HOW TO PREPARE FOR EASTER Matthew 21:1-13 Luke 19:29-46

A PALM SUNDAY INTRODUCTION

I. OBEY WITH FAITH By Doing What Jesus Says To Do “Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose the colt and bring it to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, “The Lord has need of them,” and immediately he will send them.” (Mtt. 21:1-4)

Jesus, Himself, always fulfilled the Word of God! “All this was done that it might be fulfilled which as spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” “So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.” (Mtt. 21:4-6)

We can prepare for Easter by obeying God with our faith and doing what He says to do! *Change attitude or behavior *Help someone in need *Give something up *Take on a responsibility *Say ‘no’ to something *Say ‘yes’ to something *Speak the truth to someone who needs to hear it said in love

II. EMPATHIZE WITH TRUTH By Feeling What Jesus Feels! “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44)

We Can Prepare For Easter As We Feel What Jesus Felt By: 1.By seeing people who are lost the way Jesus saw them. 2.By seeing people who are needy and not ignoring the fact that they are needy. 3.By understanding what the future holds for all those who don’t know Jesus

III. CELEBRATE WITH JOY “They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down palm branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed, cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!”

We can celebrate with JOY by what we DO!

We Can Celebrate With JOY By What We SAY!

CELEBRATIONS GET THE ATTENTION OF OTHERS! “As they entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, saying, ‘WHO IS THIS?’ (Mtt. 21:10)

IV. PROCLAIM WITH ENTHUSIASM! “…the whole city was stirred, saying, WHO IS THIS?” So the multitude answered, “THIS IS JESUS, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Mtt. 21:10,11)

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being only a great teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” C.S. Lewis

V. RESTORE WITH COURAGE “Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’” (Mtt. 21:12,13)

Fixing the things that are wrong in our lives means: 1.Admitting the wrong 2.Expressing sorrow over it 3.Changing our attitude or behavior or both 4.Confessing our wrong before God 5.Accepting His forgiveness 6.Celebrating (again) with joy

TRUTH TO LIVE BY: 1. Obedience always prepares the heart to meet God – so it is important to do what Jesus says to do!

TRUTH TO LIVE BY 2. Caring about others aligns our heart with the heart of God – for God is a God who cares!

TRUTH TO LIVE BY 3. Celebrating with joy gets the attention of others and causes them to be curious!

TRUTH TO LIVE BY 4. Telling others who Jesus is, not only helps others to understand, but it strengthens our own faith!

TRUTH TO LIVE BY 5. Taking care of what needs to be taken care of in our own lives makes our faith real and genuine – so we must not ignore this important responsibility.