Group Guide

August 20th, 2023

This Week's City 7:

4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)

Ice-Breaker:

Have you ever seen something so amazing you almost don't believe your eyes? Do you have any "pic or it didn't happen", you've got to see it to believe it type moments?

Discussion Questions:

Have someone read Luke 24:1-48.

We are concluding a two year journey through the book of Luke. Like we've said over and over, we believe teaching verse by verse will give us a deeper, more thorough understanding of Scripture and does an all around better job of making disciples. What has your experience been the past two years? Have you found this to be true in your own life?
In Chapter 24, we find that it was women who first found the tomb empty. This is actually great evidence for the resurrection. In this culture, no one would've believed a woman's account of what happened. So if you were trying to make something up, you would never use a group of women to be your source. But when Jesus was crucified, it was the women who stuck with Him and stayed by His side while all the men ran and hid. Their faithfulness was rewarded and they are the first to see Him alive. Clayton mentioned on Sunday, we should all be thankful for faithful women of God who pray, teach, disciple, show up and are faithful when sometimes we are not. Who are some women of God in YOUR life that have pointed you towards Jesus with their faithfulness and love for God?
Contrary to what many might think, the disciples were very slow to believe what the women had told them. They were skeptical. Darrell Bock said, “Though the church proclaims the resurrection confidently today, the original witnesses had to be convinced that it had occurred. Resurrection had been promised by Scripture and by Jesus, but only slowly, grudgingly and methodically did the disciples come to see that it had come to pass.” They were skeptical, and we would be to! It must have seemed like craziness to them, the thought of a dead man coming back to life. They didn't believe until they saw him themselves. That is the opposite of blind faith. What, if anything, does this do for YOUR faith in the risen Savior? Does it make a difference to have a faith that is based on reasonable evidence?
Clayton shared a list of things every Christian should believe. Which of these words were new to you? Which one(s) do you think most casual, cultural Christians completely miss?
- INCARNATION - God in a body
- PROPITIATION - suffering/atonement/crucifixion that takes away the wrath of God
- RESURRECTION - Jesus raised to life for our justification
- REGENERATION - when someone is personally born again... not just intellectual, religious knowledge, but becoming a new creation because of a real heart change
- MISSION - being a witness for the Gospel
- ASCENSION - Jesus ascending into heaven
- GLORIFICATION - where Jesus is now, in His resurrected body, and where we will be some day
- REVELATION - He's coming back!
The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith. If He didn't rise, there is no point! But we must remember that the case for Christ is CERTAIN! We can be certain because Luke was certain. And Luke was certain because of the testimony of the men and women that saw Jesus alive. John said the disciples proclaimed what they had seen with their own eyes and touched with their own hands... that Jesus was physically raised from the dead. Church history and Scripture tells us that most of them would end up dying as martyrs for their faith. Lots of people die for things they believe to be true, but nobody dies for something they know to be a lie. Liars make bad martyrs. The disciples didn't believe on blind faith, and we don't have to either. Does this strengthen your faith? Do you think this would help you convince others of why you believe what you believe?

Prayer Topics:

That we would continue to hunger after God's Word.
That we would remember that our faith doesn't have to be blind faith.
That we would be certain that Jesus is alive!

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