TEACHING

PALM SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2023
10:30 AM (family sunday + potluck)
FIVE SHIFTS OF TRUE REVIVAL + REFORMATION
A reformation is a period of recalibration and course-correction. Any community around for as long as the church will experience inevitable drift over time. Yet the Spirit has worked again and again throughout history to draw the church back toward its center. Key moments come when particular ideas and practices are rethought and core truths are rediscovered.
Rapid cultural and technological change, clergy scandals, church divisions, and political turmoil have resulted in a period where “deconstruction” is the buzzword. Many Christians find themselves rethinking their faith, and many outside the church dismiss Christianity as having nothing true or relevant left to say to the world.
​SHIFT TWO: A Bigger Gospel with Josh Liem
Matthew 21:1-13; 23:37-24:2
Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus the Messiah’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where crowds laid cloaks and branches to welcome him as king. Less than a week later, the crowds crucify this Jesus, choosing to save another instead: Jesus-Barabbas. What kind of Jesus did they want? What kind of Jesus and gospel do we want? Join us to explore Jesus and the gospel that got him killed. Palm branches optional. 

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Teaching Notes:

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Matthew 21:5 | Zechariah 9:9-10
The donkey or the warhorse?
Jesus chooses the donkey.
Matthew 21:9 + 23:39 “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord”
Two interpretations:

1. Two different crowds
2. ​The same crowd

Cloaks and Palm Branches | The Temple Scene

• What was Jesus’ reaction to the honour shown by the crowd?

“‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are turning it into ‘a den of robbers!’”
Prophetic context:

• Isaiah 56:1-7
  • Promote justice, keep the Sabbath
  • Eunuchs and foreigners
  • All nations 
• Jeremiah 7:1-14
  • Oppressing foreigners, orphans, widows
  • Idolatry, murder, adultery, lying, oath breaking, stealing
  • Faith in a building

Matthew 21-24:2 Outline:

• 21:1-11 - The Triumphal Entry
• 21:12-16 - Cleansing of the Temple and True Worship
• 21:18-22 - The Withered Fig Tree as Symbol of the Temple
• 21:23-27 - A Callback to John the Baptist
• 21:28-22:14 - Three Parables
• 22:15-40 - Three Questions by the Pharisees and Sadducees
• 22:41-46 - Jesus Questions The Pharisees 
• 23:1-39 - 7 Woes + 1 Lament
• 24:1-2 - The Proclamation of Destruction of the Temple

​APPLICATION
The church is a sign, an instrument, and a foretaste of God’s reign (Leslie Newbigin)

The church is a crucible for learning agape love (Paul Eddy)

The church’s strength is measured by its care for its weakest members (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)



Bibliography
D. A. Carson, Matthew, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Revised edition, eds. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010. 
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, trans. Daniel W. Bloesch, Fortress Press, 2015.
Jeannine K. Brown, Matthew, Teach the Text Commentary Series, eds. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015.
Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.
R.T. France, Matthew, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, ed. Leon Morris, Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1985.
Saint Irenaeus, Against Heresies IV, especially chapters 11-14. https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/irenaeus-book4.html. 
Shawna Boren, Paul Walker, and Paul Eddy, “Markers of a New Reformation | 3. Community & Gospel with Paul Eddy,’ Jesus Collective Podcast, Feb. 8 2023, https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLnRoZW1lZXRpbmdob3VzZS5jb20vamVzdXNjb2xsZWN0aXZlL0pDUC5yc3M/episode/RG9Ob3RDaGFuZ2VMYXRlci0yMDIzLTAyLTA4LWpjcA.

For Reflection and Discussion

1. What is the Gospel?
   a. What are some ways that you’ve seen it distorted?
   b. What are the ways in which the Gospel you’ve heard placed the focus more on individuals over the community?
   c. What would a fuller story of the Gospel do to impact the way we live our faith (1) as individuals, and (2) as the body of Christ?
   
2. Who is one person who has positively impacted your faith and Jesus-centeredness? 
   a.What did you learn from them?
   
3. How are you helping others grow in living out God’s kingdom?
   a. How is your community doing the same?
   
4. What is the role of prayer in your life?
   a. How do you pray?
   ​b. How do you help others pray?
   
5. What do you sense our home church is being called into partnering with God on his mission to our neighbours?