Death of Death // Needing the Resurrection

Introduction

Death. It seems so final. So unpredictable. So inevitable. We don’t like to consider it, but eventually, every one of us, and everyone we love, dies. And we’re left with the grief, the agony, of this loss, this curse, this enemy. But then…there’s Jesus. He lived a perfect life – no sin. Yet on the cross, he willingly died the death for sin – our sin. His broken body lay in the tomb, lifeless. Until the third day. The day when God’s resurrection power restored Jesus’ life to Him! On that Resurrection Day, Jesus broke death’s grip – dealt a death blow to death itself. So now, for all who will believe in Him, we can share in His resurrection life. Praise be to Jesus!

Ice Breaker Questions

Here are some possible ways to get a conversation started:

1. Who is your favorite author?

2. What was your first favorite band?

Getting Started

Open up with some prayer – some possible prayer topics:

• God would lead your time of discussion.

• That this study would help our understanding of who God is and who we are in light of that.

• Pray for your GG, that God would bring unity and community in your group.

Discussion Questions

1. It is easy for us as humans to focus on this world either in moments of pain or through pursuing as much happiness as we can. In what ways/areas have you tried to make this world your home?

2. What is the difference between understanding the resurrection and living it out? What area in your life are you not living it out?

3. Read Romans 6:1-12. We are no longer in the line of Adam but get to be in the line of Jesus and thus be free from sin. What does it look like to have this new life in Christ? Are there sins you are still being mastered by?

4. What do you feel when you hear the phrase “the end is coming”? What does a Biblical perspective on that phrase look like?

5. What does it look like to live with an urgency that the end is coming? Do you live with a sense of urgency of the end coming? What step could you take toward that?

Closing Prayer

Prayer can often be somewhat of a weird time, and we understand it can be awkward to pray out loud, but as your group grows in comfortability ask people to pray out loud. Prayer is a very effective tool the Holy Spirit uses to draw our hearts closer to God. It is also a time you as a group can come together and come before the throne of God and make requests and just experience Him.

Some suggestions:

• Ask if there are any prayer requests.

• Pray that Jesus would use the week to reaffirm the truths discussed here.

• Pray for a new/renewed understanding of who Jesus is.

Next Week’s Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:12-28