Palm Sunday
Make an entrance!
Today is Palm Sunday and so we’re looking at the story of when Jesus
entered Jerusalem as a King!
The service starts at 9:30am on stwderby.online.church
But this button will go live about 11am on Sunday 28th March for you to watch the service again if you missed it live! You won’t want to miss out!
Hope you enjoyed our Werb’s Kids Service this morning!!
We love how everyone is getting involved so don’t miss out! Just email Amy (amy.farrar@stwderby.org) so that we can keep making it better and better and involving more and more people!
Today we’re talking about what happened on Palm Sunday!
This morning we got thinking about the story by talking about what its like to meet someone famous.
So imagine, someone famous is coming to Derby and we need to get prepared what might we do to get ready? What kinds of things might we need to get ready for the procession if hey were going to walk through the middle of town?
Someone important needs a special path to walk along which is often why celebrities walk the red carpet! You might want to throw flowers and maybe you’d raise your voice and cheer or clap a lot!
Well this is exactly what happens when Jesus rides into Jerusalem.
The locals got very excited and made sure the procession was perfect - fit for a king!
DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE STORY? can you remember?
First we see how Jesus asks his disciples to go get him a donkey. Now they probably at the time weren’t quite sure why Jesus needed the donkey but they did what he said.
Would you be willing to obey Jesus even if he asked you to do something you didn’t understand? How much do you trust Jesus? Would you do anything Jesus asked?
But it doesn’t take long for the disciples to see and hear the reason Jesus needed the donkey.
Many people recognised that Jesus was a king and for Jesus to ride a donkey into the city was a big deal as only kings came into a city like this!
They shouted words like ‘Hosanna’ - have you ever heard of this word before?
You’ve probably heard the word Hallelujah which we sing at church and is a shout of praise!
It’s like saying ‘Praise the Lord’. Whilst the word ‘Hosanna’ is slightly different. This word is used in the same way and is a shout of praise and adoration but it also is linked to being saved and rescued!
They were basically shouting about how awesome Jesus was.
They are crying out all different things proclaiming and shouting that he is the rescuer.
They laid their coats and lots of leaves and branches on the ground to make a path for Jesus to walk on. The road would have been dusty and dirty and so they wanted Jesus to walk on better ground which is why they laid branches and their coats down.
They didn’t care if their stuff got dirty. It was more important for Jesus to be given the entrance he deserved than worry about their clothes!
But not everyone liked how Jesus was riding into town.
We see how the Pharisees who were religious leaders didn’t believe Jesus was God’s son and they told Jesus to make everyone stop yelling. They were not happy with what was going on or how Jesus was being seen as a King.
They want Jesus to tell his followers to stop but Jesus tells them that even if they stay quiet the rocks themselves would cry out!
I love this image and personally would love to see a rock sing! It’s a little crazy but Jesus is saying that if people didn’t worship him in this way then nature itself things that we know can’t make noise would because that’s how much he deserves to be praised!
Now the end part of the story is a little odd because as we’ve said before Palm Sunday was a celebration of Jesus coming to Jerusalem. They praised him and called him their king he should have been happy.
But as we’ve mentioned there were those in the crowd who didn’t like Jesus or what was happening.
And this made Jesus sad in fact he started to cry because here the people were standing next to the rescuer they’ve been wanting and waiting for their whole lives and they were missing it.
But even though Jesus cried, Palm Sunday isn’t a sad story.
It’s all about Jesus’ rescue and how much Jesus loves everyone!
Why not read the passage, Luke 19v28-44 again to refresh your memory of the story before you continue.
“After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘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. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” say, “The Lord needs it.”’
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’
They replied, ‘The Lord needs it.’
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
When 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:
‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’
‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’
‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 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 recognise the time of God’s coming to you.’”
GO DEEPER!
SPARKS (Preschool)
Is there anyone who you get really excited about seeing?
Can you full a really excited face?
Jesus’ followers were super excited!
So much so that they gathered together as a crowd and celebrated him as he came into Jerusalem.
It was almost like a party in the street!
They loved Jesus and called him wonderful names.
Why not celebrate Jesus where you are right now!
Grab some musical instruments and put on some music on. HERE is a great playlist which you can listen to and dance to.
Jesus’ followers praised him for he was - THE RESCUER! You might want to say thank you to God too for Jesus.
Is there anything else that you’d like to say thank you for? Make a list or a poster of all these things.
You can end by saying this prayer together:
“Dear God,
Thank you for Palm Sunday and the reminder that Jesus is our King.
Thank you for all the good things you give us.
Help us to celebrate Jesus just like his followers did that day.
Amen.”
FLAMES (KS1)
You’ve probably heard this story before!
But have you ever thought about how Jesus comes into Jerusalem.
How many ways can you name of how people travel from one place to another?
Now think of the ways someone special would travel. Maybe like a private jet or walking along a red carpet. Maybe if they are really famous they are escorted by Police cars.
Imagine that you are a new King coming to visit a town for the first time. How would you choose to enter the town? Draw what you think it would look like.
Jesus came into Jerusalem for the first time riding a donkey. Do you know what that said about Jesus?
Back then this showed that Jesus was a king.
Imagine the scene on Palm Sunday – Jesus is riding into Jerusalem. A whole multitude of his followers are singing his praises. The people of Jerusalem rush out to see what is going on. The leaders are not happy but are powerless.
No one can stop this procession.
What choices Jesus could have made now.
Could he have gone on to become King?
How would he have done that? If he had used his power, could anyone have stopped him becoming King?
Do you know the choice Jesus actually made?
Why did he choose to take the path that lead to the cross rather than have all the power?
How do you think the disciples and other followers of Jesus felt when Jesus rode into Jerusalem?
What would they be expecting to happen next?
How do you think they felt when Jesus simply went home that evening?
Jesus did not want to be the King in Jerusalem – he had a bigger and a better plan to be King of the whole world for ever! And that’s what leads us to the Easter story!
BLAZE (KS2)
Hopefully you’ve heard this story before and you know some of the details.
In the story there are 3 different view points.
JESUS
THE DISCIPLES
THE CROWD
Take a chance to look at each of them in further detail and answer the questions below. Put yourself in the shoes of each of the characters thinking about what they might have been experiencing that day.
Jesus:
READ: Mark 1:1-4, Luke 19:39-44
Why did you choose to ride a donkey?
How did you feel when everyone was cheering you?
How are you feeling now?
What will you do next? Do you want to be the King?
Disciples:
READ: Mark 11:1-10, John 12:16
Where did you get the donkey from?
Were you surprised that you were allowed just to take the donkey?
How do you feel now that your master is so popular?
Did you understand why the crowds were cheering Jesus so much?
Crowd (of Jesus' followers):
READ: Mark 1:5-10, Luke 19:37, John 12:12-14
Why do you follow Jesus?
What made you praise him the way you praised today?
What do you think Jesus is going to do next?
How long have you been following Jesus?
Was it easy to think about putting yourself in their shoes?
Do you think you would have joined in with the crowd cheering Jesus?
It must have been amazing to be there seeing the crowd cheer for Jesus but this is actually a week before Easter when everyone turns on Jesus.
FUN ACTIVITIES + CRAFTS!
For those who LOVE colouring and activity sheets check these out:
Make your own Palm Branches!
Cut your hands out of paper (preferably green paper!) to make the leaves. Then stick them together on a separate piece of paper.Origami Paper Leaves
HERE is another cool way to make some leaves!Make your own palm cross!
HERE is a picture so you too can make your own.
WORSHIP + PRAYER
This song that I’ve chosen uses the word Hosanna a lot! It’s talking about Jesus as the rescuer and how he will come again one day in an amazing way.
Listen to the song and think about the words. Then think about how they were shouted the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem and how he was celebrated like a King.
Is Jesus your king? Do you believe he rescued you?
Next week is Easter so join us online on Good Friday at 9:30am (stwderby.online.church) to hear the story and find out how Jesus rescued us all.
“I see the King of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes
I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing
Hosanna, Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna, Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest”
“I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith
With selfless faith
I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We’re on our knees
We’re on our knees
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity”
Created by Amy Farrar using several different sources
