APRIL 17
EASTER
Jesus willingly suffered on behalf of humanity. He took upon himself all of the evil and sin ever committed or ever will be committed. The result was his death on a cross, yet on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead! The greatest miracle in history changed everything! Jesus demonstrated He truly was God among us! Now through Him, we can truly live – now and into eternity!
Work through the following questions and scriptures on your own, and get together with your running partner, life group, or friends and family to talk through what you are learning.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Growing up, what was Easter about for you? When you think about Easter now, what is different and what is the same?
2. What stood out to you from the message?
3. Read Isaiah 53:1-9. This was written about Jesus’ life and death in 680 BC (hundreds of years before Jesus birth)
a.) Make some observations about this passage (What does the text say):
- Who is talking? What is the circumstance?
- Any repeated phrases?
- What surprised you?
- What stood out to you?
b.) Make some interpretations (What does the passage mean)
- What questions do you have?
- Summarize the passage in 1-3 sentences – what are the main points?
- What do you learn about the nature and character of God as you read this?
- What do you learn about yourself or the world around you?
c.) Now make some applications (what’s my response)
- How do you respond to what you are reading?
- How could this apply to your life today?
- What is the central truth that you could put into practice from this?
- Who could you share this with for the sake of encouragement?
4. Read Deuteronomy 4:29 & Matthew 7:7-11. God made this promise to Moses 3500 years ago and Jesus reiterates the promise while teaching. Do you believe Jesus when he says He will be found by you if you seek Him – why or why not? Do you seek God with all your heart?
5. Read Luke 22:48-51. Violence & force, are not how God’s Kingdom comes to earth—willingness to do the will of God is– “not my will, but Your will be done Father” (Luke 22:42) Are you willing to let God’s Kingdom (His love and impact) come to earth through you? How could/ do you engage with God to bring change to the world around you?
6.Read Luke 23:34,39-43. From these two interactions what do you notice about Jesus? Does it line up with how you think about/ talk about Him?
7. Read Luke 24:25-26. After Jesus’ resurrection he meets two disciples who are walking down a road. Using the scriptures (which at the time the only scriptures that existed were what we call the Old Testament) he shows them how the scriptures point to Jesus as the Savior that would come. What is your relationship with the Bible like? Do you regularly read from the Old and New Testament to learn about Jesus (why or why not)? What next steps could you take to grow in your relationship with God by reading the Bible?
8. Every one of Jesus followers were changed by knowing Him.
a.) How about you? Where are you with Jesus? Are you still Doubting like Thomas—have an open mind and seeking heart, and watch how God shows you how He loves you. How could you seek Him in this season?
b.) If you have put your faith in Jesus, how is it changing you? Jesus came to save us, not only from sin, but from doing life without God’s loving guidance. How are you seeking to grow closer to the God of love?
KEY SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 53:1-9 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Luke 22:48-51 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Luke 23:39-43 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 24:25-26 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
DIGGING DEEPER
1. Talk with God this week about all he did for us through His life, death, and resurrection.
a.) What does your heart want to say to Him?
b.) What thoughts fill your mind?
c.) How might he be calling you to respond?
d.) What more do you want to know?