The Triumphal Entry before Jesus

Every year on Palm Sunday, children enter our worship service with palm branches, delightfully waving to the congregation (or devilishly whipping one another) in celebration of Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem. Many know the story of the Lord Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey to the adulation of the crowds.

But not everyone knows that long before Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey—hundreds of years before he was even born—another man rode a donkey into Jerusalem. And in that first triumphal entry, we uncover precious truth about the second.

A Tale of Two Gospels: Which one do you believe in and share?

Which “gospel” do you believe in?
Your answer to that question will have a direct bearing on what you think about church discipline. Therefore, it’s worth making sure we are talking about the same gospel before we talk about anything else.

Here are two subtly different versions of the gospel. The first one will probably shut down any talk about church discipline. The second one will start the conversation.

The spiritual discipline that impacts everything

In our research behind Transformational Discipleship, we discovered that engagement in one particular spiritual discipline positively impacts engagement in every other spiritual discipline (giving, serving, sharing the gospel, fasting, praying, etc.). In other words, while the other spiritual disciplines are important, engagement in one of these (from a research vantage point) does not necessarily increase engagement in the others. But there is one spiritual discipline that increases activity in every other spiritual discipline.

Is Your Gospel Missing Something?

Your life will be shaped by some big story. Do you understand your part in the story, and how it calls you to participate in God’s mission of redemption?

The Bible opens with the creation of all things and ends with the renewal of all things. In between, it offers an interpretation of the meaning of all history.

One of the main reasons many Christians do not fully comprehend the biblical concepts of work, calling, and vocation is that we have lost the vision of this grand biblical narrative. The biblical narrative makes a comprehensive claim on all humanity, calling each one of us to find our place in God’s story.