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Published: 11 April 2014

This Sunday is the traditional remembrance of Palm Sunday. One of the main words that we associate with this day is “Hosanna.” The word means, “Lord, save us now.” There is urgency to the word that we often overlook but it is important to remember what was actually being said that day when Jesus entered Jerusalem. It will also help you understand why some of the same people that cheered Him later booed Him. As it is today, so it was then, people regularly look over their root problems and focus on the symptoms. The Jewish people thought their main problem was Roman oppression and they wanted to be delivered. In reality, their main problem was their own hearts and their main need was repentance. It is easier to think about our living conditions than our heart condition. Being fully alive as a human being has a lot less to do with our circumstances and lot more to do with our ability to receive life from God. Looking for satisfaction and fulfillment in our work, our home, our car etc will always leave us “short.” Having a good job, a nice home and decent transportation is not wrong it just isn’t the purpose of life and living. It is very easy to have some contempt for the people along the parade route that day 2,000 years ago but if we’re honest with ourselves…we’re on the parade route too---at least we are every time we are looking for someone or something less than Him to “save us.” Of course, Jesus didn’t deliver what the crowd wanted. The people were disappointed and some were angry. And so begins the “passion week”, what have we learned?

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Published: 04 April 2014

As I wrote last week, “There is a fair amount of confusion about religion and Christianity. Some of it is the result of our own laziness, some is the result of the enemy and some is the result of our fallen mind to grasp what God’s mission really is.” AND some of it is the result of sub-culture lingo. Whenever we specialize in something we develop lingo. Lingo is the special language and/or acronyms that develop to streamline conversation and get people “on the same page.” Most sub-cultures have lingo…computer people, biker people, truckers, attorneys, physicians AND churches! I was at a meeting recently where all the people were in government and/or various social agencies. I didn’t want to reveal my ignorance but at least 25% of the time I had no clue what people were talking about! They were all English speaking but I was clueless as to context, definition and relevance and therefore they could have been speaking a foreign language. They were great people and I was impressed with what they were doing, their passion was commendable, I was just struggling to keep up. It occurred to me that people who come to church for the first time must feel like that. They must look around and wonder what in the world is going on…they might even appreciate it; they just don’t grasp what we are trying to say. Of course, the more they come and participate, the clearer (hopefully) it will become. This week my sermon during Communion is called, “Clarifying the Lingo.” Please pray that we’ll communicate the gospel clearly and the Lord will open the eyes of our hearts to clearly see and receive His love.