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A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road (Matthew 21:8). I grew up in a church that really knew how to step into the Palm Sunday story. To set the scene, it was always a full house. Attendance rivaled the usual big days of Christmas and Easter. Everyone was well dressed, especially the childre...
Keep ReadingThe crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" ... When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" (Matthew 21:9a, 10) While living in Seoul, I remember a time when the city was so stirred up, it was literally on fire with enthusiasm. It was 2002, and South Korea was hosting the World Cu...
Keep ReadingMatthew 21: 1-17 We've been stepping into Jesus' story as He heads toward the Cross. As He enters Jerusalem for His last week of life, whose sandals would you like to strap on? The disciples' sandals? Perhaps you can figure out why they don't speak. What do you suppose they're thinking? Have they, too, waved palm fronds, shouting "Hosanna," anxious for Jesus to take ov...
Keep ReadingMost of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:8-9) The account of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem ...
Keep ReadingMatthew 21: 1-11 I love Palm Sunday. I have never been to a Palm Sunday service that failed to uplift my spirit. The Bible verses, the wild exuberance of the music, the palm fronds waving in the congregation-it all comes together in a celebration of Jesus' victorious ride into Jerusalem. To me, it also represents a "pause" in time of just one beautiful day, before the Jaw...
Keep ReadingJesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"John 11: 25,26 We spend a lot of time waiting, don't we? Waiting rooms are everywhere: doctor's offices, hospitals, the oil change place. We wait at stop lights and in checkout lines. ...
Keep ReadingWhen Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping,he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled (John 11:33). Every one of us has experienced "death" in one way or another: the death of a relationship, a job, a dream, even the death of someone we love. John invites us to recall those emotions as he tells a story steeped in the grief surroundin...
Keep Reading"Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man's sister, protested, "Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible." Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?" So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I sa...
Keep Reading"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus said to her,"Your brother will rise again"(John 11:21-23). At some point in our lives, we have all faced or will face an impossible situation. When we are in the midst of it, we often feel that all hope seems lost, and it c...
Keep ReadingWelcome to our newest CD writer, LynneHunt! She is a retired UNC faculty member, lives in Briar Chapel and enjoys taking classes (art, writing), her book club, and playing with her two little granddaughters. John 11:1-44 Have you ever found yourself frustrated as you waited on God? You pray and pray and pray and it turns out God's answer and timetable often look radicall...
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