Palm Sunday

[0:00] ły efek W traz Alpha EuropeimientofTopVaW have Thank you.

[1:00] Thank you.

[1:30] With your address and phone number. If you'd like to receive the newsletter, we ask that you do the same. On the back, there's a section for prayer requests, blessings, or notes to the staff.

[1:42] If you'd like them to stay confidential, we can do that too. We hope that you enjoy the service and have a wonderful day. Good morning. This is a day that the Lord has made.

[1:55] We will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[2:13] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[2:27] Let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[2:41] Lord, we pray thanks to you. We pray for your blessing and we pray that you will come and fill us up with your Holy Spirit this day.

[2:53] May this service of worship be a blessing to you as we honor you and praise your name. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. I'd like to invite you all to stand if you're able as we sing together.

[3:05] Hosanna, loud hosanna. Hosanna, loud hosanna.

[3:45] The little children sing. Through pillared court and temple. The lovely anthem rang.

[3:57] To Jesus who hath blessed them was bolded to his breast. The children sang their praises, the simplest and the best.

[4:16] From all event they followed with an exalted pride. The victor pomp and screaming and chanting clear and loud.

[4:33] The Lord of earth and heaven rode on his holy state. Nor scored that little children should on his bidding wait.

[4:51] Teacher, we few dear disciples. I tell you the truth. If they were to be silenced, even the rocks and the stones would cry out. Hosanna in the highest.

[5:04] An ancient song we sing. For Christ is our Redeemer. The Lord of heaven, our King.

[5:16] O may we ever praise him with heart and light and voice. And in his blissful presence eternally rejoice.

[5:35] The Lord be with you. And all we do. Please be seated. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[6:16] Amen. Amen.

[6:40] The people of Jerusalem who welcomed their coming in They laid their clothes from majesty's feet as they began to sing Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to the King Sing with one of all Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to the King Blessed the one who comes in the name of the Lord While Jesus rode on a donkey's path He greeted the people there And those who came to see their Lord With long branches in the air Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to the King Sing with one of all

[7:44] Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to the King Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord The children are heading out. I wanted to mention to you that in our bulletin there's an offering envelope and this is for something called Amcor.

[8:12] Amcor is United Methodist Commission on Relief Which means we help with disasters like hurricanes or floods or tornadoes or anything like that that happens around the world And this offering ensures that every other dollar we give Last year I think we gave about $15,000 or so to various different disasters Goes directly there And that our people are on the ground actually helping folks right away So if you want to give an extra gift to this as part of your giving this morning We appreciate that gift We also have a great joy this morning that we're going to be presenting today Callan James Stowe for baptism So I'm going to invite Callan and his parents And sponsors to come on up And join us Callan James Stowe And his sister You got to check out the shoes

[9:17] Good morning Callan Brothers and sisters in Christ We celebrate the new birth by water and the spirit through the sacrament of baptism As we become members of Christ's Holy Church And so I present to you Callan James Stowe for baptism These questions are for the parents Do you reject the evil powers of this world Repent of your sin And accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist Satan If so, answer, I do Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior And promise to serve as Christ's representative Through faithful participation in his church If so, answer, I do Will you nurture this child in Christ's Holy Church And by teaching and example Lead him to accept Christ as his Lord and Savior If so, answer, I will And will you who sponsor this child Support and encourage him in his Christian faith

[10:18] If so, answer, we will And will you help your little brother grow up in the church Say yes Okay, alright, okay works Okay is good enough Will you, as the church of Christ Renew your own vows of commitment to Christ And accept your responsibility To assist these parents in fulfilling their vows If so, answer, we will And that includes babysitting And all sorts of other tasks You didn't know you just agreed to Come on up here guys The Lord be with you Shall we pray Lord bless this water As a symbol of your sanctifying and renewing grace As you have used water to bless the saints of history Let it now bless your child Pour out your Holy Spirit on this gift of water

[11:18] To bless this child with your grace That leads to eternal life Help us to know that as we die to this world We become alive to Christ And share in his final victory over sin and death Amen Hey Cal Come on here I know, I know It's a big thing Yes, yes How are we doing, okay?

[11:39] Yeah? Alright Cal and James Stowe I baptize you in the name of the Father And of the Son And of the Holy Spirit May the Lord bless you now and forever Amen There we go And shall we greet our newest member into the family of God Thank you This is what we call Holy Week We start with Palm Sunday And there's a lot of things going on this week That I wanted to mention to you First of all, Thursday night We will Well, Wednesday night We don't have a lot of our activities So check the bulletin for that But Thursday night We're going to have our Seder celebration

[12:40] It's not a meal It's more of a remembrance Of some of the things that Jesus went through On that last Thursday Where we began Holy Communion And then Friday After the fish fry We have a wonderful service of remembrance Of Jesus And in that We actually re-experience Some of what it might have felt like For Jesus to die It's a powerful thing It's hard to understand The resurrection If you don't understand the cross On Saturday In the evening We don't have an Easter service Just so you know We have a remembrance of our baptism So if you come to that service You're going to remember your baptismal vows And then of course Easter next week Which we will have two services But this year it's 9 and 11 and 15 Just like our normal services are now Now, Pastor Sherry Is anxiously waiting for me to say And she needs help Okay, in particular She needs some guys I know that might sound a little weird But you know The disciples were men But if we need to

[13:40] We could use some women We need some people to help With a very small little role On Thursday night She won't make you speak If you don't want to She's got a poor juice And a couple people on Friday So if you can help with any of that Please see Pastor Sherry Thank you Oh, if there's any children That want to go to Junior Church They're welcome to go out with me now That's three years old To grade three So we're passing around Actually three clipboards So be careful It gets a little clumsy But the first one Is for our Niagara Falls dinner And collecting food for that Because we feel it's very important To serve the community And to be in service there The other one is for fish fries This past week we had 694 fish fries Woohoo!

[14:23] Thank you so much For all of your help with that And we have one more to go So please make sure That you sign up for that We also have one more Asking for donations For the Seder service On Thursday So that we need donations For that experience We have so much To be thankful for You know, the sun is shining It's cold But you know, God is good And it's spring is coming It's like I'm so excited And Holy Week is here It's such a blessing So what are you all Thankful for this morning?

[14:58] Yeah Right But the community at large It wasn't Right The Easter celebration yesterday Amazing success We had so many families In from the community And learning about The story of Jesus It was fabulous We're so thankful Yeah, Pam Being out of school Yeah Brakes are always good Yeah, Erin Yes Erin is leaving On a mission trip To Ghana In Africa So on Thursday So please keep Erin in prayer for that But boy, what a blessing That is What a ministry Yeah, Pam Kitchen staff Or fish fries Everybody at fish fries But boy Yeah They work really hard And it's such a blessing That people give in that way

[16:00] What else? Yeah Sandy They served homeless On the streets Of Buffalo last night What a blessing that is Yeah Tom Okay, we're blessing salad makers We're blessing the dishwashers We're blessing the We're blessing everybody Yeah, Judy Last week you prayed For a mom and a baby That both went into critical condition And they both survived The mother and the 24 week old baby And they're both doing great Mom and baby are doing great And they were in critical condition So yes, always praise Jesus Amen for that Anyone else want to share?

[16:44] Okay Well as we give back our gifts, ties, and offerings to the Lord Take time to reflect on how good God is Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that

[18:10] Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that

[19:40] Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that

[21:10] Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that

[22:40] Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that

[23:41] Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that

[24:43] Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Amen for that Experience you through it.

[25:15] And be with those in the position of caregiver. We pray that you'll lift them up, carry them through, wrap all of them, people suffering and people who are caring, in your loving arms.

[25:28] Help them to lean on you and have your peace. We pray for those with hearts that are grieving. We pray that you will lift them up.

[25:40] Lord, experience you. Help them to know you're there and that you weep along with them, and yet that you are also a mighty God that holds their loved ones close.

[25:52] We pray, Lord, for people who have sorrowful hearts, that you'll be with them. Lord, we pray for our families. We pray a blanket of protection over our families, and we pray that you will infuse our families with your love, with your joy, and with your discernment.

[26:13] Guide our families in your way, Lord. We pray for those who are struggling with anxiety, struggling with depression, struggling in any way, Lord. We pray that you will come and give them your heart.

[26:28] Give us all your eyes. That we will come to know you more, love you more, and be a reflection of you more. Give us the ability to trust.

[26:41] Give us your strength. Take away our fear. Help us to lean into you, knowing that you are there and that you do love us and that you do work for your good.

[26:53] And help us to trust that. Lord, I thank you for what you're doing in the lives of your people. And I pray that you'll continue to guide us as individuals and as a church, that we may honor you in every way.

[27:12] For it's in your name we pray. Amen. Now let's hear from the word of the Lord. Amen.

[27:45] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[27:57] Amen. Amen. Amen. Good morning. Today's scripture reading comes from John 13, verses 3 through 15.

[28:12] Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

[28:24] After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with a towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet?

[28:39] Jesus replied, You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. No, said Peter, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered, Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.

[28:54] Then, Lord, Simon Peter replied, Not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well. Jesus answered, Those who have had a bath need only wash their feet.

[29:07] Their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you. For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why not everyone was clean.

[29:17] When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. Do you understand what I have done for you? He asked them. You call me teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am.

[29:33] Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

[29:44] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Jesus says, You should do as I have done for you.

[30:00] Does that mean Jesus wants us to open up a pedicure shop out in the entrance to the church, you know? Back in that day, washing feet was considered one of the key things of hospitality you did when somebody came to your house.

[30:14] Because the roads were dusty and dirty, and a lot of them wore open sandals, their feet were dirty. So you'd give them a bowl of water, and either they'd wash their own feet, or maybe if you're a wealthy, a servant would do it.

[30:27] Something like that. It was an act of hospitality, and Jesus wasn't trying to get us all to wash each other's feet. So I want you to relax. I'm not going to get out bowls of water and make you take off your socks and shoes.

[30:40] I don't know what we'd do with pantyhose, but we're not even going to go there. What Jesus was trying to do was much bigger, much greater than this. And it comes in the end of this chapter, actually, if you have your Bibles with you.

[30:54] In verse 34, it says, I'm going to give you a new command. Love one another as I have loved you. That's how you must love one another.

[31:06] So what does it mean to love in the way Jesus loved? He does this act of washing the disciples' feet, because sometimes we learn more by what we see than by what we hear.

[31:23] Jesus says, I'm your teacher. I'm your Lord. And we know he's more than that. But he washed their feet. Love calls us to do whatever it takes.

[31:36] Even if it means that somehow we become less than what we think we ought to be. He dressed like a servant. And he lowered himself to wash feet.

[31:49] And Peter objected. And he said, unless I wash you, you have no part with me. Unless we become part of Jesus becoming less, we can't become greater.

[32:06] In Philippians, Paul explains that a little better. He says in chapter 2, Jesus being in very nature God, didn't consider equality with God something to be used for his own advantage.

[32:17] Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

[32:30] Jesus is the king of glory. Jesus is the Lord of the universe. All things that were ever created, including you and me, were made through Jesus.

[32:42] And yet, he was willing to become less. Even to a cross. Which we don't think much of a cross being a position of being low, because the church has made them beautiful and glorious, which is nice.

[32:59] But really, what a cross would be to us would be something like the electric chair, or a lethal injection. It was used to kill criminals, bad criminals.

[33:12] Picture if Christians wore a lethal injection or an electric chair around their neck. The scandal that it would cause. And Jesus was willing to go to that cross and be made less so that we could be lifted up.

[33:27] He was willing to die so that we could live. He was willing to give up, and this is God, give up his right to have only perfect creatures in his presence, so that we could live again.

[33:43] Which is what we do with each other, isn't it? Children should be perfect. You've heard me say this before, right? Amen? Children should be perfect for all we do for them.

[33:54] They should make absolutely no mistakes. They should live absolutely perfect lives, obedient in every way to us. All the parents should be saying amen right now. But we know they can never do that.

[34:07] Just like we couldn't do it. And so we love them anyways, and we give up our right for them to be perfect, just as God gives up his right to be perfect for us. He becomes less.

[34:18] And even takes on the role of a servant. How many of you have ever done laundry? Anybody here? When you do laundry for your family, does that make you your family's servant?

[34:30] I think some of them think so. But it isn't true, is it? When we do these things, these chores that we do for our family, we do them because we love one another.

[34:44] And love is different than we often think about. In that same chapter 2 of Philippians, it says, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

[34:56] Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves. Not looking to your own interest, but each of you to the interest of others. That's hard, isn't it?

[35:07] Love says that I care more about the person I say I love than even myself. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes for them to have what they need in life.

[35:20] Sometimes we must misunderstand position and leadership as a privilege. But in the Christian faith, it teaches us it's not about privilege.

[35:30] It's about transformation. It won't mean a thing. If all we do is show love for people that love us.

[35:43] Jesus said if we do that, we're no different than everybody else. It's when we love people outside of who we are. Sometimes I rub my wife's feet.

[35:56] Guys, I got to tell you, you know, I don't know what it's about, but it's like gold. Rub their feet. They love it. They love it. Right? If my wife asked me to wash her feet, I'd wash her feet.

[36:08] Okay? That's easy. To wash the feet of somebody you already have a loving relationship with is easy. But are we willing to go to the smelly, dirty parts of the world?

[36:20] Take care of people that we really don't even know. To love them. To love them. In the way in which we would love each other. That's what God calls us to do.

[36:34] That's what it means to serve Christ. Servant leadership is about changing lives. In verse 14 of this chapter, it says, Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.

[36:50] I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. That we should go and serve other people as Jesus lowered himself.

[37:02] By doing that action, it showed his love for his disciples more than any words could ever say. When we go and we serve and care for people who are hurting in this world, it shows that we love them because we love God.

[37:20] And we do that, not to gain something, but just to be a blessing to someone. I read about a church who, as an act of what they call humility, would go out and wash public bathrooms.

[37:35] So they'd go into a bar or a restaurant and they'd say, Is it okay if we clean your bathroom? And they'd be like, Oh, okay. You know what I mean? Kind of weird, right? Sort of off the charts.

[37:46] Now, some people would think that they would leave a card saying that the church did this. They didn't. They just did it. As a sense of saying, we are, as Jesus, willing to do whatever it takes.

[37:57] But I would suggest to you that there's other ways to serve God than cleaning somebody's bathroom. Not that that's a bad thing to do. But there's people that are hungry and there's people that are lonely.

[38:09] There's a neighbor that needs help with something. There's somebody that needs you to step into the gap to provide some help. I heard this morning that one of our parishioners needs a ramp in front of their house.

[38:27] And they're going to try and build it. I think we should build it. Seems sensible to me. There should be somebody who can build a ramp. What can we do that really matters that will make a difference in the lives of the people around us?

[38:44] Maybe you're not good at construction. Maybe you could just go visit somebody who's alone or who's worried or who's sick. Or make a meal. For one of these people has come home from the hospital and can't make a meal for themselves.

[38:58] Real help for real people. You know the Bible says it's better to give than to receive. And there's a lot of truth in that. We feel better when we give of ourselves to others.

[39:11] We feel more human when we're willing to help somebody out in need. But transformation is about more than what we do. Just like the baptism this morning is about more than just putting water on a little child.

[39:29] When we baptized Kel this morning, this was not about the water. This was about the faith of his parents. To give this child a start in the Christian faith in a world that doesn't have much faith.

[39:47] Transformation is about changed lives. To love in this way, it means we have to feel okay about ourselves. That might sound strange, but Jesus felt okay about himself.

[40:02] He knew, it says so. He says he knew that the Father had put all things under his power. He had just had this march into Jerusalem, Palm Sunday, the day we celebrate today, where hundreds if probably thousands of people came out to cheer the king who's going to conquer the world.

[40:21] He knew who he was. And because he had that confidence, he could give of himself. I'm descended from royalty.

[40:32] I don't know if you know that. My ancestors used to rule a valley in Alsace-Lorraine. That's between Germany and France, if you're not familiar with it.

[40:42] The reason we ended up over here in the United States is when my great-great-great-great-grandfather was 56. His wife died and he went down to town and married the barmaid who was 26.

[40:55] And the family said, you can do that in the U.S., but you don't do that over here. Get out of town. Get out of town. So that's how we ended up over here. It's the way it is.

[41:05] But I'm descended from royalty. I don't have any title. I don't have any papers. I don't have anything to prove it to you. But I know who I am. Too many people don't feel good about themselves, so they push other people down.

[41:21] And they step on other people so that they can feel better about themselves. We've got that going on around us everywhere, don't we? People who are angry and upset and hurt and frustrated, and they're feeling so much struggle with their own life that they're lashing out at everybody.

[41:38] But if they learn to feel better about themselves, they could help to push other people up. Peter says, Lord, you're never going to wash my feet.

[41:51] It looks wrong. And Jesus says, if I don't do this, you don't have any part with me. You have to learn how to feel good enough about yourself to do whatever it takes.

[42:06] I was at a preschool graduation for our preschool one time. And I was watching a couple of the ladies who were working. And one was dressed up all to the nines. You know, as you would for a preschool celebration.

[42:16] Looked beautiful. You know, very poised and everything else. But there was a garbage can that needed emptying. And so I see her over there fighting with the garbage can in her dress clothes, trying to pull this bag out, struggling with this thing because it needed to happen.

[42:34] I said, now that's a person I respect. A person who's willing to do what has to happen. I see it all the time around me.

[42:45] People who will reach down into difficult, dirty, ugly places. Because it needs to be done. God doesn't want us to consider ourselves better than others.

[43:04] But humility says we're not any less than others either. It's essential for us to know who we are.

[43:16] Jesus knew who he was. And yet he took off his clothing. You know, how you dress says a lot to the world. There's a lot of pastors nowadays who want to dress in a t-shirt and jeans to pretend they're like everybody else.

[43:33] It's just a show. I wear a suit usually because I'm the pastor. It's what I'm supposed to dress in. Okay? If I wear some different clothes, it doesn't make me less than who I am.

[43:44] But the clothes are a symbol of what we are and what we've accomplished. And in fact, you could dress somebody very accomplished like a bum. Or dress somebody who's not very accomplished like a rock star.

[43:57] Well, I was reading just the other day, Richard Greer was going to do a movie where he was going to play a homeless man. So to get in character, he dressed like a homeless man in New York City.

[44:08] And he was just hanging around like he was homeless. And some lady, not knowing who he was, went over and gave her her leftover pizza to eat.

[44:19] And he was like so impressed by this because the whole day nobody even looked at him because of the way he was dressed. She had no idea it was Richard Greer until the next day she read about it in a newspaper article because he called the newspaper to say what an amazing woman she was.

[44:38] Just by how they were dressed. He removed his clothing, a symbol of who he was. Because he was confident. He knew who he was. We say that we need to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

[44:52] And love our neighbor as ourselves. But what if you don't like yourself? What if you don't feel good about yourself? What if you've decided there's something wrong with you and you just beat on yourself?

[45:05] How are you going to treat your neighbor? You see, that's what we see going on right now. People who are lashing out at others because they don't feel good about themselves. God loves you. The Lord of the universe loves you.

[45:21] In fact, on the sixth day of creation, he says, when he made us, he looked at us and said, this is really great work. I was telling that to the bank teller the other day. I don't know why we got on the subject.

[45:31] I said, well, you know, you're pretty awesome. God said so. On the sixth day of creation, he looked at you and said, this is my best work so far. And she looked at me like, what? Why are you saying this to me?

[45:43] Then she looked at the check. She said, you're a pastor, aren't you? Yes, I am. Yes, I am. But it's still true. God thought so much of you that he became less so you could become more.

[45:55] So we shouldn't go around feeling that somehow there's something wrong with us when we know the God of the universe loves us. Amen? We need to learn how to love ourselves so that we can love others.

[46:11] But we also have to learn how to let them love us. Just the day before this, there was a time when Jesus was sitting in a house.

[46:22] It was with a man named Simon, who we think was Judas' father-in-law, and Judas and some of the disciples. And a woman came in. We think it was Mary, Martha's sister.

[46:33] And she had this jar of perfume, which today would be worth about $50,000 to $60,000. I know a lot of you ladies have perfume like that, right? And it says that she went up to Jesus, and she took the jar, the expensive jar that was in, and broke it on his feet.

[46:53] Now, I don't know about you, but I would assume if my wife had it, she doesn't. But if she had a jar of perfume like that, she would be like taking out one little dot of it now and then, right? Poured it on his feet.

[47:05] And then took her hair and used her hair to wipe his feet clean. Now, when Simon saw this, the owner of the house, he said, You know, if Jesus knew who this woman was, he wouldn't be having her touch him.

[47:23] He'd know she's a sinner. And his son, Judas, said, You know, that jar of perfume could have been sold, and we could have taken care of the poor.

[47:35] There's always some way to look at a situation bad, isn't there? And Jesus said, You know, Simon, when I came into your house, you didn't even give me a bowl of water to wash my feet. But this woman has been washing my feet with perfume in her tears and her hair.

[47:50] Ladies, imagine that, taking those dirty, grimy dirt from the road and using your hair. I don't know, but that's just, I've never seen a woman do that. And he said to Judas, You're going to have the poor with you forever.

[48:05] Because to be honest with you, we don't know how to share. That's the problem. There's plenty of resources. We just don't know how to share it. And so we end up with inequity. He said, But this is a special time.

[48:17] And what she's done is a wonderful thing. And it won't be taken from her. Peter said, You're never going to wash my feet, Jesus.

[48:32] I'm an independent man. I don't need any help. Nobody's going to take care of me. Are we willing to put our feet out there? I don't know about you, but I keep my feet covered up.

[48:45] I don't very often show them to people. Not because they're like weird or deformed or anything. I just think feet are like, you know, not the best feature. I mean, maybe feel different.

[48:56] I just, you know, feet are feet. Right? But we need to be willing to take the chance. To expose ourselves to what's out there.

[49:07] To see what might happen. Can we admit that we need help sometimes? Jesus was gathered with his disciples on Wednesday and Thursday.

[49:21] And by Friday, he'd be hanging on a cross dying. What a perfect time for somebody to do something wonderful for him. Sometimes we need to admit we need help.

[49:32] Sometimes we take too much pride in our self-reliance. And so we don't let others help us. I'm descended from royalty, but I'm also descended from poor people.

[49:46] From what I understand, and they didn't keep records about those folks, my folks on my father's side cleaned the houses of people that were wealthy. My grandfather entered the country illegally.

[49:59] I will tell you that. He swam to shore from a boat in New York Harbor. He became a citizen after a number of years. But he was poor.

[50:12] Really poor. And so I know what it's like to work with my hands. I know what it's like to do difficult things. I know what it's like to do dirty things. And I've always thought that I'm proud of those ancestors as much as the other ones.

[50:27] I've also wondered if one of my ancestors cleaned the other one's house. But that's just a weird thing in my head that confuses me. It's a great gift to love someone, but it's just as great a gift to let someone else love you.

[50:44] Have you ever gone out to dinner with somebody and they pay the bill for you? And you go, I hate that. I got a friend of mine, he does it all the time. Sneaks off to pay the bill. Lately I've been telling my wife, take some money and slip it in his wife's purse.

[50:57] You know? I mean, really, I don't want people to always be buying my meals. I need to do it myself, but I also need to let them do it for me.

[51:09] Last week I got a couple of pictures. Where are they? This is absolute amazing artwork that I received from a couple girls in our church.

[51:21] You know? I actually received this from time to time from several of your children. You may or may not know that. It's absolutely stunning, incredible artwork.

[51:34] And they give it to me because it's what they have. Now, I will admit to you that I don't think I could sell this for anything down at Ellen Tarty Art Festival. I should try. But I suspect I wouldn't get a whole lot of money for this.

[51:48] But I think these things are fantastic. And I appreciate when they give to me what they have to offer. It is better to give than to receive.

[51:59] And so we need to allow other people to have the opportunity to give to us, whoever they are. Even if they have nothing that seems like it has value. The other night in Niagara Falls during the worship service, one lady brought a dollar in and put it in the plate and then apologized because that's all she had.

[52:20] When was the last time you gave everything you had? Oh, what an amazing gift. A dollar could possibly be. So we need to learn how to love other people.

[52:34] But first we need to learn how to love and accept the love God has given to us. And we need to learn how to receive love. Because God is calling us to a radical redefinition of relationship.

[52:46] To love and to be loved. Whatever it takes. John 13, 34 says, I'm giving you a new commandment.

[52:56] Love as I have loved you. I had heart surgery a number of years ago. And when I went for heart surgery, the nurse afterwards took the sonogram thing and she puts it on my chest.

[53:13] And she gets a worried look in her face. Now that's not what you want to see after heart surgery, right? I'm like, freak it out, you know? And the doctor says, Oh, you got to turn it this way. He's got a horizontal heart.

[53:27] You might think all the insides are the same. They're not. They're very different. Sometimes they go inside you and they find the things that are supposed to be on this side are over here. Most of you have a vertical heart.

[53:38] I've got a horizontal heart. I was doing that one time in a sermon. And somebody said, You know what you're doing when you're doing that? Yeah. You see, because of course we're supposed to have a relationship with Christ like this.

[53:51] And we celebrate in that. We sing songs to how wonderful God is to remind us of our relationship with him. But we also have to have a horizontal heart to remember that we love God by loving one another.

[54:04] And letting others love us. This is called Palm Sunday, but it's also called Passion Sunday. This Friday we'll actually experience the real passion in the Good Friday service.

[54:17] But for those who don't make it, we call it Passion Sunday because we're supposed to remember the cross. You can't go to the resurrection without going to the cross. And the cross is about God, the God of glory, dying for you and for me to lift us up.

[54:33] Not because he had to, but because he loved you so much. He was willing to give up what mattered to him the most. It's kind of a weird thing because in verse 4 it says that Jesus stripped off his outer clothes.

[54:52] Somebody suggested I probably shouldn't talk about this last night. But what that means is Jesus stripped down to his underwear. Which gives us this weird image of Jesus, doesn't it? And so it's like you shouldn't talk about Jesus in his underwear because that's just weird, right?

[55:06] But think about that. How intimate. How vulnerable he was willing to become so that his disciples could know what real love is.

[55:19] Are we willing to become vulnerable with each other? Are we willing to put the pretenses aside? I'm not going to strip down to my underwear. Don't get worried. It won't happen. But maybe we can get to the place where we can serve one another.

[55:36] Love one another. Take the love that God has given to us and share it with the world. We'll build love and support instead of resentment and anger.

[55:48] And when we let other people serve us, we'll show that we really value them and really love them. I am proud of both of my heritages.

[56:03] I've told people I'm bilingual. I understand what it means to be the son of very poor people. They grew up in a shack without any running water, electricity, or heat.

[56:14] And I know what it's like to have all the manners and the class that you're supposed to have as nobility. Put together, that's a great heritage. Helps me to understand who people are wherever they come from.

[56:28] I'm even more happy about whose I am. Whose I am. Susan was sharing with me that the president of her company in Canada is from Vancouver.

[56:44] And she had to get used to people like us when she would greet them. And they'd say, what do you do? Where do you live? Because she says in Vancouver, they don't say, where do you live or what do you do?

[56:54] They ask you, whose are you? Who do you belong to? We belong to Christ, who is willing to become less, the King of glory, that the world could become more.

[57:17] I see the King of glory, coming on the clouds with my whole earth, whole earth, whole earth.

[57:34] I see His love and mercy, washing over all our sin.

[57:48] The people sing, the people sing. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in my highest.

[58:05] Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in my highest.

[58:24] I see a generation rising up to take their place with selfless faith, with selfless faith.

[58:42] I see a new revival, stirring as we pray and sing.

[58:53] We're on our knees, we're on our knees. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in my highest.

[59:13] Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in my highest. Hosanna, Hosanna in my highest.

[59:53] Hosanna, Hosanna in my highest. Hosanna, Hosanna in victory. Hosanna in my highest. As I walk past Muito�로, always open. We offer our hearts with selfless faith.

[60:04] We offer your heart, brethren in the highest. We're on our knees, please hire us. We offer our hearts with selfless faith, nuestras. We offer our hearts, ruth flat fairs, yourselves and our hearts. We offer our hearts with selfless мечet. We offer our hearts with the Lord, Geez precious rocket quereland in our highest.

[60:18] Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.

[60:40] Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest.

[61:19] Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the high. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest.

[61:31] Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest.

[61:41] Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the highest. $60. are washed away, washed away.

[61:53] Hosanna, Hosanna. You are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praises.

[62:10] Hosanna, Hosanna. Come have your way among us.

[62:22] We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. Here's a town of high britainic.

[62:41] We thank you. We thank you. We thank you.

[62:52] We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you.

[63:04] We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you.

[63:16] We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you.

[63:28] Hosanna, you are the God who saves us, worthy of all our praise.

[63:41] Hosanna, Hosanna, come on your way among us, we welcome you here, Lord Jesus.

[63:55] Hosanna, Hosanna, come on your way among us, we welcome you here, Lord Jesus.

[64:15] Hosanna, God save us, and God wants to save us, God wants to do that for us and be in right relationship with us. And, you know, it seems like a very thing that we just know that we're supposed to be forgiven for the way we treat others, but I think we also have to identify that we need to be forgiven by sometimes the way we treat ourselves.

[64:38] You know, we all make mistakes. Anyone here not made a mistake? Okay, right? And yet we carry that burden, we carry that pain, and we need to allow God to help us.

[64:52] We need to allow others to help us. We need to allow God to forgive us the things that we do against others and the things we do against ourselves when we don't show enough love and compassion and grace in our lives in all ways.

[65:05] And so I invite you to a prayer of confession as we prepare our hearts for the table of grace. Lord, I am a sinner. I need your grace.

[65:19] I've not always loved myself or others. Forgive me, Lord. Set me on the right path.

[65:31] Help me to lean on you. To give away my burdens. So that I may love others. In your name.

[65:43] And in your way. For it's in your name we pray. Amen. Hear the good news. Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

[65:56] This proves God's love for you and for me. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God.

[66:07] Amen. And so now as a forgiven body of Christ, let's greet one another with a piece of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you. Okay. So here's what I did. I thought this had one page and this one had two.

[66:21] So I had this one open. I got to a bridge and I was like, oh, oh, oh. Oh. Peace. Sorry. Jerry. Peace.

[66:31] Good morning. She said one time through for this. One time through for her? Yeah. In this service. Peace.

[66:44] Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace. Kia V. Kia E. We fall down beneath our crowns at the feet of Jesus.

[67:16] The greatness of mercy and love at the feet of Jesus. We cry holy, holy, holy.

[67:32] We cry holy, holy, holy. We cry holy, holy, holy is the man.

[67:45] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And our God is holy and he invites us to the table.

[67:56] Jesus invites everyone who desires to come and have more of God. Whether you're here for the first time and have never been in church before or you've been coming all your life, you are welcome to come to the table and join in the celebration of all that God has done for us.

[68:17] It's not what we do, but it's what God does in us, what God does for us, and what God does through us that makes us together, God's people.

[68:30] Amen? Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Come to the table. If you love God, repent of your sin and seek to live in peace as a disciple of Jesus Christ, you can come to the table this morning.

[68:42] Don't have to do anything special ahead of time. Just come because God has invited you. And God's the only one who can issue that invitation anyway.

[68:54] Amen? So come to the table. The Lord be with you. Amen. Amen. Amen. Lift up your hearts. Lift up your hearts. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

[69:04] It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father. Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

[69:15] In love you made us for yourself. And when we had fallen into sin and become subject to evil and death, your love remained steadfast. You bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts and prepare for the joy of the Easter feast.

[69:32] That renewed by your word and sacraments and fervent in prayer and works of justice and mercy, we may come to the fullness of grace that you have prepared for those who love you.

[69:45] And so with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.

[70:01] Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Holy are you and blessed is your son Jesus Christ, whom you sent in the fullness of time to redeem the world.

[70:16] He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in our likeness. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

[70:27] He took upon himself our sin and death and offered himself a perfect sacrifice for the sin of the whole world. By the baptism of his suffering, death and resurrection, you gave birth to your church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.

[70:47] And on the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread and he gave thanks to you. He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples. He said, take and eat.

[71:03] This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

[71:17] And when the supper was over, Jesus took the cup. He gave you thanks and praise and gave it to his disciples, saying, drink from this, all of you. This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new covenant poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin.

[71:37] Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. And so in remembrance of these, your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us as we proclaim the mystery of faith.

[72:00] Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here. And on these gifts of bread and wine, make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ redeemed by his blood.

[72:21] By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.

[72:33] Through your Son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your Holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. Amen.

[72:45] Shall we pray together the prayer that Jesus taught us? Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

[73:00] Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

[73:14] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Will those who are serving please come forward. Amen.

[73:53] Amen. Amen. Amen.

[74:03] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[74:13] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[75:14] Amen. Come and join us with the Lord.

[76:14] Amen. Amen.

[77:14] Amen. Amen.

[78:14] Amen. Amen.

[79:14] Amen. Amen.

[80:14] Amen. Amen.

[81:14] Amen. I'm going to invite you to stand as we're going to sing together, Oh, How I Love Jesus. There is a name I love to hear.

[81:39] I love to sing it's love. It sounds like music in my ear, the sweetest name on earth. Oh, how I love Jesus.

[81:53] Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus because he first loved me. It tells me of a Savior's love who died to set me free.

[82:10] It tells me of his precious blood, the sinner's perfect plea. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus.

[82:21] Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus because he first loved me.

[82:33] Absolutely awesome, incredible, amazing, outstanding, the best work he's ever done yet. That's what God thinks about you. That's what God thinks about you.

[82:43] Now go and share a love like that with other people. Love them and let them love you. And let's bring a little more peace to the world. Go in his grace. Amen.