The Time of God's Visitation

Lent 20 Covid-19  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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PLAY COUNTDOWN VIDEO 9:55

SWITCH TO WELCOME TO CHURCH ONLINE...
SWITCH TO WORSHIP SCENE

Grace and Peace to you! Good morning! Welcome to another unique online gathering. It’s not the same as being face to face, but at least you can see my face and for those of you I know, I’m picturing your faces right now. I can’t wait until we are able to safely be together again. Today being separated reminds us of how precious it is to be together. But we also remember we are all in the same boat. All dealing with the same uncertainties. All looking to the same savior. All gathered around our phones, our tablets, our computers, our TV’s.

Separated for now, we are coming before God in worship, so let’s really focus on him in these moments together. So turn off other sounds, gather everyone around. You can kneel, or fold your hands or stand. Do something the let your body know this is worship. And kids, maybe Azalia and Aziya and Charles III are out there today. Any other kids, we welcome you too! You are also an important part of our church family as always. We have lessons and videos for you to experience offline as well.

TODAY IS PALM SUNDAY. So please get your palm branches ready to use in just a couple of minutes...

Good Friday is also this Friday April 10th. Make plans to join us live at 6:30pm for another special worship experience. If you have a cross in your home be sure to have it nearby to help you focus on remembering Jesus’ suffering for our redemption and healing. Of course Easter Sunday is next Sunday! We look forward to celebrating the Resurrection together as well at 10am, Sunday, April 12th. Again we will need to be online so everyone is safe. I had looked into an option of gathering in our cars but the local authorities have put out a bulletin asking churches not to do this because it violates the stay at home order.

SWITCH TO LORD’S PRAYER SCENE
TODAY IS PALM SUNDAY, SO LET’S CELEBRATE JESUS ARRIVING IN THE CITY OF JERUSALEM AT THE BEGINNING OF HOLY WEEK! It looks like I have a few friends ready to help me out.....
SWITCH TO Home HOSANA VIDEO!
SWITCH TO HOSANA VIDEO!
Say with Ellen: Hosannah! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna!
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father we thank you today for life and health and peace.
But maybe someone is coming to rescue us, even laying down their lives. Nurses, techs, doctors, researchers, scientists, police and fire workers, teachers, pastors, neighbors, family members and the risen Jesus. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We still have to get through this but there are heroes all around, not the least of which is God himself.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father we thank you today for life and health and peace.
We love you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Today we have secured the rights to stream songs, so let’s sing them together at this time:
SWITCH TO WORSHIP SET
SWITCH TO WORSHIP SCENE
SWITCH TO APOSTLE’S CREED SCENE
Tithes and Offerings
ithes and Offerings At this time we would normally receive the tithes and offerings and pray for the needs of the church. So I want to say that we still need your giving to come in one way or another. So you have a few options. We now have have a service called tithe.ly that will allow you to give online or through an app on your phone. You can set it up to be automatic, if you give the same amount regularly. Or you can do a one-time gift each time. It can be an electronic check or auto-withdraw, which is the best. Or you can use a debit or credit card. Using one of these options will make life easy for the treasurer during this unusual time as it can all be managed online, including your giving statements for your taxes. I’ve shared this link with most of you already. You can find it anytime on our web page using the GIVE NOW button: fairmeadow.faithlifesites.com You can also sign up for bill pay through your bank where your gift will be mailed to the church and we will have to deposit it and track it manually. But we are happy to receive it that way if that’s what you feel is best. You can also just mail a check to the church if it’s what you need to do we are happy to receive it. Your gifts are more important than ever during this time. We also want to be in prayer for the needs of the church. If you’re part of facebook you can ask to join the TLC prayer group on our FairmeadowNaz page. Just go to Facebook.com/fairmeadownaz, like the page and request to join the TLC group. There you will see regular updates of prayer needs. Bob Eveland, Carol Dione, and Ryan Radabaugh have all had surgeries cancelled so please be in prayer for them. Norma Goff had her ultrasound test for her neck and now needs an MRI so please remember her. Will Gonzalez needs a smooth transition to new lung medication. Linda Garcia and Jorge Winandy are nurses at a nursing home in the area, on the front lines of this crisis. So please remember them as well. Bob’s great niece Haley and Ellen’s former coworker and husband Jan and Dan McCoy are all battling Covid-19. Please pray for their healing and safety. As always please pray for all of us to keep following Jesus and keeping sharing hope with our world.
At this time we would normally receive the tithes and offerings and pray for the needs of the church. So I want to say that we still need your giving to come in one way or another. So you have a few options. We now have have a service called tithe.ly that will allow you to give online or through an app on your phone. You can set it up to be automatic, if you give the same amount regularly. Or you can do a one-time gift each time. It can be an electronic check or auto-withdraw, which is the best. Or you can use a debit or credit card. Using one of these options will make life easy for the treasurer during this unusual time as it can all be managed online, including your giving statements for your taxes. I’ve shared this link with most of you already. You can find it anytime on our web page using the GIVE TODAY! button: fairmeadow.faithlifesites.com You can also sign up for bill pay through your bank where your gift will be mailed to the church and we will have to deposit it and track it manually. But we are happy to receive it that way if that’s what you feel is best. You can also just mail a check to the church if it’s what you need to do we are happy to receive it. Your gifts are more important than ever during this time. We also want to be in prayer for the needs of the church. If you’re part of facebook you can ask to join the TLC prayer group on our FairmeadowNaz page. Just go to Facebook.com/fairmeadownaz, like the page and request to join the TLC group. There you will see regular updates of prayer needs. Bob Eveland, Carol Dione, and Ryan Radabaugh have all had surgeries cancelled so please be in prayer for them. Norma Goff received good news! The tumor was benign and requires no action at this time. She will have more tests next week so keep her in prayer. Linda Garcia and Jorge Winandy are nurses at a nursing home in the area, on the front lines of this crisis. So please remember them as well. Bob’s great niece Haley and Ellen’s former coworker and husband Jan and Dan McCoy are all battling Covid-19. Please pray for their healing and safety. Pray for Jill Wormsbecher and Shirley Johnson’s niece Natalie who both work in a retail environment during these interesting times. As always please pray for all of us to keep following Jesus and keeping sharing hope with our world.
SWITCH TO PRAYER SCENE- JOY
SWITCH TO WORSHIP SCENE- PASTOR TIM
Luke 19:28–44 NIV
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 recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Luke 19:28-44

The Lord Needs It

When Jesus came to town people lined the road and welcomed him. They called him the Son of David, which meant they were thinking of him as a Messiah who would become their king! They wanted him to literally sit on David’s throne and cast off the Romans. They wanted political freedom and power to determine their own destiny. They wanted Jesus to provide for their needs as he had done so many times. Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! They wanted a King they could glorify. One to make them proud again. But Jesus wasn’t coming to fulfill those dreams. And he wasn’t coming to snap his fingers and make all their troubles disappear.
Humans don’t like to think about having a role in God’s plan. It’s much easier to just have God doing things for us. The problem with this view is turning God into a cosmic errand boy. That’s just not how it works. Jesus never steps into other people’s ideas of who he needs to be. He is Lord of all and his plan reaches into the inconveniences of life. These people following him were taking a risk to acknowledge him. But he didn’t silence them. It was right for his people to praise him.
Jesus never apologizes for giving his followers a task to do. The good ones jump right in and follow. He sent two of his disciples into Bethany on a mission to get a colt. He told them where they would find it and what to do. A million questions could have flooded their minds. We’re supposed to just take it? But they went and found and began to untie it. Now imagine you’ve got this new car parked on your driveway. The tires still have the little nubs on them. No finger prints on the door handle. It was just dropped off the Carvana truck and you haven’t even sat in it yet. Someone steps up onto your driveway and starts to drive away. What would you do? When the owners asked: why are you taking our Chevy? Wait no, why are you untying our colt? All the disciples had to say was one thing:
The Lord needs it. That was enough. A nod and a smile told the story. Nobody involved was a reluctant follower. Quick obedience at a crucial moment made bigger things possible.
Too bad everyone in the scene couldn’t see this bigger picture and let God be God. Although is was a stressful time in the history of Israel, it wasn’t a time when God had forgotten them. But many of them missed the moment.
Luke 19:44 NIV
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.”

Are we reluctant servants?

What about us? When we think of Jesus what images come to our mind? For some it may be that right now they aren’t too happy with Jesus. God, why are you allowing this to happen? Why us? But maybe the answer is why not us? Nobody has to remind Jesus that being human means sometimes suffering. The crowds gathered and cried out Hosanna! when Jesus came to town. They
When the Spirit prompts us or the church is asking, do we quickly change the channel in our minds and hearts? Especially during this time it is very easy to become preoccupied with just making it through the day. For most of us our physical world got so much smaller so quickly. We may be looking at the same four walls for most of every day. Many have physical conditions that make them vulnerable right now. Others of us may deal with anxiety over all that is happening. But the quickest way to get yourself down is to sit and worry about things you can’t control or things that might happen. Sometimes I think they are telling us all too much. We have an action gap. So much information but here we sit.
So we can’t just give in to those tendencies and feelings. We will get the wrong idea. We’ve got to remind our bodies that there’s a whole wide world out there right now that needs us in one way or another. Most of us should not leave our homes. So what can we do?
We can pray. And I hope you do pray. Some of us are prayer warriors but right now it’s all hands on deck and all of us are prayer soldiers. Pray for more than your daily survival. Pray for others as well.
We can check on each other. When you call someone and focus on encouraging them, it takes your mind off things. Some people are making masks for others. Don’t forget to be generous. Keep up your regular giving, but think about others to whom you could donate. The Foodbank can always use donations. Nazarene Compassionate Ministries is responding to this crisis as well.
Be creative. We can all do something.
But the biggest thing we can do is not miss what this moment really is. So many in Jesus’ day missed it. Even some who shouldn’t have. Let’s not forget.

Jesus offers himself completely to God’s People

Luke 19:39–40 NIV
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.”
Something was happening here that was bigger than most people on the scene realized. When Jesus said if they keep quiet even the stones will cry out he was naming just how big this is. This was not a political moment. Jesus was not running for office. This wasn’t a campaign rally. He wasn’t looking for votes or anyone’s approval. Jesus was arriving as the King of all Kings.
Luke 19
He was the Messiah God’s people had longed for. Today we call him Jesus Christ as if that’s a first and last name. It’s not, it’s a title. Jesus who is the Christ, which is a greek translation of Messiah. Both Christ and Messiah mean “anointed one”. Jesus was not only the Son of David. Jesus was the Son of God.
Hosanna! Hosanna! The King who comes in the name of the Lord means more than even the ones saying these words understood. King with a capital K!
Jesus on this little colt coming into a city with Big Plans created under gilded Roman symbols of power and violence. He was coming to overturn it all. Jesus was coming to turn the world upside down for a season.
Luke 19:41–42 NIV
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.
Jesus was offering himself completely to his people! Jesus wasn’t just coming to fulfill their hopes and dreams. Jesus was coming to be their source of hope both now and forever! Oh what might have been if the people had looked above the horizon of their own fears and desires.

Jesus is visiting us now with hope

A facebook friend did a post last week saying that nobody was coming to rescue us. There’s some truth to that, but it didn’t quite sit well with me. The more I thought about it the more I thought:
But maybe someone is coming to rescue us, even laying down their lives. Nurses, techs, doctors, researchers, scientists, police and fire workers, teachers, pastors, neighbors, family members and of course, the risen Jesus. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We still have to get through this but there are heroes all around, not the least of which is God himself.
But maybe someone is coming to rescue us, even laying down their lives. Nurses, techs, doctors, researchers, scientists, police and fire workers, teachers, pastors, neighbors, family members and the risen Jesus. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
This morning we are faced with challenging times. Maybe you’ve been making one of these like we have. (Show Masks) And by We I mean, Ellen!
I never thought I’d see the day when all this would be necessary. But that’s water under the bridge now. That ship has sailed. This moment has arrived and we have a choice. We can choose how we respond.
The Bible shows us that we can Lament the losses we are feeling. It’s ok to be shell-shocked. But there is a difference between lamenting and wallowing in sorrow. In Lament we come before God and declare our sense of loss. We don’t hide it or cover it up.
Lord, this stinks! People are dying, Lord. (Of course we aren’t informing him of anything new). I’m scared, Lord! Please come to help us, Lord! It’s best to take our pain and our emotions directly to God, rather than sweeping them under the rug. But Lament is more than complaining. It’s going before God with respect and with longing. It’s going TO God rather than gossiping about God. It’s going to the one who stands ready to help us even when we can’t see how. It’s knowing that God hears the cries of our hearts and when we lay our souls bare before him he sees us, he loves us, and he makes himself real to us. And in the grand sweep of lament we remember that his blessings are for us even now. Even now we remember that God IS at work in surprising ways.
A facebook friend did a post last week that was a bit of a lament saying that nobody was coming to rescue us so we have to help each other. There’s some truth to that, but it didn’t quite sit well with me. The more I thought about it the more I thought:
But maybe someone is coming to rescue us, even laying down their lives. Nurses, techs, doctors, researchers, scientists, police and fire workers, the truck drivers, the grocery clerks, the gas station cashiers, the teachers, pastors, neighbors, family members and of course, Jesus. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We still have to get through this but there are heroes all around, not the least of which is God himself.
This morning the pain is real. The losses are more than we can take on our own. But all is not lost!
Someone shared this story with me on Friday—a five year old was with his mommy and he saw that she was crying.
“Why are you crying mommy?” he asked.
“I’m crying because soon it will be Easter and the church will be empty.”
The five year old comforted his mommy. “That’s Ok, he said. It’s ok because the tomb is empty too!”
I want to reach through the wifi and make it all go away for you, but I can’t. But don’t miss the heroes. Don’t miss God’s loving action in our very broken world today. Don’t miss the moment of his visitation in our darkest hour.
Jesus is here. Jesus loves us all. His healing goes beyond the physical and restores our souls, holding up the tired warriors on the front lines of this fight. Holding up even the dying as they draw their last breath. And he’s in your living room, too. He’s enlarging your world if you will let him.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! Worship the king of kings and let him be your all in all. All glory, laud, and honor be to our savior today. In Jesus’ name, Amen and Amen.
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