Palm Sunday
King of Kings
Sunday, April 13, 2025
Good morning and happy Palm Sunday! Today we begin Holy Week.
Thank you so much for joining us for worship today! If you are a guest visiting us at Living Gospel Church, we welcome you! We pray this message and worship service blesses you. May God’s peace and joy overflow in all your hearts this morning as we worship Him! God bless you and
encourage you this morning!
Call to worship:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9
Let’s read this together:
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.
Hosanna to God, Hosanna in the highest!
Let Israel say, “His love endures forever!” and all who fear God say, “His love endures forever!”
Hosanna to God, Hosanna in the highest!
With the Lord on our side, what can we fear? What can humankind do?
Hosanna to God, Hosanna in the highest!
We shall triumph over those who surround us and stand in confidence in the Lord, our God!
Hosanna to God, Hosanna in the highest!
The Lord is our strength and our might. The Lord has become our salvation!
Hosanna to God, Hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna to God, Hosanna in the highest!
Let us pray.
Let us sing out praise to our King this morning
It is so good to come together in worship! Let us not waiver in our hope of who Jesus is and the promises He has for us! Let us remain steadfast in our faith, and let us be faithful to gather in reverence and awe of our King. Today, we will focus on the events that happened on Palm Sunday. Just 5 short days from now, we will be remembering a great turn of events, the fulfillment of Jesus as our sacrifice.
Holy week is the very week that accomplishes the purpose for which God sent Jesus to be born through Mary. For thirty-three years, he walked the earth as a man, causing a stir in people’s hearts from the moment he was born of either absolute adoration and an unstoppable drawing to Him or a deep hate and fear of Him. His ministry was growing more and more powerful. Thousands of people were drawn to hear the words He spoke with undeniable authority and understanding.
Many had received personal healing and deliverance from His touch or spoken word.
His time had come to proclaim who He had been all along- King over all. The people saw His miracles and were ready and excited to receive Jesus as king, although their understanding of how He would reign and rescue them was very different than His divine purpose and calling.
Jesus and his disciples were entering Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Festival along with many other people coming in from different territories in the countryside for the Passover. These people believed Jesus was the Messiah-come to save them. They saw how confident and authoritative He was as He taught the Scriptures. They thought He was going to rescue them from their Roman oppressors was their Savior who had come, but Jesus had a far greater rescue in mind. He is the Savior of the world- to all of humanity! He is the Savior from our sins and eternal separation from our Holy God. This was far beyond what they could hope for or imagine. They, like we are so very often, were focused on their here and the comforts of their earthly life.
Nonetheless, the people acknowledged Jesus that day as their King, and He let them, for their praises were right and true, and this was the time God the Father ordained that it be known who His Son is. Let us recount this day, and let our faith be strengthened as we rejoice in our King!
Matthew 21: 1-11 NIV
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage (Beth Fuh Gee) on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
The crowds gathering around Jesus on the road to Jerusalem believed in Him. They heard how Jesus had raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, and they were hoping their new kingdom was going to begin soon and their oppression from Rome would be over. They were enthusiastic about what was to come for them- shouting praises to Jesus and honoring him as the royalty He was and is yet today.
In Jerusalem, however, there was not the same level of enthusiasm and love towards the supposed King of Israel. The Pharisees were the religious leaders who held tightly to the Law handed down through Moses-(to which they added on hundreds more laws for the people to follow) and they were not keen on someone else stepping in with greater authority and a rapidly growing following. They were telling Jesus to get a handle on His rabble-rousing people who dared to call Him Hosanna-which was a praise of great adoration and divinity. It translated in Greek as “please save us” and in Hebrew, “to cause or bring about salvation.” This name shouted to Jesus is only
used in the bible in this time for His triumphal entry to Jerusalem. It is in each of the Gospels-all pertaining to this moment.
Hosanna in the highest they shouted! Psalm 118 is the basis for our call to worship today and was referred to when Israel would overcome great times of hardship and God would rescue them. Hosanna! Now the people were affiliating Jesus with God by calling Him Hosanna.
The Pharisees were greatly disturbed and told Him, “teacher rebuke your disciples.” Jesus said with all confidence and authority in Luke 9:40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Children in the Temple, as Jesus passed by, shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Childlike faith- they believed in their heart who He was, and they shouted out praise and adoration to Him-their Savior who came to rescue them! The Pharisees were beside themselves; the children were praising Jesus and calling out Hosanna to him. They said, “do you hear what they are saying?”
In Matthew 21:16 Jesus commends the children-full of joy for their belief and faith in Him. He says,
Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’”
This was the day God had appointed for Jesus to be announced as King of Israel, and there was nothing going to stop the praises to acknowledge Him as such. So today, on Palm Sunday-we have the benefit in knowing what a King He is. Let us praise our King, and let our hearts shout out Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! You are our King. You are our Savior. We adore You, Lord. We worship You. We believe in You, Jesus! Let our hearts proclaim this- not just our lips, not just a knowing in our minds, but a joy in our hearts!
What does God want us to know as we remember and celebrate Palm Sunday-what do we see in His Word?
- The Signs Point to Jesus-Messiah
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey. The people, primarily those outside of Jerusalem, looked to the signs and believed. They were well taught in prophecy from days of old that would speak of the coming Messiah for Israel. There are many prophecies spoken about the coming of Christ and the salvation He would bring. Zechariah was one of them, speaking about this very moment in time. Zechariah was a prophet around 520 B.C. So, 500 years before Christ walked the earth, God gave Zechariah this vision and these words to share. They were recorded, taught, and spoken of through each generation.
And now here was the day, being played out exactly as the prophet said. Notice how Jesus instructed his disciples to a place where there just happened to be a colt tied up, and all he told them to tell the owners was “the Lord needs this”, and they could have it. Do you think you might hesitate a bit in taking someone’s animal and simply say the Lord needs this? Weird, risky, and… a moment to build trust in Jesus. However, it played out exactly as Jesus told them it would. Side note: Jesus will have us do seemingly weird assignments (not in alignment with the cultural
norms we are accustomed to), seemingly risky, and for the purposes of watching them work out to His glory so we build our trust to follow Him exactly as He calls us. Follow and do what He tells you to. Watch His glory be revealed!
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
What an odd choice of animal for Jesus to make His triumphal entry? Most kings would ride in their fancy chariots pulled by horses or on a horse’s back, symbolizing royalty and power. They would do this as they were presented as king and when they came back from a victorious war. Their people would shower them with praise and throw their garments on the ground for the king to walk on and wave palm branches. God stated that when Jesus would be presented as King, He would ride in on a donkey colt- because in that time, a donkey symbolized peace. So He took the lowliest of animals- the youngest even- and rode in sending a message that His Kingdom was about
peace.
It is important to note the religious leaders who knew the prophecies better than anyone- who knew God’s Word from ancient days, refused to see the signs right there in front of them- pointing to Jesus. Their hearts were hardened, and their eyes were blind. Let our hearts not be hardened to God’s Word. Let our eyes not be blind to who Jesus is. Let us see the signs, and let us believe! They are right in front of us. Jesus is the Messiah who came to redeem us!
- Hearts Believed
8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Many other people did see the signs and chose to believe in their hearts that Jesus was the Messiah.
We look to signs all around us that we see and choose to believe something is coming up ahead or exists because of what those signs say. (Curves in the road, exit ramps, places to eat or get gas, what road will take us to certain destinations, we see this way to Florida-so we follow and believe the signs will take us there if we follow them.) We hear birds chirping, and what do we believe? Spring is coming, right? We see dark clouds looming or feel a change in the wind, and we believe a storm is coming. We look to signs all the time in our lives to guide us and give us direction. It is no different here, these are spiritual signs vs. natural ones. The truth is that we live in both a physical world and a spiritual realm. We are spiritual beings with physical bodies. God is Spirit. We can choose to have
blind eyes to what is moving in the spirit, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You can’t see the wind, as we have discussed, but you know it’s there. We believe, God opens our spiritual eyes, the eyes of our heart- because that is where our spirit dwells.
Many Scriptures interchange spirit and heart, teaching us our heart is the dwelling place of God through His Spirit in the Holy Spirit. So, on that day, we now remember as Palm Sunday, hearts believed Jesus was their savior.
What do you believe today? Really?
It's a simple choice in our hearts to believe Jesus is who He says He is. This happened when Jesus came upon the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob and knew all about her. He shared, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
She said to Him. 5 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” She chose to believe right then and there. Jesus was the one they had been waiting for. She ran and told others in her village-you have to come see this man who knows all about me-He is the Christ! The people flocked to the well to hear Jesus, they, too, chose to believe in their hearts.
John 4:42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Let us like the people on this day, see the signs- which are the prophecies in God’s Word that speak to Jesus Christ as our Messiah and King- and let our hearts believe. Let us believe fully that if He truly is our Savior, He can save us in all areas of our lives, in times of uncertainty, from sickness and disease, from addictions that consume us, from pride that destroys us, from financial hardship, our relationships, loneliness, our mental health…He saves. “Sozo” is the Greek word that means salvation, preservation, protection, to be made whole, to be made well…this is the salvation our Savior offers us as we believe in our hearts. If we receive Him as our Savior, we must also honor Him as our King-who is sovereign over all-including our lives.
- Christ is King Forevermore
(v. 9) “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
The people acknowledged Christ as King and responded in appropriate manner. They laid down their cloaks on the ground according to their custom for kings.
2 Kings 9: 12-13 Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’” 13 They quickly took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”
They also waved palm branches, hence the name for Palm Sunday. These were signs of honor, praise, and reverence for their king. We may not have a physical king to revere and honor in similar mannerisms, but we all have Christ as our King- the King of our heart. We honor and revere Him in how we live our lives- in how we follow and obey Him. Do we look to His teaching and put it into practice? Do we seek to understand His ways? How are you living to honor Him? Does your lifestyle reflect reverence for your King? If He were here physically before you as He was this day entering Jerusalem, how would you respond to Him? Would you shout out praises like they did? Would you bow down? Would you lay down your coat for Him to walk upon? What would you do if
Jesus, were in front of you right now? Let us not be desensitized to who Jesus is and the proper reverence we are to show Him.
The reality is, He is here with us every day, every single moment of every day, through His Holy Spirit that dwells in us. Are we recognizing Christ as King of our lives and honoring Him as such every day? Are we honoring Him as Lord of our life in how we speak- outside of this church- in how we treat others? How we treat our family? Our spouses? Are we honest in our conduct? Do others see His influence and character in us, or do they see something else? If He is King of our hearts, then more and more they will see Him and hear Him as we act and speak. If He is not King, then you must ask, who is king over my heart? Because if you think it’s just you, let me tell you the truth -you are being deceived. You are leaving yourself wide open to be used by the devil who is playing
you and using you for his kingdom's purposes. The truth is we all serve someone- it is whomever we let rule our heart. We must be intentional in our choice.
There is only one true King, and He deserves our greatest honor and faithfulness. The way we honor Christ as King is to obey Him and follow His example. To trust His ways is higher than ours and that He calls us to follow for it is good for us-beyond what we can understand.
The enemy will never promote peace. He wants chaos, disruption, isolation, and everyone going after what they think is best for themselves because that will never lead to unity and harmony. Look around right now…. Who do you think is reveling in all the division in our nation and our world? Who would love to see churches close and Christians lose their faith or come against one another?
Who is king of your heart? When Christ is King, truly, in your heart, you will sense a growing peace around you. You will seek to promote peace around you. He is the King of Peace, our Redeemer who forgives our sins, the GREAT I AM who rules over all the earth and heaven above.
On Palm Sunday, Christ came in peace to show His heart and His intention to build a kingdom focused on peace. He calls each of us to be peacemakers. His Word tells us, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” We learn to be like Him in every way through the Church. Through our interactions, serving, and sharing life with one another- people from all different backgrounds and personalities- this is our training ground to put into practice what He is teaching in a safe place. So let our actions and speech bring forth peace-led by the Holy Spirit.
The prophet Daniel shared God’s eternal plan that His Son Jesus would be given all authority and power and His reign would last forever. This was spoken about 600 years before Christ came to earth.
Daniel 7: 13-14 13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Christ is and always will be King! He is yet today, above all in His authority and sovereignty. He is the One True King! His offer of eternal peace is still available to all who believe in Him and receive Him as their Lord and Savior.
Conclusion: Let us see the signs, let our hearts believe, and let us call on the name Hosanna and praise Him! Let us acknowledge Christ is King of all Kings forevermore! Open your hearts and honor Christ as your King today.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Let’s pray.
O Lord, You who on this day entered the rebellious city that later rejected You: we confess that our wills are often as rebellious as Jerusalem’s, that our faith is often more show than substance, that our hearts are in need of cleansing.
Have mercy on us, Son of David, Savior of our lives. Help us to lay at Your feet all that we have and all that we are, trusting You to forgive what is sinful and to heal what is broken. We pray with purified hearts, welcome our praises, and receive us as Your own. Your Word promises: You LORD will keep us from all harm— You Lord, will watch over our life, You LORD will watch over our coming and going both now and forevermore. Help us to stand in this truth and let it fill us with Your peace everlasting as we trust in You, Father. In Jesus’ name, we pray and anchor our hope. Amen.
Sinner’s Prayer: If you have never fully accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and feel a nudge. I want to invite you to do so. Don’t wait, don’t question, just believe in your hearts as others did when they encountered the Messiah. He is real. He is alive, and He is forever King. Pray this in your heart if this is you-it’s a simple, yet life-changing prayer. It’s not the prayer that saves you-it’s your repentance from your sin and acknowledging your need for a Savior to make you right before God and your faith in Jesus that brings you salvation and gives you right standing with God. This prayer is the vehicle to confess what is within your heart.
Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior.
Thank You for saving me and making me new. Amen.
If you truly believed that in your heart, you will be sealed with the Holy Spirit, and Jesus will walk with you always. He looks to our faith in Him, not our deeds. Praise God for this decision in your heart today to believe and receive Jesus as your King!
Offering:
Prayers:
Hosanna Parade
Final Blessing: Go now to follow the way of Jesus: see others as he did; dare to give freely as he did;
and to love unconditionally as he did. Go, embraced by the Source of life, grounded and sheltered in His peace, and encouraged in the promise of His Word sealed in your heart. Go into this Holy Week with a reverent and joyful heart for what our Lord has done for you. Amen
