Pastor’s Message

Happy New Week, everyone.

It's Palm Sunday this week. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of what the modern church calls “Holy Week," the week leading up to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and culminating in Resurrection Sunday. It is the day Jesus enters Jerusalem publicly. Until this point, his ministry has been semi-public, i.e., people know who he is, i.e., the Nazarene, but do not fully understand his kingdom. It would only be after the resurrection that they would fully understand. Yet, in Jesus choosing to come into Jerusalem on a donkey, several prophecies are accurately fulfilled. Palm Sunday is also one of the few events detailed in all four gospels. (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)

Zechariah 9:9 (The Humble King): This is the most direct prophecy, written about 500 years before Jesus' birth. It foretold that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem, not on a warhorse as a conqueror but as a "lowly" person, riding on a donkey to bring peace.

Daniel 9:24-26 (The Specific Timeline): This prophecy predicted a precise timeline of 483 years ("sixty-two weeks" of years) from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the arrival of the Messiah. Many scholars believe this timeline culminated in the week of Palm Sunday (approximately April 6, 32 A.D.), leading to the "cutting off" (death) of the Messiah.

Psalm 118:25-26 (Hosanna): This psalm was sung during the Passover festival and prophesied, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' The crowd's cries of "Hosanna" during Jesus' entry directly quote this verse, identifying him as the promised Messiah.

Malachi 3:1 (Entering the Temple): This verse foretold that the Lord would suddenly come to his temple. Following his ride into the city, Jesus immediately went to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 40:3 (Preparing the Way): While primarily referring to John the Baptist, this prophecy announced the arrival of the Lord and the revelation of his glory, which was manifested through Jesus' ministry and arrival in Jerusalem.

I share all this because I believe there is a purpose to the triumphant entry. Jesus was not doing it just for show or to prove a point. Jesus was doing it for you and me. Palm Sunday is a reminder that Jesus took the difficult path for your sake and mine. He was willing to go to the furthest lengths to get you because you matter, and you are worth more than you think.

As we start Holy Week, let it be a reminder that you were made holy and right before God because Jesus chose to be unholy and unrighteous for your sake.

Have a holy week, everyone.

Mato.

Closely related to Palm Sunday are our Easter services. We have a service on Friday morning at 10 am and one on Sunday morning at 10 am as well. Join us as we celebrate Easter together.

Community

This group meets on Monday nights at Seven Oaks School. There has been a request to have a Bible study for our parents. A place where they can come and study scripture and interact together without the distraction of our beautiful children. This group has started meeting now, so please come along and join in. It will be awesome to see you all there.

Church Sundays

On the pulpit this Sunday…

Turns out many people do not understand where the “IANS” tag comes from. It’s the last part of all the letters that we are going through this year, hence the title ‘IANS JOURNEY'. Last week, we had a look at the second part of Galatians 2. Here is a quick summary.

Sin is missing the Mark. i.e., your own Mark, Mark set by others, and God’s Mark

In Galatians, we see Paul using 'justification' for the first time. The Greek word is “Dikaioo”, a legal concept meaning "one who gets a favourable verdict in a court of law".

Paul is effectively saying that we cannot go back to my old ways of trying to find God through the law. There is more sin in trying to find acceptance from God by keeping the law than sin in everyday life. This is because every time you come up against the law, you will lose, because you are not good enough. It kills you slowly. Addictions will never go away. Family curses will never be broken. Anger, pride, ego, blame, self-loathing, distractions, and ingratitude keep a grip on us.

So Paul concludes by saying, rightly so, that we need to choose to die willingly.

Paul, in Romans, concludes on how we should all live now that we are not slaves of the law but live in Christ…

This week, Matt McFedries will be speaking to us as we get into Galatians 3.

Community

The bake auction is on this week! Have you decided what you are baking? You have about 5 days or so to decide.

1. Adopt a camper – Make a pledge/donation to pay for the Easter camp fee for a camper. This can be any amount. (The current Easter camp fee is $308.)

We also need some good tents and any camping gear that you may have and are willing to give (mattresses, sleeping bags, stretchers).

Giving

Halswell Community Church

Account Number: 06-0601-0867216-00

Reference: Tithe/Offering Particulars: Your Name