Read a scripture and sing worship songs.

• (Optional) Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator also between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all. (Philippians 2:11b; 

  ¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

   1 Timothy 2:4-6a). 

  ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. 

Choose a way to cast vision for who they can become in Christ or what God can do through them by:

• a scripture that reminds them of the Father’s Heart and of the end vision.
• reflecting on the changes in their life since they started following Christ
• reminding them of what God wants to do through them.

Our vision is: “A church for every village and community, and the gospel for every person.”

¹² After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

¹³ When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.¹⁴ In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.¹⁵ So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.¹⁶ To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

¹⁸ The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

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

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?”²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body.²² After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

²³ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.²⁴ But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.²⁵ He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

Read More

Jesus takes His disciples to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. It was a seven-day festival to celebrate Israel’s deliverance from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. We see Jesus’ passion for the Father’s name and reputation. He was angry that the focus of the people had been taken off of worshipping the Father and onto taking advantage of people to make money. We see real human emotions here from a real human Jesus; we see real courage from a real divine Jesus. Jesus who was so in love with the Father that He could not stand by and see people make money from what God was offering as a free gift.