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WEEK 1 SERMON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS

March 31, 2024

Easter Matters

Introduction:

Why does Easter matter? Or, to put it another way, what would be missing without Easter? I’m sure we’d miss to some degree the change of seasons that we see in our local grocery stores to the pastel colors. To some degree, we probably miss some of our traditions of decorating eggs or hiding baskets. We may miss the excuse to eat peeps or black jellybeans, but I think we could get over those sorts of things. What else would we be missing? We know that the Christian Church celebrates Easter as the day Jesus rose to life from the dead. So what if that didn’t happen? What would be missing?

Something To Talk About:

  1. God is a personal God: He wants to be in a relationship with you, and He demonstrates this desire in many different ways. Treat Him as if He is a personal God, and He will demonstrate His presence in ways you might never have expected. Many other ways – such as reading the Bible, praying, and fasting – will help you see a personal God who is interested in having a real relationship with you. The Bible reveals God to be deeply personal. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the God of Moses. He is the God of Israel, delivering His people from slavery in Egypt and choosing them from among all the nations of the earth to be His treasured possession. One cannot read the Bible without coming face to face with a God who makes Himself known. A God who makes His promise personal. A God who wants a personal relationship.
  2. What does this mean for me personally: In Psalm 91, David understands and knows the personal nature of God. “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’ … who is my refuge” (Psalm 91:2, 9 NIV). Here was a man who knew God intimately. He dwelled with him. He lived in conscious fellowship with him, drawing strength from him daily. And God did some amazing things for him: He saved, protected, and guided him. In verse 14 we read, “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” David recognized, respected, and trusted in the name – God’s person, nature, and character. But he could only do that because he knew God personally and intimately. God is not simply a power. You can relate to Him, love Him, and get to know him. While we cannot possess Him, we can be possessed by Him. While we can’t understand all about Him, we can know Him. He is a God who is present. He is not simply a God who is out there but a God who is right here. He is your God, a personal God that walks with us in the here and now. He is here, every day, every step, every turn, every situation.
  3. God is in pursuit of me: Motivated by unexplainable love, God pursues humanity. No matter our state in life — married, single, dating, living for God, or running from Him — God seeks to win the affection of our hearts by relentlessly and faithfully pursuing us. We see a clear depiction of this pursuit in John 3:16-17: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” This love was costly for God, but He pursued us by sacrificing His Son.  And even more astounding is that God demonstrated His sacrificial love while we were sinners. He pursued us while we weren’t thinking about Him. But God’s pursuit of us did not end with Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection. For all our days, He will continue to pursue us with His unexplainable love.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your basic answer to the question, “Does Easter matter?”
  2. Why is Easter important? 
  3. How did Jesus conquer death at Easter? Why is that important?
  4. In what ways have you let Easter be a passing holiday? How can you change that?
  5. How does God knowing everything there is to know about you and loving you anyway make you feel?
  6. What does God want from you in a relationship with Him? 
  7. What are the unique characteristics of God’s love shown in Scripture?
  8. How is Jesus’ death an act of love?
  9. What is the best way to respond to God’s love?
  10. What is God’s reason for forgiving us, in your opinion?
  11. What can we do this week to extend God’s forgiveness to others?
  12. He has relentlessly pursued and will continue to pursue you: what is your reaction to that?
  1. What was your main takeaway from this week’s message?

Take One Thing Home with You:

God’s forgiveness is now our standard. Forgiveness is a precious gift we’ve received…and one we’re called to give others. But sometimes people get stuck by thinking that if we forgive it’s as if we’re saying that what the other person did, didn’t matter. That is not true. After all, we can only forgive when there’s something to forgive. Forgiveness acknowledges that the other person has done something wrong and is truly at fault. When Christ uttered, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing,” (Luke 23:34), He knew all too well the depth of the deep offense against Him. But we must remember that Jesus didn’t die for a select group of people. He died for everyone. That includes those who have been good to us and harmed us. Understanding what God did for us is the best way to learn how to forgive.

Rick Warren summed it up in this quote: “And when you’ve experienced grace, and you feel like you’ve been forgiven, you’re a lot more forgiving of other people. You’re a lot more gracious to others.”