:: Download the 4.13.2014 Worship Study Guide & Sermon Notes
:: Download the 4.13.2014 Bulletin
:: Download the 4.13.2014 Parent Bulletin
:: Download the 4.13.2014 Sermon Audio
image :: Christ’s Entry Into Jerusalem, Stanley Spencer (1920, British)
Preparation for Worship :: Behold Your King
“We cannot go to the Kingdom; it must come to us.” (Adolph Saphir)
“How does Christ execute the office of a king? Christ executes the office of a king, in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism)
Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs for April 13
:: All Creatures of Our God and King (Francis of Assisi, 1225) chart // audio
:: Majesty (Jack Hayford, 1981) chart // audio
:: King of Glory (Anderson, et al, 2000) chart // audio
:: We Fall Down (Chris Tomlin 2001) chart // audio
:: God of Wonders (Byrd & Hindalong, 2000) chart // audio
:: Psalm 73 (“Surely, God is Good”) chart // audio
Call to Worship :: Zechariah 9:9-10,16-17
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. His rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. On that day the LORD their God will save them, as the flock of His people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on His land. For how great is His goodness, and how great His beauty!
Old Testament Reading :: Isaiah 45:21-25
Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: “To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.” Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.
Sermon :: Matthew 21:1-17
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt,the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
12 And Jesus entered the templeand drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
We Confess Our Sin Together
King of Glory, You came to us as true Peace in the midst of our warfare, as true Freedom to release us from our bondage to sin, as true Refuge while we languished in a chaos of our own design. Though we know Jesus as Sovereign King, we have rebelled just as Israel did long ago, we have negotiated with the Enemy by our secret sins and proud skepticism, we have betrayed our Heavenly Father in our daily refusal of Peace, Freedom, and Refuge. For our treason, You died; For our restoration, You rose again. Draw us close to You in this week, that our eyes may catch the vision of Your tears, and our hearts, the wonder of Your grace.
Words of Encouragement :: from Psalm 118
In my anguish I cried to the Lord; and He answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me. The Lord is my Strength and my Song; He has become my Salvation.