Carolina Family Church (Audio)

It’s time! Jesus has finally arrived in Jerusalem, and things are about to break loose. In this week's passage, we witness a chaotic scene as Jesus enters the city for Passover. The dynamic contrast of joy and sadness helps us understand how to respond to this event today.

Last week we saw a rich ruler approach Jesus, but what will happen when a rich sinner approaches Him? How will Jesus respond and what impact will it have? We will find out in this week’s message.

What does it cost to follow Jesus? When a young man ran up to Jesus and asked what it took to follow Him, Jesus’ answer cut right to the center of his heart. In this message, we will look at this young man’s response and consider what it will take for us to follow as well.

What is the Kingdom of God, and when will it happen? The Pharisees asked Jesus the “when” question, and though He didn’t give a direct answer, He gave clear instructions on how to be ready when it did. This is vitally important for a Christian to understand so we are prepared for our hope to be fulfilled.

As followers of Christ, we should live a lifestyle of confession and repentance. Psalm 51 gives us a great example of how we can go to our loving God in times like this.

Psalm 30 is a song of praise that takes place at the dedication of the house of David. At this dedication, King David doesn’t talk about all the great things he has accomplished, but instead praises God for everything He has done for him.

There are times when we feel distant from God. It can be easy to feel like God has abandoned us, but that is not the case. It’s in those moments that we must choose to worship and remember what we know is true.

It's easy to get into the mindset of why me? Why do they have everything and I am struggling. Psalms 73 is the prayer of a man going through just such an experience. It's important to remember, just as Asaph did, that things here are temporary and what we are working for is eternal.

When studying Psalms it is important to remember their purpose when they were written as well as how they may be used today. Psalm 118 is a triumphant song of praise that is still used in Jewish ceremonies today. For the Christian, there is an amazing "then and now" in understanding this Psalm and knowing how it represents Jesus and what He did for us as well as what it could have meant to Him right before He was betrayed, arrested, and sentenced to die on a cross.

Are we going to be ready when our time comes? That is a major theme of Jesus’ ministry, and it’s an urgent matter. To get the point across, Jesus tells an incredibly dynamic story in Luke 16 that we will study this week.