2016-03-20: We Would Like To See Jesus

Sermon Audio: We Would Like To See Jesus
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 12:12-21
Duration: 21:14
Size: 9.72 MB

We Would Like To See Jesus
Palm Sunday 2016
John 12:12-21

There was a great crowd there that day that had come to celebrate the Feast of the Passover.

As the crowd begins to honor Jesus, I’m sure it gets the attention of the Roman soldiers.

Yes, I bet some of these soldiers probably laughed at the antics of the Jerusalem crowd that day, and at the sight of this so-called King.

And then there was probably another group of people there that day. If we go back to some earlier verses in John 12:9, we see those people.

The crowd came to see the spectacular, that is, to see Lazarus, the man rumored to have been raised from the dead.

How many come to church just because it is the thing to do, the place to be, the place where everyone else is?

And then there was another group of people there that day. The religious leaders were there.

These preachers and teachers, these church leaders, were only interested in themselves.

Yes, there were some of these bad shepherds in the crowd that day. And they even went so far as to plot to do away with Jesus.

Oh yes. I almost forgot one. You see, there was one more group there that day.

When we really seek Jesus, that’s when the name of God is glorified. That’s when real worship occurs.

“We would like to see Jesus.”

2015-03-29: Luke-The Investigative Gospel – Palm Sunday: Seen With Fresh Eyes

Sermon Audio: Palm Sunday – Seen With Fresh Eyes
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 12:12-19
Duration: 21:26
Size: 9.81 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Palm Sunday – Seen With Fresh Eyes
John 12:12-19

The challenge every year is to read these accounts with fresh eyes.

We See a Strong Declaration of Love

Jesus was not looking for public demonstrations on his behalf. He was not seeking the spotlight…until today.

This procession was not frivolous, it was purposeful. It was not provoked by vanity but by compassion and love.

It is likely that at the very time Jesus was dying on the cross, the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover feast. He was the Lamb of God taking on the sins of the world.

Are you hiding from the very One who wants to love you more than you have ever been loved before?

How easy it is for us to talk about the love of God. How difficult it is for us to accept it.

We also See a Strong Reason for Hope

The Old Testament is filled with prophecies about the coming king, the Messiah.

The fact that you don’t understand what is going on in your life, does not mean that God is not at work.

Jesus loves you. He faced the mobs for you. He endured torture for you. He went to the cross for you. He went there so you could be free; free from sin’s addiction, free from the treadmill of futility, free to live.