Keep growing in your relationship with Jesus: Take the message with you into your week. Reflect on the Bible passage and sermon (posts Sun. afternoon), then use the ideas below to help you talk it over with your friends, coworkers, family, or Grow Group.

Icebreaker idea: What’s something in creation that pictures “new life” or “life after death” for you?

A way to pray: Pray that God will use His resurrection life in us to draw many others to Himself, too. Ask Him to reveal specific ways we can love our neighbors in this time, and to use that as part of seeing 2,000 people by 2022 baptized and growing in relationship with Jesus through the Word, prayer, and community.

Talk It Over:

• What are some specific ways I’ve experienced God’s steadfast love and unending mercies? How can I remember these examples of God’s past faithfulness, and how can they give me hope in times of pain?

• The empty tomb validates our hope in God. How has Jesus’ victory over death transformed the way I view my own life and death? How has it changed my view of God’s mercy?

Keep growing in your relationship with Jesus: Take the message with you into your week. Reflect on the Bible passage and sermon (posts Sun. afternoon), then use the ideas below to help you talk it over with your friends, coworkers, family, or Grow Group.

Icebreaker idea: Who’s someone you miss right now and why?

A way to pray: Ask the Lord to grow our appreciation for each of the 3 names – Jesus, Christ, and Immanuel. Pray for an increased desire to share about Him through our words and through how we endure hardship and forgive others, as we seek to see 2,000 people by 2022 baptized and growing in relationship with Jesus through the Word, prayer, and community.

Talk It Over:

• When God’s Son was born on Earth, He was called Jesus, Christ, and Immanuel. How does understanding the meaning of each name reshape how I respond to difficulties or mistreatment, and/or how I talk with others about Him?

• Does everyone long for “God with us”? Why or why not? What hinders me from deeply and consistently longing for God to be with me? What are some specific changes I can make to increase this longing both for myself and for others?

Keep growing in your relationship with Jesus: Take the message with you into your week. Reflect on the Bible passage and sermon (posts Sun. afternoon), then use the ideas below to help you talk it over with your friends, coworkers, family, or Grow Group.

Icebreaker idea: What’s something that brings joy in your life right now?

A way to pray: Ask God to grow us in remembering and trusting His goodness, telling others about it, and being good to others the way He has been to us. Pray that as others encounter His goodness, we will see 2,000 people by 2022 baptized and growing in relationship with Jesus through the Word, prayer, and community.

Talk It Over:

• When might it be easy for us to fall victim to historical amnesia regarding God’s goodness – that is, to forget good things He has done in the past? What are some steps we can take to avoid this?

• How does the fact that God “has done it“ (the work of reconciling humans to himself) impact me practically? For instance, how does it affect my attitude toward Him, the way I treat others, or the way I face difficulties?

Keep growing in your relationship with Jesus: Take the message with you into your week. Reflect on the Bible passage and sermon (posts Sun. afternoon), then use the ideas below to help you talk it over with your friends, coworkers, family, or Grow Group.

Icebreaker idea: How do you feel about surprises? Is there any kind of surprise you especially enjoy or dread?

A way to pray: Thank Jesus for coming to suffer in our place and for His continuing intercession for us. Ask Him for opportunities to share this good news with others we know personally, as we seek to see 2,000 people by 2022 baptized and growing in relationship with Jesus through the Word, prayer, and community.

Talk It Over:

• How does the prophet Isaiah liken both humans and Jesus (God in human form) to sheep? In what ways do the similarities and differences between people and Jesus help me treasure God more?

• Isaiah 53 reminds us that Jesus bore our griefs, iniquities, and sin. When I’m called to bear with people who challenge or hurt me (or other people), what can I do practically to remember what Jesus did for me and let that shape my response?