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An Offering of PALMS! (Sermon Audio)

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This is the audio from the April 10, 2022 sermon, “An Offering of PALMS”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Goshen Christian Church.

Text:  Luke 19:30-48

It can be easy to look at the final week leading to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and be shocked at how quickly the crowds go from shouting “Hosanna!” to yelling out “Crucify Him!”  Before we come down too harshly on all those present for the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, we probably ought to take a close look at our own life and how it changes from Sunday worship to Wednesday workplace.  God’s desire is that we would hail Jesus as King every day as we offer Him our . . .

  • Praise.  Luke 19:37-38, Hebrews 13:15
    • Praising God ought to be a natural characteristic of a child of God.  While it is good to gather with others in a worship service and lift praises to God, a genuine offering of praise is something that should be done throughout each day that we live.  It is that daily offering of praise that keeps us on track to honor God as He deserves.
  • Attitude.  Luke 19:39-40, Ephesians 4:22-24
    • When we offer God our attitude, we ask Him to change us and make us more like Jesus from the inside out.  Many times our jealousy and pride keeps us from representing Jesus well when we are outside of our comfort zone and feel we have to prove our self to the people around us.  It is a daily offering of our attitude that allows us to humble ourselves and take on the attitude of Christ in the way we treat one another.
  • Love.  Luke 19:41, Ephesians 5:1-2
    • The things that break the heart of God ought to be the things that break our heart.  As Jesus approached Jerusalem, he wept.  We offer our love to God when we learn to love people like He loves people.  Loving like Jesus is not easy but it conveys a life-changing power that only He can provide.  As you weep with those who weep, it is a daily offering of our love that helps those who are hurting know the love of Jesus.
  • Motives.  Luke 19:45-48, Proverbs 16:1-2
    • According to the Bible, the why we do the things we do can be just as important, or perhaps even more so, than the actual things we do.  I’ve heard numerous church growth presentations that seem to center on everything except the main thing — introducing people to Jesus.  God wants us to offer Him our motives, since He know what they are anyway, so that instead of gathering to benefit ourselves we gather to become a house of prayer.  It is a daily offering of our motives to God that helps us to live with purified actions.
  • Stuff.  Luke 19:30-36, Luke 12:15
    • I’m always intrigued by the story of Jesus sending His disciples to borrow a colt with only the explanation that “the Lord needs it”.  I wish I knew the backstory of the guy the colt was borrowed from as it appears he raised no objections.  How would your life and my life be different if we held our stuff loosely and learned to share more readily?  Living with a growing awareness that “every good and perfect gift comes from above” ought to help us be more deliberate in offering our stuff to be used by the Lord.  It is through a daily offering of our stuff that we grow in our ability to trust God to supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory.

As you shout Hosanna today, what place does Jesus have in the details of your life?  Have you chosen to offer Him everything as you offer Him your PALMS?