Light | John 19:38-20:18

Use this curriculum to help you further engage with the sermon, the scriptures, and each other. Allow the Holy Spirit to bring things up to encourage and guide you so that you are always growing in your faith. If the Spirit leads you away from these questions and into conversation and prayer that encourages and points you to Jesus, go for it.

scripture

Read the following scriptures together: John 19:38-20:18.

overview

We see at the end of chapter 19, two men from the Jewish ruling council came out of hiding to give Jesus a proper, honoring burial. On the third day, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early but noticed the stone had been removed from the entrance of the tomb, so she ran to get Peter and John. It had to have been disturbing to think that people had come and stolen Jesus’ body. They did not yet understand what Jesus had told them, and confusion and dread must have filled their minds. 

question 1

In the middle of a trial, a challenge for many believers is not yet knowing why or how long it will last. Sometimes we can’t even imagine how God will bring us out of it. Have you ever felt like this? How did God walk with you out of your trial?

discussion

Read Proverbs 13:12 and 1 Peter 1:3. The instant that Mary heard Jesus speak her name, she knew who he was and threw her arms around him. Imagine the joy that rose up in her, realizing that Jesus was back from the dead! The resurrection defines our hope as Christians. Hope is a mental state, a perspective, a way of viewing our lives with expectation or an anticipation of some future good. Andrew shared that the opposite of hope is depression – a mental state of foreboding expectation of disappointment or an anticipation of future pain. The power of hope is this: that when you are in difficult circumstances or state of mind, Jesus is alive, he is interceding for us in heaven, and he promises to sustain us and be with us through it. This is why it is important to be honest with our community so that they can come beside us and remind us of what God says. In the middle of trials, it can be difficult to think clearly or remember the hope we have been promised.

question 2

Is it easy for you to be open with your community or do you hide when the difficult circumstances arise? Share when you have been open and how it encouraged you. 

Read Revelation 21:1-5. The resurrection gives us hope for our eternal life and union with God after we pass from this life. In Jesus, we have the hope of transformation. We read that Mary, a woman in the first century who was not given any status and who had been possessed by seven demons, was the first person whom Jesus chose to reveal himself to after he rose from the dead. He entrusted her to be the first person to proclaim the greatest news the world will ever know. Jesus transforms society, social norms, and most importantly people – you and me. He is our living hope, the One we can invite into our fear, stubbornness, hopelessness, depression, unworthiness, and more. We invite him in and ask him to transform us. 

question 3

Does anyone want to share of how Jesus transformed your life? Celebrate the work of Christ in one another. Take time to pray for anyone who is currently struggling and is need of hope.

weekly application

Remember each day that you don’t have to stay stuck in a mindset or behavior, that through prayer you can at any time ask the Lord to transform you. Don’t give up on yourself or anyone else, the Lord surely doesn’t. If you are struggling with depression, we have a list of counselors we can share with you so that you can receive some deeper counseling.