From John 18-19, Traditions (3)

In one paragraph

This message, preached on Palm Sunday 2023, traced the line from the triumphal entry to the cross through a series of songs and poems stretching across the whole Bible. Pastor James used those songs to make one central argument: suffering is not a sign that God has abandoned his plan, but is woven into it. John 18 and 19 were the week's text, but the sermon ranged far and wide to set those two...

Read together

1. John 18-19 the narrative text for the week covering the betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion
2. John 17 Jesus prays for unity, joy, and sanctification of his disciples
3. John 16:31-33 Jesus tells his disciples they can have peace amid tribulation and that he has overcome the world
4. Revelation 12:11 the evil one will be overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony
5. Job 1:1 Job described as blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil
6. Job 1:20-22 Job tears his robe, falls to the ground and worships, saying the Lord gave and has taken away
7. Psalm 22 read through as a prophetic song describing the suffering of the Messiah in detail
8. Psalm 118:25 the source of the hosanna cry sung at the triumphal entry, meaning save us now I pray
9. Isaiah 53 read as a song describing the suffering servant, wounded for our transgressions
10. Luke 9:20-23 Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, then Jesus says the Son of Man must suffer and calls all to take up their cross daily
11. Romans 8:28 God works all things together for good to those who love him
12. Philippians 2:3-8 one of the earliest church hymns describing Christ humbling himself to the point of death on the cross
13. Zechariah 9:9 prophecy that the king would come riding on a donkey, the basis for the Palm Sunday triumphal entry

Talk about it

1. The pastor talked about Alan Jackson writing 'Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning' and saying it felt like God was writing the song through him. Have you ever experienced a moment, a song, a conversation, or something you read, where something outside yourself seemed to be speaking directly to you? What was that like?
2. Job lost everything and yet the text says he fell to the ground and worshiped, saying 'The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.' The pastor pointed out that Job never named a sin the way David does in other Psalms, and he connected that to Christ having no sin. When have you found it hardest to worship God in the middle of loss rather than after it?
3. The pastor laid out the idea that competence plus character equals credibility, but then said competence plus character plus suffering equals great credibility. Do you agree that suffering adds something to a person's witness that nothing else can? Can you think of an example from your own life or from someone you know?
4. The pastor said God is all knowing, all powerful, and all good, but that when you are going through a real trial it is easy to believe only two of those three at once. Which of the three do you find yourself doubting most when life is hard, and why do you think that is?
5. Toward the end of the sermon the pastor said God will not waste any sin and will not waste any pain. He gave examples like homelessness, addiction, and other hard experiences as places where credibility with hurting people comes from. Is there something in your own past that you have seen God use, or that you are still waiting to see Him use, in someone else's life?