4/13/2025 Palm Sunday Announcements for Presider

1. *WELCOME to HOSANNA! – *Warmest welcome to all of you, especially if you are visiting or re-visiting! Please let our Welcoming Team give you our welcoming gift of a t-shirt and beige multi-purpose bag! Fill-out a yellow newcomer’s contact card so that we can keep in touch! We welcome you into this family of Christ’s loving arms and remain here for you as His body to grow and flourish together!
2. *DISMISSAL of children (kinder to 5th grade) to Children’s Ministry! – At this time, children from kindergarten to 5th grade can head over to Minister Sewon Cho’s children’s ministry – please proceed to the children’s chapel down the hallway to the left! *Preschool worship children should already be in the preschool worship room with Director Rachel and assistant Ashley, and will continue to begin simultaneously at 10:40am in the preschool worship room.
3. *IMPORTANT REMINDER: BE ON-TIME FOR SUNDAY WORSHIP STARTING 10:40AM & PREPARE FOR EASTER HOLY COMMUNION – An important way to prepare in honoring Christ and His Church through worship is to be on-time. Plan your arrival around 10:20am to give yourself plenty of time to get some coffee/tea, greet one another, look over the bulletin/pre-read the Scripture, and prepare your heart in prayer for worship and the Word. Let us avoid starting worship together with an empty chapel. *This is appropriate especially next Sunday’s Easter worship, where we will be serving Holy Communion – please prepare your heart to receive the Lord’s cup and body at His table. Thank you for your understanding and humble obedience to this!
4. *THIS FRIDAY (4/18) GOOD FRIDAY WORSHIP, 7:30pm – 8:30pm @ Ezra Chapel – It is a truly good day when Jesus laid down His life for us! Let us gather with the whole family in the goodness of Christ for Good Friday Worship Service, beginning 7:30pm. *Children will be dismissed after the opening praise at 7:45pm for Good Friday children’s activities with Director Rachel Ko in the Preschool Worship Room.
5. *SUNDAY (4/27) SPECIAL GUEST PREACHER: Minister Dr. Will Zhao, Highland Park Chinese Church & Solid Rock Fellowship – Pastor Chester & family will be taking a pastoral break on Sunday (4/27). The Session has invited Dr. Zhao to deliver God’s Word for us. Dr. Zhao is church-planting resident of Highland Park Chinese Church in Dallas and currently an ECO Presbyterian pastoral ordination candidate being mentored by Pastor Chester. Born and raised in China, Dr. Zhao graduated from Peking University in Beijing with a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. He came to Southern Methodist University to complete his Ph.D. in this field, when Christians on campus shared with him the gospel and he came to radically trust Christ and sense a calling for pastoral ministry. Dr. Zhao gave up his doctoral work, and enrolled in Criswell College, earning the Master of Divinity degree, and subsequently Dallas Theological Seminary, where he graduated with the Ph.D. degree in Old Testament studies on the book of Job and wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Please welcome Dr. Zhao and pray for the message from the Word of God through him on 4/27 (Sunday)!
6. *SEE QR CODE WEBSITE FOR REST OF THE ANNOUNCEMENTS – The rest of the announcements can be viewed in the QR code website (https://www.hosannapc.org/sunday-announcements) in your bulletins and also on the lower left-hand side of our wallboard in the foyer hallway.
7. *KINGDOM EXPANSION PRAYER – This week’s Kingdom expansion prayers will focus on the Passion Week leading up to this Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

 
Scripture:
 
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. (1 PETER 3:18)
 
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (JOHN 11:25-26)
 
He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” (LUKE 24:6-7)
 
Prayer (by Pastor Chester):
Heavenly Father, we lift up to You this sacred week of passion – the week of Your sufferings of Your one and only Son Christ Jesus our Lord, who like a sheep before its shearers is silent, willingly and lovingly and wholly laid His life down. You were pleased to see it, for it was Your will to crush Him, as an offering for guilty sinners, to make many be accounted righteous. Lord, who are we to claim we know everything about the cross of Christ already? Open our eyes again to see our chief suffering Servant, Jesus, who bore all our sins in His own body so that we today can have life in His Name. You did not withhold Your beloved Son in heaven, but gave Him up for us all. He knew no sin, yet He became sin, so that we might become Your righteousness. Lord Jesus, you suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that You might bring us back to the Father God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit. Help us believe wider and deeper again, that You are the resurrection and the life, and that whoever believers in You, though we die momentarily, we shall live. And everyone who believes in You shall never die as You sweep us from its grip and take us into eternity with You. Holy Spirit, give us a vision of resurrection again – show us Jesus is not in the tomb, but has risen. Bring to remembrance what He told us – the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise. So make us arise with Christ today, on our 40th day of the Lent Bible ready, as the John families serve our dishwashing ministry, as the Honduras mission team trains for mission. Give us a resurrected Good Friday worship this Friday with all our children, youth, young adults, and families. Bless and fill our approaching Easter worship in the confirmation of faith for Joy, in Your appointment of new co-shepherds Jonathan and Nara, and Holy Communion through Your cup and bread together. Through the goodness of the Name of Jesus above every name, who died and rose back to life forever as our High Priest of heaven, as both Lord and Christ we pray, Amen & amen.