“Hosanna” means “save us now!”  Jesus received great praise as he entered into Jerusalem and the people shouted, "Hosanna. Save us, and do it now!" But that day was also the beginning of the end for our Lord, an end that will culminate in the most humiliating of deaths: by crucifixion. Yet we can rejoice, not for a palm parade, but for the truth that after his death, resurrection and ascension, God exalted his obedient and humble Son to the highest place where he receives all glory as King of kings and Lord of lords, having won for us the forgiveness of sins!

Countless are our sins of speech, especially against the Second, Fourth, and Eighth Commandments. A silent lamb led to the slaughter, Jesus kept quiet when He could have spoken out. By suffering and dying in silence, He atoned for all our talk.

Have you ever heard of anyone who has never been sick for even one day throughout their life?  That would be nearly impossible.  Regardless of how good or bad, poor or rich we may be, our lot in this broken world is to experience sickness, pain and ultimately death.  We all need a physician when we are sick!  Jesus agrees when He says, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.…….for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:12,13    WE HAVE THE GREAT PHYSICIAN OF BODY AND SOUL, JESUS CHRIST, “ON CALL” 24/7 IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH.   He will never leave us till He takes us from this “vail of tears” to perfectly heals our resurrected bodies in the likeness of His glorious Body!

We ponder how Christ overcame unbelief and skepticism and powerfully rescued all humanity. He is the arm of the Lord, strong to save! (Our Suffering Savior, 145). A Christian custom on Ash Wednesday is to receive a mark of the cross made with ashes upon the forehead. Ashes are a symbol of repentance and of our mortality, especially as we hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Last week we saw how God's grace alone gives hope to sinful human beings.  Further, we believe that the basis for God's grace to us is the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ alone. The Apostles and Jesus have taught us that there is no other name under heaven, given to men, by which we must be saved.  According to our Small Catechism, and the explanation of the Apostles' Creed, we believe "that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.  He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature." In other words, we are saved because of God's grace to us in Jesus Christ alone

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Today we begin a message series that will look at four phrases known as the “Solas” of our faith.  They summarize teachings that we as a Church affirm and are taught in the Bible. The phrases themselves can be traced back to the 16th Century Reformation. Each contains a form of the word “Sola” (a Latin word meaning “alone”) and summarizes a foundational truth in regards to how God saves sinners. Today we look at “Sola Scriptura” (Scripture Alone).  The Bible is God’s inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.  It is authoritative and powerful in the life of the Christian.

In this service of Advent we once again hear the prophet Malachi speak.  He asks the very question we ask today, “Who can endure the day of His coming?” As we look at our world with its confusion and struggles, we might wonder what the world is coming to. Will wickedness increase?  The Bible says it will, but that the Lord will return to judge and finally put an end to evil and sin.  We don't know when the world will end or what it will come to in the meantime.  But we sure know who 

will come to the world, and has come - Jesus Christ.