A King's Welcome

This powerful reflection on Palm Sunday challenges us to examine the gap between celebration and surrender in our relationship with Jesus. Drawing from Matthew 21, we witness the crowds welcoming Jesus as king with palm branches and shouts of 'Hosanna,' yet within days, many of those same voices would cry 'Crucify him.' The sermon exposes an uncomfortable truth: we often want Jesus as Savior without accepting Him as King. We celebrate when He meets our needs but resist when He calls us to surrender control. The crowd expected a king who would overthrow Rome and fix their circumstances, but Jesus came to overthrow sin and transform hearts. This distinction matters profoundly for our faith journey. The challenge presented is deeply personal: identify one area of life where Jesus is not currently king—a habit we're holding onto, a relationship we won't surrender, or a decision we're trying to control. True peace doesn't come from Jesus fixing everything around us, but from Him ruling everything within us. This Holy Week, we're invited not just to prepare for Easter dinner, but to enthrone Jesus completely, surrendering fully rather than partially or conditionally.