Message Notes

March 24

Abide With Us - To The Horns of the Altar

LUKE 1


Zechariah's Prophecy

67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.

69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us

in the house of his servant David,

70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.

72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,

and has remembered his holy covenant,

73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,

to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,

might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness

before him all our days.

76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people

by the forgiveness of their sins.

78 By the tender mercy of our God,

the dawn from on high will break upon us,

79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

JOHN 12

Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 

13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—

the King of Israel!”

14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:

15 “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.

Look, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey's colt!”

16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified,

then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. 

Two Boats and a Helicopter

  • I want to be saved the way I want to be saved...


Tongue-tied and Faithless

  • the birth of John the Baptist
  • Elizabeth's Joy
  • Zechariah's Silence
  • Lack of Faith
  • Gabriel's frustration
  • His name is John

"What then is the child to be?"

  • a break from tradition
  • a prophet
  • Prepare the way of the Lord
  • don't get in the way


Hosanna

  • Triumphal entry
  • grandiose expectations
  • political power
  • violent revolution
  • On a colt not a steed
  • With 12 disciples not an army
  • To serve not to be served
  • To die not to kill


A Wild Man and A Nazarene

  • John did not meet expectations
  • Jesus did not meet expectations
  • We want: Health, Wealth and Prosperity
  • He offers: Freedom, Peace and Contentment
  • Salvation is Healing & Freedom
  • Salvation is not Revolution & Economic prosperity


Can we wave your palm branches in Wonder & Openness to God's salvation

Unencumbered by our Expectations and Demands?


Humility & Availability

of our savior

Teach us to be

Humble & Available

to our savior

Questions to Consider:

  1. What do you expect from Jesus?
  2. Do you ever feel like your desires are out of sync with God's will for you?
  3. How do you sync up with the Holy Spirit?
  4. How do Jesus' humility and availability give us guidance?
  5. Where in your life this week can practice humility to the glory of God?
  6. Where can you practice availability this week to the glory of God?

Liturgies

Wayfinders Family Blessing


Gracious God,

We gather before You as a family, grateful for Your loving presence with us.

Bless our children:

Guide them in Your truth and lead them in Your ways. 

Help them to walk in faithfulness, seeking Your will in all that they do. 

May Your Spirit empower them to love one another deeply, 

to forgive as You have, and to extend grace and mercy to all.

May the lessons they learn and the stories they share grow their love for you.

Help them to know how deeply loved they are by you and this church.

In Jesus' name we pray,

Amen.

Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi


Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.


O divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.


Amen.

The Apostles’ Creed 


I believe in God, the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 

born of the Virgin Mary, 

Suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, dead, and buried; 

He descended into hell; 

the third day He rose again from the dead; 


(whooooo!)


He ascended into heaven, 

and sits at the right hand of God, 

the Father Almighty,

From there He will come to judge 

the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy Christian church, 

the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body, 

and the life everlasting. 

Amen. 

A Call To Worship


From different lives

we come to worship.


From good weeks 

and bad weeks

we come to worship.


Bringing great times 

and painful memories

we come to worship.


Needing healing, 

needing peace

we come to worship.


With hope in our hearts

we come to worship.


To the Almighty God

we come to worship.


To the King of Kings

we come to worship.


Together

we come to worship.

 Lord's Prayer


Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

Eucharist

Our practice of communion as instructed by Jesus is a remembering of the Lord until he comes again...

It is also a re-membering of the body of Christ... In this act of faith we are reminded that we are made one in Christ and one with Christ...