Scripture Reading

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? Matthew 21:12-16

Prayer

Forgive us, Lord, for everything we have used to obstruct the way to worship and prayer. We lay down our claims to personal privilege and prerogatives. We return ownership to You. We anticipate Your healing of the blind and the lame. We join together as children and proclaim Your majesty as we anticipate the transition of Your Spirit from a building to our lives. We ask for holy disruption this Passion week.

Discussion

1. What does Jesus need to remove this Easter in order to restore His purposes? What has blocked the “prayer of all nations”? How have we created obstacles for strangers, the blind, the lame, or any other group?
2. Who might you consider outside of hope-filled worship? Why do we see them as beyond the arm of God’s gracious invitation to participate in His promises?
3. Passion week calls for a renewed life of worship. How can events of the week refocus, energize, and inform our worship in new ways?