Grow Guide | March 24, 2024
Palm Sunday
Reading: Mark 14:1-11
Connecting Questions
What is the last thing you broke at home? Accident or on purpose?
What is a favorite smell?
Prayer for Illumination
Lord God, You have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Context
Palm Sunday takes a hard pivot. It moves from joy and celebration to fear and sadness. We prepare our hearts and minds for Holy Week. Don’t look away. The way the woman in ch 14 celebrates Jesus looks very different from the crowds in ch 11. Our own worship and devotion might, too. Jesus is open and honest about his upcoming death. We cannot look away and pretend death isn’t real. It has power. But in Jesus, there is hope.
You are invited to explore the many opportunities to grow in faith and carry on the work of Jesus Christ at Easter. So glad you are here!
From Pastor Paul Berge at EntertheBible.org:
In Mark’s account of the final 24 hours of Jesus’ life, Jesus is anointed in advance for his burial, he celebrates the Passover meal with his followers, he is arrested, his disciples flee, and Peter denies him three times. Jesus is tried, mocked, crowned, struck, stripped, reviled, crucified, confessed as the Son of God, and laid in a tomb.
Look at the Book
Palm Sunday is coming. What part of Holy Week do you look forward to? Why?
Open to Mark 1:14-15. As Jesus begins his ministry, what is his key theme?
Jump to Mark 14:1. What community event is happening? What do you know about it?
What do think might have made the leaders of the people begin to plot to have Jesus killed? What held them back? Why?
Open up a Bible map on your phone or in the back of your Bible. Find Bethany. What do you see around it?
Whose home was it? Why did that matter?
Does the woman have a name? Why or why not?
What is she carrying and what do we learn about the object?
The scent would have filled the whole house. How do you think smell and memory are connected? Give an example.
We can dismiss the disciples in verses 4-5 for “missing the point,” but what is valid about their argument?
What would you do with a year’s worth of wages?
Find Mark 2:19-20. How is this similar to 14:7?
Why does the woman anoint Jesus?
What is an act of faithfulness that has spoken to you?
Our theme words for this week are faithfulness, praise, power. Which spoke to you today? Why?
What would you like to talk about that we have not yet?
Taking it Home
Why do you think this story is read on Palm Sunday?
Where would you imagine yourself in the Palm Sunday crowd?
God of the promise, you call your people together into your one mission in Christ’s name. Make us brave, grant us peace, challenge our expectations, and empower us to truly follow your Spirit’s lead. You are our one God who calls us together as one people, and we thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.