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SYNOPSIS OF THE SERMON
In this week’s sermon, Pastor Rich spoke about the mystery of Christ. There are some mysteries we can’t plummet entirely, like the Trinity, and we encounter similar mysteries in the passage of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The first thing we see is Jesus’ self-limitation. God incarnate chooses to limit himself, his potential activity, so we can participate with Him in the Divine Drama. Additionally, Jesus comes unexpectedly. He’s King of the Universe, yet He’s riding a donkey. To further the point, Rich says it may appear that God is “hidden”. God chooses to reveal himself in ways so different from what our world, or culture, values. The third mystery is of God’s people. The same people who praised Jesus on Sunday, were yelling crucify him on Thursday. We too are fickle and in need of Jesus’ forgiveness and grace. The fourth mystery in this passage, is worship. What camp are we in – passionate worshippers or the inspectors of religious activities (like the Pharisees)? The last two are the mystery of Rejection by the Jews, and the Mystery of Jesus’ tenderness – summed up in that He continues to love us and weep over us even while we reject him.
GETTING THE CONVERSATION STARTED
These questions can be used as ice-breakers in the beginning OR interwoven between the questions below to draw the group into the discussion.
1.What has been one significant encounter with Jesus you’ve had over this Lenten season? Please share briefly.
2.Did any of the mysteries we learned about in this week’s sermon resonate with you? Have you considered any of them more deeply? Please share how you’ve processed the sermon.
3.If you could get “away”, what would be your dream vacation? Your “port in the storm”?
INTERACTING WITH THE SERMON
1. In 5 minutes or less. Briefly give a synopsis of this week’s sermon. What insight, principle, or observation from this weekend’s message did you find to be most helpful, eye-opening, or troubling? Explain.
2.Read Psalm 118:
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.” 5 When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place. 6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can human beings do to me?7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in human beings. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them down. 11 They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them down. 12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them down. 13 I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. 14 The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.
15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things! 16 The LORD’s right hand is lifted high; the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!” 17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. 18 The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. 27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
•In verses 1 through 4, the psalmist repeats the phrase “His love endures forever” several times. What do you think is the reason behind this? Have you ever spent any time meditating on this phrase? Is it easy or hard to believe? Has your mind been able to fully grasp the meaning and significance of this truth? What impact has it had on your life? Briefly share.
•What is the Lord’s response to the cry of verse 5? Take some time to contrast the phrases “hard pressed” and “spacious place”. What does that tell you of God’s love and care for his people? Briefly share.
•Verses 6 through 9 reflect an absolute trust in the Lord. Is it easy to trust God when staring in the face of your enemies? or in the different challenges of life? Why is it important to remind ourselves of God’s goodness in times such as those? Briefly share.
•According to verses 10 through 14, what is the result of trusting in God? Take some time to share personal stories of God’s deliverance in your own lives.
•Read verse 17 again. How can we be confident that we will not die but live? Is this worthy of sharing with other people? What does the psalmist do with this knowledge (v.17)?
•It seems odd that in a psalm full of praise for what the Lord has done, the psalmist would say that the Lord has chastened (disciplined) him severely, but he has not given him to death (v.18). Why do you think he does this? Read verses 19 through 21. How do these verses relate to verse 18? Do you think the psalmist sees God’s discipline as a path to righteousness? Do you think this righteousness brought through discipline is an answered prayer of salvation? Briefly share.
•In verse 25 we read the cry “Lord, save us” (hosanna). This cry indicates surrender on our behalf and complete dependence on God. Why is it important that we live our lives constantly crying out HOSANNA!? Briefly share.
•Why do you think the psalmist ends this psalm in the exact same way that he begins it? Why should we emphasize God’s goodness in our day-to-day lives? From our own experience of God, can we live our life saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”?
3.Please allow time at the end of your group to wait on the Holy Spirit and to pray for one another.
Additional ministry areas below:
•Is there anything in your life you’re “crying out to God” to save you from? Please share with someone else in your group and pray together for God’s presence and power.
•The psalmist in this passage, over and over, refers to what God has done, his faithfulness – with a posture of thanksgiving, go before the Lord and “declare the truth of His enduring Love”. Take time to enjoy the fellowship and communion with the Holy Spirit.
•Some people may need to turn toward the Lord’s refuge, his solace and protection in a difficult circumstance and therefore away from seeking refuge in anything else. Search your hearts and turn to Jesus in prayer.
Small Group Leaders, We Need Your Help!!!
We still need 9 people for the 9:00 service, and 5 people for the 11:30 service.
For Lent this year, we are doing a sermon series entitled, “40 Days of Drawing Near to Jesus” where we will be studying the various spiritual disciplines found in the book of Luke, which we hope will help all of us draw near to Jesus. And for Easter weekend, we wanted to do something really special and have live cardboard testimonies as part of our worship time during our services.
If you don’t know what a cardboard testimony is, please click on this link to see an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ
Here is where we need your help. We are looking for about 100 people from our congregation who would be willing to share a cardboard testimony during our worship time in one of our Easter weekend services (25 people at each of our 4 services). We would like to ask if you would consider having your whole small group (or even just a few people) participate in this together. This would be a great opportunity for your small group to serve together in our church. And it would also be a chance to share the amazing Jesus stories of the people in your small group with our church.
We would like to encourage you to pray about this and talk with your small group and see if this is something that you might want to do together.
Here is one thing you can try: For worship time during your small group, show the video that I referenced above. And then you can ask people to share their own testimonies (just on a sheet of paper) during worship time. And if this is something that was meaningful for the group, you might ask if this is something that your whole group would do together on Easter (in front of 3000 people) to celebrate together what Jesus has done in our midst.
If your group is willing and able to help out in this way, can you please respond back to us at your earliest convenience and let us know how many people from your group will share a cardboard testimony on Easter? As noted above, we are looking for about 100 people.
We still need 9 people for the 9:00 service, and 5 people for the 11:30 service.
To respond, please contact Miriam Gray at 614-259-5235 or Miriam.Gray@vineyardcolumbus.org.
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