Easter Group Guide

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Choose the questions for your group; no pressure to use all of them.

Start Off

• How was your Easter? Any highlights or traditions around the way you celebrated Easter?

• In thinking about the message from this weekend, where do you most often encounter “bad news” in your daily life (news, social media, work, etc.)? How does it affect you?

Reflect on God’s Word

• Read John 11:1-44 (people can take turns reading 2-3 verses). What stands out to you most in this story, and why?

• Why do you think Jesus delayed going to Lazarus? Have you ever felt like God was “late” in your life?

• Reread John 11:21-22. Martha expresses both frustration and faith. How do you relate to that tension?

• Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” What does that mean practically for your life, not just in the future, but for today?

• Why do you think Jesus wept even though he knew he would raise Lazarus? What does that reveal about God?

Go Deeper

• How does the phrase “Everything sad is becoming untrue” from the movie “The Lord of the Rings” shift your perspective on the situation with Lazarus?

• Where do you sense Jesus asking you the question “Do you believe?” right now? Is there an area where God is leading you to trust him more?

• What would it look like for you to step out of the grave and into new life this week?

Pray

• Share prayer requests and things you are thankful for, and then pray for one another.

• Pray: “Jesus, you are the resurrection and the life. We bring you the places in us that feel dead, stuck, or hopeless. Help us hear your voice calling us forward. Teach us to trust you in the waiting, to feel your presence in our pain, and to walk in the new life you offer. We choose to believe. Amen.”

VERSE TO MEDITATE ON AND MEMORIZE THIS WEEK

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die…” (John 11:25, NIV)

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE (BETWEEN MEETINGS)

Day 1: Receive the Good News

• Read John 11:25-26.

• Practice: Reflect on what it means that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Write down one area where you need hope.

• Prayer: “Jesus, help me believe that you bring life into my dead places.”
  
  

• Read John 11:5-6, Isaiah 55:8-9.

• Practice: Identify a situation where God feels late. Surrender your timeline to Him.

• Prayer: “God, even when I don’t understand, I trust that you are working.”

• Read John 11:33-35, Psalm 56:8.

• Practice: Honestly express your grief, worry, or stress to God. Don’t filter it.

• Prayer: “Jesus, thank you for weeping with me. Meet me in this place.”

• Read Luke 5:31-32, 2 Corinthians 5:17.

• Practice: Confess an area of sin, struggle, or brokenness. Invite Jesus into it.

• Prayer: “Jesus, I bring you my mess. Make me new.”

• Read John 11:43-44, Romans 6:4.
• Practice: Take one tangible step of obedience (forgiveness, reaching out, breaking a habit, starting something new).
• Prayer: “Jesus, call me forward. Help me walk in the new life you’ve given me.”