Thought Exercise on Jerusalem

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The Donkey: One Far Fierce Hour

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Zechariah 9:9, Exodus 4:10-12, 1 Samuel 16:11-13, Matthew 21:6-9, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, Psalm 118:25-26

The following poem, “the Donkey” by G. K. Chesterton, re-envisions Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the day Christians commemorate Palm Sunday: When fishes flew and forests walked And figs g...

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A Workable Structure for Life

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Worship gives us a workable structure for life. The psalm says, “Jerusalem, well-built city, built as a place for worship! The city to which the tribes ascend, all God’s tribes go up to worship.” Jeru...

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An Astronaut Enters Jerusalem

Author

Joshua DuBois

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 3:5, Matthew 21:12-13

Neil Armstrong, the great astronaut, once took a trip to the Old City of Jerusalem. He went to the Hulda Gate, which opens to the Temple Mount. Armstrong asked a guide whether Jesus had in fact walked...

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Opening Our Windows Towards Jerusalem

Author

John H. Baumgaertner

Keywords

Lent

In this short excerpt from a series of sermons for the Lenten season, pastor and author John H. Baumgaertner shares this short poem about the Lenten journey: Opening our windows toward Jerusalem And...

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From the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem

Author

Jen Pollock Michel

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 25:8, 1 Corinthians 15:52-53, Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 22:1-5, Philippians 3:20-21, Hebrews 13:14

The biblical narrative begins and ends at home. From the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem we are hardwired for place and for permanence, for rest and refuge, for presence and protection. We long fo...

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The Upside-Down Pilgrimage: Saul’s Journey to Damascus

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Saul of Tarsus did not intend to be a pilgrim when he set off to go from Jerusalem to Damascus. Indeed, why would any pilgrim make that journey? Pilgrims went to Jerusalem, not away from it. No: Saul,...

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It is Well

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 5:4, Psalm 147:null, Psalm 34:18, Revelation 21:1-8, 2 Corinthians 1:3-12, Romans 8:18-28, John 11:null, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, John 14:27, 1 Peter 5:7, Daniel 6:, Psalm 46:, Psalm 23:, Job 1:, Job 2:, 2 Samuel 11:, 2 Samuel 12:

If you ever travel to Jerusalem and are looking for sites to see, beyond all the ‘must-see’ sites related to Ancient Israel, the Temple Mount, and the sites associated with Jesus, you might venture to...

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Scripture Grounds our Story in Place

Author

Eric O. Jacobsen

Keywords

Our Scriptures that bring us the story of our salvation ground us in place. Everywhere they insist on this grounding. Everything that is critically important to us takes place on the ground. Mountains...

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The Orthodox Program & Jesus’ Different Way

Author

Luther A. Weigle

Keywords

Scripture

Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:8-11, Luke 19:36-44, John 12:16-19

Judged in the light of any ordinary standards of regal splendor, military display, political campaigning, or effective advertising, it was a rather pathetic and anti-climactic affair. Jesus rode from ...

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The Greatness of Solomon’s Temple

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Kings 6:7, Exodus 35:30–35 , Isaiah 28:16 , 1 Peter 2:4–5, Psalm 118:22–23 , Matthew 16:18

In the 1800s, a group of people were exploring just outside the ancient walls of Jerusalem, near the Damascus Gate, when they came across a hole in the ground. Curious, they began to dig—and uncovered...

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An Acted Parable

Author

James S. Stewart

Keywords

Scripture

Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:8-11, Luke 19:36-44, John 12:16-19

The entrance into Jerusalem was an acted parable. It gave the faithful the sign they had been waiting for. It inaugurated the Master’s final mission to his people and was a fitting prelude to the days...

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Mary & Joseph were Poor

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 2:22-24, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Isaiah 9:6-7, Philippians 2:6-8, John 1:14, Isaiah 61:1

They were poor. We know this because the two young turtledoves Joseph and Mary brought was the smallest offering they were allowed as devout Jews and yet the largest they likely could afford. With tw...

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Hell and Gehenna

Author

Matt Chandler

Keywords

Hell

The word Gehenna is used by Jesus twelve times in the four Gospels. God’s first response to the belittlement of his name is this Greek word Gehenna, which we would translate “hell.” The interesting th...

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Two Triumphal Entries

Author

Osheta Moore

Keywords

Palm Sunday

Scripture

Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:8-11, Luke 19:36-44, John 12:16-19

Palm Sunday is the occasion on the Christian calendar when we commemorate Jesus’ triumphal entry in Jerusalem. The concept of a triumph requires some explanation, because it’s foreign to modern believ...

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Psalm 119: 176 Steps to Heaven

Author

Calvin Miller

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:, Isaiah 35:8, Hebrews 11:13-16, Psalm 137:1, Revelation 21:2

I have chosen to focus on this psalm [119] because it formed the important center of Celtic praise. In Ireland it was once referred to as The Biait . The word comes from Psalm 119: 1, which begins B...

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Jesus’ Resurrection

Author

Russ Ramsey

Keywords

Resurrection

Jesus’s resurrection opened a door between the fallen, groaning world into which he was born and the renewal of all things. That door was a stone rolled back by the very finger of God from the mouth o...

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The Two Pilgrims

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Tolstoy’s tale "The Two Pilgrims" describes two Russians on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, eager to attend the solemn Easter festivities. One pilgrim was so focused on reaching the destination t...

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The Importance of Lament to Create a Healthy Society

Author

Soong-Chan Rah

Keywords

In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah responds to the tragedy and suffering of the fallen city of Jerusalem. The proper response to a tragedy of this proportion is to offer up a lament. The book begin...

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Vladimir the Great: Choosing Christianity for All the Wrong Reasons

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:27-29, John 6:44, 1 Corinthians 1:21, 2 Kings 5:, Joshua 2:

The Grand Prince of Kiev (now called Russia), Vladimir the Great, was under intense pressure to choose a national religion. The year was 987 AD, and paganism was quickly going out of fashion. More and...

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The Cross Was The Devil's Mousetrap

Author

Os Guinness

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Peter 2:24, Galatians 3:13, Revelation 5:9-10, Isaiah 53:

The cross, Martin Luther wrote, was the devil’s mousetrap. The devil smelled cheese, and wham, felt steel. Thus, we see a little baby lying defenseless in a crib at Bethlehem, and a tortured man hangi...

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The Global Church Stewarding Resources Together

Author

Brian Fikkert & Russell Mask

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 11:29 – 30, Romans 15:23 – 33; 1 , 1 Corinthians 16:1 – 4; 2 , 2 Corinthians 8:9, Romans 15:30 – 31, 2 Corinthians 8:13 – 15

The Bible envisions the global church as one body with no national or geographic boundaries. This one body is called to steward all of its resources — spiritual, human, technological, theological, org...

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The Resurrection Opened a Door

Author

Russ Ramsey

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 16:9-11, Psalm 110:1-2 , Psalm 118:22-24, Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 53:3-5, Ezekiel 37:1-14

Jesus’s resurrection opened a door between the fallen, groaning world into which he was born and the renewal of all things. That door was a stone rolled back by the very finger of God from the mouth o...

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Was the Star of Bethlehem a Comet?

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 2:1-12

As early as AD 248, Origen suggested that the star of Bethlehem was a comet—and there continue to be astronomers who think that he was right. Comets are icy objects that orbit the sun. When seen fro...

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John Mark: The Comeback Kid

Author

Bryan M. Litfin

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 12:12, Acts 12:25, Acts 13:13, Acts 14:19, Acts 28:16, Colossians 4:10, Philemon 24:null, 2 Timothy 4:11

We all love a good comeback story. In such tales, the young upstart rises like a meteor, fails big, then fights back against the odds to win the victory. Tech whiz Steve Jobs was like that. After prod...

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The Watchman in Scripture

Author

Edward F. Markquart

Keywords

The watchman was a very common theme in Old Testament days. In Biblical days, the Jews had vineyards with grapevines. On that farm with acres of grapes, the Jews built a tall tower called a watchtower...

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The Trojan Horse of the Church Year

Author

Fleming Rutledge

Keywords

Palm Sunday

Scripture

Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:8-11, Luke 19:36-44, John 12:16-19

Palm Sunday is the Trojan horse of the church year. You remember the story from Greek mythology: a huge, splendid wooden horse was accepted by the Trojans as a present from the Greeks (so it really ou...

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If I Can Be the Donkey

Author

Mark Schaeufele

Keywords

Palm Sunday

Scripture

Zechariah 9:9, Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:8-11, Luke 19:36-44, John 12:16-19

Corrie ten Boom was once asked if it were difficult for her to remain humble. Her reply was simple. “When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm...

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The Keys of Death are In the Savior’s Hands

Author

Charles E. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 3:7, Philippians 2:null, Revelation 14:13

Christ descended into Hades so that you and I would not have to. Christ descended to Hades so that we might ascend to heaven. Christ entered the realm of death, the realm of the strong enemy, and came...

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The Courage of the First Disciples

Author

Charles Martin

Keywords

These disciples turned the world upside down because they saw a dead man come back to life by the power of God. And whatever that “knowing” and “seeing” did in them, it did it at a deep level because ...

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Play the Man

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

Scripture

Revelation 2:10, Matthew 5:10-12, 2 Timothy 4:7-8, 1 Peter 4:12-13, James 1:12, Psalm 46:1-3

Like a scene straight out of Gladiator, Polycarp was dragged into the Roman Colosseum. Discipled by the apostle John himself, the aged bishop faithfully and selflessly led the church at Smyrna through...

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