New Sermon Series: Easter with the King
Palm Sunday. Maundy Thursday. Good Friday. Then Easter. Welcome to the celebration of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection here at Redeemer! We will spend our Holy Week and Easter sermons this year around Matthew’s Gospel, as he offers us the good news of Jesus, our King. This will be an “Easter with the King.”
From end to end, Matthew’s concern is to present Jesus as Israel and the world’s true King – the promised royal to come from Abraham’s line, great David’s greater Son, the King in the Kingdom of God. And so, as Matthew slows the pacing of his narrative way down to match the intensity and gravity of the Passion week, we discover, in every space, just what kind of king Jesus is:
- The King who enters Jerusalem in humility, riding on a donkey, is one willing to receive praises from those who understood very little of what they were shouting.
- The King who prepares a banquet for his subjects, a meal in which he serves them with love. As they are seated at the table, he serves them. This is a meal that will repeatedly nourish souls like ours, as we find encouragement and strength around this table to share in the life and purposes of his kingdom.
- The King, who is falsely accused, betrayed by his followers, and then falsely executed, yet uses his death to tear death apart and bring life to the world. The very ground splits open at his death, giving up the dead to come back to life again. The veil separating God from man is ripped apart, from top to bottom, signaling that the great sacrifice for the sins of the world has been offered and is effectual.
- The King who truly rises from the dead, just as he promised, proving that he is the Son of God in power and refuting all false claims to deny his resurrection.
- The risen and ascending King who passes on the mission of his kingdom to generation after generation of his followers, sending us into all the world with his good news that brings new life.
So come be with us on Palm Sunday (3.29.26, 9:15 &11:00 a.m.), as our children lead us in offering praise to our King, when everyone gets to wave a palm branch in the King’s honor. Then again, on Maundy Thursday (4.2.26, 6:30 p.m.), as we linger around his table and feed on his love. On Good Friday (4.3.26, 5:30 & 7:00 p.m.), we will wonder at the King who dies in our place, hearing Matthew’s crucifixion narrative in its entirety. And then comes Easter Sunday (4.5.26, 9:00, 10:15, and 11:30 a.m.), where the Risen Christ will greet us anew, even as he did the women on the first Easter morning! I would love to see you there for all of these worship opportunities. Come, and bring your family and friends. Come, let us worship the King!
In Christ,
Rev. Paul Hahn
RPC Lead Pastor