Garry spoke about Dave the Donkey tonight, using the ‘Lost Sheep’ resources to tell the story of the first Palm Sunday and the role played in it by a donkey. Our own donkey (Dave the 133rd) introduced the story.

Palm Sunday reminds us how crowds are easily swayed; on that occasion, they hailed Jesus as a king, but less than a week later were answering Pontius Pilate and shouting ‘Crucify him!’ We need stability in our lives so that we are not easily swayed and easily influenced. Eph 4:11-14 reminds us that we are not to be tossed around but should be rooted and built up in Christ (see also Col 2:2-4, 6-7). God is looking for us to be mature, not like infants who exist only on milk (see Heb 5:11-14).We need to be reading God’s word daily so that it can cleanse us and help us to grow (see Eph 5:25-26).To be stable is to be built up and strengthened through the relationships and ministries of the church, but all this is built on the Word of God, without which we will be tossed about. With it, we will be rooted, strong and stable.

This morning as we looked at the miraculous catch of fish recorded in Luke 5:1-11, we talked about purpose in life. All of us need to know that our lives have meaning and purpose; Steve Taylor says, ‘The need for purpose is one the defining characteristics of human beings. Human beings crave purpose and suffer serious psychological difficulties when we don’t have it. Purpose is a fundamental component of a fulfilling life.’ [1] Paul tells us we should live as children of the light and find out what pleases the Lord (Eph 5:8,10) and as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, He did so with a confidence that arose from His security in His identity as God’s Son and knowing His mission in life.

In the incident we see with Peter and the other fishermen, we see that despite their lack of success, when Jesus spoke and told them to let down their nets, they were successful in recording a massive catch of fish. This miracle profoundly affected them, being the catalyst for the change in their lives which saw them leave their boats on shore and take up a new calling, to become followers of Jesus and fishers of men. Simon’s response to this miracle was to fall at the feet of Jesus and recognise his own sinfulness. This is always the first step to discovering purpose and meaning to life, for the self has to abdicate from its throne so that we acknowledge God as the rightful King. Just as wein history we had to abandone the geocentric view of the earth and embrace the Copernican heliocentric view, so we must acknowlege that in everything Christ must have the supremacy if we are to live meaningful lives. (Col 1:15-17)

In riding humbly into Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus embraced humility and submission to God’s will. We must do the same, acknowledging that to gain our life, we must be prepared to lose it (see Mark 8:34-35, John 12:24-26). Humility must come before honour and exaltation..Jesus gave the fishermen new purpose and identity, and in confirming the Great Commission in Matt 28:18-20, He gives us new purpose and identity too. No matter what our jobs, our primary purpose in life is to love God and serve Him wholeheartedly.

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/out-the-darkness/201307/the-power-purpose

“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, the day when we remember the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. We read about this in Matt 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44 and John 12:12-19, and we often comment on the fickleness of the crowds (shouting acclamation and praise on the Sunday but baying for His blood by the end of the week) and the humility of the King in riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy but underlining for us the nature of God’s kingdom and how it radically differs from the ways of the world, with Jesus choosing humility and submission instead of arrogance and personal exaltation.

Yet I am drawn today to a Scripture tucked away in Luke’s Gospel way before the excited bustle and organisational excellence of Palm Sunday, a verse which reminds us that nothing happens without the right attitude or without steadfast commitment: “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)

Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He alone knew what lay head: the suffering, the rejection, the betrayal, the agony of bearing our sin, the pain He would have to endure. Some versions of the Bible describe ‘resolutely’ as ‘setting His face like flint.’ This was no whim, no fad, no impulse. Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. There was determination, steadfastness, a commitment to God’s plan of salvation which started way before the time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed for God’s will, not His own, to be done.

Jesus did not arrive in Jerusalem on a donkey by chance. His life was not a random series of events. He resolutely determined to do life God’s way and to embrace God’s purposes and plans. The song ‘My Way’ would never have been found on Jesus’s lips.

Commitment to God’s ways is costly: it cost Jesus His life. It will be costly for us too, perhaps, in different ways. But with resolute determination and unwavering trust in God, we too can journey on in life with inner strength and steadfast determination. Palm Sunday was another stage in the journey of Jesus towards crucifixion and death. We acknowledge that the One who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed and we seek to follow, always, in His footsteps.

My grandchildren are at the age when they love fairy tales with their stories of princesses, knights in shining armour and wicked witches. Disney’s version of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ has the valiant Prince Phillip battle the evil fairy Maleficent who turns into a fierce dragon, overcoming her with the sword of truth. Dragons are mythical creatures associated with cunning, fire and deception; there is little wonder that the devil himself is described in Revelation 12:3 as ‘an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.’

We must never dismiss the allegory and imagery of Revelation as somehow being untrue because it engages our imagination and may not describe truth in a totally literal way. The power of the imagination to understand good and evil should not be underestimated. Revelation 12 speaks to us of the spiritual warfare described elsewhere throughout the Bible (Genesis 3, where Satan is described as a crafty serpent; Isaiah 14, where we see the fall of Lucifer; Ephesians 6:10-20, where Paul vividly describes the nature of the spiritual battle with which we are engaged.) It shows us much about the nature, activities and accusations of our enemy, for the devil loves to accuse, deceive, lead astray and lie. This chapter describes for us Satan’s hatred of the child born to save the world and his antipathy towards the people of God (symbolised by the woman), but it also shows us that God’s forces for good will triumph (Michael and his angels are much more powerful than Disney’s Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, who nonetheless give Phillip the weapons he needs to defeat Maleficent!)

Rev 12:11 gives us hope that God’s people (which includes us!) will ultimately triumph. Victory is assured because of the blood of the Lamb, reminding us that we have a great high priest who advocates for us no matter what the accusations against us (‘there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’, as Rom 8:1 reminds us) and through the word of our testimony. The sword of truth in our hands is powerful; when we speak God’s word, the devil cannot stand. We can cheer as loudly as the child who watches good triumph over evil in a film; our God is the victor and we are victors with Him!

I read a quote from Eugene Peterson this week which said, “Our worship restores us to a wholeness that keeps us sane in the midst of bedlam, joyous in the face of doom’ (‘On Living Well’), and like so many of words, that was like an arrow to my heart.

Bedlam was a Victorian hospital for the mentally ill, and came to symbolise the chaos and terror of insanity, the place where all the horror of the world was gathered together, not so much to cure people as to remove them from sight. The word has come to mean chaos and confusion, and life often feels chaotic and confused, lacking clarity. It is easy to feel overwhelmed navigating this morass of duplicity and moral ambiguity. But worship, when we refocus our attention on God, restores sanity to us. It’s as if our vision is restored from the upside-down retinal images of the newborn to the right-way-up world designed by God where He reigns and where eternity is once again factored into our daily living.

Joy in the face of doom is the other aspect of worship mentioned by Eugene Peterson. When we worship, perspective is restored and we can receive the supernatural joy and peace promised by Jesus instead of the doom predicted by politicians, media and other nay-sayers. Worship reminds us of the promises God gives us, promises of a new heaven and a new earth; it reminds us that resurrection is possible, so even death does not have the last word.

Wholeness, sanity and joy – what blessings are these!

Guest speaker Joy Gascoigne spoke from the book of Philippians tonight, teaching on how to ride the roller-coaster of life. We can feel that life is very much like a roller-coaster with its slow ascents and rapid descents, but Paul (writing this letter from prison) is able to give us valuable advice in each chapter.

Chapter 1 speaks of His confidence in God’s faithfuflness and reliability (Phil 1:6). Nowadays, there is a crisis of trust in many institutions (the police, in government etc.) but Paul is confident that He who began a good work in each person will carry that work on to completion. God is always, always faithful and can be trusted, no matter what our personal circumstances.

Chapter 2 reminds us that we must remember to look outward, having the same attitude as Christ Jesus and looking to the needs of other people and not just ourselves. In times of crisis, our natural instinct is to protect ourselves, but we have to learn to live according to God’s attitudes and principles. Nor is life simply about our preferences: Paul would doubtless have preferred not to be in a Roman prison, but he was content whatever his circumstances because he had a big goal that the proclamation of the gospel was the most important thing in his life.

Chapter 3 reminds us to keep looking forward, laying aside our past (both the good days and not-so-good days) and pressing forwards towards Christ. Paul had many things he could be proud of (including his preaching and the way God used him as an apostle) but he would also remember the pain of desertion (Demas) and the difficulties when team members became ill (Trophimus.) We must learn to leave the past behind, because we cannot change it; we must release it to God and move forward.

Chapter 4 reminds us of the importance of thankfulness. Thanksgiving and praise make us bigger than our circumstances and better than our feelings. Paul rejoiced greatly in the Lord, even in prison, and taught us to rejoice always.