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<div><span style="font-size: small">Sermons for Palm Sunday </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">Matthew 21:1-11 - <b>"When the Cheering Stopped" </b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">Mark 11:1-11 - <b>"</b></span><b>Will You Be an April Fool for Christ?</b><b><span style="color: black">"</span></b><span style="color: black"> by Leonard Sweet</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt"><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">T</font></font>he sermon title<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">,</font></font> "When the Cheering Stopped" </span>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">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="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">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="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">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="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">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="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">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="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">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="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">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="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">1. Jesus Began to talk more and more about commitment.<br>
2. Jesus dared to suggest that all people are worth loving.<br>
3. Jesus began to talk more and more about a cross.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt">The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining <a target="_blank" __removedlink__1598636974__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8EBwgCCgFRCEkCBgdKDAtXUVw%3D"><font color="#0000ff">http://www.sermons.com/signup</font></a> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt">_______________________</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt">The full text of the following sermon is available at <a target="_blank" __removedlink__1598636974__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8EBwgCCgFRCkkCBgdKDAtXUVw%3D">www.Sermons.com</a>. </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt"><font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
</font></font>Mark 11<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">,</font></font> the sermon titled "Will You Be an April Fool for Christ?" by Leonard Sweet </span>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">How many of you have been “April Fooled” already today? </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Did
you get salt out of the sugar bowl for your coffee or cereal? Did the
lids to the pepper and salt shakers fall completely off with the first
shake? </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Were all your shirt sleeves turned inside out? </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Good
April Fool jokes and pranks are supposed to strike out at our routines,
shake up our perceptions, make something ordinary odd and
extraordinary. Sometimes April Fool is something contrived. Sometimes
April Fool just happens. For example, Andy Warhol, who turned out to
have been a devout Christian, received a Catholic burial at St.
Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan on April Fool’s Day 1987, attended by
2000 people. Whether contrived or natural, to be an “April Fool” is to
embrace the surprises and new experiences of Spring.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">There
is no better day for Palm Sunday to fall upon than April Fool’s Day.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is a classic “April Fool” experience. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">First,
the two disciples Jesus chose to go “borrow” that colt in Bethphage
must have been waiting for Jesus to say “April Fool.” But he doesn’t.
Instead Jesus seriously instructs his disciples to go and commit the
first-century equivalent of “grand theft auto.” “Borrowing” a valuable
animal, a pristine, unbroken young colt, was frowned upon and punished
in first century Palestine as seriously as horse-thieving was in the Old
West. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Jesus’
suggested “get out of jail free” card sounds like another “April Fool” —
just say, “The Lord needs it.” Yeah. Right. That will work. But . . .
it does!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Jesus
and his disciples were observant, pious Jews who knew their scripture.
His disciples knew the significance of their master riding a young colt
into Jerusalem. This was a statement of kingship, of deliverance, of
prophetic fulfillment. It is then with great anticipation and
expectation that Jesus’ disciples decide to disrobe. They bare their
arms and back, they lay their cloaks, the garments that most physically
identify who they are, down upon the roadway, creating a cushioned path
for the skittish young animal bearing their master. What April Fool’s
was this, what April Fool’s were they for stripping down and looking
undignified and under-dressed, in order to honor a scriptural image of
the messiah.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">The
disciples surely envisioned that such a significant, majestic entrance
into the holy city could not help but lead to great success. Surely
Jesus chose to enter the city in such a significant, royal, messianic
manner because he was planning some sort of popular uprising, or some
extraordinary display of power. This Passover Week was obviously going
to be a scene of great success. April Fool…</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt">The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining <a target="_blank" __removedlink__1598636974__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8EBwgCCgFRCEkCBgdKDAtXUVw%3D"><font color="#0000ff">http://www.sermons.com/signup</font></a> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt"></span>_______________________</div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt"></span>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">There Is Still Hope</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">The
reality is that, if we figure to survive in this world, we had better
have hope. The ancients knew that. Do you remember Pandora? Mythology
has her as a lady endowed with every charm...the gift of all the gods.
She was sent to earth with a little box which she had been forbidden to
open, but curiosity finally got the better of her...she lifted the lid
and out from that box escaped every conceivable kind of terror. Pandora
made haste to close the box up again, but it was too late. There was
only one thing left...HOPE. That was the ancients' way of saying how
important hope is. Even when all else is lost, there is still hope.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">This
was what had sustained the Israelite faithful from generation to
generation. This was what energized the crowd along Jesus' parade route
that day. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">David E. Leininger, Sunday's Coming!</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">What Is Good For Us Is Hidden</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Martin
Luther often spoke of this aspect of the theology of the cross,
concerning how God works in a hidden way through contrasts. In a series
of lectures that Luther gave in 1515 and 1516 on the Book of Romans, he
wrote: "For what is good for us is hidden, and that so deeply that it is
hidden under its opposite. Thus our life is hidden under death, love
for ourselves under hate for ourselves ... salvation under damnation,
heaven under hell ... And universally our every assertion of anything
good is hidden under the denial of it, so that faith may have its place
in God, who is a negative essence and goodness and wisdom and
righteousness, who cannot be touched except by the negation of all our
affirmations."</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Martin
Luther had one more observation about why God operates this way - under
contrasts and opposites. In another of his sermons, he put it this way:
"He thrusts us into death and permits the devil to pounce on us. But it
is not his purpose to devour us; he wants to test us, to purify us, and
to manifest himself ever more to us, that we may recognize his love.
Such trials and strife are to let us experience something that preaching
alone is not able to do, namely, how powerful Christ is and how
sincerely the Father loves us. So our trust in God and our knowledge of
God will increase more and more, together with our praise and thanks for
his mercy and blessing. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Otherwise
we would bumble along with our early, incipient faith. We would become
indolent, unfruitful and inexperienced Christians, and would soon grow
rusty."</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Mark Ellingsen, Preparation and Manifestation, CSS Publishing </span></div>
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