Take about 45 minutes during your missional community gathering to discuss what God is teaching you and how he is leading you in light of the weekend sermon.
Connecting:
1. What are some fun family traditions you have around Easter?
2. Did you get to experience any of them this past Sunday?
3. Do you have any specific memories which have formed what Easter means to you?
4. Watch the first 60 seconds of the “to life” clip from Fiddler on the Roof. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhdlKgAakHw. When you think about Easter and what Christ accomplished do you find yourself reflecting more on his death (Friday), a future life (his second coming), or a restored present life?
- Why do you think we tend to focus more on his death during Easter, and what could be the consequences of this?
Application: Jesus not only identifies with human pain; He solves the human problem.
- Read John 11:1-6, 14-15. Knowing the full story, we as readers understand why Jesus waited. The disciples, however, lived in that moment and didn’t know what would happen and His purpose for waiting. Why is it that living in the present and not knowing the future makes our relationship with God stressful? Hint: why is this stress heightened in times of difficulty like in Lazarus’ case verses times of prosperity? (Our goals vs. God’s goal & purpose)
- Read John 11:17-37. What have been some of your responses or ways you have tried to cope with difficult times in the past? How do you see Jesus responding to Lazarus’ death and does it differ from the way a normal human would respond? A lot of people dismiss God because of the ‘problem of pain.’ How does Jesus’ response here help in that discussion?
- What is the human problem aside from sin leading to physical death and what are some of the consequences (separation from God)? This may sound controversial but think through the implications. Why is it significant that Jesus wasn’t just a God who raised Lazarus from the dead, but he was a HUMAN who raised Lazarus from the dead; what problem is he trying to solve? (answer: he isn’t solving just a future eternal problem; he is solving the current human problem)
Application: Eternal Life isn’t about a future place, its about an eternal person.
- What does our society think religion is about and where does it think salvation comes from? (being good).
- Have you found yourself caught up in that lie and what did it do to your relationship with God?
- How does looking to Jesus for life TODAY differ from trying to solve the human problem by being good? (relationship with God through Jesus, vs working to earn that relationship)
- Wes said, “Being a Christian isn’t about having Jesus a part of your life, but having Jesus as your life.” How would you explain that statement and what difference it makes for you?