Theme:  Palm Sunday (Sixth Sunday in Lent, Year A)

Objects:  Flags, confetti, noise makers, etc.

Scripture:  The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”   Matthew 21:9

Who do you think is the most important person in our country?  Do you think it is the person who has the most money?  Is it a famous movie star?  Or how about a great athlete?  I think the most important person in our country is our president!  I think that if the president were to visit our city, we would have a tremendous celebration. We would go all out to make him feel welcome and to let him know that we support him in the awesome job he has before him in leading our country.  I believe that one thing that we would surely do would be to have a parade.

I want you to imagine this morning that we are going to have a visit from the president.  I have some flags for some of you to wave and I have some noise makers.  I will describe the parade, and as the president passes by, I want you to wave, blow your horns, and shout.  Are you ready?  The parade is about to begin.

Look!  The parade is approaching. I can see it in the distance.  The band is leading the parade and behind the band there are cars with other important people like our congressman, our senator, and the mayor of our city.  As they pass by, we smile and wave.  Then, here he comes — the president.  He is riding down the street in a big black convertible.  He waves to the crowds that are lining the streets as he passes by.  The people are waving flags, throwing confetti into the air, blowing their noise makers and shouting, “Yea!  Hip! Hip! Hooray!  Yea!”  Then as the parade moves on down the street, the sound of the band playing and people shouting fades away in the distance.  It is over.  The celebration is over.

That was very much like a scene that took place in Jerusalem one day.  The king was coming to their city.  People lined the streets.  Some people walked in front of the king and some walked behind him.  Instead of a big, black convertible, the King rode on the back of a small donkey.  As he rode through the streets of the city, the crowds wavedpalm branches and shouted,  “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

I’m sure that you know who that King was.  It was Jesus.  Today is Palm Sunday.  Today we celebrate the entry of King Jesus into Jerusalem.  It was a day that marked the beginning of an incredible week.  A week that would see Jesus cheered, then arrested, tried, condemned, and crucified.  But as that week came to an end, another week began just as the previous week had begun — with a celebration.

Dear Jesus, our voices join with the voices of the people in Jerusalem some two thousand years ago.  Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Amen.

COLORING PAGE:   “The Triumphal Entry”

CROSSWORD PUZZLE  (PDF) (HTML)

DECODER PUZZLE   (PDF)  (HTML)

MAZE PUZZLE:  (PDF) (HTML)

WORD SEARCH PUZZLE  (PDF)  (HTML)

WORSHIP BULLETIN  (WORD DOCUMENT)  Save this document to your computer and personalize it with your church’s name.  Print side one then reinsert it into the printer and print side two.

AN ALTERNATIVE LESSON FOR PALM SUNDAY:  “Lay Your Cloak Before Him”