Group Guide

August 6th, 2023

This Week's City 7:

2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)

Ice-Breaker:

What stresses you out the most or causes you anxiety?

Discussion Questions:

Have someone read Luke 22:39-71 aloud.

Verse 39 jumps into that fateful night when Jesus went away to pray. He absolutely knew what was coming. He was moments away from being arrested, which He knew would lead to His brutal death. And though Jesus was all God, He was also all man. He had all the same feelings and emotions that we do. Image that scene where Jesus, who is about to face unimaginable pain and anguish for US, is under such stress that "His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood." Can you imagine being in that kind of anguish? What kinds of thoughts or emotions are stirred within you when you think about Jesus suffering in this way?
Are you ready for some real talk? The reason Jesus had to die for us was because of the curse of sin. And Jesus didn't just suffer physically on that cross. He also suffered spiritually. Scripture teaches that Jesus, who was God in flesh, literally BECAME sin for us. He took upon Himself the most vile and detestable things... the sins of every person that will ever walk the earth. But how do WE treat sin? We laugh at it. We enjoy it. We're entertained by it. But it makes Jesus sick. This is why He is so overcome with grief in that garden. Does this change the way you might view your sin? Do you tend to treat sin too casually? Do you tolerate it too much in your own life?
Jesus tells His disciples that temptation is coming. He tells them to pray for the strength to get through it. There's something about prayer that sustains and strengthens us, just as it did Jesus. It's clear that the presence of the angel empowers Jesus to engage in even more ardent prayer. God's response to Jesus' prayer is to provide strength for Him to endure, not to remove the cup of suffering. There are HUGE life lessons in this for us. The first takeaway from Sunday was, "Disciples of Jesus PERSEVERE through PRAYER." It's ok for us to pray for the cup to be removed, but how often are you following that up with, "But your will be done"? How often are you praying for strength and endurance? How fervently do you pray?
Once Jesus was arrested and tried, he was abandoned by pretty much everyone. His followers had good intentions and they even made grand promises. But going through trials, pressure, and sacrifices results in a different crowd, a different kind of follower. Can you imagine what Peter must have felt when the Jesus' eyes met his after he denied him? It says that Peter was reminded of Jesus' prediction of his denial and that he wept bitterly. Jesus gazed into his very soul. We like to rag on Peter, but we deny Jesus all the time. Maybe not through denying He exists, but through our unwillingness to acknowledge Him to others. We deny Him with our lifestyle and choices. How might YOU be denying Him in more subtle ways?
Jesus was saying to Peter, and He is saying to us, "You may not know me, but I know you. You may not love me, but I love you. You may deny me, but I will not deny you." The last takeaway was, "Even though we are UNFAITHFUL, Jesus is FAITHFUL." By faith, Jesus' faithfulness covers our unfaithfulness. Talk about how grateful you are for His grace. Where would you be without Him? When you think about how amazingly faithful He is, what does it make you want to do in response?

Prayer Topics:

That we would learn to hate sin.
That we would learn to pray for strength and perseverance.
That we would never deny Him, but learn to lean on His faithfulness.

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