Palm Sunday!

For Sunday, March 29, 2026:

John 12:12b-13 NLT: “A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet Jesus. They shouted, ‘Praise God! [Hosanna!] Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!’”

Today is Palm Sunday, when Christians everywhere celebrate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Jesus had recently healed Lazarus and brought him back to life. A large crowd had been present for that event, and there was much anticipation when word got out that Jesus was coming back into town. They lined the streets as if a parade were about to take place.

Meanwhile, Jesus sent two disciples to borrow a donkey, who were told to say, “The Lord has need of it.” The donkey had never been ridden, and I look at this like asking to borrow a new Buick off the showroom floor. It fulfills the prophecy, “Look, your king is coming to you,... riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.”

As Jesus entered the city, the crowd waved palm branches in the air and lined the streets with brightly colored cloth, shouting, “Hosanna,” which means, “Save us; save us now!” I suspect that the crowd knew mankind had a sin problem, and the only solution was an alliance with the man who could raise someone from the dead. They wouldn’t have asked Jesus to save them, to rescue them, unless they believed it to be possible.

Shouts rang out, “Hail to the King of Israel!” Recall John (the baptist) saying, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” as he introduced Jesus to the world. Only a King has a Kingdom, and Jesus is the one King! This upset the Roman Government, which thought Herod was their king. It also upset the Pharisees. “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”

So this is all about money and power. Pharisees didn’t like worshipers leaving to follow Jesus, and they didn’t like tithes going to the Jesus team rather than the Temple. Furthermore, the Roman government already had a king and didn’t want another, and certainly not a Jew! Jesus’ demise seemed certain, and he predicted his own death.

People are fickle. In just a few days, they went from “Save us now!” to “Crucify him!” No one understood that Jesus would take the sins of the world to the place of the dead, and that mankind could be forgiven and have a shot at eternity! Those railing against Jesus were actually fulfilling God’s vast eternal plan!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

Holy Spirit!

For Saturday, March 28, 2026:

John 14:15-17a NLT, Jesus speaking: “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.”

This expands on the original Old Covenant, wherein God-the-Father explained, “You will be my people, and I will be your God.” In the New Covenant, Jesus, being the Son of God, will be our Savior, and we will be his loyal followers. Then, as Jesus is leaving us, returning to the Father, he leaves another to fill the God-space in our lives. The Holy Spirit – Comforter, Encourager, or Counselor – the final one-third of the Trinity, will walk alongside us on our spiritual journey. The Holy Spirit (like Father and Son) can only give us truth, and truth is God’s opinion on everything!

We love Jesus because he died to pay the penalty for our sins so we could be forgiven. Note that Jesus didn’t send the Holy Spirit himself. He asked the Father to care for those who love the Son, so the Father sent our Counselor and Advocate, and we’re better off because of it.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for watching over all the believers!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

The Father’s House

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Truth & Freedom Church

For Friday, March 27, 2026:

Luke 3:19-20 NLT: “John (the baptist) also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs Herod had done. So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.”

Notice the focus of John’s criticism. Not the governmental system, not the Roman army, not the prisons. In John’s eyes, what Herod had done wrong was marrying his brother’s wife. John is critical of Herod’s moral failure.

God’s plan is for one man and one woman to come together, and they become a family. This law is written on our hearts, so everybody already knows. Even hardened criminals whose personal mission is to live outside the law know not to take someone else’s wife.

John’s boldness landed him in prison and ultimately led to his demise. Interestingly, Herod liked John and sometimes listened to him proclaim the Good News. “The Kingdom of God is at hand!” The Messiah has arrived; turns out to be God’s Son! Herod was almost a Christian, but not quite. In the end, it was Herodias, the adulteress, who objected to John’s criticism and ordered his death.

Jesus says, “Don’t begin until you consider the cost.” There may be a cost for joining the Jesus team. John chose to stand up for God’s principles, and it eventually cost him his life. On the other hand, Peter lied, denying Jesus three times to save his own skin. He was destined to be the point person for the new Christian church, the Way. God wouldn’t accept “no” for an answer.

Count on God to guide you on your spiritual journey and give you the right answers!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

The Father’s House

Truth and Freedom Church