WELCOME
Follow along with us!
Happy Palm Sunday. (Hosanna)
We’re really glad you’re here… 

Real: death/evil/devil/enemies

If you were handed a “pretty Jesus” and a “pretty life,” disappointment can feel like betrayal.

WHEN GOD DOESN’T DO IT THE WAY YOU WANTED

Aria
We had plans, faith, belief

Plans: home/family footprint, trips/holidays/ordinary days. 

Faith assumption: “God is going to heal her.” 

Prayed/believed/asked. 

Outcome: brain tumor / she passed. 

We had plans. We had belief. We had faith. Yet, it didn’t go how we wanted.

It doesn’t just break your heart.
It changes what hope feels like.

Our story isn’t the only story in the room.

When God doesn’t do it the way you wanted, you start concluding things.

Disappointment doesn’t just hurt – it redefines.

It redefines… God, yourself, future.

You had plans. You had belief. You had faith.
And it still didn’t turn out like you wanted it to.

How does God address this in His Word?
Let’s look at it together on this Palm Sunday.

PALM SUNDAY THROUGH THE LENS OF DISAPPOINTMENT

1) They wanted a King + they were desperate

I want to read part of Luke 19.

Luke 19:36-38 (NIV) As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road… the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices… ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’

They’re not confused about what they want. They want a King.

And they’re shouting “Hosanna.”

Hosanna is a pain word that means Save Us.

It means: “Save us. Help us. Rescue us.”

The tension: they didn’t just want Jesus to save them.
They wanted Him to save them their way.

2) They wanted saving their way.

They had plans… belief… faith.
They assumed Jesus would execute their plan.

3) Jesus defines the kind of King He is

How did Jesus arrive in this story? (Donkey)

Don’t overlook it!
Reveals Jesus… fulfills prophecy.

Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)
See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey,

Matthew 21:5 says Jesus came “gentle” riding on a donkey.

Jesus is making a statement before He ever preaches a sermon.

I am King.
But I’m not the kind of King you can control.

Do we want God’s will to be done?
Or do we want God to do our will?

…God control my life?
…God come under the control of my life?

4) Root problem vs visible problem

They want Rome out. VISIBLE PROBLEM.
Jesus is going to the root: sin, death, shame, and the powers underneath it all. ROOT PROBLEM.

Empires cycle: Babylon → Persia → Greece → Rome. Remove one, another comes. 

Jesus came to break the cycle at the source.

But they had other plans.

5) Did Jesus not care?

We think this sometimes…

Luke 19:41 (NIV) As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it…

Jesus wept.

He isn’t cold. He isn’t detached.
He sees what is, and He sees what’s coming, and it moves Him.

And Jesus says something else in Scripture that shows His heart:

Matthew 23:37 (NIV)
Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 

Jesus is saying…

“I wanted it different.”
“I longed for something else.”
“I had plans, belief, faith. Yet, it didn’t go how we wanted.”

6) Jesus knows disappointment.

Palm Sunday gives you a King with tears.
A Savior with compassion.
A God who understands.

What do we do with disappointment?

What do you do when God doesn’t do it the way you wanted?

Practice 1) Talk to God honestly (like Jesus did)

Jesus, here’s what I wanted.
Here’s what happened.
Here’s what I’m afraid to hope for again.
Help me trust You anyway.

Don’t edit your prayer. Bring the real thing.

The real hurt and disappointment… 

Practice 2) Ask Jesus to reframe the story (before you finalize the conclusion)

That doesn’t erase grief.
It changes the shape of the story. 

Practice 3) Bring it into the light (don’t do disappointment alone)

Resource: Patricia Muller podcast “Life Interrupted.”

Grief grows in isolation.
Hope grows in community.

Imagine the kind of church we could become if we lived this.

It is ok to cry out… Jesus save me.

Jesus save me…
…not how I want you to save me
…save me how YOU want to save me.

We had plans…belief…faith. And it still didn’t go how we wanted.

So here’s what we’re going to do – not later, not someday – right now.

I have 3 responses for you…

Respond to King Jesus. Respond to disappointment.

Worship team is coming back. We’re making a space for prayer.

Here is how to respond…

Step 1 – Talk to God honestly.

Jesus, here’s what I wanted.
Here’s what happened.
Here’s what I’m afraid to hope for again.
Help me trust You anyway.

Don’t edit… get real.

Step 2 – Don’t do it alone.

Pray.
Talk.
Counsel.

Step 3 – Invite one person to Easter and pray for them.

Name the person… Pray for them.

MAKE THE DECISION – invite them.