Sixth Sunday of Lent

Summary

The Wake-Up Call – Sixth Sunday of Lent (Palm Sunday)

Podcast: The Wake-Up Call
Host: John David Walt (with David Walt and Susan)
Date: March 29, 2026
Episode Theme: Palm Sunday – Moving Into Holy Week

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Episode Overview

This Palm Sunday episode of The Wake-Up Call centers on preparing hearts and minds for Holy Week through traditional Scripture, hymn singing, and community encouragement. Host John David Walt, joined by his father David Walt and Susan, leads listeners in a time of consecration, Scripture reading, hymn singing, and reflection. The episode underscores the importance of worship as spiritual “practice,” preparing for the true game of living out faith daily.

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Key Segments & Insights

1. Consecration and Opening Reflections

• [00:36–01:43]
  • John David Walt opens with a call to wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you—a refrain for spiritual attentiveness and readiness.
  • He leads a short prayer of dedication, offering hearts, minds, and bodies to Jesus and invoking the Trinity.
  • Quote:

    “Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. Help me, Dad. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you.”
    — John David Walt [01:00]

2. Palm Sunday Scripture Reading – Matthew 21:1–11

• [01:51–04:01]
  • John reads the biblical account of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
  • The passage depicts Jesus’ humility and kingship as he rides into the city on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy. The crowds respond with jubilation, spreading cloaks and branches, and shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David!
  • Key Verse Read:

    “The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven.’”
    — Matthew 21:9 [Approx. 03:30]

3. Hymn Singing – “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”

• [04:01–06:13]
  • Susan leads the hymn “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna” (Hymn 227), singing all three verses with feeling and reference to Palm Sunday traditions.
  • The hymn connects the ancient Palm Sunday scene with current-day praise, inviting listeners to “ever praise him with heart and life and voice.”
  • Memorable Moment:
    The warmth in singing together, aiming to “practice” for church, weaving generations together in faith.

4. Holy Week Preview and Worship as Practice

• [06:13–08:11]

  • Conversation anticipates the events of Holy Week, mentioning the hymn “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”

  • John reframes Sunday worship as just the “practice” for living out faith the rest of the week:

    “You know, that's what I call church on Sunday morning. I call it practice…The game's not Sunday. The game’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. We’re coming into church to…get ourselves back in the shape of the cross.”
    — John David Walt [07:33]

  • Quote:

    “We sing our fight songs and our anthems and we hear the word of God and the word preached…we have a good time over in Gillette, don't we?”
    — John David Walt [08:11]

5. Community, Family, and Closing Blessings

• [08:11–09:00]
  • The conversation touches on the local community in Gillette and the joy John feels in preaching with his family.
  • Both John and David reflect on the blessings of family worship and serving together.
  • Quote:

    “I never imagined I'd get to be your preacher.”
    — John David Walt [08:26]
    “It's a bonus for me and Susan.”
    — David Walt [08:34]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Worship as Preparation:
  “Church on Sunday morning…that’s practice...The game's Monday through Saturday.”
  — John David Walt [07:33]

• Scripture at the Center:
  “Hear now the word of the Lord…”
  — John David Walt [01:51]

• Intergenerational Faith:
  The joy and humility in sharing tradition and worship across generations—“I never imagined I'd get to be your preacher.”
  — John David Walt [08:26]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:36–01:43 – Consecration prayer and opening blessing
• 01:51–04:01 – Scripture reading: Matthew 21:1–11
• 04:01–06:13 – Singing “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”
• 06:13–07:28 – Singing “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”
• 07:33–08:11 – Reflection on worship as spiritual practice
• 08:11–08:39 – Community and family moments, local church mention
• 08:55–End – Episode wrap-up and final blessing

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Episode Tone

Warm, familial, and invitational—marked by tradition, singing, encouragement, and a focus on moving from worship to the real-life “game” of faith throughout Holy Week.

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This episode of The Wake-Up Call is an invitation to remember the story of Palm Sunday, to praise with both old words and new voices, and to reorient life around Jesus’ humble, transforming love as Holy Week begins.

Transcript

[David Walt]

Foreign.

[John David Walt]

Sower nation. It is Sunday. And it's not just any Sunday. It's palm Sunday. It's March 29th in the year of our Lord 2026. I'm John David Walt, and this is your wake up call. Remember these Sundays of Lent, we're. We're just reading scripture together. And you see who's back today.

[David Walt]

Hello, brothers and sisters.

[John David Walt]

He's here. So we're going to be singing a hymn too, just to get warmed up for church today. So first off, I want to read for you, for us, our scripture text. The classic Palm Sunday text it comes from.

[Susan]

Well, let's begin.

[John David Walt]

I should say we should begin with consecration. So wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. Help me, Dad. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you. And we're praying in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[David Walt]

Amen.

[John David Walt]

You know, we can forget a lot of things. But you're not forgetting that, are you?

[David Walt]

We're not going to forget that one. Good.

[John David Walt]

That's so good. Well, our text today, the Palm Sunday text. Matthew 21, verses 1 through 11. Hear now the word of the Lord. As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples saying to them. Go to the village ahead of you and at once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them and he will send them right away. This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet. Say to daughter, Zion, see, behold, your king comes to you gentle and riding on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a donkey. The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, who is this? The crowds answered, this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. The word of the Lord. All right, well, now we're going to sing one of the classic Palm Sunday hymns together. Tell us what the. Tell us the name and the number.

[David Walt]

It is. Hosanna. Loud Hosanna. Page 227.

[John David Walt]

Yep. Hymn 227. We're going to sing all three verses and. You ready, Dan?

[David Walt]

I'm ready as I can.

[Susan]

Hosanna. Loud Hosanna. The little children sang through pillar, court and temple the lovely anthem Dr. To Jesus who has blessed him for the two to his breast the children sang their praises the simplest and the best From O event they follow mid an exultant crown the victor palm branch waving and chanting clear and loud the Lord of earth and heaven rode on in lowly state no scorn then little children should on his bid in vain.

[John David Walt]

Last verse.

[Susan]

Hosanna in the highest that ancient song we sing For Christ is our redeemer the Lord of Heaven and King O May we ever praise him with heart and life and voice and in his blessed presence Eternal dreams rejoice.

[John David Walt]

All right, well, we're just practicing because we're going to probably sing this in church here in just a little while.

[David Walt]

Oh, over here.

[John David Walt]

Over here. Tonight in Gillette.

[David Walt]

And. Well, how are we going to hold this book up there?

[John David Walt]

But yes, we're headed into Holy Week and Dad's going to help us sing our way through it. We're going to go. Where you there when they crucify my Lord. You know that one?

[David Walt]

I know that one.

[Susan]

Were you there?

[John David Walt]

Let's see.

[Susan]

When they crucified my Lord. Were you there when they crucified? Fight, my Lord O. Sometimes it causes me to stumble, stumble, stumble Were you there when they crucified my.

[David Walt]

My Lord.

[Susan]

That's good, dad. That's best.

[John David Walt]

You've already sang the special music for today. We'll just call that the offertory. Well, everybody, we know you need some time to get ready for practice today. And you know, that's what I call church on Sunday morning. I call it practice because, you know, when the game is. Game's not Sunday. Games. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. We're coming into church to. To sing our songs and to get ourselves back in the prepared. To be prepared to get ourselves back in the shape of the cross.

[David Walt]

Amen.

[John David Walt]

We sing our fight songs and our anthems and we. We hear the word of God and the word preached and we got. We have a good time over in Gillette, don't we?

[David Walt]

We do. I like Little Town Gillette.

[John David Walt]

Gillette. Yep. I never imagined I'd get to be your preacher.

[David Walt]

No.

[John David Walt]

So that's a bonus, isn't it is for me.

[David Walt]

It's a bonus for me and. And Susan.

[John David Walt]

Well, everybody, let's just call it a morning and let's get ready. We'll see you not on the fields today. We'll see you at the house for the awakening. I'm John. David. Walt.

[David Walt]

And I'm David Walt.

[John David Walt]

We'll see you at the house.