<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE>
<META content=text/html;charset=UTF-8 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<STYLE type=text/css>BODY {
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 11px
}
A {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #ff6600; FONT-SIZE: 11px; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
A:visited {
COLOR: #666666
}
A:hover {
TEXT-DECORATION: underline
}
P {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 11px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
H1 {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
H2 {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 13px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
H3 {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; FONT-STYLE: normal; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
H4 {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; FONT-STYLE: normal; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 11px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
HR {
WIDTH: 100%; HEIGHT: 1px; COLOR: #ff9900; size: 1px
}
.forwardform {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
.forwardinput {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
.forwardsubmit {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
DIV.emailfooter {
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 11px
}
DIV.emailfooter A {
FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: #ff6600; FONT-SIZE: 11px; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
</STYLE>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19019"></HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<P><SPAN style="COLOR: black">Sermons for Palm/Passion Sunday:</SPAN> </P>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> Matthew 21:1-11<SPAN
style="COLOR: black"> – <STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">“</SPAN></STRONG></SPAN><B>When the Cheering
Stopped</B><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">”
</SPAN></STRONG><B> </B></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> Matthew 21:1-11 – <B>“When
to Take the Shirt off Your Back”</B> by Leonard Sweet</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black">_____________________________</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black"> Matthew
21, the sermon titled <B>‘</B></SPAN><B>When the Cheering
Stopped</B><B><SPAN style="COLOR: black">’</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">Some years ago a
book was written by Gene Smith, a noted American historian. The title was "When
The Cheering Stopped." It was the story of President Woodrow Wilson and the
events leading up to and following WWI. When that war was over Wilson was an
international hero. There was a great spirit of optimism abroad, and people
actually believed that the last war had been fought and the world had been made
safe for democracy.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">On his first visit
to Paris after the war Wilson was greeted by cheering mobs. He was actually more
popular than their own heroes. The same thing was true in England and Italy. In
a Vienna hospital a Red Cross worker had to tell the children that there would
be no Christmas presents because of the war and the hard times. The children
didn’t believe her. They said that President Wilson was coming and they knew
that everything would be all right.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">The cheering lasted
about a year. Then it gradually began to stop. It turned out that the political
leaders in Europe were more concerned with their own agendas than they were a
lasting peace. At home, Woodrow Wilson ran into opposition in the United States
Senate and his League of Nations was not ratified. Under the strain of it all
the President’s health began to break. In the next election his party was
defeated. So it was that Woodrow Wilson, a man who barely a year or two earlier
had been heralded as the new world Messiah, came to the end of his days a broken
and defeated man.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">It’s a sad story,
but one that is not altogether unfamiliar. The ultimate reward for someone who
tries to translate ideals into reality is apt to be frustration and defeat.
There are some exceptions, of course, but not too many.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">It happened that way
to Jesus. When he emerged on the public scene he was an overnight sensation. He
would try to go off to be alone and the people would still follow him. The
masses lined the streets as he came into town. On Palm Sunday leafy palm
branches were spread before him and there were shouts of Hosanna. In shouting
Hosanna they were in effect saying “Save us now” Jesus. Great crowds came to
hear him preach. A wave of religious expectation swept the country.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">But the cheering did
not last for long. There came a point when the tide began to turn against him.
Oh, you didn’t notice it so much at first. People still came to see him, but the
old excitement was missing, and the crowds were not as large as they had been.
His critics now began to publicly attack him. That was something new. Earlier
they had been afraid to speak out for fear of the masses, but they began to
perceive that the fickle public was turning on him. Soon the opposition began to
snowball. When they discovered that they could not discredit his moral
character, they began to take more desperate measures. Before it was all over a
tidal wave welled up that brought Jesus to his knees under the weight of a
cross.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">Why did the masses
so radically turn against him? How did the shouts of Hosanna on Sunday transform
into the shouts of crucify him on Friday? I am not just talking about the
immediate events that may have brought it about, but the deeper root causes.
What were the underlying issues? In five days it all fell apart. Why? That is
the issue that I would like for us to concentrate on this morning. Why did the
cheering stop?</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">1. Jesus Began to
talk more and more about commitment.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">2. Jesus dared to
suggest that all people are worth loving.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">3. Jesus began to
talk more and more about a cross.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">The rest of this
sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining <A
href="http://www.sermons.com/"><FONT color=#800080>www.Sermons.com</FONT></A>.
</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black">_______________________</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Matthew 21, the sermon titled <B>‘When to Take
the Shirt off Your Back’</B> by Leonard Sweet </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">One of the most gruesome, hopeless places in
early nineteenth century England was “debtor’s prison.” Charles Dickens
described it, but thousands of England’s poor lived it first-hand. Everything
the debtor owned was confiscated. Nothing was left. If any debts still remained,
debtors were imprisoned until the balance owed could be paid. Which, of course,
could never be, because the debtor was locked up. It was a situation without
hope.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">That was “civilized” nineteenth century
England. But according to ancient Jewish law, there were moral limits on what
could be demanded in payment for debts. Among those things that were legally
“off-limits” was a person’s most important piece of clothing, their “cloak.”
Less substantial garments could be held as collateral. But a person’s cloak was
considered to be in a category by itself. A cloak offered warmth and protection.
It provided modesty, shielding nakedness. A cloak doubled as clothing and
shelter, functioning as haberdashery by day and as a bedroll by night.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">You could take a lot in payment for debts, but
you could not take the cloak off someone’s back.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">But a cloak could always be OFFERED. Sir Walter
Raleigh legendarily swept his cloak off his shoulders and flung it over a mud
puddle so his Queen’s foot would not be dampened. In today’s gospel text cloaks
were offered for theological, not meterological reasons.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">As Jesus prepared to enter into Jerusalem
proper, he intentionally “changes things up.” The Galilean ministry is at an
end. The time for keeping a low profile is over. It is a new messianic moment.
Jesus had announced to his disciples the fate that awaited “the Son of Man” once
he entered into the city of Jerusalem. As Jesus crossed into Jerusalem the
Calvary cross already stood before him. He chooses to embody the image of the
humble king, the meek Messiah, riding on a small and simple donkey. Jesus moves
into Jerusalem with obedience and humility. Symbolically his back is already
bared, readied for the cruelties and sacrifices that await him…</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">___________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Passion Sunday: Surprising and Inevitable</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">At a pre-concert lecture, the conductor of a
symphony orchestra was telling the audience about the major work that the
orchestra would be performing at that evening's concert. The conductor told the
people that if they listened carefully to the music, they would discover that it
was both surprising and inevitable. On the one hand, the musical score would
take a fair number of rather jarring and unexpected twists. There would be
points in the concert when the blare of the trumpet or the sudden rolling of the
timpani would seem to come from out of nowhere in a surprising fashion. On the
other hand, however, the conductor noted that in the long run, these surprises
would themselves become part of a larger coherence. Once listeners heard the
entire piece from start to finish, they would find in the music an air of
inevitability--how could it ever have been written any
differently?<BR><BR>Surprising and inevitable. Palm Sunday and the events of
Holy Week are both surprising and inevitable. The truth is that we are not
completely sure what to make of Palm Sunday. After forty days of Lenten travel
that have often focused on serious and sometimes dark subjects, suddenly we
arrive at a day that seems at first blush to be surprisingly cheery. The Palm
Sunday parade has color and spectacle, cheering and singing, festive voices and
joyful exuberance. This seems like a happy day. Yet it would be completely
appropriate if you were to ask, "What in the world is this day doing here given
how close we are now to the cross!?" Is Palm Sunday a bright spot in the midst
of the otherwise darker hues of Lent? Are we, for just a little while this
morning, supposed to forget about all things dreary so that we can cry out some
full-throated "Hosannas!"? Or is there also a sadness to this day that we must
bear in mind?<BR><BR>Scott Hoezee, Comments and
Observations<BR>_________________________________<BR><BR>Humility Rules</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><BR>One time there was a little Swiss watch
that had been made with the finest skill and precision. But, the little watch
was dissatisfied with its restricted sphere of influence on a lady’s wrist. The
watch envied the lofty position of the great clock on the tower of City Hall.
One day the little watch and its owner passed City Hall and the tiny watch
exclaimed, “I sure wish I could be way up there. I could serve many people
instead of just one.” The watch’s owner looked down and said, “I know someone
who has a key to the tower. Little watch, you shall have your opportunity.” The
next day the little watch was placed at the very top of tower. At that moment
the little watch looked down and said, “Oh my! I am too small for anyone to see
me. My elevation has resulted in my annihilation.”<BR><BR>When we aspire for
lofty places to achieve greatness we lose sight of those we influence who are
within our reach. In other words, humility rules!<BR><BR>Several years ago there
was a newspaper cartoon that showed two fields separated by a fence. Each field
was the same size and each had plenty of lush green grass. In each field there
was a mule whose head stuck through the wire, eating grass from the pasture on
the other side, even though it was hard to reach. In the process the mules’
heads became caught in the fence. They panicked and brayed uncontrollably at
being unable to free themselves. The cartoonist wisely described the situation
with one word: “Discontent.”<BR><BR>Like the mules, when we focus on what we
don’t have we become blinded to the blessings that surround us. There is nothing
wrong with desiring something, but to think that life is greater in someone
else’s pasture may result in our being trapped. We have new life when we live
with humility.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Later in the gospel of Matthew Jesus said, “The
greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be
humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matt. 23:11-12) Once
again, humility rules.<BR><BR>Keith Wagner, Humility Rules
<BR>____________________________________<BR><BR> </DIV></BODY></HTML>