“Spreading The Good News”

These are notes from an "Interactive Talk" we had on Sunday, April 15, 2007...

Intro:
In Our Daily Bread, there was this story…
George Sweeting, in his book The No-Guilt Guide for Witnessing, tells of a man by the name of John Currier who in 1949 was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1968, Currier's sentence was terminated, and a letter bearing the good news was sent to him. But John never saw the letter, nor was he told anything about it. Life on that farm was hard and without promise for the future. Yet John kept doing what he was told even after the farmer for whom he worked had died.

Ten years went by. Then a state parole officer learned about Currier's plight, found him, and told him that his sentence had been terminated. He was a free man.

Sweeting concluded that story by asking, "Would it matter to you if someone sent you an important message -- the most important in your life -- and year after year the urgent message was never delivered?"

We who have heard the good news and experienced freedom through Christ are responsible to proclaim it to others still enslaved by sin. Are we doing all we can to make sure that people get the message?

I know it’s hard for so many Christ-followers to tell other people about Jesus.

You’re afraid about being rejected. You don’t know how to bring it up. You don’t know what to say. You’re afraid you won’t be able to answer all their questions, etc.

The funny thing about us and most Christ-followers is that we’re people with good news who are too scared to tell anyone about it!

I don’t want today to be something that makes you feel guilty. I want today to be an encouragement to help all of us in this. I want it to give us incentive and tools on how to at least get started at doing this…

I want to do this in a way that’s very interactive. I’ll throw out some questions to you guys and we’ll even break into some smaller groups and talk about some passages from the Bible.

But let’s start with some questions…

• How did you come to know Jesus? Was it by going to a service or did a friend lead you to the Lord? What caused you to finally believe? "Outflow" pg. bottom of 139 to top of 140
• What are some ways you’ve told/showed people about Jesus?
• What are some ways you’ve shared your faith?
• What are some barriers/fears that keep you from doing this? Looking stupid or like a religious fanatic. Not knowing how to answer questions.
• How do we do this?

Break into groups and discuss verses: Acts 17:16-34 & John 1:35-51.

Explanation:
Don’t argue or try to get too deep or theological. Just come up with what you feel are the main ideas about sharing the good news with other people. When we come back together we’ll go around and have one person share what their group learned together. (Pray that God would speak to us during this time.)

After groups tell what they learned, share my ideas:

1. Pray! List of friends you want to know Jesus. God cares more than we do that people know him. "Outflow" pg. 134
   
   
2. Some point –early on – let them know you’re a Christ-follower. Let it slip out somehow.
   
   
3. Let people hear your “before” and after story. Don’t even tell them how/why you changed.
   
   
4. Ask them questions about what they believe. Be empathic towards people. Don’t worry about the right answers. You need the right questions! Some questions for people who aren’t a part of any official/organized faith are…

Do you believe in God?

Yes. >>>>>

What do you believe? > Is God a person or energy to you? > Can God be known (relationally) to you? > Do you believe in heaven or hell? >

If they do believe in these things… How do people get to heaven? > Or why are they sent to hell? > What happens to good people when they die? > What happens to bad people? > Where did you get your beliefs about God? > How do you know what you know about him is right?

No. >>>>>

What do you believe in? > Is there any particular reason why you don’t believe in God? > Have you ever believed in God? > What made you stop? > What do you think happens when you die? > How sure are you that there’s no God? > Have you ever wondered about the chance there could be a God? > Have you investigated into whether he could be real? > How?

5. Serve your friends, family and strangers. Smalls as of kindness are all that are needed. "Outflow" p. 139 “Humble Acts of Service”
   
   
6. We need to try some “Matthew Gatherings”. Matthew 9:9-13 - 9 As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him. 10 That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. 11 The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum ^F55 ?" they asked his disciples. 12 When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor – sick people do." 13 Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' ^F56 For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough." We need to plan golf times, BBQs, lunches, coffees, movie nights, game nights, etc. Any ideas?

Close

If we really believed people were lost without Jesus, If we really believed that people’s lives could be better with Jesus, then we’d say something – we’d do something. If we were really excited about what God has done and is doing in our lives, then we wouldn’t focus on being afraid.

We need to start by asking Jesus to give us a burden/desire to see people come to him. Without this it’s just an empty act. Coast Guard saving people.

We need a burden a desire for the lost.

We need a burden to feel God’s heart for the people around us.

"Organic Church" pg. 180 (top) “harvest is plentiful…”

Pathway Challenge:

I want us to pray that God would help our church to double.

Think of who you can invite to hang with us over the next two Sundays.
What neighbor? Co-worker? Friend? Stranger?

“The Easter Joke”

Sometimes you can learn a deep lesson about life from the weirdest places – when you’re not even expecting it!

Today I’m going to start by telling you a story of a lesson about God that I learned from someone I never expected to learn from: a bag lady!

Story:

This all started one day back when I was a youth pastor in Burlingame – about 5 years ago. For about 2-3 weeks, I had been going out by Coyote Point and spending time with God before I’d go to work.

I parked out by the bay and would read my Bible and talk to God. This day I was sitting in my car reading my Bible and talking to God when I noticed a little older lady walking my way. She was dressed in old looking pants and a shirt and she had a baseball cap on. She also had an old plastic white grocery bag with something in it.

I watched her walk past my car and right up to the garbage can I was parked near. She reached into the garbage can and dug around in it for a minute. Then she pulled something out. It was a plastic bottle. She put it on the ground and stomped on it and put it in her bag.

She dug around some more and pulled another bottle out and did the same thing. Finally she couldn’t find anymore bottles in the there, so she left – off to find more bottles!

I was about to go back to reading my Bible and just forget the whole thing, when all of a sudden, a thought hit me!

What I’m about to talk to you about today will help you see God and yourself in a new way. It helped me!

I’ll tell you what I learned from about God from this lady in a second, but first…

I want to tell you one more story that’s an example of what I learned. It’s a story from the Bible in Luke 19:1-10.

1 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was one of the most influential Jews in the Roman tax-collecting business, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowds. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree beside the road, so he could watch from there. 5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today." 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the crowds were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" 9 Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham. 10 And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost."

Alright, I’ve kept you waiting long enough!

I’m going to tell you the lesson I learned about God and myself from that bag lady, and I’ll show you how this story of Zacchaeus is an example of what I learned.

When I saw that lady digging through the trash that day I didn’t think anything of it – at first.

But then I suddenly realized that what I saw her doing was an example of what God has done throughout history: God is constantly digging through the trash of the world and looking for something that still has value!

God is always digging around looking for people that the world has thrown away. These are people that everyone else might think are worthless, but God sees them as worth something!

That’s what God did with me and that’s what he did with all of you who have asked Jesus into your lives already. It’s what God wants to do for some of you that haven’t asked him into your lives yet!

Look at the Zacchaeus story again…

Zacchaeus is the chief tax collector. People back then, like now, hated tax collectors. Tax collectors ripped people off and treated people badly. That’s why they were considered “low lifes” by the people back then.

Zacchaeus was probably rich because of all the extra money he took from people. No one – except other tax collectors – probably liked Zacchaeus!

But what does Jesus do?

He looks at him up in the tree and he sees someone worth something! He reaches into the trash of Zacchaeus’ life and pulls him out! He reaches out to this man that everyone else had thrown away and decided was worthless.

And he does something to show Zacchaeus and everyone there that he saw worth in him. It was shocking to the people back then. What did he do?

He calls Zacchaeus down and says he wants to go to his house. This was a big deal, cause back then, going to someone’s house meant that you accepted them.

Everyone knew what Jesus was saying when he said that. That’s why they got upset and started complaining about it. And Zacchaeus definitely knew what Jesus was saying about him. It meant so much to him that it changed him - right then – forever!

Look at what Zacchaeus says in verse 8…

8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!" 9 Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham. 10 And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost."

Jesus is still looking for people to redeem! I asked Brett to share his story of how God redeemed him. Have Brett share his story.

Talk about the word “redemption” and what it means.

Ex. Plastic bottle. Someone finds a plastic bottle and takes it to get money for it. The reason they can do this is because someone else sees value in it and knows they can take it and make something of value out of it again. If the bottle isn’t picked up and redeemed, then it ends up in a dump and just rots away.

That’s what God did for us through Jesus. Jesus redeemed us – paid to have us back – when he died on the cross. He did it so he could make us worth more than what we are.

Illust.

An article in National Geographic a long time ago told a story I want you to hear…

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Parl, forest rangers hiked up a mountain to see how much damage the fire had done.

One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched like a statue on the ground at the base of a tree. The sight of the bird kind of sickened the ranger, so he knocked the bird over with a stick

As soon as he did that, three tiny chicks came scurrying out from under the dead mother’s wings!

The loving mother, realizing the impending danger had carried her babies to the base of the tree and gathered them under her wings. She instinctively knew that the toxic smoke would rise.

She could’ve flown to safety at any point, but she refused to abandon her babies. When the fire arrived and the heat singed her small body, the stayed – determined to save her chicks. Because she was willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live.

Jesus was willing to pay the price to redeem us. John 3:16 tells it like this, “God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.”

His death paid the price for every sin we’ve committed and every sin we ever will commit. But that’s not all. Three days later he resurrected from the dead and defeated death. I like what I saw one author call it “The death of death.”

In Storytelling: Imagination and Faith, William J. Bausch shares this…

"In the Greek Orthodox tradition, the day after Easter was devoted to telling jokes. . . .They felt they were imitating the cosmic joke that God pulled on Satan in the Resurrection. Satan thought he had won, and was smug in his victory, smiling to himself, having the last word. So he thought. Then God raised Jesus from the dead, and life and salvation became the last words."

God’s biggest joke on the devil was that he took the death of his son and made it a victory for him and for the world.

God id the God of redemption! He redeems people. He can redeem situations. He can redeem your problems. He can take the worst junk – the thing you thought was dead in your life and redeem it – bring it back to life.

God can redeem the worst of things. Easter is the reminder us of this, because on that first Easter Sunday, God redeemed the worst result of sin – death!

In 1973, archeologists uncovered a cache of date palm seeds in ancient Masada, Israel. Scientists estimated that the seeds were produced about 70 AD. The Romans called it Phoenix dactylifera -- "the date-bearing phoenix" -- because it never died and appeared to be reborn in the desert where all other plant life perished.

The seeds were stored at Israel's Bar-Ilan University where they remained for the next thirty years. In November 2004, Dr. Sarah Sallon approached the university and asked for some of the seeds.

"When we asked if we could try and grow some of them, they said, 'You're mad,' but they gave us three seeds," Sarah said.

Sarah's friend, biologist Dr. Elaine Solowey also didn't have much faith that the seeds would germinate, but Elaine carefully prepared the seeds for planting. First she soaked the seeds in hot water to make them once again able to absorb liquids. Then she soaked them in a solution of nutrients followed by an enzymatic fertilizer made from seaweed.

Tu B'shevat, a Jewish holiday known as the New Year for Trees, fell on January 25, 2005. Elaine chose that day to plant the seeds in new potting soil, hook them up to a drip irrigation system, and then she left them locked up. Elaine occasionally checked on the plants for a few weeks, and in March 2005, she noticed a sprout. By November 2005, the sprout had turned into a sapling that was 3 feet high with nine leaves. Nicknamed Methuselah, the seeds is oldest seed to ever germinate.

God has the power to bring life to that which was dead. His greatest triumph is the resurrection of Christ.

Close

God can take your problem, your pain, your shame and redeem it. All you have to do is give your life to him and submit to him.

Think of a plastic bottle again. Can you imagine a bottle resisting someone who wanted to redeem it? It’d be the worse choice it could make, because if it doesn’t get redeemed it has no future!

It’s the same with us!

Whether you feel worthless or not, whether the world looks at you as worthless or worth something – only God can ever make you into all that you could be!

*The joke of Easter is that God can take the worse situation and use it for good! Remember that when you think of the resurrection today.

“The God Quality”

Today is Palm Sunday. It’s the day when we celebrate what’s been called the “Triumph of Christ” or the “Triumphal entry”.

The “Triumphal entry” happened a week before the resurrection. It was one of the few times where Jesus allows people to see him as the “king”. It’s one of the few times that the people seem to really “get it” who Jesus is.

But we’re about to see that when Jesus presents himself to the people “in triumph” as “the king”, “the messiah” he does it in a way that’s totally different than the way any of human would.

What do we humans do when they’re at the top?

We want people to respect us and look up to us. We want buy the things to prove (pretend) we’re different and better than everyone else. We want to be treated differently and given attention and admiration.

When I think of how a human would enter a town on his day of triumph I think of this scene from the move Aladdin…

Show clip from Aladdin – Prince Ali.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMTzjAEyw3M

When a human wants to show that they’re “somebody” we put on a show of all that we done and all that they have so that people will envy us. We want other people (and ourselves) to know we’re above everyone else.

But Jesus comes to us he come in a completely different way. It’s so different that it reveals he’s not just a man, he’s God.

And the way he comes to us teaches us some things about life and about who God is.

Listen and see Jesus’ triumphal entry in Matt. 21:1-11…

1 As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 "Go into the village over there," he said, "and you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them here. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, 'The Lord needs them,' and he will immediately send them." 4 This was done to fulfill the prophecy, 5 "Tell the people of Israel, ^F109 'Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey – even on a donkey's colt.'" ^F110 6 The two disciples did as Jesus said. 7 They brought the animals to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it. ^F111 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road ahead of Jesus, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 He was in the center of the procession, and the crowds all around him were shouting, "Praise God ^F112 for the Son of David! Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!" 10 The entire city of Jerusalem was stirred as he entered. "Who is this?" they asked. 11 And the crowds replied, "It's Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

Look at v. 4-5 again.

" 4 This was done to fulfill the prophecy, 5 "Tell the people of Israel, ^F109 'Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey – even on a donkey's colt.'" ^F110

One word describes the way that Jesus made his triumphal entry: humble. Jesus didn’t enter the town with thunder sounding, lighting flashing and angels singing. He didn’t come do miracles and showing his powers.

He just came riding in on a donkey! That’s it!!!

We have a Lord who comes to us in humility. You’re about to see that there is so much that this can teach us in this simple act.

I’ve been wondering…

Why didn’t Jesus come with all the fanciness of a king? I’ve thought about this and it’s made me realize some amazing things…

First, he didn’t come to prove his glory. He knew who he was. He had nothing to prove. He knew we’ll all see his full glory one day and every knee will bow when we see him!

Even if Jesus wanted to, think about how funny it’d be for Jesus to try and show his greatness with the little lesser things of our planet that rulers use like jewels, robes, animals, and mansions.

In heaven angels will bow down and worship him! We’ll see things so much greater there, than anything on earth we think is great and awesome will be a joke to us there!

Jesus didn’t come with the fanciness of a king because that wasn’t why he came. He didn’t come to prove himself.

His whole purpose in coming to us in the incarnation was to come to us in a way that we could understand. He came to us to show us he understood us and he came to show us he was approachable.

Commentator Andrew Clarke says this about why he came with humility, “This entry into Jerusalem has been termed the triumph of Christ. It was indeed the triumph of humility over pride and worldly grandeur; of poverty over affluence; and of meekness and gentleness over rage and malice. He is coming now meek, full of kindness and compassion to those who were plotting his destruction! He comes to deliver up himself into their hands; their king comes to be murdered by his subjects, and to make his death a ransom price for their souls!”

Jesus came to show us what he (God) thinks of pride and how he thinks of humility.

Adam Clarke also says, “Jesus is continually humbling himself, to show us how odious pride is in the sight of God: but in his humility he is ever giving proofs of his almighty power, that the belief of his divinity may be established.”

Have you ever thought about how much God says about humility and pride in his word?

2Sa 22:28 - You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.

2Ch 7:14 - if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Lu 1:52 - He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

Think about how God tells us in his word what he thinks about pride and humility…

Humble yourself, so that God doesn’t have to!

Eph 4:2 - Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

James 1:9-12 - 9 - The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. 10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. 12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Prov. 3:34 - He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.

James 4:6-10 - 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." ^F8 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

1 Pet. 5:6 - Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Ask church a question: Do you hear God’s opinion of pride and humility in these verse? What do you hear God saying in these verses? What stands out to you?

The other reason I think Jesus came in humility was to show us how we should live! Think about what a huge lesson this is!

In Philipians. 2:5-7, Paul tells us this…

5 Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7 He made himself nothing; ^F5 he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form.

Paul tells us we should take the hint from the way Jesus lived and copy his attitude. Paul’s telling us to humble ourselves!

Have you ever thought about this?...

Sooner or later in life you will be humbled. You don’t get to choose whether it happens. You only get to decide HOW it happens.

You have three choices of how it happens:

1. You can let others humble you.

2. You can let God humble you

3. Or you can humble yourself.

I’d rather choose the third choice!

There was once a time where Jesus taught a lesson about humbling our selves like this…

*Luke 14:7-11

7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Do you see what happens when we humble ourselves? Others will lift us up!

There’s a story about Booker T. Washington that shows how true this is…

A truly humble man is hard to find, yet God delights to honor such selfless people. Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding example of this truth.

Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman.

Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested.

When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady.

The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. "It's perfectly all right, Madam," he replied. "Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it's always a delight to do something for a friend." She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.

Do you know what else will happen when we humble ourselves?
People will be attracted to us.

Humility draws people to you. I can’t stand conceited people – even if they’re good at something. It’s one of my pet peeves. It turns me away from them, but humility is attractive it draws people to you. People will be more attracted to you.

Think about how impressive it is to meet some important famous person and see how humble and approachable they are. It makes them worth talking about. It makes them stand out!

Think about what happens when we don’t humble ourselves…

When we’re prideful we forget our need for God and others. Ps 10:4 -In his pride the wicked does not seek him (God); in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

Pride makes us think we can do it all on our own. Then what happens?

The book of Proverbs gives us some hints…

Pr 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pr 29:23 - A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

Pr 11:2 - When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

D.L. Moody said it just simply this, “Be humble or you'll stumble.”

William Barclay tells the story of Paedaretos who lived in Sparta in ancient Greece. A group of 300 men were to be chosen to govern Sparta. Though Paedaretos was a candidate, his name was not on the final list. Some of his friends sought to console him, but he simply replied, "I am glad that in Sparta there are 300 men better than I am." He became a legend because of his willingness to stand aside while others took the places of glory and honor.

Ga 6:4 - Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else,

There are two other things to see from this story…

This was a fulfillment of prophecy. This was one of the many prophecies Jesus fulfilled as proof that he was the Messiah. Last year I told you think in a talk I called, “Prophecies Of The Passion” I told you this…

“Professor Peter Stoner (1888-1980) who was Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College until 1953, and Chairman of the Science Division of Westmont College from 1953 to 1957 calculated the probability of one man fulfilling only a handful of the over 300 Messianic prophecies.

In 1944, he published his research results in Science Speaks: Scientific Proof of the Accuracy of Prophecy and the Bible. Stoner concluded that the probability of one person fulfilling just eight of the specific prophecies was one chance in 10¹⁷ (one followed by 17 zeros). How about one person fulfilling just 48 of the over 300 prophecies? Stoner calculated these odds at one chance in 10¹⁵⁷ -- way beyond statistical impossibility! ^1”

Later, the American Scientific Affiliation gave Stoner's work their stamp of approval!Alright so back to the idea of one man fulfilling just 8 of these prophecies..

Do you want to know how large the number l017 is (a figure with 17 zeros) is? Stoner gave this illustration… Imagine covering the entire state of Texas with silver dollars to a level of two feet deep. The total number of silver dollars needed to cover the whole state would be 10(17). Now, choose just one of those silver dollars, mark it and drop it from an airplane. Then thoroughly stir all the silver dollars all over the state.

When that has been done, blindfold one man, tell him he can travel wherever he wishes in the state of Texas. But sometime he must stop, reach down into the two feet of silver dollars and try to pull up that one specific silver dollar that has been marked.

Now, the chance of his finding that one silver dollar in the state of Texas would be the chance the prophets had for eight of their prophecies coming true in any one man in the future.

Palm Sunday was one of the many proofs that he was the messiah. And it was proof of who/how our God is (humble).

One more thing I see in this story that’s a little too real and close to home…

We praise and then we turn from God later. Talk about Palms turning to ashes.

Close

Have you thought about how funny and ironic it is that humans who have every reason to be humble try to pretend they’re something/somebody?

And God, who has every reason to be prideful, comes to us in humility?

Thinking about this moment from Jesus’ life has really made me realize that humility is such a godly way to live. Humility is the God quality. When we’re humble we’re living like Jesus!

As we think of Palm Sunday, and get ready for Good Friday this week, let’s remember Jesus’ example of humility.

Let’s look for areas where we’re prideful and ask God to help us humble ourselves, so he or others won’t have to!

Let’s pray…