includes little sort of different glimpses of Jesus. 103 00:56:27,000 --> 00:56:34,000 In fact, John will say there's so much about Jesus that if you tried to write it all down, it would fill up every book in the world. 104 00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:41,000 But it's interesting that all four Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, include the triumphal entry. 105 00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:48,000 And the reason for this is because we are about to enter the most important time in the ministry of Jesus. 106 00:56:48,000 --> 00:57:02,000 This last week in the life of Jesus, oftentimes called the Holy Week or the Passion Week, we know more about Jesus' activities in this week than we do about any other portion of His ministry. 107 00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:13,000 In fact, somewhere between like a third and 40% of the Gospels are devoted to this last week, and it all begins with the triumphal entry. 108 00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:26,000 And the triumphal entry takes place at Passover. It's one of three festivals that were required for Jewish men and oftentimes taking their family to come to Jerusalem. 109 00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:35,000 And because of all of these visitors and pilgrims coming to Jerusalem for Passover, the population of the city would just simply explode. 110 00:57:35,000 --> 00:57:44,000 So Jerusalem, and we're not quite sure of the number, but likely around 40,000 people sort of at a normal time during the year. 111 00:57:44,000 --> 00:57:54,000 And Passover would add at least 200,000, maybe 250,000. Some commentators will say as much as a million people. 112 00:57:54,000 --> 00:58:06,000 And I remember my first year in Winchester, and I remember hearing about this Apple Blossom thing, and I hear a lot of the local people grumble about traffic and busyness and all these people coming into town. 113 00:58:06,000 --> 00:58:13,000 And I was like, "How bad can it be?" And then I went to Apple Blossom, and it's like, "Yeah, from now on, I'm going to be out of town when everybody shows up." 114 00:58:13,000 --> 00:58:22,000 And that's a small picture of what's happening in Jerusalem. A town of 40,000, all of a sudden, you add 200,000, 250,000, 115 00:58:22,000 --> 00:58:32,000 maybe more people, right? Every available space is full. Everybody with a room for rent is renting out. All your family is coming into town. 116 00:58:32,000 --> 00:58:44,000 This city is going to be noisy. It's going to be packed. It's going to be busy. And in all of these people coming to Jerusalem, you have this beautiful picture of unity. 117 00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:50,000 The psalm that Brent just read is a psalm that would have been sung by these people as they go uphill to Jerusalem. 118 00:58:50,000 --> 00:59:01,000 Jerusalem is at the top of a hill. And these pilgrims, as they come from all over, not just all over Israel, but all over the world, would sing through these psalms. 119 00:59:01,000 --> 00:59:09,000 And think about how wonderful that is. That maybe you're coming from Rome, and it's the first time and maybe the only time you'll get to come to Jerusalem. 120 00:59:09,000 --> 00:59:18,000 And you get closer to the city, and you're seeing more and more people, and then all of a sudden somebody breaks into a song, and you know it. 121 00:59:18,000 --> 00:59:27,000 Right? It's not a foreign song that you've never heard, but it's one that you sing, and you worship with in your synagogue in Rome. 122 00:59:27,000 --> 00:59:39,000 And the guy from Ephesus, or Philippi, or all of these little towns come, and all of a sudden you realize for a moment that you're not alone. 123 00:59:39,000 --> 00:59:47,000 We used to go to this conference in Oklahoma, and I remember one of the trademarks of this, there was a restaurant, 124 00:59:47,000 --> 00:59:53,000 terrible restaurant, but fun atmosphere. And so everybody, you try to, you know, leave the last session, like they're closing in prayer, 125 00:59:53,000 --> 00:59:58,000 and you're making a beeline for the door to get in line, and you're standing there, and the one year, I remember, 126 00:59:58,000 --> 01:00:04,000 everybody just started singing. And it was this sort of weird thing, because I've never experienced anything like that, 127 01:00:04,000 --> 01:00:11,000 but it was also wonderful, because it's all these people, no idea who they are, but they're singing the same songs you are. 128 01:00:11,000 --> 01:00:16,000 And isn't that a wonderful picture of unity as they come in to the city? 129 01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:25,000 And additionally, in addition to all the people, and all the excitement of people that you've never met who sing the same songs and have the same culture, 130 01:00:25,000 --> 01:00:33,000 there is this big buzz about Jesus, because Jesus, not too long ago, has gone to a little town about two miles from Jerusalem. 131 01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:43,000 He stood in front of a tomb, and he said, "Lazarus, come out!" And Lazarus, who has been dead for three days, walks on out of the tomb. 132 01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:50,000 And this has been noticed, it's been talked about, and Jesus' fame has grown. 133 01:00:50,000 --> 01:00:56,000 And so the whispers through the crowd are, "Is Jesus coming? Is He going to be there?" 134 01:00:56,000 --> 01:01:02,000 And so we're going to pick it up in Matthew, in the 21st chapter, beginning in verse 1. 135 01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:09,000 "Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, 136 01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:14,000 then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go to the village in front of you, 137 01:01:14,000 --> 01:01:18,000 and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and the colt with her. 138 01:01:18,000 --> 01:01:24,000 Untie them and bring them to Me, and if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord needs them,' 139 01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:29,000 and He will send them at once.'" This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 140 01:01:29,000 --> 01:01:33,000 "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your king is coming to you, 141 01:01:33,000 --> 01:01:38,000 humble and mounted on a donkey on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'" 142 01:01:38,000 --> 01:01:43,000 The disciples went and did as Jesus directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, 143 01:01:43,000 --> 01:01:51,000 and put on them their cloaks, and He sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, 144 01:01:51,000 --> 01:01:56,000 and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds went before Him, 145 01:01:56,000 --> 01:02:01,000 and those that followed Him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He 146 01:02:01,000 --> 01:02:07,000 who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna to the highest!" And when they entered Jerusalem, the whole 147 01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:14,000 city was stirred up saying, "Who is this?" And the crowd says, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of 148 01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:22,000 Galilee." And so the question that we ask as Jesus enters Jerusalem like this is, "What is the 149 01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:28,000 point?" Right? Because Jesus is behaving so differently from the times in the past. If you 150 01:02:28,000 --> 01:02:33,000 remember during His ministry, there will be people who are like, "I'm going to tell everybody!" And Jesus says, "Don't 151 01:02:33,000 --> 01:02:40,000 tell everybody." There's times where He has faced opposition. Fronting that opposition, He simply goes 152 01:02:40,000 --> 01:02:48,000 somewhere else. But now Jesus, it seems, is intentionally causing a scene. He's intentionally 153 01:02:48,000 --> 01:02:56,000 confronting the city of Jerusalem. He's making a declaration in this entrance to Jerusalem. He is 154 01:02:56,000 --> 01:03:02,000 saying and doing something that is very specific. First of all, Jesus, as He comes into Jerusalem 155 01:03:02,000 --> 01:03:10,000 like this, is proclaiming that He is the promised Savior. And He's not just proclaiming 156 01:03:10,000 --> 01:03:15,000 it, He's confirming it. Right? That's what it means when it talks about how He fulfilled what was 157 01:03:15,000 --> 01:03:20,000 written by the prophet going back to the book of Zechariah, chapter 9 and verse 9, where we 158 01:03:20,000 --> 01:03:26,000 have read that this morning, about here He comes on a donkey, on the foal of a donkey. Jesus 159 01:03:26,000 --> 01:03:36,000 is saying, "That's who I am." He's also, in His choice of an animal, making a pretty serious 160 01:03:36,000 --> 01:03:43,000 statement. As He comes not on a war horse, not standing in the back of a chariot being escorted 161 01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:51,000 like a Roman general, but as He comes on this humble animal, this beast of burden, to the 162 01:03:51,000 --> 01:03:56,000 Jewish people there, it would throw back in their mind to another son of David. If you 163 01:03:56,000 --> 01:04:01,000 remember, when David is about to die, there is some confusion among his sons. One's trying 164 01:04:01,000 --> 01:04:06,000 to declare himself king here, and so David's wife comes in and says, "You said Solomon would 165 01:04:06,000 --> 01:04:12,000 be the king." And so here's what David does. David says, "Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan 166 01:04:12,000 --> 01:04:16,000 the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came to the king, and the king said to 167 01:04:16,000 --> 01:04:22,000 them, "Take with you my servants of your Lord, and have Solomon my son. Ride my own 168 01:04:22,000 --> 01:04:28,000 mule." Not a donkey, but a beast of burden. Bring him down to Gihon, and let Zadok 169 01:04:28,000 --> 01:04:33,000 the priest, and Nathan the prophet there, anoint him king over Israel, then blow the 170 01:04:33,000 --> 01:04:38,000 trumpet, and say, "Long live King Solomon, and then you shall come up after him, and he 171 01:04:38,000 --> 01:04:43,000 shall come and sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my place, and I have appointed 172 01:04:43,000 --> 01:04:49,000 him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah." And so Jesus, by taking a donkey, a beast 173 01:04:49,000 --> 01:04:55,000 of burden, just like David prescribed for his son, his own mule, a beast of burden, coming 174 01:04:55,000 --> 01:05:03,000 into Jerusalem to this proclamation of joy. He's saying, "Just like that son of David came 175 01:05:03,000 --> 01:05:12,000 to Jerusalem to be king over Israel, I am coming to be king over Israel." It's a picture of 176 01:05:12,000 --> 01:05:19,000 Jesus declaring his kingship. The crowds understand this perfectly, right? They understand 177 01:05:19,000 --> 01:05:24,000 what Jesus is doing. They understand the claim that he is making. He said, "Why are they taking 178 01:05:24,000 --> 01:05:28,000 off their robes and throwing it on the donkey, taking off their robes and throwing them on 179 01:05:28,000 --> 01:05:36,000 the street?" There was another king of Israel. His was Jehu. He has a reputation for being 180 01:05:36,000 --> 01:05:41,000 a crazy driver. They look out over the city wall and say, "Who is that driving 181 01:05:41,000 --> 01:05:47,000 like a madman? Oh, it must be Jehu, son of Nimshi," because that's how he drives. So growing up, mom 182 01:05:47,000 --> 01:05:53,000 would always say when we were driving a little crazy, "You're driving like Jehu." And so Jehu comes. 183 01:05:53,000 --> 01:06:00,000 He's been anointed king. The prophet comes and speaks to him. And he goes outside, and all his friends say, 184 01:06:00,000 --> 01:06:03,000 "What did the prophet say?" "Oh, you know how he is. He's just saying something." I said, "No, no. 185 01:06:03,000 --> 01:06:10,000 What did the prophet say?" He says, "He has joined me king over Israel." Listen to the reaction. 186 01:06:10,000 --> 01:06:17,000 "Then in haste," verse 13 of 2 Kings 9, "Then in haste, every man of them took his garment, 187 01:06:17,000 --> 01:06:25,000 put it under him on the bare steps, blew the trumpet, and proclaimed Jehu as king." Their reaction to Jehu being the king 188 01:06:25,000 --> 01:06:30,000 is to take off their garments, give him a place to stand, and laying them down so he could walk upon them. 189 01:06:30,000 --> 01:06:39,000 The crowd here is acknowledging that Jesus is claiming to be king by acting just like Jehu's friends did when he became king. 190 01:06:39,000 --> 01:06:47,000 In the words, the crowds acknowledge the salvation of Jesus. As they quote from the 118th Psalm, "Save us, we pray, O Lord. 191 01:06:47,000 --> 01:06:53,000 O Lord, we pray, give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Bless you from the house of the Lord." 192 01:06:53,000 --> 01:07:01,000 They're quoting the 118th Psalm. And the crowds don't just shout about this, but Jesus acknowledges it, and I love this. 193 01:07:01,000 --> 01:07:08,000 Because there are some religious leaders, and they're really, really mad, and the crowds are shouting the 118th Psalm about Jesus. 194 01:07:08,000 --> 01:07:22,000 And some Pharisees in the crowd will say to Jesus from Luke 19, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." And He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the students would cry out." 195 01:07:22,000 --> 01:07:29,000 How embarrassing would that have been for the Pharisees? Jesus, tell the crowds to shut up, because they're proclaiming you king. 196 01:07:29,000 --> 01:07:37,000 And so, if Jesus would have done that, and nature itself would have rejoiced. That's not a new thing in the Old Testament. 197 01:07:37,000 --> 01:07:44,000 There are psalms about the hills and the trees proclaiming the glory of God. Isaiah 55 said this, "For you shall go out in peace." 198 01:07:44,000 --> 01:07:56,000 And sometimes we've sang a song based on this. "You shall go out in joy, be led forth in peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." 199 01:07:56,000 --> 01:08:06,000 And the Pharisees know that there are these references in the Old Testament, and they have to be terrified when they hear Jesus say, "Hey, if the crowds don't proclaim it, you're going to get the trees 200 01:08:06,000 --> 01:08:20,000 and the rocks and the hills proclaiming who I am." I want you to see that this is intentional. Jesus isn't riding this donkey because He's tired. 201 01:08:20,000 --> 01:08:28,000 It's a two-mile walk from Bethany to Jerusalem. It's not a long walk. Jesus has spent His entire life walking. 202 01:08:28,000 --> 01:08:35,000 Jesus is intentional about what He's doing. This is not an accident. This is not a coincidence. 203 01:08:35,000 --> 01:08:44,000 Jesus has a plan. And there's this tendency by some who think of this last week, "Man, Jesus just got Himself into a bad situation," but that's not what is happening. 204 01:08:44,000 --> 01:08:57,000 From Genesis 3:15 onward, we see this week and these events predicted. Read through Isaiah 53 and hear about the cross. 205 01:08:57,000 --> 01:09:04,000 Luke 9:51, He set His face to go to Jerusalem over and over again. He will tell His disciples, "We're going to go to Jerusalem." 206 01:09:04,000 --> 01:09:12,000 And they're going to kill me. This is not an accident. This is intentional by Jesus. 207 01:09:12,000 --> 01:09:17,000 And what's remarkable to me is how Jesus reacts to all of this. 208 01:09:17,000 --> 01:09:21,000 I imagine the crowds are filled with joy and celebration. 209 01:09:21,000 --> 01:09:27,000 I imagine the disciples are walking around and happy about what is happening, right? 210 01:09:27,000 --> 01:09:33,000 Jesus is finally getting the recognition that He deserves. And I imagine they're standing tall and they're saying, 211 01:09:33,000 --> 01:09:42,000 yes, it's finally happening. And look at how Jesus responds in Luke, the 19th chapter. 212 01:09:42,000 --> 01:09:48,000 When He drew near to the city, He wept over it, saying, 213 01:09:48,000 --> 01:09:53,000 "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace, 214 01:09:53,000 --> 01:10:01,000 but they are hidden from your eyes." You have the joy of the crowds, 215 01:10:01,000 --> 01:10:10,000 probably the pride of the disciples. And how does Jesus respond to this intentional moment? 216 01:10:10,000 --> 01:10:17,000 He responds with tears. Because He knows that there are those in this crowd 217 01:10:17,000 --> 01:10:23,000 who are seeking to kill Him. That some in this crowd will reject Him. Some in this crowd, 218 01:10:23,000 --> 01:10:29,000 likely not everyone, but some in this crowd will on Friday be shouting something very, very different. 219 01:10:29,000 --> 01:10:36,000 And Jesus doesn't respond with anger. He doesn't respond with pride saying, "I'm finally getting the respect I deserve." 220 01:10:36,000 --> 01:10:41,000 Jesus responds with a broken heart. You know why? Because He loves them. 221 01:10:41,000 --> 01:10:47,000 Even those who seek to kill Him, His heart breaks for them. 222 01:10:47,000 --> 01:10:55,000 You see, Jesus doesn't just come as a King. He comes in love. To invite His people in. 223 01:10:55,000 --> 01:11:01,000 He protects, He defends, and He welcomes people in. 224 01:11:01,000 --> 01:11:05,000 In verse 12, Jesus entered the temple. Likely this happens on Monday. 225 01:11:05,000 --> 01:11:08,000 There's some debate about that. It may have happened now. It may have happened on Monday. 226 01:11:08,000 --> 01:11:12,000 Jesus enters the temple and drove out all those who sold and bought in the temple. 227 01:11:12,000 --> 01:11:17,000 And He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 228 01:11:17,000 --> 01:11:23,000 And He said to them, "It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers." 229 01:11:23,000 --> 01:11:28,000 And so the temple is this massive complex. 230 01:11:28,000 --> 01:11:33,000 And in it, you have divided courts. So you have the court of the Gentiles, where anybody could go. 231 01:11:33,000 --> 01:11:36,000 You have the court of the women, where Jewish men and women are allowed to go. 232 01:11:36,000 --> 01:11:39,000 You have the court of Israel, where Jewish men are allowed to go. 233 01:11:39,000 --> 01:11:44,000 You have the inner courts of the temple, where only the priests can go. 234 01:11:44,000 --> 01:11:50,000 And in these outer courts, what you have is absolute chaos. 235 01:11:50,000 --> 01:11:57,000 We'll find in Mark's account, Mark chapter 11, that because the temple context was so big, 236 01:11:57,000 --> 01:12:01,000 you're trying to get from one side of Jerusalem to the other, it's easier just to walk through the temple. 237 01:12:01,000 --> 01:12:06,000 It'd be like our neighbors who live back here, instead of driving down the road and pulling in their driveway, 238 01:12:06,000 --> 01:12:09,000 just walk through the church on the way to their house. 239 01:12:09,000 --> 01:12:13,000 Can you imagine trying to worship and pray if you're a Gentile in those outer courts, 240 01:12:13,000 --> 01:12:17,000 and people are walking through with their bags and their packs, 241 01:12:17,000 --> 01:12:20,000 and merchants are traveling through the middle of your area of worship? 242 01:12:20,000 --> 01:12:24,000 But more than that, there was blatant dishonesty. 243 01:12:24,000 --> 01:12:29,000 There was a tax for the temple, for the upkeep and the maintenance of the temple. 244 01:12:29,000 --> 01:12:34,000 That's not a bad thing, but what would happen is the religious leaders of the day would say, 245 01:12:34,000 --> 01:12:41,000 "Sorry, your Roman currency can't be used in the temple, so you've got to convert it into the temple coins, 246 01:12:41,000 --> 01:12:44,000 so that you can pay the temple tax." 247 01:12:44,000 --> 01:12:47,000 And they would not give you a good exchange rate. 248 01:12:47,000 --> 01:12:53,000 So it was almost blatant thievery in order for you to help support the temple. 249 01:12:53,000 --> 01:12:56,000 But more than that, you were required to bring sacrifices. 250 01:12:56,000 --> 01:12:58,000 Those sacrifices would have to be inspected. 251 01:12:58,000 --> 01:13:01,000 And so you would bring your lamb or your pigeons or your sacrifice. 252 01:13:01,000 --> 01:13:03,000 They would have their animal inspectors out there. 253 01:13:03,000 --> 01:13:07,000 And you go, "Oh, I'm sorry. This animal just won't be able to be sacrificed, 254 01:13:07,000 --> 01:13:09,000 but I can trade you in on a new animal." 255 01:13:09,000 --> 01:13:13,000 And then he would charge you an excessive price for a new animal. 256 01:13:13,000 --> 01:13:20,000 Take your old animal, put it in the pen, and sell it to the next guy for an exorbitant price. 257 01:13:20,000 --> 01:13:25,000 Literally, these people are stealing from God's people. 258 01:13:25,000 --> 01:13:28,000 And how does Jesus respond? 259 01:13:28,000 --> 01:13:33,000 He drove out all who sold and bought in the temple. 260 01:13:33,000 --> 01:13:38,000 He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 261 01:13:38,000 --> 01:13:42,000 And he said, "My house shall be called the house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers." 262 01:13:42,000 --> 01:13:48,000 And imagine, for example, Brent mentions the Ethiopian eunuch who would only have been allowed in the court of the Gentiles. 263 01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:54,000 And he has traveled a great distance to pray in the temple, and instead he finds himself worshiping in the middle of a highway, 264 01:13:54,000 --> 01:14:01,000 and a bunch of people are stealing by changing money or selling sacrifices. 265 01:14:01,000 --> 01:14:11,000 And for a brief time, there is quiet and prayer for those people who are seeking to know God because of Jesus. 266 01:14:11,000 --> 01:14:15,000 And then the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 267 01:14:15,000 --> 01:14:19,000 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, 268 01:14:19,000 --> 01:14:24,000 the children crying out in the temple, Hosanna to the son of David, they were indignant. 269 01:14:24,000 --> 01:14:26,000 And they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" 270 01:14:26,000 --> 01:14:33,000 And Jesus said to them, "Yes, have you ever read out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise?" 271 01:14:33,000 --> 01:14:36,000 And leaving them, he went out of the city and lodged there. 272 01:14:36,000 --> 01:14:39,000 Do you see how Jesus loves the hurt and the broken? 273 01:14:39,000 --> 01:14:41,000 There's a lot happening this week. 274 01:14:41,000 --> 01:14:43,000 Thursday night, he's going to be arrested. 275 01:14:43,000 --> 01:14:46,000 Friday, and into Friday, he's going to be beaten. 276 01:14:46,000 --> 01:14:47,000 He's going to be mocked. 277 01:14:47,000 --> 01:14:51,000 He's going to go through six trials that are a farce of justice. 278 01:14:51,000 --> 01:14:53,000 He's going to be nailed to a cross, and he's going to die. 279 01:14:53,000 --> 01:14:55,000 But in that moment, what does he do? 280 01:14:55,000 --> 01:15:01,000 Those who are hurt and broken, Jesus takes time to heal and to care about. 281 01:15:01,000 --> 01:15:04,000 You see, Jesus comes from the hurt and the broken. 282 01:15:04,000 --> 01:15:09,000 And then I love these last verses. 283 01:15:09,000 --> 01:15:12,000 The children crying in the temple, "Oh, the son of David!" 284 01:15:12,000 --> 01:15:14,000 And they were indignant. 285 01:15:14,000 --> 01:15:16,000 He said to him, "Do you hear what they're saying?" 286 01:15:16,000 --> 01:15:18,000 And Jesus says, "Oh yeah, I hear what they're saying." 287 01:15:18,000 --> 01:15:20,000 And I love this picture of the children, 288 01:15:20,000 --> 01:15:25,000 because there is a tendency among children to copy what they see other people doing. 289 01:15:25,000 --> 01:15:28,000 And so, I was talking to my mom about this this morning, 290 01:15:28,000 --> 01:15:31,000 when I was probably two years old or maybe a little older, 291 01:15:31,000 --> 01:15:33,000 we had a guy come to our church. 292 01:15:33,000 --> 01:15:35,000 He was doing a series on Revelation. 293 01:15:35,000 --> 01:15:39,000 And I got home and flipped my little rocking chair over like a pulpit. 294 01:15:39,000 --> 01:15:43,000 Talked about the angels holding back the four winds in Revelation. 295 01:15:43,000 --> 01:15:46,000 And here I am preaching, I guess, in terms of how my life turned out. 296 01:15:46,000 --> 01:15:49,000 That probably could be counted as some sort of foreshadowing. 297 01:15:49,000 --> 01:15:52,000 Preaching from the book of Revelation at that age. 298 01:15:52,000 --> 01:15:53,000 But that's what these children are doing. 299 01:15:53,000 --> 01:15:56,000 They've seen Jesus coming. They've seen the palm branches. 300 01:15:56,000 --> 01:15:59,000 And so these children are running through the temple. 301 01:15:59,000 --> 01:16:03,000 And they're waving palm branches, and they're praising Jesus. 302 01:16:03,000 --> 01:16:08,000 And I imagine, we don't know for sure, I imagine as Jesus moves to the temple, 303 01:16:08,000 --> 01:16:12,000 they're kind of escorting Him both in front and back, just like their parents did the day before. 304 01:16:12,000 --> 01:16:17,000 And they're celebrating, and the Pharisees go, "These kids are a little too loud to be in church." 305 01:16:17,000 --> 01:16:19,000 We're okay with church being used as a highway. 306 01:16:19,000 --> 01:16:24,000 We're okay with stealing people's money by having an exorbitant exchange rate. 307 01:16:24,000 --> 01:16:32,000 We're okay by disqualifying their sacrifices and selling them another sacrifice with an exorbitant markup. 308 01:16:32,000 --> 01:16:36,000 But these children, that is too far. 309 01:16:36,000 --> 01:16:39,000 And what does Jesus do? And I love this so much. 310 01:16:39,000 --> 01:16:42,000 "Have you heard them?" He just simply says, "Yes." 311 01:16:42,000 --> 01:16:48,000 And then He turns it around, and He goes, "Haven't you read? Have you never read?" 312 01:16:48,000 --> 01:16:53,000 So remember the Pharisees, the religious leaders, they would likely have spent so much time in the Word of God, 313 01:16:53,000 --> 01:16:58,000 that much of it would have been memorized by intention and simply by familiarity. 314 01:16:58,000 --> 01:17:02,000 And He goes, "Do you guys even have a Bible? 315 01:17:02,000 --> 01:17:06,000 Have you ever even opened your Bible to read what it says?" 316 01:17:06,000 --> 01:17:09,000 And then He just quotes it to them. 317 01:17:09,000 --> 01:17:15,000 "Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies, you have prepared praise." 318 01:17:15,000 --> 01:17:21,000 And I love that picture, that the noise of the children for Jesus, it's not disruptive, right? 319 01:17:21,000 --> 01:17:26,000 It's wonderful praise of the Creator, God. 320 01:17:26,000 --> 01:17:31,000 And you see, Jesus, He comes with a broken heart for the city. 321 01:17:31,000 --> 01:17:34,000 He loves the hurting and the broken. 322 01:17:34,000 --> 01:17:37,000 He loves the children who are singing His praises. 323 01:17:37,000 --> 01:17:40,000 It is beautiful and wonderful. 324 01:17:40,000 --> 01:17:50,000 And in fact, if you move through the ministry of Jesus, you will find that Jesus becomes incredibly angry at those who seek to separate Him from those who need Him the most. 325 01:17:50,000 --> 01:18:01,000 But the times in Scripture where Jesus, it says, becomes angry are the times where people who surround Him say, "Well, they don't need to talk to Jesus." 326 01:18:01,000 --> 01:18:03,000 They're not important enough. 327 01:18:03,000 --> 01:18:09,000 Whether it's the children or the hurting or the broken, Jesus loves. 328 01:18:09,000 --> 01:18:14,000 This morning, I want you to see that Jesus, first of all, is the King who comes. 329 01:18:14,000 --> 01:18:17,000 But secondly, He wants you, right? 330 01:18:17,000 --> 01:18:22,000 There's been times where we've probably felt like we were a burden or an obligation. 331 01:18:22,000 --> 01:18:26,000 Or you're invited just because you have to be invited. 332 01:18:26,000 --> 01:18:28,000 That's not true with Jesus. 333 01:18:28,000 --> 01:18:30,000 He wants the hurting. 334 01:18:30,000 --> 01:18:32,000 He wants the broken. 335 01:18:32,000 --> 01:18:34,000 He wants the loud kids in church. 336 01:18:34,000 --> 01:18:35,000 In fact, He doesn't just want them. 337 01:18:35,000 --> 01:18:37,000 He's excited about them. 338 01:18:37,000 --> 01:18:43,000 I love that Jesus is excited about us. 339 01:18:43,000 --> 01:18:48,000 In our hurts, in our brokenness, in our sin and rebellion. 340 01:18:48,000 --> 01:18:50,000 Jesus wants us. 341 01:18:50,000 --> 01:18:53,000 It's a wonderful picture. 342 01:18:53,000 --> 01:18:55,000 I want you to see that Jesus is your Savior. 343 01:18:55,000 --> 01:18:57,000 I want you to see that He wants you. 344 01:18:57,000 --> 01:19:00,000 That He has come to break down the barriers. 345 01:19:00,000 --> 01:19:03,000 There is hope in our Savior. 346 01:19:03,000 --> 01:19:07,000 Salvation, as Jonah says, belongs to the Lord. 347 01:19:07,000 --> 01:19:09,000 Or as Psalm 3 says, we'll read in a minute, 348 01:19:09,000 --> 01:19:11,000 "Salvation belongs to the Lord." 349 01:19:11,000 --> 01:19:14,000 You see, we live in a world that is filled with brokenness. 350 01:19:14,000 --> 01:19:18,000 And we see it, Romans 8 talks about how creation is groaning. 351 01:19:18,000 --> 01:19:22,000 That creation looks at this world and says, "It's not supposed to be like that." 352 01:19:22,000 --> 01:19:25,000 And Paul says, "We feel it too." 353 01:19:25,000 --> 01:19:31,000 As we wait for the restoration, that is what Jesus comes to do. 354 01:19:31,000 --> 01:19:33,000 He comes to save. 355 01:19:33,000 --> 01:19:36,000 He loves you. He wants you. 356 01:19:36,000 --> 01:19:39,000 And He comes and He saves you. Let's pray. 357 01:19:39,000 --> 01:19:44,000 Father in Heaven, thank You for grace for Jesus. 358 01:19:44,000 --> 01:19:54,000 Thank You for our King who comes, not angrily, not in pride and with great ceremony, 359 01:19:54,000 --> 01:19:58,000 but rather who comes humbly to show us that we don't have to be afraid, 360 01:19:58,000 --> 01:20:01,000 that we don't have to run, we don't have to hide. 361 01:20:01,000 --> 01:20:04,000 He wants to come and He wants to open our eyes. 362 01:20:04,000 --> 01:20:07,000 He wants to show us that we are wanted. 363 01:20:07,000 --> 01:20:11,000 And He comes and saves us. 364 01:20:11,000 --> 01:20:16,000 Not through great strength, but through great sacrifice. 365 01:20:16,000 --> 01:20:22,000 And so as our hearts this week focus on the work of Jesus, on the cross, 366 01:20:22,000 --> 01:20:26,000 we focus on His victory through the empty tomb, 367 01:20:26,000 --> 01:20:29,000 I just ask that You would encourage us, 368 01:20:29,000 --> 01:20:32,000 help us to see that salvation truly belongs to You. 369 01:20:32,000 --> 01:20:36,000 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 370 01:20:36,000 --> 01:20:39,000 So we're going to stand and sing. 371 01:20:39,000 --> 01:20:46,000 Seems appropriate as we have talked about throughout this morning about the greatness, the goodness of God, 372 01:20:46,000 --> 01:20:50,000 how He comes to save, for us to sing about His greatness. 373 01:20:50,000 --> 01:20:53,000 So let's go ahead and stand as we sing. 374 01:21:02,000 --> 01:21:11,000 O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, 375 01:21:11,000 --> 01:21:19,000 consider all the works Thy hand hath made. 376 01:21:19,000 --> 01:21:28,000 I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, 377 01:21:28,000 --> 01:21:38,000 the path throughout the universe displayed. 378 01:21:38,000 --> 01:21:46,000 Is my soul, my Savior God to Thee? 379 01:21:46,000 --> 01:21:54,000 How great Thou art! How great Thou art! 380 01:21:54,000 --> 01:22:04,000 Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee. 381 01:22:04,000 --> 01:22:13,000 How great Thou art! How great Thou art! 382 01:22:13,000 --> 01:22:31,000 And when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. 383 01:22:31,000 --> 01:22:49,000 That on the cross my burden gladly buried, He bled and died to take away my sin. 384 01:22:49,000 --> 01:23:07,000 Then sings my soul, my Savior God to me. How great Thou art! How great Thou art! 385 01:23:07,000 --> 01:23:25,000 Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee. How great Thou art! How great Thou art! 386 01:23:25,000 --> 01:23:43,000 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! 387 01:23:43,000 --> 01:24:01,000 Then I shall bow in humble adoration, and then proclaim, "My God, how great Thou art!" 388 01:24:01,000 --> 01:24:19,000 Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee. How great Thou art! How great Thou art! 389 01:24:19,000 --> 01:24:37,000 Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee. How great Thou art! How great Thou art! 390 01:24:37,000 --> 01:24:47,000 Thank you for those of you who have joined us this morning here in person, and those who have joined online, we're thankful for you. 391 01:24:47,000 --> 01:24:54,000 A couple of quick announcements. There will be no Wednesday evening Bible study this week. Instead, we will have a Good Friday service. 392 01:24:54,000 --> 01:25:05,000 So we will meet here at 7 p.m. this Friday night, as we remember and consider Jesus dying in our place for our sins. 393 01:25:05,000 --> 01:25:11,000 So that's this Friday night at 7 p.m. 394 01:25:11,000 --> 01:25:20,000 And then Sunday we gather as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. We see the joy and the victory. 395 01:25:20,000 --> 01:25:30,000 Paul literally says this is the foundation of our Christian faith, that Jesus died for our sins, according to Scripture, was buried, and on the third day rose again. 396 01:25:30,000 --> 01:25:36,000 And so I would encourage you to join us both Friday night and Sunday morning. We are excited to do that. 397 01:25:36,000 --> 01:25:44,000 So I'm going to have a word of prayer. I'm going to read from just one verse from the third Psalm, and then we will sing the doxology. 398 01:25:44,000 --> 01:25:53,000 Father in heaven, I thank you for grace. I thank you for hope. I thank you for your son. Help us this week as we remember the gospel. 399 01:25:53,000 --> 01:26:05,000 Help us this not to be a yearly thing, but rather a daily thing for us as we see how the gospel has saved us and transformed us, how it helps us and encourages us. 400 01:26:05,000 --> 01:26:15,000 So we thank you for what you have done for us. Just be with us as we leave this place, that you would encourage us, that you would help us as we fix our eyes upon you. 401 01:26:15,000 --> 01:26:18,000 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 402 01:26:18,000 --> 01:26:22,000 In the third Psalm, it just simply ends with these very simple words: 403 01:26:22,000 --> 01:26:28,000 Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing be upon your people. 404 01:26:35,000 --> 01:26:58,000 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 405 01:27:05,000 --> 01:27:10,000 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 406 01:27:35,000 --> 01:27:37,000 Amen. 407 01:28:05,000 --> 01:28:07,000 Amen. 408 01:28:35,000 --> 01:28:37,000 Amen.