Palm Sunday 2025
YOUR FAITHFULNESS IN GIVING MATTERS
As we step into this new season together, we’re reminded that every act of faith begins with trust. One way we express our trust in God is through giving our tithes and offerings. When we give, we acknowledge that everything we have comes from Him, and we partner with His work in and through our church. Your faithfulness in giving helps us continue sharing God’s love, serving our community, and stepping boldly into the plans He has for us. Let’s give with hearts full of gratitude and courage, trusting that God will provide for every need.
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Today’s Scripture
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30“Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a]
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”40“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
41As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” —Luke 19:28-44
1It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. —John 13:1-17
Jesus is declaring that he is the promised King…but not the one they had expected.
Jesus weeps because he knows his own people have domesticated God for their own purposes and can no longer recognize what true peace looks like.
God doesn’t save by taking power, but by giving himself away.
The only real power in the Kingdom of God is the power to SERVE.
Jesus’ disciples couldn’t hear the cross over the sound of their own expectations.
Jesus is showing them—and us—that the path forward isn’t up, but down. It’s not self-protection or self promotion, but surrender.
If your faith feels a little bit disoriented or disconnected, it could be because you’re still trying to make Jesus fit into your kingdom, instead of surrendering to His.
HONOR JESUS THIS HOLY WEEK
Find one way to serve someone else.
Let someone else go first.
Take the towel - serve where it’s messy.
Have open hands and an open heart.
A PALM SUNDAY PRAYER
Jesus, We come to You with open hands and honest hearts. Like the crowd on that first Palm Sunday, we admit—we’ve had our own ideas about what You should do.We’ve wanted quick fixes, easy wins, and a King who would make life smoother. But Jesus didn’t ride in to take power—He came to lay it down. Not to sit on a throne, but to kneel and wash feet.
So today, we pause to say: We want to follow that kind of King. Help us let go of the version of You we made up in our heads. Help us see who You really are—and what You’re really doing in our lives. Teach us to trade our pride for humility…Our control for surrender…And our self-interest for love.
Show us how to serve the way Jesus served. Help us love without needing anything in return. Help us stay present with the people You’ve placed in front of us. As we walk into Holy Week, give us the courage to live the way Jesus lived—to listen more, give more, forgive more, and trust that the path of the cross really does lead to life. Shape us, stretch us, and keep us close to You. Amen.
OUR BENEDICTION (for personal prayer and reflection)
May the beauty of God be reflected in our eyes,
the love of God be reflected in our hands,
the wisdom of God be reflected in our words,
and the knowledge of God flow from our hearts,
that everyone around us might see and believe.