Launch

Introduction

When I was a kid we had this mid week kids program for boys called “Stockade”. It was kind of like having boy scouts at the Church. I loved this ministry because it had a lot of hands on activities. Along with studying the Bible, we had a workshop where we build pinewood derby cars, we went camping and learned how to build campfires and identify trees and we also built Model Rocket Kits.

Armegeddon Movie

We each got one of these small rockets to decorate the outside anyway we wanted and then we would place these engines inside and bring them out to a big field out back of the Church. We would get to go one by one out to the Launching Pad and then one of the leaders would set our rocket in place. We then walked back to another leader who was holding the ignition switch. We then got to pretend we were in the command center and communicating with the crew that was “one the ground”. The leader would coach us to say:

“Ready to Launch”

And the Grounds crew would say “All systems are go”

Then we would say, “Commencing Countdown” and all the kids would tell out together)

“5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - Launch!”

I am not going to do it, this is an outside toy, but I wanted to get us all thinking about the excitement and anticipation behind something that is being “Launched”

New things happening here at Friendship

Model Rocket Kit

Tension

This is the time of year when many things are being launched. School has begun so that families are settling into the “School Year Routine” including the many extra curriculars that have launched along with the school year. Here at Friendship Church we are gearing up for our launching of Sunday School in two weeks and our mid week gathering about “Serve Teams” that will begin on the Sept 12th.

may have not seen dramatic changes, but as the summer vacation plans come to an end we are planning on seeing most all of our work mates back in their regular routines - just as we settle into them.

This is Labor Day Weekend, and the truth is that even our work environments have a different feel as people have been in and out with summer vacations and now it is time to settle into the work routine.

And I wonder about that word, “routine” because it brings a contrast to our idea of “Launch”. An important question for our teaching this morning is : “What is the difference between launching something and just having something come back around again?”

And it is the word “Routine” that I want to The question that I think is important for us to consider this morning, is “What is the difference between launching something and just having something come back around again?”

And that is what I want to probe into this morning, among the many things that are launching out this fall, are we really launching something new - or just giving the same old thing a boost again?

Maybe a good comparison would be to consider the difference between a rocket launching and a tether ball game.

New things happening here at Friendship

Anyone remember that game? It is a ball on a string tied the the top of the pole and the goal is to get the ball “tethered” to the pole - so wrapped all around the pole in a certain direction. Of course your opponent is trying to get the ball “tethered” around the pole in the opposite direction. When you get a really good hit on that ball it goes over your opponents head and then comes back to you again and you don’t just let it go by - you hit it again to increase it’s velocity but heading in the same direction on the same path.

What would happen if you launched that ball so hard that the string snapped? You would be the legend of the playground! If you literally launched that ball, not just back around in it’s typical orbit but across the playground.

You see I think that the difference between a “Launch” and a “Boost” is key in understanding out text today. We have come to the part of the Gospel of Luke where Jesus has finally reached the city of Jerusalem, and with him there is a lot of excitement and anticipation.

As we have been learning over the past weeks, many of the Jews traveling with Jesus did not understand what He was arriving in Jerusalem to do. They were hoping that he was going to return the earthly Kingdom of Israel to it’s position of superpower in the known world. They had read the stories of how their ancestors like King David and Solomon ruled without equal and they were anticipating that kind of Kingdom of come around again. But Jesus was not looking to give the Jewish way of life a boost, he was looking to launch something entirely new.

Jesus was arriving in Jerusalem at the perfect time to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. Probably the most well known and widely celebrated feast of the Jews, and it always brought a huge crowd into Jerusalem. But Jesus was coming to do more than just celebrate how God had rescued his people in the past - He was there to launch a rescue plan that would offer salvation to all people from the past, to the present and into the future.

Not just a boost, but a Launch.

Of course, in our lives there is nothing intrinsically wrong with having seasons come back around or having routines re-established but... what if God is looking to do more in our lives than just get us back on the same track as we were last year. What if He wants to take us to an entirely new place? What if just like in Jesus’ day we come expecting something familiar and then the presence of Jesus in our life launches us toward something entirely new?

Could we trust that if Jesus is leading us into this new thing, then it will be far better than what we had previously expected? That is the question that the people in our text today had to grapple with and one that faces us today 2000 years later.

If you haven’t already, open your Bibles to (p. 878) Ill pray for us and then we will learn together how Jesus launched this New Thing in the lives of God’s people.

Ephesians 3:20 ESV

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

let’s pray and then learn together how Jesus launched his rescue plan by initiating something that no one expected.

his rescue plan by initiating things that no one expected, but that we far better than they could have planned.

Would we be open to that? Or are we so set in our routines that all we really want is a boost in that same direction?

Truth

Luke 19:28–35 ESV

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

The first thing that Jesus did was

Luke 19:28–35 ESV

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

One important thing for us to see in all of this information that Luke offers us in his Gospel is that Jesus did these things very intentionally. Do you catch how specific his instructions were?

He told them which village.

He told them which animal.

Luke 19:

He told them the condition of the animal.

He told them how to respond when they are asked about what they are doing.

The first thing that Jesus did was to INITIATE HIS TRANSPORTATION

Those are very specific instructions and then we see that it happened just as Jesus had said. This is not just happenstance. None of these things are a coincidence. Jesus is very intentially initiating this launch with these preparations.

There are at least two reasons that Jesus had for making sure that his “Launch” got started like this.

There are at least two reasons that Jesus gave such specific examples. For one thing, it followed after God’s Will as he had sent word to his prophets on how it should happen, and the second was because Jesus knew the political tension that surrounded his coming into Jerusalem.

1. It followed after God’s Will as he had revealed it to his prophets a long time ago

2. It was because Jesus knew the political tension that surrounded his coming into Jerusalem, and he didn’t want anything to get in the way of his mission.

It was the prophet Zechariah who said:

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

I remember having dinner with a friend of mine and it was right after Palm Sunday and he was just pondering on what he thought was a possibility that Jesus was actually riding into Jerusalem on a strong and noble white stallion. This guy was a “Mans Man” kind of guy. He was into these big truck pulls where back smoke flies out the back and the truck bears down the dirt track…so from his perspective he wanted to see Jesus manhandling the reigns of this powerful animal as it snorted and strutted into the city. That imagery would have communicated well to this guy, and for most of us who consider our selves manly men, but that would not have communicated the same message to the people in Jesus’ day.

He probably has wate

The truth is that in Jesus’ day the image of a ruler riding on the foal of a donkey sent a very powerful message in and of itself. You see when a King rode into the city on a war horse it meant that the men were off to war. However, when he rode in on a donkey, that meant that any threat to the kingdom had been eliminated and now is a time of peace.

Donkeys were beasts of burden, used to plow and work the fields. In our pleasure and entertainment dominated society we don’t see work as the privilege that it is. Maybe thinking on that would be an appropriate way to spend some of our Labor Day weekend.

When you live in a war torn Kingdom, where the men are off fighting battles, then they are not home to plant the fields. Your land goes to waste, and your ability to provide for your family is threatened. But when you get to put away your war horse and get out your donkey, that means that their is peace in the land. You now have the privelage of working your land, increasing your crops and providing for you family.

So this image of a King riding in on a donkey was a powerful one. It means that the authority of this King has already been established, so there is not need for continued war. As we will see in the upcoming verses. As Zechariah had prophesied many years before, Israels new King, Jesus, would come to to initiate a time of Peace

The second reason that Jesus was so specific in his instructions was to keep his disciples safe in the interchange. Jesus was very aware of how much the religious leaders in the Jerusalem both feared and hated him. He knew that anyone who was caught helping him would be persecuted. He couldn’t let anything get in the way of this next step in his mission so he gave specific instructions on what to say and how to respond.

Some theologians have postulated that Jesus had set up this arrangement in advance and that the language here is really a “secret message” that told the owners of the donkey that Jesus was ready to LAUNCH his plan, without giving it away to anyone else listening in. Notice how simple the language is and how they never use Jesus name - they just say “The Lord had need of it” and they let them lead the donkey away. (compare to someone taking your car?) It is an intriguing possibility, but even if it wasn’t prearranged then the other option is just as intriguing as it means that Jesus was able to see all the elements of the exchage before it even took place.

Either way, we can still recognize how Jesus was very intentional in his instructions to fulfill the prophecy as God the Father had revealed it to protect the mission from being thwarted by someone catching or detaining his Disciples.

Secondly:

Luke 19:36–40 ESV

And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Luke

This is the event that we typically celebrate on the day we call “Palm Sunday”. Luke's details are a little thin here compared to the other three Gospel writers who all include this event in their writings. One of the things that Luke does include is this interchange between the Pharisees and Jesus is their telling him to rebuke his disciples. They wanted Jesus to settle down the crowd and they especially wanted him to stop them from saying what they were saying. Why is this so important to them? Because more than most, they understood the power of these events and these declarations.

Remember I said that the streets were teaming with people because of the Passover and every time that the religious leaders tried to confront Jesus or attack Jesus in a crowd it always ended badly. They were better at accomplishing their underhanded ways under the cover of darkness. As we will soon see when they arrest and judge Jesus while the crowds were still sleeping. So what they don’t want to happen is to have to go after Jesus during this passover weekend.

As a quick reminder, the Passover is a celebration where Jews remember the night when their ancestors who were slaves in Egypt were commanded to sacrifice a spotless lamb and display it’s blood on the doorposts of thier houses so that the angel of death would pass over their homes and spare the life of their first born son. The death of that lamb took the place of the death of their first born son. The Egyptians were not given this instruction and their first born sons were taken by God. Well Jesus was coming into Jerusalem on the Passover Week in order to be, as John the Baptist put it in :29:

John 1:29 ESV

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The Egyptians were not given this instruction and their first born sons were taken by God. Well Jesus was about to become as John the Baptist put it: “The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”.

So from God’s perspective, the perfect time for the needed sacrifice for the sins of His people was at the celebration of the passover. But from the Religious leaders perspectives this was the worst timing. They felt threatened by the crowd control issues that Passover would bring so they planned to wait until after the celebration so that they could operate without the crowds knowledge. Matthew gives us a glimpse into their thinking in

So from Jesus perspective, the perfect time for this to happen was on the night of the passover. But from the Religious leaders perspectives this was the worst timing. They planned to wait until after the passover so that they could opperate without the crowds knowledge. Matthew gives us a glimpse into their thinking in

Matthew 26:1–5 ESV

1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

The religious leaders saw Jesus as a problems that they just wanted to go away so that they could get back to “business as usual”. But since their “business” was not the “business of the Kingdom of God” liked we talked about last week, this public display to honor Jesus forces their hand. They have to move now because the people believe this Jesus to be their new King. And of course Judas’ timely offer to betray Jesus gives them that opportunity. And Jesus even initiates that…remember what he told Judas at that passover feast, the last supper?

“What you are about to do, do quickly” () Jesus initiated his timing.

Remember that there were many other times when people wanted to publically declare Jesus as the Messiah, and Jesus went off by himself or told them, “It is not yet my time”. But here we are in the final week of Jesus life. His time has come. Everything that He needs to accomplished while He is still on earth would happen in this next week. So not only does he allow it here, but he himself initiates it with very specific instructions because it accomplished his purposes in his perfect timing.

Thirdly, As Jesus approaches Jerusalem his heart is touched and ...

Luke 19:41–44 ESV

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

This is one of only a couple of times in the Gospels where we read of Jesus weeping. To be clear Jesus is not weeping here for what he is about to endure on the cross, although that would be understandable, he is weeping out of his love for the people in the holy city of Jerusalem.

The cities name “Jerusalem” contains the Hebrew word for Peace “Shaloam”. (Jeru - shaloam) and that is at the root of Jesus first thought in his lament. How could this great city, named after the blessing of Peace, have missed “Prince of Peace” as he enters into it’s gates.

We can see

Not only that, but Jesus prophecies about what will happen to this great city in a very short period of time. And about 40 years later, the city of Jerusalem was attacked and destroyed just as Jesus has described here. This is the city that He had lovingly protected so many times in the past, an now His heart was heavy as he wept for what they missed in his “visitation” of peace and he wept for what he knew they were about to go through in the devastation of war.

Jesus knows what he is about to encounter here in Jerusalem. He knows that the people of this city will crucify him, and his heart breaks over all that they have missed in his presence and all that they will endure because they have rejected him as their King.

Luke 19:45–48 ESV

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” 47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

Historically, the Temple was the place where God’s people went to meet with God on his terms. God initiated both the manner of interaction and the space that it would be held in. It is one of the most prominent themes in all of Scripture, as there are examples of the idea of the Temple all the way from Genesis to Revelation.

Adam and Eve met with God on his terms in the Garden,

Moses met with God on his terms, on the mountain and eventually in the tent of meeting,

Aaron and his sons, the appointed priests, met with God on his terms in the tabernacle,

The priests from of Levi met with God on his terms in Solomon’s Temple,

Then Solomon’s Temple was desecrated and destroyed by the Assyrian Empire.

and each time God initiated the design of the space and the manner of the meeting.

It was never left to a person to try and please God with both where they med with him and how. That is one of the defining ideas behind “religion” as the world would define it. That God is someone that you have to figure out how, when and where to interact with him in order to please or appease him. That is not the God of the Bible. He has not hidden his ways from his people, but lays them out clearly so that we can follow them without wondering. God is not looking for us to initiate a “religion”, but to come to him in the relationship that He offers on His terms.

is not interested in our “religion” as much as he is interested in us having a relationship with Him, which only happens on His terms.

The people in Jesus day had turned the Temple into a man focused experience, they were no longer seeking God on His terms. It was a marketplace atmosphere instead of the reverent one that God had established. Because Jesus declared the place to be a “den of robbers” we know that this was not even an honest mistake, but the intentional rejection of God’s terms for how to meet with Him. ***

When reading the other Gospels we see that Jesus cleansed the Temple on at least one other occasion. The Gospel writer John records a time very early in Jesus’ ministry when he journeyed to Jerusalem for the passover and did a similar thing.

When you look at

The Temple was rebuilt

.

John 2:13–17 ESV

13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

John 3:13–17 ESV

13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Apparently there was no lasting change from this encounter because three years later we find him doing the same thing again. But listen to how Jesus responded to the objections of the Religious leaders at this time:

Listen to how Jesus responds to the Religious leaders even then:

John 2

John 2:13–22 ESV

13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

John 2:18–22 ESV

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

John 2:13

Jesus is standing in the Temple building, but he is speaking about a different Temple. One that will be destroyed and then rise again in three days. Of course the Religious leaders were not dialed into spiritual things, and could only respond with how long it took the contractors to build the Temple building. Jesus was talking about what it took to meet with God on His terms.

countered with a description of how long it took contractors to finish the Temple building. Jesus wa operating soley from a physical perspective knew that the Tin the physical world. Fast forward to this second cleansing of the Temple and we find Jesus cleansing the Temple again and then returning to teach the people. Now the people are coming to the Temple to meet with Jesus and to learn from his teaching.

Fast forward to this second cleansing of the Temple, and this time we see...

*** Jesus following (follows) up the cleansing with his continual presence. He returns to the Temple to teach the people. So now the people are coming to the Temple building, but they are coming there to be with Jesus. To learn from Jesus.

not just to meet the standards of the Old Testament law, but to meet with Jesus and to learn from him.

Jesus had initiated new terms to meet with God - a New Temple. We no longer have to go to a particular city like Jerusalem, or a particular building like Solomon’s Temple, or even meet with particular people, like the Old Testament Prients. Now we meet with God through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Gospel Application

But meeting with God in the Temple involved more than just Worship didn’t it. The other prominent aspect of the Temple experience throughout the Bible is that the temple was the place where judgement and payment for sin is made. The Temple is where sacrifices took place and this is not missing in the New Temple that Jesus is initiating, in fact Jesus himself, in his love for us, will be that sacrifice.

Ephesians 5:2 ESV

2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

None of it this just happend. Jesus was not a victim of political circumstances. He was not in the wrong place at the wrong time. The cross was always a part of his mission, and his love for us was the fuel that launced his mission,

3 - 2 - 1 Blast Off

It was not about experience more of the same. It was not about giving things a little boost. That is what the “religious” people in the crowd wanted - but Jesus launched the New Temple, God’s new terms for meeting with Him.

It was not about giving things a little boost. That is what the “religious” peop

1 Peter 2:1–10 ESV

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Gospel Application

1 Peter 2 ESV

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

This is actually the last week in our series in the book of Luke, as mentioned previously we are going to launch into the Gospel Project together in two weeks and Mark Halvorsen from Teamwork Africa will be here next week to speak. It is not as though we are entirely skipping these last 4 chapters, as we cover them every year in our Easter Series when we walk with Jesus through his accomplishment of his mission. We typically begin with the Triumphal Entry, which we covered today and ended with Jesus giving us the great commission.

This is actually the last week in our series in the book of Luke, as mentioned previously we are going to launch into the Gospel Project together in two weeks and Mark Halvorsen from Teamwork Africa will be here next week to speak. It is not as though we are entirely skipping these chapters thought, as we cover them every year in our Easter Series. Every year we walk with Jesus through the pre-determined steps of his sacrifice for us on the cross. We typically begin around Palm Sunday, or the Triumphal Entry as it is recorded in our our text today. Then we walk through each step in Jesus’ story as he heads to the cross, dies on the cross and then rises again to bring new life to those who trust in Him.

John 2:19 ESV

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

plan of salvation that began with the Triumphal Entry, which we covered today and ended with Jesus giving us the great commission.

It is not as though we are entirely skipping these last 4 chapters, as we cover them every year in our Easter Series when we walk with Jesus through his accomplishment of his mission. plan of salvation that began with the Triumphal Entry, which we covered today and ended with Jesus giving us the great commission.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the cornerstone for the New Temple that is build of “living stones”. Jesus is the cornerstone of the Church, the Church that is made up of people who have been made alive in Jesus Christ and are serving him by sharing his message of salvation with the World around them.

As we Launch into a new year, the Theme that God has layed on my heart for us this coming year is “Together”. That we as a Church would not just be after the things of God individually, but that we would do it together.

In fact in 1 Peter we read about how Jesus is the cornerstone for the New Temple that is build of “living stones”. Jesus is the cornerstone of the Church, the Church that is made up of people who have been made alive in Jesus Christ and are serving him by sharing his message of salvation with the World around them.

One the passages that points to this is

Ephesians 2:19–22 ESV

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

The Bible tells us that JEsus

Understand that where we see the word “you” there it is a plural word in the Greek. One of the major limitations of the English language is that we use the same word for the singular and plural of the word you. A better understanding of the you there could be “You All” or y’all if you got a southern streak in you. We all “together” are being build into a dwelling place for God.

This is the New Temple. It is made up of Christ the cornerstone, his disciples as living stones and the dwelling place of God by the Spirit is among us.

Ephesians 2:19-

The Bible tells us that JEsus

Landing

Ephesians 5:2 ESV

2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Landing

This building is not a Temple, it is just a building where we gather together. Please don’t think that you are part of the body of Christ just because you come here and sit in these chairs. That doesn’t make you a part of the body of Christ, but if that is you, then I am really glad you are here. Because today could be the day that you actually do become a part of the body of Christ. Today could be the day that you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart in the sacrifice of Jesus when he died and rose again. If hearing these things stirs something up in your heart, then God is probably inviting you into the New Temple. Don’t leave today without talking to someone about what that might mean. I would love to talk to you more about this...

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

says

If you haven’t done this, then today is a great day. I would love to talk to you more about this...

For those of us who have done this then we are a part of this “New Temple” that Jesus initiated here. We are the “Living stones” that are to be growing on the foundation of the apostles and prophets and most importantly, growing to be like Jesus Christ himself.

- the New Temple is the one that Jesus is building with the “Living stones” of his people as they grow on the foundation of the apostles and prophets and most importantly, as they grow up into Christ himself.

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 ESV

16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

1 Cor

Again, the “You” here is plural. This is not a verse about us individually, but about “us together” And I am excited to see how God is going to grow us “TOGETHER” in this coming year.

my desgoal for the year is the see those of us who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to grow “together” as the body of Christ here at Friendship Church.

you

3 - 2- -1 Launch!

Launch

Jesus Initiates His Transportation (19:28-35)

Jesus Initiates His Timing (19:36-40)

Jesus Engages His Compassion (19:41-44)

Jesus Initiates a New Temple (19:45-48)