Jamey's Newsletter: Sunday, April 10, 2022
As he rides down the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem, the people begin to wave palm branches, signifying victory and celebration. They shout, "Hosanna!" which means "save us now!" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
The crowd is reciting Psalm 118. It is a psalm written to be sung when kings came back to Jerusalem after returning victories from war.
The psalm reads, "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord" Psalm 118: 24 - 26).
The people recognize Jesus as their king.
The city is celebrating. Rome is investigating. The religious scholars are criticizing.
Today they want to make him king. By Friday, they are ready to kill him.
They want a destroyer. They got a redeemer. They want a warrior. They got a savior.
It has been said, "In Jesus, we don't get the God we want. Instead, we get the God we need."
We won't get very far in our Christian walk if we carry our expectations of what we think we need a savior to be.
If we walk with Jesus, we must be willing to let go of our expectations and accept Jesus on his terms.
Palm Sunday: Because He Reigns
In Jesus, we don’t get the God we want. Instead, we get the God we need.
If we walk with Jesus, we must be willing to let go of our expectations and accept Jesus on his terms.
Weekly Prayer
Lord, you entered this day with your face towards Jerusalem; you were determined to do the will of your Father in heaven. May we enter this Holy Week with the same clarity of vision by letting go of our expectations and trusting you with our future.
Lord, you entered Jerusalem with peace in your heart. May we enter this week with our hearts at peace trusting our days in your hands. Bless us, Lord, as we enter into the days ahead of us. We will need your presence to sustain us as we move through these days. Lead us towards our resurrection. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Meme of the Week
Dad Jokes
If the Pope were to bless an avocado... would that make it holy guacamole?
One of the ants on my ant farm dresses up as a clown to cheer up his friends. He’s an anti-depress ant.
I have been thinking………..
Years ago, I took a group of students on a whitewater rafting trip. Before they let you on the water, the instructors do a crash course on how to stay in your boat. Then, they made it clear if you drop anything, a paddle maybe, no worries. It will make its way to the end of the rapids.
We are halfway down the river, and this kid drops his paddle into the water. He looks back at me and looks at the instructor. I saw the look in his eyes. I knew what he was about to do. He jumped in for his paddle, and with a paddle in hand, he rode the rapids to the end of the course.
We all enjoyed the day from the safety of the boat. However, this young man experienced the river in a way none of us did. He was fully immersed.
If we are going to read scripture and let scripture read us, we need to be willing to get fully immersed. To experience its formation, we must let it wash over us. We must allow our worldview to be shaped by the worldview of the Bible. We must enter the world of scripture so that scripture may enter our world.
The worst thing we can do with the Bible is use it as a weapon. Many people use it to promote their political, social, and personal agendas. They use it to dominate and control. Much damage to scripture’s authenticity is caused by the abuse of scripture from those on a power trip.
Scripture is not a power-play. The goal of scripture reading is not information. It is formation. God works through the text to form us and recreate us to be people that reflect the way of Jesus.
If your interpretation of scripture leads you to be less like Jesus, you are not reading scripture as it was intended to be read.
Photo of the Week (Photos taken by me)
In honor of the Masters Golf Tournament in August, Georgia. (Click links to read)
You Will Not Believe the History of Pimento Cheese
8 Party-Perfect Pimiento Cheese Recipes
The golfer reflects on the course that taught him almost everything he knows
Why Phil Mickelson is missing the Masters for the 1st time in nearly 3 decades
Tiger Woods has spent a lifetime preparing for this kind of pain
And now other stuff………
Don’t Make the Church Leadership Crisis Worse
What I listened to this week:
The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill
The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know w/ Adam Grant
Book I am currently reading
Quietly Courageous: Leading the Church in a Changing World by Gil Rendle
Gainesville First UMC host week for Family Promise is April 10 - 17. We are grateful for our partnership with Family Promise. We are collecting gift cards for gas, Chick-fila, and Wal-Mart to support the families at Family Promise.
You can drop off gift cards with Misty Leach in the church office. Email Misty Leach at mleach@gfumc.com if you have any questions.
Question Reflection (and yes, I actually think about these things)
This week we visited Congress Hall in Philadelphia. Congress Hall was home to the U.S. Congress from 1790 to 1800, when Philadelphia served as the temporary capital of the United States. Presidents Washington and Adams were both inaugurated in this building.
At the end of the tour, we got to see a seating chart of where all the representatives were seated.
This got me thinking……….What if there was a required seating chart for current Senators and the House of Representatives? What if Democrats were forced to sit beside Republicans?
Can who we sit beside influence our behavior? Elementary schoolteachers believe it can. I was never allowed to sit beside my friends in school.
Happening at Gainesville First United Methodist Church
Weekly Blessing
May you know serenity when you are called to enter the house of suffering. May a window of light always surprise you.
John O’Donohue
Show UP Challenge of the week
Utilize the “notes” section in the contact card on your iPhone to write things about your contacts you want to remember — birthday gift ideas, favorite color, etc.