As we come to this time of Holy Week, we look back to see that we’ve traveled this Journey to Jerusalem together, seeking hope amid some of life’s most difficult challenges. Now we’re at the pinnacle of our journey – the intersection between suffering and hope. When we face the cross, we may find ourselves—our own lives—reflected in it. We need to take some time to think about that tonight—about what part we might’ve played in adding to the suffering of this day… Well, as we begin our time in...
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?” 13 So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with...
On the day that Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem—that first Palm Sunday, I can almost imagine that he could see right through the praises and accolades of those in attendance. The symbol of riding on the back of a donkey’s colt—one that had never been ridden—was a sign of royalty. Indeed, here was the King—our King, the One whom God had sent in his infinite wisdom to save us from our sins—literally from the sin that we were born into. But, the majority of His world missed it....
Summer will soon be upon us. And for many of us, that’s when we plan time away with the family. Well, if we go on a vacation (a journey), we usually take time and plan, don’t we? And one of those very important things to take into consideration, when planning for a journey of any kind, is the cost… It costs to go on vacation (a journey), doesn’t it? And, here we find that ‘money matters’… In the same way, money is a very important part of our life journey...
Getting ready for what was ahead, Jesus retreats to His usual place of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. If you’ve seen this holy site in Jerusalem, it’s at the location (across the Kidron Valley from the Temple Mount) of the “Church of All Nations,” built over the site where Jesus would have flung himself to the ground for those final prayers before his arrest… I want you to know today that the name Gethsemane is a sign in itself. The word ‘Gethsemane’ is synonymous...
Today, we continue on our Journey to Jerusalem together, as we follow Jesus on his journey to the cross. We’ve already talked about 2 mile markers, as we’ve journeyed together: A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the need to avoid roadblocks in our relationship with God. Last week, we talked about the mile marker of self esteem or, rather, ‘our esteem of self in God’—learning how to look into God’s mirror as we journey together. And today, as you’ve probably already guessed, our mile marker is this: UNITY....
Well, I told you last week that we’re not going to wait until Palm Sunday for Jesus to enter into Jerusalem … this year. Today’s the day. So, with that in mind, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with palm branches waving … conjures up some other images for me. Folks, at this point in his earthly ministry, Jesus was at the height of his fame here on earth … and this got me to thinking… Do you think that Jesus would ever Google himself? You know, search for himself on the...
So often in life, when confronted with hurtful or confusing or emotionally damaging situations, we do the ‘human thing’—build walls up around us to protect us, to keep us from getting hurt again. And, some of you are already thinking to yourselves: “Yes, AND…” … as if that’s the most logical thing we can do in these situations… The problem is … what seems the most logical thing to do … is not always what’s best for us; sometimes we need the supernatural to intervene in our lives. Why? Because...
Destination matters, doesn’t it? I’ll never forget the first vacation we had as a family to Florida. My dad had just purchased some property down there in a little town called ‘Intercession City’ (yes, named after those involved in intercessory prayer). It was about 15 minutes from the front gate of Disney World. So, we were all excited—off on an adventure… The way we traveled when all us kids were young was … we camped. That was the least expensive housing we could find on the road in those days,...
It is my contention that commitment to the local church—at least in my lifetime and in our western society—has digressed to become an afterthought even in the lives of most believers! It’s kind of the attitude that we can give God the leftovers of our lives … and that’s O.K…. What this has done to the Church is this: The result is lackadaisical Christians that are not held accountable to be living out the Gospel in community and on mission. Instead of having and holding a high view of ecclesiology...
