Lectionary Readings — Third Sunday in Lent — March 3, 2024
Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22
Call to Worship (based on John 2:13-22)
Leader: On this third Sunday in Lent, we recall the moment Jesus walked into the temple, encountering a scene far removed from a sanctuary of prayer. Instead, He found a marketplace, a space where worship was overshadowed by transactions.
People: With righteous zeal, He cleansed the temple, overturning tables and declaring His Father's house a house of prayer for all nations.
Leader: He spoke of a greater temple, His body, which would be torn down by the hands of man but raised up by the power of God in three days.
People: In His actions and words, Jesus revealed His passion for pure worship and the promise of resurrection.
Leader: As we gather today, let us seek to worship in spirit and truth, reflecting on the temple He has established within us through His Spirit.
People: May we, too, be cleansed and made holy, our lives a living sacrifice, pleasing and acceptable to God.
Leader: In this season of reflection and repentance, let us embrace the transformation Jesus calls us to, becoming vessels of His light and love.
People: We commit our hearts to worship and our lives to service, celebrating the power of Jesus to renew and restore.
All: Together, let us worship the Lord, who makes all things new, who invites us into His eternal story of redemption and grace.
Opening Prayer (based on Psalm 19)
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, Creator of the heavens and the earth, we approach Your throne of grace with hearts full of wonder and mouths filled with praise. As the psalmist declares in Psalm 19, the heavens proclaim Your glory, the skies display Your craftsmanship. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. Without a word, without a sound, without a voice being heard, their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.
Lord, in the vastness of Your creation, we see Your handiwork and are reminded of Your greatness and Your majesty. The sun, which You have placed in the sky, rejoices like a champion about to run its course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
As we gather here today, we are reminded that Your law is perfect, reviving the soul. Your statutes are trustworthy, making wise the simple. Your precepts are right, giving joy to the heart. Your commands are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. Your decrees are firm, and all of them are righteous.
We confess, O God, that often we have not lived according to Your laws. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We ask for Your forgiveness, Lord. Cleanse us from our hidden faults. Keep Your servants also from willful sins; may they not rule over us. Then we will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
May the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. As we worship You today, open our ears to hear Your voice, our eyes to see Your glory, and our hearts to receive Your Word. May we be transformed by Your Spirit, walking in Your ways and reflecting Your love to the world around us.
In the precious name of Jesus, we pray.
Amen.
Sermon Outline: [NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon].
Purpose: To guide the congregation through a deep exploration of the themes of purification, prophecy, and the presence of God as illuminated by Jesus’ act of cleansing the temple in John 2:13-22. It aims to draw parallels between this biblical narrative and the Lenten call for personal and communal introspection, repentance, and transformation.
Introduction:
Lent calls us to a journey of reflection, repentance, and preparation, inviting us to mirror the introspection and transformation symbolized by Jesus cleansing the temple.
By examining John 2:13-22 during this season, we are invited to consider the ways in which our lives, practices, and communities require purification to more fully embody the presence of Christ.
I. Purification in Practice (John 2:13-16)
Point: Jesus' act of cleansing the temple serves as a metaphor for the Lenten call to purify our hearts and lives from those things that defile or distract us from genuine worship and faithful living.
Scripture: "Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables."
Application: Reflect on personal and communal practices that need cleansing this Lent. How can we eliminate distractions and distortions that hinder our relationship with God? Commit to specific practices of repentance and renewal.
II. Prophecy and Perspective (John 2:17-19)
Point: The disciples recall prophecy as Jesus acts with zeal for God's house, and Jesus introduces a new understanding of the temple, foreshadowing His death and resurrection.
Scripture: "'Zeal for your house will consume me.' ... 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'"
Application: Consider how Lent prepares us to embrace the mystery of the resurrection. How does reflecting on Jesus' prediction of His death and resurrection deepen our understanding of sacrifice and salvation?
III. Presence and Power (John 2:20-22)
Point: The resurrection of Jesus shifts the locus of God's presence from a physical temple to the living temple of His body, and by extension, to the body of believers.
Scripture: "But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken."
Application: Reflect on the significance of being a temple of the Holy Spirit, especially during Lent. How does this understanding call us to live? In what ways might we embody Christ's presence to others?
Conclusion:
This Lent, let us embrace the call to purification, engage with the prophecies that point to Christ's passion and resurrection, and live in the power of His presence.
Offer an invitation for personal and communal commitment to a holy Lent, marked by prayer, fasting, repentance, and acts of love.
Close with a prayer for God’s guidance and grace to renew us, that we may be true temples of His presence, reflecting His love and sacrifice in our lives.
