Palm Sunday

Step back into the moment of the first Palm Sunday.

You’ve heard that the Messiah has come. You’ve heard of the great miracles he has been performing. Your best friend witnessed one himself! Centuries of prophesy are coming to pass in front of your eyes. The king who is to deliver your people from domination and redeem Israel has finally arrived. The time has come. And this Messiah is now riding into your town on a donkey.

You dash into your backyard to your palm tree and quickly tear off some branches (since these were signs of victory and triumph). You give one to each member of your family as you all begin to run out to the road to meet Him. When you get there you find a huge crowd of people, also with palm branches, waving them in the air and cheering this Messiah. You take your cloak and spread it out on the road ahead of Him. (Demonstrate this for the children and have them lay down their coats and palm branches, too)

Suddenly a song rises up from the crowd: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” You sing along with great joy as you guide this Messiah all the way into town, waving your palm branches and proclaiming Him your King. (See the song below as a way to reinforce the message as time permits.) That’s Palm Sunday. It’s an adventure. It’s a real event in history. Of course now, we know that this King’s kingdom was not one of this world but of the next. We cheer for Him eager for His most important triumph of all – His victory over death itself on Easter.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to worship and adore you not only when the crowds do and things are going well, but also in the dark times of our lives. Help us to show others the way towards Jesus by behaving in ways that are pleasing to you. Adapted by permission from Fallible Blogma