APRIL 20
A ROAD TO NEW LIFE
How does the resurrection shape our hope, purpose, and mission as followers of Christ? Are we walking in the newness of life that His resurrection offers, filled with hope, purpose, and the power of His Spirit? The most victorious moment in the Gospel: Jesus’ resurrection. The stone is rolled away, and the women are told, “He is risen!” Jesus’ resurrection changes everything, offering hope, renewal, and the promise of eternal life. This week, we will celebrate the power of the resurrection and its implications for our own lives.
Work through the following questions and scriptures on your own or get together with your group, spiritual running partners, or family to talk through what you are learning.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Share with your group a spiritual highlight from The Weekend? (Good Friday and/or Easter Sunday)
2. On Sunday we spoke about the 3 things that we celebrate on Easter. Which of the three stands out to you most personally today? (Jesus true to his word, Jesus conquering sin and the grave, Jesus affording, those who believe, new life)
3. Read Mark 15:37-16:7.
Make some observations about this passage (What does the text say?):
- What stands out to you about this passage?
- What do you notice and what are you curious about?
Make some interpretations (What does the passage mean?)
- What do you learn about God in this passage?
- Which character’s response in the passage stands out to you?
- In light of last week’s talk on betrayal, what does it say about the women who were steadfast and stayed faithful?
Now make some applications (what’s my response?)
- How are you encouraged, challenged, or convicted by this passage?
- Jesus foretold his death and resurrection, and the women were reminded of his words. What is something you know to be true about Jesus (walk in faith) but you might need reminding of?
KEY SCRIPTURE
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
PRAYER
Father! We are so grateful for the work of your son Jesus, on the cross. His road was tested, celebrated, and ultimately shunned by many, but he did this all for your glory, and for there to be restitution back to you. Let it be said of us that “truly He is the son of God,” and that our lives walk in the freedom afforded to us. We with open hearts and minds cry out from Romans 8, for those of us who believe, let the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead be alive in us today!
PRACTICE
- What is a bold act of generosity (like Joseph of Arimathea) we could express to others as an overflow of who Christ is in us?
- This week, share with someone (in our group, a running partner, etc…) about an area in your life that is in need of new life in Jesus? What needs to be resurrected in you?