Scripture: MATTHEW 21:6–1

Contributors: DEACON EDWARD AND ELDER LINDA MCFADDEN

EMBRACING THE WAY OF THE CROSS

“THE DISCIPLES WENT AND DID AS JESUS HAD INSTRUCTED THEM.

THEY BROUGHT THE DONKEY AND THE COLT AND PLACED THEIR CLOAKS ON THEM FOR JESUS TO SIT ON. A VERY LARGE CROWD SPREAD THEIR CLOAKS ON THE ROAD, WHILE OTHERS CUT BRANCHES FROM THE TREES AND SPREAD THEM ON THE ROAD. 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!’

WHEN JESUS ENTERED JERUSALEM, THE WHOLE CITY WAS STIRRED AND ASKED,” WHO IS THIS? THE CROWDS ANSWERED, ‘THIS IS JESUS, THE PROPHET FROM NAZARETH IN GALILEE.”

MATTHEW 21:6–11, NIV

THE HEBREW TRANSLATION OF HOSANNA IS “SAVE, PLEASE,” OR “SAVE US, WE PRAY.” ON JESUS’ ORIGINAL ENTRANCE TO JERUSALEM, THE ISRAELITES CALLED HIM, “SON OF DAVID,” AND “THE PROPHET FROM NAZARETH.” THERE WERE OTHERS WHO DID NOT KNOW WHO HE WAS. NEVERTHELESS, MOST BELIEVED HE WAS SOMEONE SPECIAL. TODAY WE CHRISTIANS KNOW HIM AS “OUR MESSIAH,” “THE SON OF GOD, THE FATHER.”

THIS SCRIPTURE PICTURES JESUS’ TRIP TO JERUSALEM AS A TRIUMPHANT PARADE. THE CROWDS ON THE ROAD SHOWED ADORATION AND PRAISE FOR HIM. IT APPEARED THAT THE CROWDS HAD EMBRACED THE CROSS OR WERE WILLING TO EMBRACE THE CROSS. LATER HOWEVER, WE KNOW THAT THEY REJECTED HIM. MOST OF HIS DISCIPLES ABANDONED HIM. THEY WERE WILLING TO GO ONLY AS FAR AS THEIR FEAR WOULD ALLOW THEM.WE ARE THANKFUL FOR JESUS. CHRIST TOOK THIS JOURNEY WILLINGLY AND OBEDIENTLY, KNOWING WHAT THE CULMINATION OF HIS TRIUMPHAL ENTRY WOULD BRING.

AS WE TRAVEL THROUGH THIS LIFE, WE REMEMBER HOW JESUS LIVED HIS LIFE ON EARTH. HE WAS COMPASSIONATE, LOVING, MERCIFUL, AND FORGIVING. IN LUKE 22:42, JESUS PRAYED, “ FATHER, IF YOU ARE WILLING, TAKE THIS CUP FROM ME; YET NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS BE DONE.” SO JESUS WAS OBEDIENT TO THE FATHER, AND SELFLESS TO THE POINT OF SUFFERING AND DEATH. JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE OF HOW WE SHOULD LIVE OUR LIVES. AND BECAUSE JESUS LIVES, WE TOO, WILL LIVE WITH HIM.

ON PALM SUNDAY, CHRISTIANS ALL AROUND THE WORLD SYMBOLICALLY REPLICATE CHRIST’S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM. WE WAVE PALMS IN THE AIR AND SING HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST. LET US HOLD FAST TO OUR FAITH AND FOLLOW CHRIST’S EXAMPLE. AS LONG AS WE REMEMBER WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE, OUR HEARTS WILL ALWAYS SHOUT “HOSANNA.” WE WILL REJOICE WHEN CHRIST RETURNS TO CLAIM HIS OWN.

LET US PRAY:

DEAR LORD, PLEASE KEEP OUR MINDS AND OUR HEARTS FIRMLY ON YOU AND YOUR SALVATION. STRENGTHEN OUR RESOLVE TO PRESS ON THROUGH THIS WORLD OF SNARES AND TEMPTATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SCATTERED EVERYWHERE. GIVE US THE DESIRE TO SPEAK TO YOU DAILY AND REST IN YOUR PEACE. WE ASK THESE THINGS IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD, JESUS CHRIST. AMEN.

SUBMITTED BY DEACON EDWARD AND ELDER LINDA MCFADDEN

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scripture: John 12:23–26

Contributor: BETH SALAGUINTO

DYING TO LIVE

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

John 12:23–26

Reflection

In this passage, Jesus offers a truth that feels both countercultural and deeply unsettling: life comes through death. Using the image of a seed falling into the earth, He reminds us that growth and fruitfulness require release, surrender, and transformation.

During Lent, we are invited into this same paradox.

We live in a world that teaches us to preserve—to protect our time, our comfort, our identity, and our sense of control. Yet Christ calls us in a different direction: “Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” This is not a call to self-rejection, but a call to reorientation—to loosen our grip on what we think sustains us so that we may receive what truly gives life.

In the Reformed tradition, we understand that our lives are not our own—we belong, body and soul, to God. This passage invites us to examine where we are holding too tightly: to status, to certainty, to self-sufficiency. Lent becomes a sacred space to lay these down.

Jesus does not ask of us what He Himself has not already lived. His journey to the cross is not only an act of redemption but also a model of obedience. To follow Him is to walk the same path—not necessarily in suffering for its own sake, but in faithful surrender to God’s will.

And yet, this surrender is not the end of the story.

Just as the seed bears much fruit, so too does a life given over to God’s purposes. What feels like loss becomes the very ground of transformation. What we release in faith, God multiplies in grace.

Let us pray:

Gracious God,

You call us to a life that is shaped not by grasping, but by giving.

In this Lenten season, help us to release what we cling to—

our need for control, our fear of loss, our attachment to comfort.

Teach us to trust that in dying to self, we are being made new.

Form in us the mind of Christ, who humbled Himself in love and obedience.

Give us courage to follow where You lead,

and faith to believe that what is surrendered in You is never lost.

Through Jesus Christ, who bears fruit through sacrifice,

Amen.

Practice for the Week

• Identify one area of your life where you are holding tightly (time, control, recognition, security).

• Offer it to God in prayer each day this week.

• Practice a small act of sacrificial love—quiet, unseen, and without expectation of return.

SUBMITTED BY SIS. BETH SALAGUINTO

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scripture: Isaiah: 30:15

Contributor: DEACON CLETTA ROCHESTER-DUCKETT

EMBRACING SURRENDER AND REPENTANCE

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One-of Israel says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, In quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

Isaiah: 30:15 (NIV)

As believers in Jesus Christ we belong to the family of God. There are times in our Faith journey when our sins and disobedience disrupt our closeness to God. Our situations and circumstances can cause us to put our trust in ourselves or others forgetting His promise to be with us always. God is always near and like the Father he is -he is always a step away. Like the children of Israel in Isaiah’s prophesies God offers us a chance at Restoration when we seek His will for our lives

From His word we know He is loving, merciful and forgiving. The Cross is our proof of how Valuable we are in His eyes. Our Lenten journey is an opportunity to search our hearts and make sure our Faith’s foundation is solid. Isaiah 30 :15 is a warning from our Savior of what is lost when we don’t embrace Surrender and Repentance to GOD’s will.

Let us pray:

Father GOD, Savior Redeemer and King, thank you that despite our sins you are still merciful and forgiving. Thank you for your Presence and always ready to restore our relationship will you Lord continue to convict us when we falter, so we can strengthen our trust and faith in you. This I pray in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

SUBMITTED BY DEACON CLETTA ROCHESTER-DUCKETT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.