Monday - Clear Creek Resources

SCRIPTURE TO READ

Mark 11:15-19

¹⁵ And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹⁶ And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. ¹⁷ And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” ¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. ¹⁹ And when evening came they went out of the city.

CHILDREN’S BIBLE READINGS (OPTIONAL)

The Gospel Story Bible (pages 172-173)

DEVOTIONAL: WHY ARE YOU HERE?

Today is known as Great and Holy Monday, the second day of Holy Week.

On this day, Jesus reenters the city of Jerusalem after spending the night in the small outskirt town of Bethany. When he looks over the city, he weeps.

Think about Jesus’ heart for people. He sees their brokenness and their anguish, and Jesus weeps for and with them. Jesus knows that some of the same people who cheered for him the day before didn’t fully understand the kind of king he came to be.

Jesus then enters the temple, and when he gets there, he is moved from grief to righteous anger. The temple was intended to be the dwelling place of God, a holy, set-apart place for genuine worshipers to pray and experience the presence of God.

Instead, the people Jesus encountered that Monday had no desire to actually worship. Rather, they came to the temple for personal gain, to profit off of genuine worshipers. The temple had become a place where religious authorities used their power to oppress people and pervert justice.

Jesus forcefully reminds everyone in attendance that his Father’s house was never intended to be used this way. It was to be a “house of prayer for all the nations.”

In clearing the temple, Jesus not only makes a statement about his intent to set people free and fix injustice, but he calls into question our motivations when we enter his presence.

Why are you here?

APPLICATION: WHAT ABOUT YOU?

So, what about you?

This weekend millions of people around the world, from all nations, will gather for worship services in celebration of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Easter Sunday is typically one of the most well attended church services of the year.

But today, let’s consider why we gather for worship this weekend, what motivates our hearts to be in a worship service with God’s people?

If your primary motivation is personal gain, or religious obligation, let Great and Holy Monday remind you that was never God’s intent.

Jesus looks over our culture and weeps because his heart is for people to know and genuinely walk with him.

So, if your motivation to attend a worship service this weekend is selfishly motivated, let Jesus turn over some tables in your heart. Let him remind you that his hope is for genuine worshipers to pray and experience the presence of God this weekend.

And when we remind each other of the gospel, when we rehearse the gospel story through song, and when we pray genuine prayers, that kind of worship will draw people from all nations into the presence of God. Our genuine worship – our churches response to the gospel – becomes a compelling picture for people exploring faith in Jesus.

This weekend, as we gather, may we prepare to worship in Spirit and in truth, and may our genuine worship draw people with false motives into the sincere love of our Savior.

PRAYER

Father, thank you for sending Jesus – for his life, his death and his resurrection. Thank you that we get to see his heart on display in both his grief and his righteous anger. Remind us this week of his sacrificial love for us that makes it possible to enter into your presence. This weekend as we gather for worship, purify my heart, turn over the tables of false motives, of tradition or obligation and instead allow me to enter into your presence with gratitude and joy. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations [and motivations] of my heart be acceptable in your sight. And may our genuine worship this weekend result in more and more people coming to know your saving grace. Amen.

OPTIONAL FAMILY DISCUSSION GUIDE

If Jesus never sinned, is it okay that he was angry? What is the difference between his anger and ours? (Jesus’ anger was righteous anger. He was defending God.)
How do you feel knowing that people were angry at Jesus?
Discuss as a family ways that you worship God. You can worship God through praying, singing, and reading the bible. This week as a family, find time to pray together, sing your favorite worship song, and read from your favorite story Bible.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY

Romans 5:8

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Watch Motions