April 2025 – Colona Community Church

Alan spoke last Sunday on Palm Sunday and two important questions we must ask ourselves. To listen to this message, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included some notes and links to Scripture he references.

Palm Sunday / Triumphal Entry Sunday / The Beginning of Holy Week

There are two important questions we should ask ourselves:
- Who is Jesus?
- What kind of Jesus do we really want in life?
  - the crowd in Jerusalem began the week shouting, “Hosanna!” and ended it shouting, “Crucify Him!” – Jesus wasn’t the Messiah they were expecting.
Matthew 21:1-17
- The people were expecting a Messiah who would save them from Roman oppression – a conquering king on a white horse, rather than a prophet from Nazareth on a donkey (the suffering servant)
  - He brought a kingdom, not of military might, but a kingdom of:
    - peace
    - forgiveness
    - love
    - justice
    - righteousness
- They shouted “Hosanna!”
  - a mix of two words
    - yasha (defend, deliver, help, preserve, rescue)
    - na (I beseech, I pray)
  - “Deliver us” – from Roman oppression
  - Jesus came for a bigger issue – sin
    - deliverance from the penalty of sin
    - by the cross & the resurrection
  - Jesus gives us so much more!
    - do you ever feel oppressed, tangled up?
      - the sin which so easily entangles us (Hebrews 12:1)
    - YHWH – breath
      - the idea in the OT was that salvation was the loosening of things that bind you so that you can breathe more easily.
  - They wanted a kingdom of earthly power.
    - Jesus brought a kingdom of heavenly power
    - the Beatitudes teach us how to live a kingdom life
  - Jesus showed the ultimate humility
    - washed the disciples’ feet (John 13)
    - death on a cross (Philippians 2)
The God we, as Christians, worship:
- He is a God of love.
- He is also a God of wrath.
- He is a triune God:
  - Father
  - Son (subject to the Father)
  - Holy Spirit (subject to the Son)
- Jesus is a keeper of His Father’s temple (Matthew 21:13)
  - He and the Father are one.
  - John 17 – to know what Jesus wants for you in this life
Hebrews 1:1-9
- Jesus is a deliverer, a king of a heavenly kingdom
  - Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
    - Why do you sometimes feel oppressed/depressed?
      - You’re looking at the world more than at Jesus.
- v. 1 – God (the triune God)
  - 1 in essence; 3 in personality
  - We tend to make God in our image, rather than realizing He made us in His image.
  - God spoke the Word – Jesus is God the Father speaking to us.
    - the final Word
    - Jesus represented God the Father exactly as God the Father was
    - Romans 3:23
      - in our thoughts and actions, we all miss the mark
      - Jesus never missed the mark!
- v. 2 – Appointed heir & creator of all things
  - In Greek, this is in the aorist tense, meaning once and for all time.
    - heir of ALL things
    - we are heirs & co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17)
      - must be a son or daughter to be an heir
      - those who believe in Him have the right to become children of God (John 1:12)
      - we are born children of Adam, but through Christ we are adopted by God
  - Jesus is the blueprint of all that has ever happened
    - “worlds” in vs. 2 is better translated as “ages”
- v. 3 – Sustainer
  - everything is sustained by the Word
  - John 1:14 – we beheld His glory
    - we only reflect His glory
    - Jesus IS the glory of God
  - Upholds
    - Jesus is the one who keeps everything going
    - Colossians 1:17
    - If He holds the universe together, can you trust Him to hold your life together?
  - Redeemer
    - He purged our sins
- v. 4 – Ascended
  - at the right hand of the Father in majesty
  - intercedes on our behalf
  - He is our High Priest (Hebrews 8:1-2)
He is Alive!
- Who is He? He is…
  - Creator
  - Revealer
  - Sustainer
  - Redeemer
  - Intercessor
  - King
  - the Prince of Peace
  - the Humble Servant
  - Everything

Alan is back and began his spring/summer teaching by giving a message on Communion and Our Purpose. To listen to this message, simply click play on the audio player below. I’ve also included some notes and link to Scripture he references.

Communion & Our Purpose

Intro: The Westminster Shorter Catechism is a tradition that was to be used by fathers to teach their children the important parts of the faith. It can still help us understand our purpose today.
- What is the chief end of mankind?
  - to glorify God & to enjoy Him forever
    - we glorify Him by enjoying Him
    - what & who do we love most in life?
    - to glorify God is to love Him/to enjoy Him more than anything else in life
John 21
- Peter had denied the Lord 3x; this story is now post-resurrection
- v. 10-17
  - v. 15 – what are “these”
    - maybe the other men
    - maybe more than the other men do
    - maybe the fish (Peter’s profession/career)
    - Peter says that he has phileo (brotherly affection) for Jesus
  - How does Jesus ask Peter to show love?
    - Feed the sheep – serve
    - Peter served by becoming the leader of the Roman Church
- v. 18 -25
  - serve, follow, sacrifice
    - how we glorify God
  - how much will you sacrifice for Him?
How do we glorify God & enjoy Him?
- serve, follow, sacrifice
- can’t do it of our own accord
  - doing it on our own is outward show – Pharisaical
  - empowerment through Christ living in you is the only way you can function in the image in which you were created
    - like a glove – without a hand in it, it has no purpose
When we take communion, we say we are taking in Christ.
- The only one who ever lived as mankind was intended to live is Jesus.
- Christ in us is the only way to live as God intended us to live.
- common – union / communion teaches us that Jesus is the hand in the glove that leads us to function as we are supposed to function
  - the cup
    - Matthew 26:36-46
      - prayed 3x
      - what is the cup?
        
        Isaiah 51
        
        Jeremiah 25
        
        Habakkuk 2:26
        
        other places in the OT
      - Jesus took the cup of God’s wrath upon Himself
        
        spiritual death is separation from God
        
        Jesus was separated from God so we could be reunited with Him
    - Luke 22:20
      - the New Covenant in My blood
      - the Old Covenant (Mosaic Covenant) – the Law
        
        sacrifices to temporarily atone for sin
        
        Jesus was the once-for-all sacrifice (Hebrews 10)
        
        we don’t have to sacrifice animals or do penance
        
        repentance (new covenant)
        
        the law is written on your heart (Jeremiah 31:31-40)
John 17:3 – Eternal Life is to know Jesus and the Father who sent Him
- what is to know Him?
  - not just knowing about Him
  - communing with Him
John 6:53-65 – the visual of communion
- Our purpose in life is to love Him above all else but we can’t do that without having Him in us – that is the point of communion.