Baptist & Evangelical Churches Celebrating Lent?

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. You know, after a while, preaching on Christmas and Easter every year, and then doing a Palm Sunday message for year after year, you start to wonder, what am I going to preach about?

How am I going to do something different? And I know what some people would say. They say, don't worry, pastor, people aren't going to remember what you said last year. And I know that's probably true.

But since we post everything now online and you can go back and listen last year, you know, you could technically find out if I did. So with that said, this morning, I'm going to try to do it a little differently.

We're going to get into the text of scripture, but I want to talk about some of the traditions that surround the Easter season. What got me thinking about this is I was just driving through town and I drove by a Baptist church and I saw that they were observing Lent.

And I don't know about you, but that that seemed different to me. I don't know that I ever had seen something like that before. You know, you can't necessarily assume that everybody knows what Palm Sunday is really all about.

I know the majority, if not all of you know what it is. But what about Palm Sunday and in Maundy Thursday? I had never even heard of that term until several years ago. And then some of the other things that surround this season.

You've heard of Lent and Ash Wednesday. And you might think that that's well, that's not something we observe. And that's true. But why do some observe it? Why do some not? And where did this stuff come from?

You don't read about it in the Bible. So we're going to be looking at some of the traditions that surround the Easter season. So this morning, let's begin by turning to the Gospel of John, Chapter 12.

The Gospel of John, Chapter 12. I've simply titled the message, The Triumphal Entry. This is what Palm Sunday is all about. It is the Sunday that Jesus rode into Jerusalem, declaring himself that he is king.

You probably never looked at it this way, but in a sense, Palm Sunday is a fulfillment of Christmas. How is that? Well, on Christmas, on the day that Jesus was born, he was born. What? He was born the king.

Right. And then the wise men came and they worshipped him. And that was the word going around Judea that a king was born. And yet, Jesus, growing up, he wasn't considered the king. Even in the gospel accounts, people aren't really looking at him necessarily as the king.

But it's on Palm Sunday that he comes out and reveals, oh, I am the king of Israel. So you can look at it. What started on Christmas, so to speak, now has come out. It's fulfilled on Palm Sunday. So we're going to look at three things or do three things this morning.

We're going to read these verses from John, Chapter 12, verses 12 through 16. Then number two, we're going to talk about some of the traditions that surround the Easter season and Palm Sunday. And then number three, we will go over this text a little more in depth.

But let's begin with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this beautiful day that you have made. And as the scripture says, we will rejoice and be glad in it. And even that statement, Lord, which comes from the Psalms, it has a deeper meaning, a meaning that probably most people who quote it don't even don't even realize.

So, Father, as we look to your word, may we receive a blessing through it. We ask it all in Jesus name. Amen. John, Chapter 12, verses 12 through 16. The next day, a great multitude that had come out to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him and cried out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.

Then Jesus, when he had found a young donkey, sat on it as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. And his disciples did not understand these things at first.

But when Jesus was glorified, that is, when he was crucified and then ascended to heaven, after that, then they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him.

So this is the triumphal entry. This is what some people call Palm Sunday, obviously, because they took the palm branches and laid them along the road. So this is Jesus riding into the holy city, Jerusalem, sitting on a donkey.

So that strikes people as somewhat strange, doesn't it? But if you know the Old Testament prophecies, you know what this is about. Clearly, the people understood it. Many of them did. Because the Old Testament prophets spoke about the Messiah, the coming king of Israel, that when he revealed himself, he would do it by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.

So this is Jesus making a public declaration. There's been a lot of talk. He says he's the son of God. People are saying he's the son of God. He's the Messiah. Or is he the Messiah? This is him clearing that up once and for all.

Yes, I am Israel's king. I am the Messiah. So Jesus rides into Jerusalem on what day? Sunday. Of course, they didn't call it Sunday back then. I think we get that. So he rides in on Sunday. And then many believe, although there's some who debate this, but most believe that he was crucified on what day?

Friday. It's called Good Friday. So you have Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry, Good Friday, and then Easter. Next Sunday, obviously, we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead. So if you have ever heard of the term Holy Week, that's what we're talking about.

Or that's what they're talking about. From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, this is called Holy Week. This Thursday is called Maundy Thursday. How many people, just out of curiosity, how many people have never heard, and don't be ashamed.

Ten years ago, I'd never heard of it either. How many of you have never heard of Maundy Thursday? Raise your hand. Okay, so we're talking half the congregation. And that's okay, because it's not in the Bible.

At least the term Maundy Thursday is not in the Bible. Okay, so what is Maundy Thursday? This is the observance of Jesus instituting the Last Supper, the night before he was crucified, instituting the Last Supper.

He did something on that night that was very significant for his disciples. What did Jesus do to or for his disciples? Yes, he washed their feet. And Maundy, it's not Monday Thursday, it's Maundy, M-A-U-N-D-Y.

Maundy basically means a mandate or a commandment. And that's when Jesus gave a commandment. And what was that? The new commandment, Jesus said in John 13, verse 34, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

And of course, Good Friday is the day Jesus was crucified. And again, even that, people wonder, well, that was a terrible event. This is the most evil thing human beings have ever done to crucify the Son of God, and yet we call it good.

It's Good Friday. Well, it's because that's the day Jesus accomplished our salvation. So Christians call it Good Friday. So this is Palm Sunday. And I found this write-up about it. I just want to read this, and I'll make some comment.

And it talks about all the traditions. Because here at Moores Corner Church, we believe in scripture over tradition. Amen? Get an amen on that. We believe in scripture over tradition. There are a lot of churches where it's mainly tradition.

Scripture is in there, but mostly tradition. Here's the thing, tradition isn't necessarily bad, as long as it's not contradicting the Word of God, and really tradition should line up with the Word of God.

So we're going to be talking about scripture and tradition this morning. So let me read this article. It says, Palm Sunday is a Christian movable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. Certainly you know that Christmas is always December 25th, but Easter moves around.

We all know that. So Palm Sunday is a movable feast. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical gospels. That is to say, the four gospels that are in the canon, the Bible.

Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week. For adherents of Nicene Christianity, also known as mainstream Christianity, it is the last week of the Christian solemn season of Lent, L-E-N-T, that precedes the arrival of Eastertide.

Okay, so now we're getting into some terms that we're not necessarily familiar with. Just one comment on this statement, mainstream Christianity. I don't know about you, but anytime something is mainstream, I figure I'm probably against it then if it's mainstream.

So what is mainstream Christianity? Basically, it's Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Protestant denominations that have retained many of the Catholic traditions. So that's mainstream Christianity.

Technically, Moore's Quarter Church would be outside of the mainstream. So it says that Palm Sunday is the week before Easter, and this is coming to the end of the season of Lent. So our church does not observe Lent, right?

Okay, I'll get into why in a few moments. The article continues, in most liturgical churches, that are churches that are heavy on tradition and ceremonies and rituals, which we're not, but in most liturgical churches, Palm Sunday is celebrated by the blessing and distribution of palm branches, representing the palm branches which the crowd scattered in front of Christ as he rode into Jerusalem.

I think there's been some years where we hand out palm branches and there's nothing wrong with it. It's a tradition, but it's based on Scripture because the palm branches are mentioned. Okay, that's all fine and good.

Many churches of mainstream Christian denominations, including Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican, Episcopalian, and some Reformed traditions, they distribute palm branches to their congregation during their Palm Sunday liturgies.

Christians take these palms, which are often blessed by clergy, to their homes where they hang them alongside Christian art, especially crosses or crucifixes, which we don't believe in crucifixes, do we?

Why? Because Jesus isn't there. He's not still on the cross. He's a risen Savior. We don't portray him as forever crucified, the perpetual victim. But I digress. So they take the palm branches and hang them alongside Christian art, crosses, crucifixes, keep them in their Bibles or devotionals.

And in the period preceding next year's Lent, churches often will place a basket in their lobby or foyer area to collect these palms. So you bring them back next year. They are ritually burned on Shrove Tuesday, another term you're probably not all that familiar with.

The palms are burned on Shrove Tuesday to make the ashes to be used the following day on Ash Wednesday. They smear it on their head, and that's the first day of Lent. So how many of you? Yeah, I know this.

I'm totally familiar with all this. Very few. Very few. So let's talk about it for a moment. Is this biblical or is this tradition? It's tradition, clearly. Now, again, that doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong, but it is tradition and not some command in the Bible that Jesus said, yeah, this is what you're supposed to do.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, MorrisCornickChurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.