Palm Sunday Devotional

The Messiah Comes

“Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it” 

(Luke 19:41).

 “Look, the whole world has gone after Him” said the Pharisees among themselves (John 12:19).

The book, The Robe, written in 1942 by Lloyd C. Douglas, a pastor turned writer, offers many unique perspectives on the life of Christ through his fictional characters Marcellus, a Roman tribune in charge of the crucifixion of Jesus and Demetrius his Athenian slave.  In one scene, Demetrius is drawn into the excitement of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem neither knowing anything about Jesus nor why the crowd was singing.  How do you picture Jesus receiving this praise?  I always saw Him happy and waving to the crowd like in a Rose Bowl parade—but I had forgotten that He was weeping.  Douglas captures this in what Demetrius sees: 

“ ‘You think they’ve got somebody up front who wants to be their king?  Is that it?’

‘Looks like it.  They keep howling another word that I don’t know—Messiah.  The man’s name, maybe.’

Again Demetrius, regaining his lost balance, stretched to full height for another look at the man who had somehow evoked all this wild adulation. It was difficult to believe that this was the sort of person who could be expected to inflame a mob into some audacious action.  Instead of receiving the applause with an air of triumph—or even of satisfaction—the unresponsive man on the white donkey seemed sad about the whole affair.  He looked as if he would gladly have had none of it.

It was apparent that whoever started this wild pandemonium lacked the hero’s approbation (approval).

The face of the enigmatic (difficult to understand) Jew seemed weighted with an almost insupportable burden of anxiety.  The eyes, narrowed as if in resigned acceptance of some inevitable catastrophe, stared straight ahead toward Jerusalem.  Perhaps the man, intent upon larger responsibilities far removed from this pitiable little coronation farce, wasn’t really hearing the racket at all.” (1)

Questions to think about:

*What does the word Messiah mean? 

*What does it mean to you?

*Why do you think Jesus wept over the city?

*If you were in the crowd on Palm Sunday, what do you think your response would have been to Jesus? 

For Further Study: 

     *Matthew 21:1-11 *Luke 19:29-44

     *John 12:12-19                 *Psalm 118:25-26

     *Daniel 9:25         *Zechariah 9:9-10

     *Luke 13:34-35         *Philippians 2:-9-11

     *Matthew 16:14-16 *John 1:29, 41

     *John 11:27

1. Palm Sunday

Lloyd C. Douglas, The Robe (Mariner, 1942), pp. 72-73.

Holy Week Devotional

Welcome to this day-by-day devotional for the most pivotal week in history, namely, Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, the Holy Week of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

This devotional is meant to slow us down.  If you are like us, we generally process Holy Week as Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and of course, Easter.  So it is our desire that you take time each day to walk through these scriptures and devotionals to allow the power of this week to come alive to you.  There is so much here, so don’t feel like you have to do it all. So much that it was a challenge to determine which event to choose for each day!

We hope that each reading will inspire and challenge you each day as you reflect on them.   Perhaps you can find a special place to read alone with your Bible in hand, or find a way for the whole family to enjoy. We pray, whether you spend 10 minutes or an hour each day, that your life will be forever changed by the impact of this Good News.

This devotional contains the following parts for each day, April 1 – 8:

*Today’s Verses

*Devotional

*Questions for contemplation

*Scripture references for further study

*A picture to help visualize and connect

Do each day one at a time.  Allow yourself to be immersed in the story and imagine what it would be like to spend each day with Christ. 

In ancient times, a runner would be dispatched from the aftermath of a major battle to tell the news of the battle—win or loss.  When the message was good it was proclaimed by the word “gospel” or “good news”.  The word meant that there had been a victory.  It is our sincere hope that this devotional will inspire us all to be “runners” for our homes and community proclaiming the Good News, that there’s been a Victory—our sins and shortcomings have been forever cleansed and we are forgiven by the love and work of our beautiful Savior, Jesus, on the cross.  There’s been a Victory!

Eric Miller, Pastor

Gary S. Madonna, Elder Emeritus

*If you would like a color copy of this devotion, you can download one from the church website - www.gracetoday.org

SOAP

By Pastor R

Something great is happening at Grace. I see it happening at the staff meetings, in the small groups, in discipleship and in the latest leadership community meeting. It is a phenomenon known as S.O.A.P. ING. It has the power to transform your life. It is really simple. It will allow you to see God as bigger.

S.O.A.P.ING is something I have experienced over the past six months at a Waterboyz table at Panera Bread on 26 at 7 in the morning. About 20 to 25 men come to the two tables being held there. Sometimes they are asked to S.O.A.P. at home; sometimes they S.O.A.P. at their tables. But men who S.O.A.P. over an extended period of time are changed. I believe it is the power of the Word united with the power of the Spirit in the context of community.

One of the first things you need to know is that S.O.A.P. is an acronym. It is done after you have read a section or chapter of the Bible. Then you listen for what verse the Spirit may prompt you to write about. Once you have heard all the verses, you choose one of the verses that is speaking to you. What do you do when you S.O.A.P?

The S of S.O.A.P. stands for Scripture. You write down on your page the verse that God spoke to you. God may have a particular encounter planned for you regarding that verse. Recently in a staff meeting, 4 out of the 8 staff members S.O.A.P.ed on the same verse. The Spirit was drawing our attention there. Theologians speak of a Rhema word. That is a word designed to speak to you in your situation. The first step is picking the verse you are directed to write on.

The O of S.O.A.P. stands for Observation. You ask yourself and write what caused you to select this verse? What do you get out of the text? What is the author’s intent? Write it out in a sentence or two. 

The A of S.O.A.P. stands for Application. You ask yourself and write how is God asking you to apply this verse to your life? What change is God asking you to make? What action will you take and put it into your calendar. This is where the rubber meets the road and we move from intention to action.

The P of S.O.A.P. stands for Prayer. Write a prayer that agrees with what God spoke to you about.

Then after each person has S.O.A.P.ed, take some time to share what God showed you. This is where you can learn from the amazing insights God gives your group.  In all my times of S.O.A.P.ing, I have never been disappointed.

Just after Easter we will be introducing S.O.A.P.ing in the Gospel of Mark. If you will learn this technique, I promise you there will be some transformation in your life as the Spirit and the Word open up places in your life in the context of community.

Winter Event

By Brenda Rota

For the last three years GCC has hosted a Winter Event for our families and our friends. The goal is two-fold. First, create an event that brings existing members of our community together to enjoy recreation. Secondly, create an opportunity to invite our friends and neighbors to come see what it is like to experience community at GCC.

In February, 2010 we joined in the spirit of the Winter Olympics and hosted our own Winter Olympics. We created our own version of the bobsled, slalom and curling for the young and old. The event was a huge success. In 2011 the team felt pressure to make the event even more exciting. We chose a Rodeo theme. What Rodeo would be complete without a mechanical bull, a square dance caller and a meal of chili?

This year we wanted to focus on our younger families with little ones. We moved the time from 10:00 to 2:00 in the hopes of providing a full morning of games and crafts with a meal before sending our little ones (and their parents) home for a much needed nap. Our theme was a Luau and once again, the team thought of imaginative crafts and creative games to keep all entertained. We were treated to award winning pulled pork BBQ and saw the church transformed to match a Luau theme.

The team is not only creative, but they are hard-working as well. Thank you: Brian & Kristen Ricketts and Erin & David O’Hara for creating the games; Dawn & Andy Gibson for facilitating all the crafts; Tommi-Leigh Starick and Lauren Vandergrift for decorating and managing all the details for the meal; and Eric Miller for being a great emcee for the day!

Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy:

Winter Olympics 2010:

 Rodeo 2011:

 Luau 2012: