The Last Week

Resurrection

Please enjoy our Easter Sunday worship service. Scripture: Mark 16:1-8 (CEB)

The Crucifixion of the Christ

We continue our Lenten sermon series based on the book The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, journeying day by day through Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem. We are quickly moving to the end of the week, and therefore closer to the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. Each day has been building, and this day we arrive at Jesus’ most profound teaching at the last supper. But that’s not the end of the day… Scripture: Mark 15:1-15…

A Meal, A Prayer, A Trial

We continue our Lenten sermon series based on the book The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, journeying day by day through Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem. We are quickly moving to the end of the week, and therefore closer to the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. Each day has been building, and this day we arrive at Jesus’ most profound teaching at the last supper. But that’s not the end of the day… Scripture: Mark 14:1-11…

Setting the Plot in Motion

On the Wednesday of Jesus’ final week, two of Jesus’ followers make important decisions that set the plot in motion for Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection. The writer of the Gospel of Mark contrasts for us the decisions made by the woman with the alabaster jar, and Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Scripture: Mark 14:1-11 (CEB)

Challenging Authority

This week we move to Tuesday and an expanse of texts from the middle of the 11th chapter all the way through the end of the 13th chapter. Roughly two-thirds of this section shows Jesus in conflict with the religious leaders in the temple, where Jesus is continually challenged with questions intended to entrap and discredit him in a public setting. Scripture: Mark 12:28-34 (CEB)

The Temple in Frame

We continue our Lenten sermon series based on the book The Last Week by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, journeying day by day through Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem. This week we move to Monday, the day that Jesus turns over the tables in the temple. Known as a “cleansing” of the temple, Jesus’ motives and intentions have been widely explored in countless sermons and papers. This story is framed by a narrative about a fig tree, something that…

Royal Entrance

This is the first week of our Lenten sermon series based on the book “The Last Week” by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. As we open, we explore the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and compare this to the likely historical entry that Pontius Pilate would have made through the opposite side of the city. These differences are essential to understanding the divine power of the Christ, and his essential teachings during this final week. Scripture: Mark 11:…