THREE THINGS TO KNOW
DON’T MISS THIS. Starting next weekend, we’re launching a brand-new series, YOU ASKED FOR IT VOL. 2, where we tackle the tough questions you’ve been asking. This spring, we’re adding something new: a LIVE PODCAST RECORDING every Saturday night at 6:45 PM at our Cascade Campus, right after the 5:30 PM service. Join us Saturdays, April 11, 18, 25, and May 2 to go deeper on that weekend’s message together. Prefer to listen later? New episodes drop every Wednesday on all major podcast platforms.
GROUP VALUES. This week we continue our exploration of the value to LOVE BEYOND. Loving beyond your group means taking advantage of intentional opportunities to share the good news of Jesus’s sacrifice and resurrection. Easter weekend is one of the most natural moments to extend that love outward. Take time as a group to debrief any invitations that were made this week—who came, what conversations happened, and what doors may have opened.
GROW AS A LEADER. Easter often brings guests and returning members into your group’s orbit. Be intentional this week about following up. A quick text or call to someone can turn a one-time experience into a lasting connection. Don’t let the momentum of Easter weekend fade without reaching out.
SERMON DISCUSSION GUIDE
This EASTER, Pastor Aaron Buer walked us through John 11—the account of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. Against the backdrop of real grief and personal loss, we encounter the heart of Jesus and why he came.
ICEBREAKER
If you had to describe Easter in one word based on what it meant to you growing up, what would it be?
THIS WEEK’S TEXT
Have someone read John 11:17-44 aloud.
What do you notice about the way Mary and Martha each approach Jesus when he arrives?
What does Jesus do and say before he raises Lazarus, and what stands out to you about his response?
How do the different characters in the story respond to Jesus and his power (see also verses 45-47)?
THIS WEEK’S SERMON
In this EASTER SERMON, Pastor Aaron Buer explored the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. As a group, recall some of the sermon’s big ideas and main points.
How does our world tend to picture God’s response to human pain and suffering, and how does that compare to Jesus’s response in this story?
Mary and Martha both say, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,” but Jesus responds to each of them differently. What does that show about how Jesus relates to people in their pain?
We often get it wrong when we try to comfort people, offering truth when someone needs tears, or tears when someone needs truth. Share about a time when someone got it right for you. What did they do?
Jesus stood at the tomb of his dead friend and commanded him to come out. What does this reveal about who Jesus is that death itself obeyed him?
Jesus’s decision to raise Lazarus ultimately set in motion the religious leaders’ plan to kill him. Jesus willingly went to the cross with full knowledge of what it would cost him. In what area of your life is he inviting you to respond to that sacrifice more fully? What could that look like this week?
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but Lazarus eventually died again. His resurrection was a preview pointing to something greater. How does Jesus’s own resurrection, and the promise of our future resurrection, change the way you think about loss and death right now?
Have someone read Revelation 21:3-5 aloud. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, God will one day make all things new—not just comfort us in brokenness but eliminate it entirely. How does that future reality change what you hope for?
WRAP UP
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25).What would it look like to live this coming week as someone who genuinely believes that?