Palm Sunday | Right Party, Wrong Plan | Pastor Steve Andres

New City Church

Palm Sunday | Right Party, Wrong Plan | Pastor Steve Andres

April 2, 2023 • John 12:12–13, John 12:9–16, Isaiah 25:6–8, Psalm 50:16–21, 1 Corinthians 1:27–29

We love the party, but do we know the plan? This week Pastor Steve Andres shared a Palm Sunday message about receiving Jesus on his own terms.

John 12:12-13

The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!”

People from the city were caught up in the celebration of Jesus’ arrival, but Jesus' plan differed from theirs. What did the people think of Jesus?

1) He was compelling. Jesus speaks to our highest hopes.

Jesus’ ministry spoke to the deepest longings of the human heart for freedom, forgiveness, and a home that we have not yet known.

2) He was confusing. Jesus breaks our categories.

Jesus fit into none of the existing categories of his day, and he fits none of today’s categories either.

“God cannot be a figment of my imagination because he is nothing at all like I imagined him to be.”

C.S. Lewis

When we receive Jesus on his own terms, he points us to a better God than we could have imagined!

Easter Sunday | Better Late than Never | Pastor Steve Andres

April 9, 2023 • John 20:24–28

Have you ever felt stuck in a moment? This Easter weekend Pastor Steve Andres shared a message about Thomas, one of Jesus’ followers. We have called him doubting Thomas for centuries, but is that really fair? John 20:24-28 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas, was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” It isn’t until Thomas meets the risen Jesus that he can move on from the trauma and disillusionment of Friday’s crucifixion. Meeting the risen Christ means three important things to us: 1) Suffering can’t keep me stuck. Jesus’ resurrected body still has scars. God doesn’t take away our suffering, he transforms it to work for his purposes and for our good. 2) Labels don’t have the last word. For Thomas and all of us, Jesus’ resurrection means that we are no longer defined by OUR worst moments, but by HIS best moment. 3) Facts are facts, but they aren’t final. The facts about me or my circumstances are true but aren’t the whole truth. When Thomas saw Jesus risen, he declared the truth about Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Happy Easter! We have life because Jesus is alive!