The Invitation - End of Week 7

INTRODUCTION
The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion between you and the person you’re studying with or with your Connect Group. Feel free to add, subtract, or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.

OPEN QUESTIONS
If you could have 10 minutes with someone you’ve lost, or maybe someone you never knew personally but wanted to talk to, who would it be, and what would you talk about?

HEAD

1. Read Luke 24: 1-12 together and share any wisdom, insights, or thoughts that come to you from the reading.
2. If you saw the stone covering the tomb rolled away and the body was gone, what would have been your first thought about what happened?
3. Jesus told the disciples numerous times that he would be killed but raised on the third day.  Why don’t you think they heard him, or if they heard him, why didn’t they believe?
4. Why do you think Peter and John, as we’re told in other accounts, went running to the tomb?  Did they not trust the women?
5. It’s not a coincidence that women were the main characters of this story.  Not only did it happen that way, but in Biblical times, if you wanted to make up a story, a lie, you wouldn’t have used women as the main characters.  The part in this story is one of the proofs that this all happened.  But again, in this moment, why was it so hard for Peter to connect the dots that Jesus was alive?

HEART

1. The resurrection of Jesus was seen by the women at the tomb, by the disciples, and by more than 500 others after his resurrection.  Why do you think so many of the religious leaders failed to believe these eyewitnesses and continued to go to great lengths to cover up this story?
2. If Jesus was resurrected and alive now, then everything He said was true, and everything He did happened.  What does knowing this Jesus mean to you?  How does the invitation to follow this Jesus change you?
3. Because of His resurrection, we have hope in the coming resurrection.  Take some time to share what you look forward to about resurrection day.  What’s the first thing you want to do when you see Jesus?  Who is one of the first people you want to see?  What’s something you think you’ll be able to do on the new earth that you can’t do now that you want to do?

HANDS
Because Jesus loved you so much, He died for you, and because He is alive and well and therefore we have hope that we too will see Him again, why don’t we celebrate by doing that which Jesus asked us to do: ”So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.“ John 13:34 NLT. Think of something nice you can do for a friend, a neighbor, or someone in need to show them the love of Christ in a tangible way.

LIVING WORDS FOR YOUR WEEK
“We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died, for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then, we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 NLT