May 28: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Acts 2: 1-41
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead,freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Pentecost
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
How would you describe your experience of the Holy Spirit?
What about the Holy Spirit is confusing for you?
What about the Holy Spirit is intriguing to you?
During the Pentecost season we will look at:
What does the Holy Spirit do?
When God is ministering to us by the Holy Spirit what should we expect?
Exactly what is most needed (This is not always what is most expected)
The Holy Spirit does exactly what is needed to bring the reality of God's life to bear on a person, place, or situation.
Sometimes its gifts, words, power, encouragement, truth, conviction comfort.
The Holy Spirit lifts up and points to Jesus. The Holy Spirit makes the ministry of Jesus visible in a place.
In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit comes as fire and wind
Because they needed to be reminded that that’s just like the temple dedication in Exodus (confirming this is the new temple)
They needed unified language - to reverse the division and scattered nature of human beings
That’s what Jesus does and that’s what the Spirit was doing for these people in this moment
Pentecost
“For a first-century Jew, Pentecost was the fiftieth day after Passover. It was an agricultural festival. It was the day when farmers brought the first sheaf of wheat from the crop, and offered it to God, partly as a sign of gratitude and partly as a prayer that all the rest of the crop, too, would be safely gathered in.” – NT WRIGHT
“Passover was the time when the lambs were sacrificed, and the Israelites were saved from the avenging angel who slew the firstborn of the Egyptians. Off went the Israelites that very night, and passed through the Red Sea into the Sinai desert. Then, 50 days after Passover, they came to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the law. Pentecost, the fiftieth day, isn’t (in other words) just about the ‘first fruits’, the sheaf which says the harvest has begun. It’s about God giving to his redeemed people the way of life by which they must now carry out His purposes.” – NT WRIGHT
Jesus said: “you will receive power”
What do you think the power is that Jesus wants to give us?
We often are led through experience and history to think of the dangers of power or the corruption it can bring…
But what would it mean for us to receive power from God?
“Power is the ability to make something of the world ... Power is simply (and not so simply) the ability to participate in the stuff making, sense making process that is the most distinctive thing that humans do.
Power in the broadest sense of making something of the world, is a universal quality of life from coral reefs to cellists. But only human beings, as far as we can tell, exercise power in the second sense [of not just] make stuff but making sense. It is the unique power of human beings to invest our creations with meaning, to interpret the world rather than just blunder through it. As singular as our human power has become to physically reshape the world into gardens and cities, dammed rivers and mushroom clouds, even more singular is our ability to pass on meaning to the next generation, to shape their horizons of possibility with interpretations of not just what the world is, but what it is for.” – Andy Crouch
We are made in the image of our powerful God to participate in making and making meaning.
“The whole point is that, through the Spirit, some of the creative power of God Himself comes from heaven to earth and does its work there. The aim is not to give people a ‘spirituality’ which will make the things of earth irrelevant. The point is to transform earth with the power of Heaven, starting with those parts of ‘earth’ which consist of the bodies, minds, hearts and lives of the followers of Jesus—as a community” – NT WRIGHT
The Holy Spirit brings exactly what is most needed for expressing the life and kingdom of God.
The Holy Spirit brings the power to have God’s kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
Power on Pentecost manifests largely as a power to speak
What is needed in order to make sense of the moment
AND make sense of life and the invitation of union with God.
It also shows up as the power to revel in that union and respond to that message
What does the Holy Spirit say through Peter?
God has always intended to fill our lives
You can have a full share in Jesus’ resurrection
Here is how to have both - How you can get in on both
Repent
Be baptized in the name of Jesus
Receive the gift
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Engage our senses in the reality of God’s presence - Acts 2
‘Advocate to help and be with you forever - the Spirit of Truth’ -John 14
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. - John 14
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about Me. And you also must testify, for you have been with Me from the beginning. - John 15
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in Me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and about judgment, because the Prince of this world now stands condemned. - John 16
He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you.” - John 16
Soften and renew our hearts - Ezekiel 36
Bring the prophetic Word of God to His people from all categories of people -Joel 2
Love us as God loves us:
Advocate
Apply God’s love and Gospel
Exalt Jesus
Empower love
Convict when we’ve gone wrong
Gift
Unify
“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
They repent
They believe
They receive
This is our pattern as well…
Commit to reorder your life around Jesus
Trust His life for forgiveness and freedom
Receive the life the Holy Spirit gives
May 28: Pentecost Sunday
May 21: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Acts 1: 1-11
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Ascension
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
Can you think of a time in your life when waiting was excruciating?
Share this with the group.
How good would you say you are at waiting patiently?
Luke begins the sequel to his first book with these words…
“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” – Acts 1
Luke starts Dear Theo
Acts is the continuation of Jesus’ ministry
Luke is attempting to lay out an honest and orderly account of Jesus and His movement so that Theophilus can know the truth of it all.
And His resurrection changed everything for them and He showed them that the Kingdom of God was coming on earth as it is in Heaven!
Now Jesus is leaving.
Advent and Christmas we get - We celebrate the Incarnation - that God would come and live among us in the person of Jesus - Immanuel - We have Advent and Christmas
Holy Week and Easter - we throw a party - we celebrate the power of the Cross and Resurrection - that Jesus has died and on our behalf taken all of our sin on himself and then having dealt with sin and death has risen to new life - we have Holy Week and Easter
But Ascension Sunday??? we certainly have no similar culture-wide celebration for and can often be easily overlooked even by those who are followers of Jesus
The could be many reasons for this…
1. The incarnation powerfully communicates God’s nearness, revelation, and love, that our pains and joys are known by God
2. The cross and resurrection powerfully show God’s love and make possible salvation for us and the world. That death is not the end
3. The ascension however is a moment where Jesus becomes absent and where we are reminded of the unfamiliarity of God
But consider what we see in this moment of Jesus’ disappearance …
On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around Him and asked Him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 1“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” – Acts 1 v 4-11
Wait for the gift
There are times when then most important thing you can do is WAIT.
Jesus is leaving in physical form because JESUS IS GOING TO ARRIVE in THE HOLY SPIRIT
How should we begin this mission of God… a world changing initiative?
WAIT
There are some echoes of the first sabbath here…
We work from rest. We don’t work to rest.
Jesus mission for them to join is to bring redemption, salvation, forgiveness and new life to ends of the earth
And they being by waiting in prayer
What do we know of what God the Father is doing - making promises, setting time and dates by His own authority, King of the Kingdom
What do we know of what God the Son is doing? He suffered and died, He rose, He ate with them, He instructed them
What do we know of what God the Spirit is doing? - how Jesus gave instructions, the promised gift, the oOe who will baptize them, the One who will give the power to accomplish Jesus mission
The Holy Spirit will accomplish the mission of Jesus in communion with all people all through the book of Acts
So they wait for the Holy Spirit
“You will receive power and you will be my witnesses.”
Where in your life do you need the Holy Spirit to help you be a better display of the character of Jesus?
“They believed that ‘heaven’ and ‘earth’ are the two interlocking spheres of God’s reality, and that the risen body of Jesus is the first (and so far the only) object which is fully at home in both and hence in either, anticipating the time when everything will be renewed and joined together. And so, since as T. S. Eliot said, ‘humankind cannot bear very much reality’, the new, overwhelming reality of a heaven-and-earth creature will not just yet live in both dimensions together, but will make itself—himself—at home within the ‘heavenly’ dimension for the moment, until the time comes for heaven and earth to be finally renewed and united.” – NT Wright
“That is the point of the event, and its explanation. Jesus is ‘lifted up’, indicating to the disciples not that he was heading out somewhere beyond the moon, beyond Mars, or wherever, but that he was going into ‘God’s space’, God’s dimension. The cloud, as so often in the Bible, is the sign of God’s presence (think of the pillar of cloud and fire as the children of Israel wandered through the desert, or the cloud and smoke that filled the Temple when God became suddenly present in a new way). Jesus has gone into God’s dimension of reality; but he’ll be back on the day when that dimension and our present one are brought together once and for all. That promise hangs in the air over the whole of Christian history from that day to this. That is what we mean by the ‘second coming’.” – NT Wright
He is our High Priest and He intercedes for us
We have a praying Savior and We are a praying church
Pray for His Kingdom in your life, your family, your neighborhood, city, and world.
The way to be good at waiting is to wait and pray.
May 21: Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 14: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Matthew 28: 16-20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
The Great Commission
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
In AD 25, nobody outside a small town in Galilee had heard of Jesus
By AD 50, there were riots in Rome because of Him
By AD 65, His followers were being persecuted by the Emperor himself
By AD 300, the known world knew of Jesus and the Emperor claimed a faith in Christ
Some women went back in the middle of the night when no one else would
Jesus sent them to tell the 11 remaining disciples
Jesus then told those disciples to GO
THIS IS DEEP IN THE HEART OF GOD. This is our mission and purpose as the church and as followers of Jesus
Courageous women were commissioned to be the first to tell the news that Jesus was alive. They did the job and now these Apostles are about to be commissioned.
GO and TELL
For some reason God chose to partner with us to tell of His Kingdom.
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” – Matthew 28
The translation is actually the word “hesitated”
“When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted (hesitated).”
I dont think this is “What’s it all about, maybe God isn’t real doubt.”
I think this is “OK we are now worshipping this Man who is back from the dead as our God type hesitation.”
No less human but a different emphasis on the moment.
This is Israel (the 12 tribes represented - Judas) worshipping their God on the mountain and its JESUS.
The whole story in some sense has been about worship. What will have your heart and affection and devotion and loyalty and love?
Anything less than God in the primary place will not do and will warp your soul.
And now they have the culminating moment….AND THEY WORSHIP THROUGH THE HESITATION
And Jesus says “Ok, now give this away. Pass this along…”
Invite others to know me as FATHER, SON, and HOLY SPIRIT
SHOW them the way of the Kingdom of God that I have been showing you.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28 v 16-20
What He tells them
Go and make disciples of all nations
Be intentional to move out into the world looking to invite people into this relational pathway of transformation through love
What’s been done for you, make it available to others - we can start there
There is a beautiful diversity here. This is not going to just be people like them
The whole world is included in God’s plan of love and redemption in the Gospel of Jesus
How do you make disciples?
Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
First introduce them and let people be immersed in the love of God
The Father is Holy and Other but loving and calling us
The Son has come to show us the way and give His life to bring us in
The Spirit applies Jesus’ life, death and resurrection to us and empowers us to live Jesus’ life and ministry
The Gospel is FORGIVENESS and UNION
Teaching them the Way of Jesus
Matthew has given us 5 blocks of Jesus’ teaching - start with the sermon on the mount. Start with the parables. Start with the travels and miracles of Jesus
Together in commmunity with the Gospels as our guide and the Holy Spirit empowering us we are learning the live the way of Jesus in our time.
What He promises them
Jesus promises His Authority
All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to me SO GO
What do you think this authority means?
How did Jesus get this authority?
Why does it matter that he tells them(us) this?
He does not let us do it by ourselves.
His power and presence go with this mission of love
His authority and His nearness
And throughout the ages, this question and invitation comes through to us
What are you doing with the influence of your life?
Are you living with the sense of Jesus’ authority and presence?
To be a disciple is to make disciples
Baptize into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Teach them to obey what I have commanded you
The apologetic of your life
The apologetic of community
The apologetic of language
We need to learn with Jesus to live beautifully and to talk beautifully - this doesn't mean our lives are perfect or stylized, but they are real and full of God's love
Reflection:
1. What can you do to invite others to experience God's love and live the Jesus way?
2. How can you use your influence to share the Gospel?
3. Share a moment when you felt God's presence while living out the Great commission
May 14: Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 7: Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 7: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Matthew 28: 11-15
While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Unbelief → Faith
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
Can you imagine having a front row seat for the Resurrection of the Son of God and still missing it?
This happens with the guards.
What would it take for your to miss the resurrection?
For these guards, it took keeping their job in the world’s most powerful army, pocketing a huge amount of bribe money, and having their status established and protected
What was the alternative? Try to make sense of a wild experience you had on night guard duty
Throw in with some fringe types who were already on the run but who may have a teacher who rose from the dead
I want us to think about that for a moment
Physical needs, status, security - that’s what they trade, a share in the new reality of God breaking into the world for.
Sin is terribly repetitious - sometimes in America we conceive of the wild rebellious indulgent life as truly free, but the contours of the stories are incredibly repetitive.
The archetype temptations lead us down the same paths, the same stories, with only slight variations.
Sex, money, power
Appetite, ambition, approval
Consumption, security, status
The fruit is pleasing to the eye
Desirable to the body
And can make you like god
Two versions of life went out from that garden
The story of the women who went to embalm their dead friend and instead met him
and
The story of the guards who had a lot to lose and got swept up into a pretty shallow cover-up
Both stories spread.
Faith does not make things that are not true to become true.
But faith does allow me access to reality that is not always visible or easy to see.
“It cannot be stressed too strongly that first century Jews were not expecting people to rise from the dead as isolated individuals. Resurrection for them was something that might happen for all on that great future occasion when God brought history to an end and a whole new world was renewed.
It will not do therefore, to say that Jesus’ disciples were so stunned and shocked by his death, so unable to come to terms with it, that they projected their scattered hopes onto the screen of fantasy and invented the idea of Jesus resurrection as a way of coping with their cruelly broken dream. That has an initial apparent psychological plausibility to 20th century people, but it will not work as serious first century history.
There were lots of other messianic and similar movements in the Jewish world, roughly contemporary with Jesus. There were many situations in which a messianic leader died a violent death at the hands of authorities. In not one single case do we see the slightest mention of the disappointed followers claiming that their hero had been raised from the dead. They knew better.
In the Jewish worldview an individual could not be resurrected in the middle of history and history just continue going. It was not something that was possible in their worldview. So Jewish revolutionaries whose leaders had been executed by the authorities had only two options, give up the revolution or find another leader. Claiming that your original leader had been resurrected was not an option, unless of course he was.”
– NT WRIGHT
These who claimed to have seen Jesus - before they are cowering in fear, denying they knew Jesus as he was being tried and killed
When they are next seen in public they are boldly announcing that Jesus whom you crucified was Messiah and God - not by faith but by sight - that they had seen Him
In the next 40 years most of these disciples will be killed for their testimony about Jesus. There difference between faith and being an eye witness
“I believe those witnesses who get their throats cut” - Blaise Pascal
“Don’t be fooled by the idea that modern science has disproved the resurrection of Jesus. Modern science has done no such thing. Everybody in the ancient world, just like everybody in the modern world, knew perfectly well that dead people don’t get resurrected. It didn’t take Copernicus or Newton, or Einstein for that matter, to prove that; just universal observation of universal facts. The Christian belief is not that some people sometimes get raised from the dead, and Jesus happens to be one of them. It is precisely that people don’t ever get raised from the dead, and that something new has happened in and through Jesus which has blown a hole through previous observations. The Christian thus agrees with scientists ancient and modern: yes, dead people don’t rise. But the Christian goes on to say that something new and different has now occurred in the case of Jesus. This isn’t because there was an odd glitch in the cosmos, or something peculiar about Jesus’ biochemistry, but because the God who made the world, and who called Israel to be the bearer of his rescue-operation for the world, was at work in and through Jesus to remake the world. The resurrection was the dramatic launching of this project.” – NT WRIGHT
But trusting this story is certainly not simply believing in an event two thousand years ago.
It is sharing a relationship with this risen Jesus today.
If Jesus is risen - it means what happened on the Cross accomplished its purpose
You and I can be forgiven and brought into union with God
If Jesus is risen - a new way of being human has begun
A new type of life is possible…We can share in this resurrection life.
But the same threats as the guards faced will show up in our story.
We have to be practical and make some money
We don’t wanna look like fools
We are worried about our place in the world
We had an experience once but we aren’t sure what to make of it.
How much would it take for us to trade in resurrection for a nice respectable life and comfortable place to watch TV?
How much would it take to actually upend our normal way of operating where we are in change and we imagine the story unfolding with us as the center?
God says he loves you all the way to death and back. There is a place for you in His story. In His renewal of the world.
What would we trade it for? What are you trading it for?
The resurrection of Jesus means all the abundance of His life begins to make sense. The water into wine. The treasure in a field worth selling everything for. The son returning home whom there must be a party for.
How many of us are still living with the scarcity mentality of the guards?
We have no framework for what this could be and so we fall back into a story we know
If Jesus is risen from the dead it changes everything.
April 30: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: John 21: 1-17
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanaelfrom Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Shame → Love
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. – Genesis 2:25 NIV
“but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” – Genesis 2:17 NIV
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” – Genesis 3:10 NIV
So Adam was naked and unashamed and now he’s naked and ashamed and he’s afraid because of how vulnerable he feels and he’s hiding.
So fear and shame enter the human story. And it is attended by other kinds of death that we’ll talk about in this series: despair and scarcity and exhaustion.
What is shame?
Chip Dodd
Healthy shame: recognition of dependency/limitation
Toxic shame: judgment
If we are exposed, we will be judged and disposed of
I need therefore I am stupid, bad, worthless
Worth is in performance instead of presence
“The felt sense that I do not have what it takes to tolerate this moment or circumstance. I am not enough, I am bad, I don’t matter, there is something wrong with me” – Curt Thompson, The Soul of Shame
Types of Shame
Shame that originates with us: it’s related to things that we ourselves do or do not do
Shame that originates with others:
Those voices from our childhood. Some of us have been really fortunate and those voices have been kind. And others of us have a different experience. Maybe a parent who wasn’t well and the things they said to us became our personal, internal monologue. It might sound very much like your voice, but it’s actually someone else’s
Societal expectations
Those explicit and implicit messages about your worth or value
Shame that originates from lies told by the enemy–the prince of the power of the air
Shame attempts to separate me from love
Adam and eve example
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” – Genesis 1:31 NIV
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” – Genesis 3:7 NIV
So, Adam and Eve are hiding from each other, then God comes and even though they are already covered in fig leaves, they hid from him too.
Adam says: He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” – Genesis 3:10 NIV
There are some tough consequences handed out for everyone involved and then God does something interesting:
“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” – Genesis 3:21 NIV
Peter example
“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” – John 21:15-17 NIV
Peter had denied Jesus. He had failed, wasn’t enough for the moment.
Jesus has recreated for Peter all of the details of when he first called him. And for each of Peter’s denials, Jesus gives him the opportunity to re-declare his love.
So before we talk more about Peter’s story, I want us to note a couple of things:
Everything that is true about you, everything that your Father thinks about you is revealed before you fall. (The Trinity created humankind and God says “this is very good”; Peter’s destiny is revealed before he falls. Andrew brings Peter to Jesus says to him–you are the rock.)
God always has a loving response to our failures and to our shame. (God made them Adam and Eve clothes and Jesus is making Peter breakfast)
Jesus is saying to Peter, I know you’re not perfect, but I’ve already told you who you are. You are the rock—follow me and take care of my flock.
Verb – Agapaō v. phileō
Noun – Agapē v. philadelphia
Unconditional love
Familial affection
1 - Peter, do you agapaō? Lord, I phileō
2 - Peter, do you agapaō? Lord, I phileō
3 - Peter, do you phileō? Lord, I phileō
Shame is still holding Peter back.
Jesus is actually repeating the question that is in Peter’s heart. Peter’s sitting there next to his dear, dear friend. Thinking of all the ways he failed him. He fell asleep while Jesus was asking him to keep watch. He couldn’t protect him from the soldiers that came to get him. And then the time came for him to fulfill all of those promises of bravely dying with the one he loves and he can’t do it. Peter is wondering “do you love me” and Jesus is answering “yes” every single time.
Maybe one of the most significant uses of the agapē form of love is in 1 Peter 4:8 where he says:
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8 NIV
Love covers
You don’t have to be ashamed—love will cover you. You don’t have to hide—love will cover you. That’s what Love does. It covers.
The covenant love of God will cover your shame, whether it originated with you or with some other fallen being. Love will cover your shame.
In the same way that God sacrificed animals to cover the shame of Adam and Eve in the garden, He sacrificed His son to die on a cross so that one day we can all go back to that garden and be naked and unashamed. Love covers.
“I see myself as the most miserable of all human beings, stinking and covered in sores, guilty of committing all sorts of crimes against my Monarch. Moved by deep regret, I declare to God all the harm I have caused others. I ask Love’s pardon. Then I give myself to their mercy to do with me as they please. Far from punishing me, this Ruler, full of kindness and mercy, lovingly embraces me, invites me to eat, seats me at Love’s table, waits on me themself, gives me the keys to their treasures, and all in all, treats me like their favorite. My Sovereign talks with me and takes great pleasure in my company in countless ways, without ever mentioning my forgiveness or taking away my old habits. Although I beg Love to make me according to their heart, I always see myself as weaker and more miserable, and yet always more caressed by God. This is what I see from time to time in God’s holy presence.” – Practice of the Presence, Nicolas Herman (monastic name: Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection).
Can you identify areas in your life where Shame overshadows love?
What actions of your past still bring you shame?
What lies that other people have spoken over you still bring shame?
What lies about yourself do you believe where Satan wants to keep you prisoned and paralyzed?
We need to constantly replace lies with truth
We need to constantly remind each other of our true worth
We need each other to overcome shame with love.
April 30: Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 23: Groups Guide
About This Guide
The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
Join a weekly group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
pdf download
Download this PDF to help you make a plan to follow Jesus in your everyday life, including diagnostic questions to help get you started.
Pickup a print version at our weekly in-person Sunday gatherings.
more Resources
Explore a curated online collection of recommended practices and resources to pursue presence, formation, and love in your life.
Questions about the series or looking for a way to get involved? Contact us.
Love
Teaching Text: Luke 24: 13-35
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulershanded him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
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?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Road to Emmaus
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
A story about hope that seems to have failed.
Jesus had died.
Nothing is more permanent. More final. We had hoped
Have you been there before? In the “we had hoped” space.
Something you were longing for?
Something you needed to receive from God?
Something you were sure would be in your life by this point?
Something you were certain would not happen to you?
Something you thought if I follow Jesus I can count on this and your expectation was not met?
Maybe you have even had the horror of watching your hopes and dreams die in front of you.
Nothing is more permanent than death.
“but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”
They hoped, and they had their hopes dashed.
Emmaus was their home. It was also a place of legend. A place of renown. A place where imagination collected about what is possible if God raised up a new leader. A Messiah to drive out Israel’s enemy.
Judas maccabees, mighty in word and deed. Cleansed the temple.
He is able to establish a Jewish kingdom for 100 years.
Then the Romans come and you are conquered.
Send us a leader, this was their culture narrative
Jesus’ first great act was to cleanse the temple
Does all kinds of miracles
Then He dies.
They had hoped. Now they are walking home.
Do remember the first tragedy in the Scriptures?
It takes place over a meal of recognition
In the Garden in Genesis, they go their own way against God, they deceived and tempted and they choose their own way and eat the fruit and they share it and they recognize each other as naked.
The recognize each other as afraid. As alone in a new way. As insecure. As separate. As exposed.
They eat and recognize the glimpse of death for the first time.
Here we have a reversal. Here they eat and recognize life. They recognize victory. Good news. Life after death. The possibility of reunion. Of a new kind of life. Of the Kingdom of God in a way they couldn’t have imagined it.
Luke is helping us see the story that holds all stories.
“[This story contains a] great deal of what being a Christian, from that day to this, is all about. The slow, sad dismay at the failure of human hopes; the turning to someone who might or might not help; the discovery that in scripture, all unexpected, there lay keys which might unlock the central mysteries and enable us to find the truth; the sudden realization of Jesus himself, present with us, warming our hearts with his truth, showing us himself as bread is broken.” – NT Wright
Jesus walked with them and showed them how their story fit inside the larger story, inside all the stories.
This is what Jesus does for you as well. Pulls together the threads and weaves with love a tapestry of meaning and belonging.
But this story says God has come to us. Through everything that would keep us apart
Sin - going our own way, seeking to meet the deep needs of our lives out of our own resources.
But also empires - places of power and violence that impose a million different stories on us to live out of
A disappointment - all the ways we have felt let down by the world and by God and by our friends and even by ourselves
When we are seen our hopes die in front of our face and been convinced that we know the scope of what is possible in this small place.
Recognize the Savior as a Friend
“The real slave-master, keeping the human race in bondage, is death itself. Earthly tyrants borrow power from death to boost their rule; that’s why crucifixion was such a symbol of Roman authority. Victory over death robs the powers of their main threat. Sin, which means humans rebelling against God and so conspiring with death to deface God’s good creation, is likewise defeated. Jesus has led God’s new people out of slavery, and now invites them to accompany him on the new journey to the promised land. The road to Emmaus is just the beginning. Hearing Jesus’ voice in scripture, knowing him in the breaking of bread, is the way. Welcome to God’s new world.” – NT WRIGHT
Join the friendship of the burning hearts
Where today are you beat down by disappointment?
Where today are you carrying questions with no answers?
Where has your story lost the plot?
Where do you need to recognize the Rescuer is your Friend?
Bring your pain
Bring you questions
Bring you confusion
Bring your separation
Bring your lack of faith
The miracle of Easter is not merely a empty tomb centuries ago, but the presence of the Risen Jesus here with us.
Ask God to meet with Him. Ask Him to show you where He is at work.
Ask Him to show you Himself, history and how your story and the particular moment you are in fits into the larger story.
