Whose Dat?(Grace) [Flipping through various people in history, ask each time the picture stops, who is this?] 1. George Washington (warm up, no prize for this) 2. Teddy Roosevelt 3. Saladin 4. Martin Luther King Jr 5. Elizabeth I 6. Marie Curie 7. Johannes Gutenberg 8. Jim Kim 9. Justin Bieber [at every correct answer, throw the kid an Easter egg] [finally go to portrait of President Obama] If Barrack Obama comes to your school in the next few weeks, and you get a chance to introduce him, dont introduce him as the former Senator of Illinois, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago. Dont stop with the introduction after youve mentioned his college days at Harvard. If you somehow forget that you are introducing the President of the United States, youll never introduce another person as long as you live! Your own mother would disown you for forgetting the most important information. But if President Obama comes to town, there wont be any mistaking that hes arrived. With all the security, and with the news media coverage, it would be incredibly difficult to forget the main point during your introduction. Scripture 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, Who is this? 11 The crowds answered, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. 12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 It is written, he said to them, My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers. 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were indignant. 16 Do you hear what these children are saying? they asked him. Yes, replied Jesus, have you never read, From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise? -Matthew 21:6-16 MAIN POINT: Fix your eyes on Jesus, and not on yourself. (Joy) Could it be that God himself has visited the world and people have lived and died without ever being aware of the event? We live in a world where the King has come but millions are totally unaware that He is present. The people singing Hosannas to Jesus knew they had their man. Some people welcomed Jesus like a rising military or political figure, and offered him their adorationthey thought that Jesus would build an army and start conquering the world with his army of angels. The blind and lame only wanted to be healed, they didnt care that Jesus was there to do something bigger. Then there were the religious people who were mad that the attention wasnt on them! They were upset that things were about to change and they could do nothing about it. But when people were asked who Jesus was, everybody missed the mark! He is a prophet from Nazareth, they said (v11). They were literally walking with the Son of God who had come to save the world, but they werent even aware of it. Very few of the people coming down the mountain that day had any idea that God was working His greatest act of love right in front of their eyes. The Son of God arrived for the most climactic event of all history, and people got the introduction all wrong. Why? They had their eyes fixed on themselves, and not on Jesus. Some were tired of being ruled by the Romans, and Jesus appeared to be their ticket out of the occupation. Some were tired of a disability, or a disease. They saw Jesus as a miracle-working machine who would make life easier. Some were hungry, and theyd heard that Jesus could stretch food to miraculous proportions. Application (Michelle) Jesus entered Jerusalem with a fixed purpose, and an amazing plan. Despite the fact that the crowd didnt understand that plan, he stayed true to course, and never wavered from his goal. His eyes never left his target. Hebrews 2:1-3 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? The truth is we shall not escape, if we ignore so great a salvation. What more could God have done to show us the way? The cross was not hidden from sight. It was in plain view of those who passed by the very week of the Triumphal Entry, and it still remains in plain view of people today. There will be no excuses from those who have heard the message, and yet ignored it. There will be no excuses from those who had a chance to consider the truth, and yet found other things to do. Deciding what to do with the cross, the Bible says, is the ultimate issue in life. As such, it requires ultimate attention. This week, we want all of you to focus our eyes on Jesus with this reading plan. Every single day this week, were going open our Bibles and read the passages and write down what our thoughts are and our feelings are about meeting with Jesus this week. I cant wait to hear what you all have to share. If you cant read, sit with your parents and have them read with you. If you cant write, draw a picture. If you cant read, write or draw, you better memorize. Click below for the reading plan: Easter Reading Plan 2013
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