Palm Sunday - Hosanna! Lord Save Us:
What is the crowd singing as they make their way up to Jerusalem, following along with Jesus? What is Jesus doing as He makes His way to Jerusalem riding on a donkey? What is really happening and what does it all mean: Lord save us, Lord send prosperity.
by Jeff Wagner
Text: Mark 11:1-10
Scripture Reading: Psalm 118
The Saints of the Highest One:
The eleventh horn becomes the focus of Daniel’s vision and all attention is drawn down to it and it seems so very powerful. That is when we read with a great sigh of relief, “Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One…” The saints enter the picture and the struggle between the saints and the horn becomes the focus, but in the end the saints overcome according to the judgment of the Ancient of Days. The separation between the beastly kingdom and the saints is clear both in the persecution and the final outcome. Jesus spoke of tribulation and persecution for those who follow Him and he also gave us a firm foundation for our hope amidst the struggle.
by Jeff Wagner
Text: Daniel 7
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 12
Encounter: Amy Helmericks / Nate Vonnahme song.
Play on this pageThe Son of Man vs. the Beasts:
The contrast between the four beastly kingdoms of men and the kingdom of the Most High is the centerpiece of Daniel’s vision. Each beast is not a true animal but has animal parts and each beast also has some human characteristic blended in. It makes for a monster that stands against the created order. Yet the Ancient of Days is recognizable to us and the Son of Man, by his very title, shines out as all that man should be according to the divine order. The contest between the two (the beastly kingdoms and the everlasting kingdom) is fixed and based on the judgment of the Most High. The kingdom of the Most High goes on into eternity and the beastly kingdoms are annihilated and destroyed.
by Jeff Wagner
Text: Daniel 7
Scripture Reading: Daniel 7 / Psalm 34:1-3
