Palm Sunday- Faces In The Crowd- Choose Your Attitude

Thanks to so many here on Sermon Central for the inspiration for this sermon, I found so many sermons on "the faces in the crowd" and so many on "attitudes" that it would be very hard to single out any contributor, but thanks to all.

Palm Sunday, 2016

“Choose your attitude”

Matthew 21:1-11

Captain Call comes charging down the street on the pretty dapple gray mare

He has an intense look on his face

He is focused on a goal

A beat up old army scout is quirting Newt

And as we Know Call hates “Rude Behavior”

And he won’t tolerate it

If you know the movie Lonesome dove

You know the scene

If not it is quite likely you know the saying

“I hate rude behavior, won’t tolerate it”

Rude behavior is an attitude

And

So is not tolerating it

The topic of today’s sermon if you have not already figured it out

Is attitude

More importantly our attitude towards Jesus

We all have attitudes about the things in our lives

We can have a positive attitude

A negative attitude

A good attitude

A bad attitude

An attitude of love

And attitude of hate

Or even an attitude of indifference

Our attitude is often what causes us to view a circumstance as a blessing or a curse

Our attitudes can set the wheels in motion for how any situation will affect us

Our families

Those around us

And our lives

Our attitude is a choice.

Chuck Swindoll had this to say about attitude.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of Attitude on life.

Attitude to me is more important: than facts

More important than the past

More important than education

More important than money

More important than circumstances

More important than failures,

More important than successes

More important than what other people think or say or do

More important than appearances,

More important than skill.

Attitude will make or break a company…a church…a home.”

The Amazing thing is we have a choice every day regarding the Attitude we will embrace for that day.

We cannot change our past.

We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can truly change in many situations in our lives is our Attitude.

I believe that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how we react to it.

And so it is with us…

We are in charge of our attitudes.”

Today is Palm Sunday

The day we celebrate Jesus ‘triumphal entry into Jerusalem

One of the steps in the last week of Jesus’ life on the earth as a human

And one the first steps on the road to “it is finished”

There were many attitudes in the faces of the crowds on that day

And it is my prayer as we look at their attitudes we can see ourselves in those faces

And in those attitudes

Matthew 21:1-11

As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

4 This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,

5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem,[a]

‘Look, your King is coming to you.

He is humble, riding on a donkey—

riding on a donkey’s colt.’”[b]

6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.[c]

8 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,

“Praise God[d] for the Son of David!

Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD!

Praise God in highest heaven!”[e]

10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.

11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

God’s word tells us in all four of the gospels

Matthew

Mark

Luke

And John

That Jesus Riding into Jerusalem caused a great stir in that city

Huge crowds had already arrived for the celebration of the Passover

We will study more about the significance of the celebration in the weeks to come as we continue our study of Exodus and more specifically the Plagues that God brought down on Egypt for their defiance