The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
TO PONDER
While I'm not usually a fan of reality television, there has been one kind of reality/documentary show that seems to be popping up increasingly on various streaming services. They are shows that document or interview people who have escaped life in various cults. I find the psychology behind these kinds of groups fascinating. What strikes me in almost every interview with a person who has managed to find their way clear of the cult they were in is this; they all share how easy it is to fall prey to the belief systems of those around you. We might call it the 'mob mentality'.
Something similar was happening on that first Palm Sunday as Jesus entered Jerusalem. Most of the Jews in the crowd knew Jesus was a saviour but they didn't;t know what he had actually come to save them from. They had been told for so long that one day a Messiah would come from the line of King David to 'free' God's people and establish an everlasting kingdom. For centuries, that promise had been understood as a military and political saviour who would kick out the Romans and establish an everlasting kingdom of Israel. This is what the crowd wanted, this is what they expected.
Less than a week later, those same crowds had changed their opinion of Jesus because they did not see him doing what they expected. Instead of shouting Hosanna, which means "save us", they were shouting "crucify him". Even his closest friends and followers didn't;t completely understand and those who had promised never to leave Jesus side, found themselves denying they even knew Jesus.
Palm Sunday is a good way to start the journey through Holy Week. It's a chance to stop and reflect on what you expect from Jesus and to reflect on whether your expectations really align with what Jesus told his disciples that he had come to do. Are you letting the Word of God tell you who Jesus is and what he has done or are you listening to the crowds all around you, those who think they have all the answers, but only see the part of the picture they want to see?
PRAYER:Lord Jesus, Thank you that you came to seek and save the lost, of whom I am certainly one. Please help me to keep my eyes, ears and heart open this week as I reflect on the story of your death and resurrection. Help me to see more clearly and completely everything you have done for me through your sacrifice on the cross. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
TO PONDER
This will be the last time I do a daily verse devotion for LifeWay, at least as a LifeWay staff member. 2025 was my 36th year serving in ministry and in that time, I have seen and heard it all (hyperbole). I have had Joy, I have had pain, and I have been frustrated. I have thought about walking away in disgust as people who call themselves church have given excuses why they couldn’t serve; why they left a church community because they were offended/not being fed/not getting anything out of worship or were "too busy" or "too selfish" (that last one was maybe me summing it all up).
Church is not just a place or building we go to and meet in, and it's not about what we get out of it. It's not about the pastor, our entertainment, our wants and needs. Church is who we become together as the body of Christ, the role we fill, who we serve, what we give, what we can do to help others encounter Jesus.
Since this will be my last LifeWay daily verse let me be blunt: where do you serve? What’s your role? How do you help others? Or, are you just there to meet your religious obligation of attendance, to be fed, to be cared for by the Pastor, to get instead of give?
If “even the Son of Man” (Jesus), God with skin on, the King of Kings, the creator and sustainer of the universe came to serve and laid down his life for others, becaming a servant of all, can we really just reply with, "I have no time/interest/calling/care to serve others"?
My time with LifeWay has been a time of blessing, a time of growing, a time of learning and at times - one of frustration, but most of all it has been a time of community building and when you are a church planter community is important and so I will be forever grateful to all at LifeWay.
And to finish this post I would like to challenge you all with the statement that you are all called to lay down your life for others. You are all called to servanthood within His body, the Church. You are all called to practice unreasonable hospitality and you are all called to share His grace to everyone you meet. Grow the church.
PRAYER:Father God I thank you for your church, the people you have called to be your children, the people who have been given the call to reflect your love and grace to a world who need it. I ask you to raise up a church that gives itself in service to others, in the name of our saviour Jesus. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
TO PONDER
There was a college commencement speech given way back in 2005 that went viral by an award-winning secular author and professor, David Foster Wallace in which he made the point that everybody worships something. He said that worship is the default of humanity and the only choice we get is what we actually worship.
As good Lutherans we perhaps feel we have already made that choice because we choose to attend worship every Sunday (unless we are busy) but what if I told you attending worship could be one of the least worshipful things you might do.
In today’s verse, Paul is strongly encouraging the church in Rome (and by extension us) to do more than attend worship weekly, or even daily if that was possible. After all, going to weekly worship is barely a sacrifice and probably, doesn’t change our every day, it often only alters our Sundays.
Paul was challenging God’s people to change our everyday, to live for Him daily, to sacrifice daily, to step out of the comfortable and live a life for Him that actually costs more than what is reasonable (and he wasn’t talking about the price of petrol).
Now, here is the “cheat-code” from today’s verse on how to worship God; live sacrificially for others, give your life for the needs of others, put others first, worship God by doing for the people around you what He has done for you, love and serve sacrificially those you interact with everyday.
Remember, the thing you give your everyday to, you give your time to, the thing you sacrifice for, this is what you worship.
PRAYER: Merciful God, I thank you for the love and mercy you have and continue to lavish on me, I do not deserve your grace, help my life become an act of worship as I offer it as a living sacrifice given for others. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
TO PONDER
Every morning do you look at yourself in the mirror and say “dead-man/woman-walking” to remind yourself of who you are/should be on the other side of the cross?
In today’s verse, Paul is identifying himself as a dead-man-walking. Not in the sense that he is mortal and with a sigh of resignation admitting one day he will die but rather, as a reminder that who he was before the cross of Jesus is now dead, and that he was now living a new life, a Jesus life.
The background of the verse is a discussion about how the Jewish brethren were treating the Gentile (non-Jews) converts, the "others", the "neighbours".
The “dead-person-walking” or the “crucified-person-walking” Paul is talking about in the verse, is a person who gives themselves for others, just as Jesus did for us, gave himself for the us while we were still the "other".
As an “exvangelical” I would often talk about “giving my life to Jesus” while the words of Jesus were actually calling me to give my life for others. I eventually realised it was less about “doing” church on a Sunday and more about “being” church daily, living as a dead-person-walking, a crucified person reflecting Jesus to those around me.
To sum it up; Jesus gave his life for you, your task is to follow him and give your life for others daily.
PRAYER: Almighty God, you described yourself to Moses as “merciful and gracious” highlighting your unreasonable hospitality towards me, inviting me, the “other”, to become family through your sacrifice, help me sacrifice myself for others. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Dany Brock, LifeWay Westside.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
TO PONDER
Do you ever get annoyed when you are ALWAYS the one who takes the high-road in disputes, maintaining relationship, saying sorry, and doing all the work? I can relate, its hard… Welcome to marriage, and family, and friendship, and employment, and, I guess, life?
We are always the hero of our own story, better than who we really are, worse than what we remember and, more often than not, pretty selfish (sorry, this is probably just me!)
In today’s verse we have Jesus telling his disciples about his coming suffering, death (a shameful criminal’s death) and his resurrection on the third day. The disciples didn’t get it, at all.
And then Jesus took it a few steps past the unreasonable when he said that unless they follow his lead and carry their own self-sacrificial death daily they weren’t his disciples.
Death on a cross was shameful, painful, and very messy/bloody and that’s what Jesus expects from his followers, expects from us.
Daily/ALWAYS, dying to our own hopes and dreams for the sake of the hopes and dreams of others, saying sorry first, forgiving before there is a “sorry”, doing the work, restoring relationships over being right.
PRAYER : Lord Jesus, thank you for carrying you cross, the cross you didn’t deserve, the cross you asked to be taken away from you in the Garden of Gethsemane with the hope of restoring me into a relationship with you, help me carry my cross daily with your sacrifice in mind. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (NLT)
TO PONDER
What do you do? The first question usually asked when we meet someone. Yeah sure, it is an easy, go to question to fill in the discomfort of an awkward first meeting, but why?
Are we asking; “are you worthy of my time and effort, are you accomplished enough to be of benefit to me in friendship?” Or maybe I am just shallow…
Today’s verses are stating the ultimate flex to the question of “What do you do”, when the person asked can reply with “I'm the designer, creator, and sustainer of everything!” But the answer given by Jesus and these verses was actually, “I'm a servant!”
Jesus came to earth, “moved into the neighbourhood” to serve, to give his life to and for those who should serve him. The one who should be served, served others, living a life of self-sacrifice.
On the night before Jesus literally sacrificed his life for the world he, in an act of extreme humility, knelt down in front of his disciples and washed their feet to demonstrate servanthood and when he had washed all 24 feet (even the feet of Judas who was about to betray him) he told them (and by extension, us) to do the same.
So, the next time you are asked the question “What do you do?” could you give the honest answer “I wash feet!”…
PRAYER: Jesus Servant God, help me to live a life of self-sacrifice, a life of servanthood, a life of foot-washing, a life copied on your example. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
TO PONDER
What would happen if we treated everyone like Jesus did, if we forgive like Jesus, if we loved like Jesus, if we sacrificed like Jesus?
Today’s verse is challenging us to do just that, to live like Jesus, to walk in his footsteps (not where he walked but how he walked), to have the attitude of Jesus.
The idea communicated in the verse is so simple yet so difficult, the idea is world changing, earth shattering; to have the mindset of Christ.
I am the type of preacher who chooses a Bible translation of a chosen verse by often a single word. One of my favourite verse is 1 Samuel 14:6 and the reason is because of the word used in both the NIV and the NLT, the word is “perhaps”, “PERHAPS the Lord will help us,” (NLT), the single word communicates to me so much, desperation, doubt, trust, faith, risk and so much more.
In today’s verse I am captivated by the punctuation. The colon “:” , which is not in the original text, carries the idea of more to come, it connects ideas, introduces more, draws attention to what is to follow. For me it asks the question stated above “what would happen if…”
What would happen if I had the same mindset of Christ:
PRAYER: Mighty Saviour Jesus, teach me to love like you, teach me to think like you, teach me to walk my everyday like you. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Newcastle
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (NLT)
TO PONDER
I am sure we all remember the Great Toilet Paper Panic of 2020, a widespread panic to buy a product that was not in shortage, at least not until the hysteria inspired people to buy multiple months worth of toilet paper.
Exposing a society looking out for oneself, a me-first culture revealed by a product not in short supply, an item that, to be honest, we could live without (70% of the world go toilet paper free).
Today’s verses speak directly to today’s “live your best life” culture, a culture that promotes “being true to yourself” as a virtue, the way to find happiness and fulfilment, the way to “find your truth.”
Paul was writing this letter to the church of Philippi, a church he had planted in a Roman Colony in Macedonia (modern day Eastern Greece), a church likely made up of primarily Gentiles known for their patriotic nationalism (think “Make Rome Great Again”).
The Philippian church was being pressed on three sides by the patriotic nationalism (me-first) culture of Rome as well as the Judaizers culture of law (religion) and the culture of Christ.
The culture of Christ today continues, as it did back when Paul penned his letter as a counter-culture standing in contrast to a me-first ethos, standing against a religiousness and standing against a society of toilet paper hoarders.
The counter-culture espoused by Paul in Philippians was an echo of the words of Jesus when He gave the new command to, “love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
The command of a self-sacrificial life, an ethos of unreasonable hospitality, putting the needs of others ahead of our own needs.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, as we journey towards Holy Week and celebrate the ultimate sacrifice for a lost world, help me live a self-sacrificial life for others, help me to reflect your image to a lost world. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
“So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
To Ponder
When Paul prayed for the Christians in Colossae, he did not pray that they would simply survive the Christian life. He prayed that they would live a life worthy of the Lord — in every way, in every work, in every season of growth.
That is a amazing prayer! Inside this prayer is a glimpse of what a fruitful life looks like in practice.
Notice that bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God are placed side by side — and that is no accident because they are inseparable. The two move together like roots and branches. You cannot genuinely grow deeper in your knowledge of God without that intimacy changing how you live. And you cannot consistently bear fruit in good works without being rooted in an ever-deepening relationship with the one who calls you to them. Each feeds the other. Each reflects the other.
This also tells us that fruitfulness is not reserved for grand, visible moments. Paul says every good work. The quiet act of kindness no one noticed. The patient response when frustration would have been easier. The faithful showing up, day after day, in the ordinary places of life. Every one of those moments is an opportunity for fruit. Every one of them matters to God.
A life worthy of the Lord is not a life of perfection — it is a life of direction. Moving toward him. Growing in him. Bearing fruit not in our own strength but as the natural overflow of knowing him more deeply today than we did yesterday.
This is not a standard to be anxious about. But rather it is an invitation to grow into.
Prayer
Father,
I want to live a life that is truly worthy of who you are and what You have done. Not a life of straining to impress You, but a life so rooted in knowing you that fruit becomes the natural result of our closeness. May every good work I do, however small or unseen, be rooted in you and pleasing to you. Grow me, Lord — in knowledge, in character, in fruitfulness — so that the life I live increasingly reflects the one I belong to.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Today’s Devotion is written by Pr Nich