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Sermon Series: Happy Palm Sunday! We are currently going through a sermon series in the Gospel of Matthew. Today, we’re talking about the moment where Jesus comes into Jerusalem.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
It’s incredibly sad when someone walks away from Jesus. In this part of God’s Word, we see people praising Jesus. However, just a handful of chapters later, they’re yelling for Him to be crucified. By taking a close look at this story, we can learn how to avoid that same mistake, and instead, build a rock-solid faith.
How to Build a Rock-Solid Faith:
1. Avoid building your faith on emotions
Gal. 5:22-23, Rom. 8:7, Prov. 25:28, 2 Tim. 1:7, 1 Pet. 4:7, Prov. 16:32, 2 Pet. 1:5-6
2. Actually understand how Jesus fulfills Scripture
Matt. 5:17, Zach. 9:9, Dan. 9:24-27, John 1:29, Is. 53:7, Ex. 12:5, 14, 17,
3. Avoid being led by your own agenda
Rom. 12:2, Heb. 1:3, Prov. 3:5-6, Ps. 139:23-24
4. Allow God to do His work in your life
Eph. 3:20-21, 2 Cor. 5:17, Ez. 36:26, Phil. 1:6
5. Avoid allowing others to push you away from God
Rom. 8:38-39, 2 Pet. 3:17, Gal. 1:6-10, 2 Tim. 3:1-9
6. Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior
Rom. 3:23, 623, John 3:16-17, Acts 2:38, Rom. 10:9-10, John 1:12, Eph. 2:8-9
7. Allow God’s peace to change who you are
John 14:27, 16:33, 2 Thess. 3:16, Is. 26:3, Phil. 4:6-7, James 1:2-4, Rom. 8:28
Reflecting on God’s Word
Getting Started
- Take some time to read over Matthew 21:7-11 and pray.
- Have you ever read or heard about this before? What stood out to you as we were talking about it?
- What surprised you as we talked about it?
- Have you ever been tempted to walk away from Jesus before? What happened?
Diving In
- Have you ever experienced a season of your life where your faith was built on mainly emotions? What happened? Has there been anyone in your life that walked away from Jesus because their faith was built on mainly emotions?
- How does understanding how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament help to solidify your faith? How can you better remember what Jesus has done for you?
- How can you avoid the mistake of boxing God into your own agenda, like the crowd in this story?
- How can you allow God to do His work in your life?
- Have you ever been pushed away from God because of what other people have done? What happened? How can you avoid that same mistake in the future?
- Where do you stand with Jesus today? If you’re not following Him, what’s stopping you? If you are, how can you help those around you to also follow Him?
- How could God’s peace change who you are? Spend some time in prayer asking for God’s help with that.
Applying the Scripture
What are your biggest takeaways from this passage of God’s Word?
- What practical step(s) do you need to implement in your life to apply what God has taught you in this passage of Scripture?
- How would applying this affect your life and your relationship with the Lord?
- Who can you ask to keep you accountable to applying this to your life?
Small Group Guide:
Open with prayer.
Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?
If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.
Prayer Time:
Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.
Staying Missional:
Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:
Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?
What’s next?
Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?