INTRO: How do you usually celebrate Easter? Will you do anything differently this year? Explain.
READ:
Luke 23: 44-46 (NIV)
Psalm 31:5
Colossians 1:15
John 17: 25-26
PRAY: Begin the time by praying together.
DISCUSS:
1. Is there an area of your life where you have “pushed your limits”? To what goal were you committed? Did this commitment lead you to feel “fully alive” as Wim Hoff sought to feel with his ice baths and swims?
Can you relate to having a hunger for God, but to struggling to commit to God? Explain that tension.
Explore the quote from St. Ignatius, “[sin is] an unwillingness to trust that what God wants for me is only my deepest happiness.” Have you seen sin distort a desire to trust God in your own life? Explain if you are willing.
Pastor Jesse suggests that our commitment muscles can wane due to addictions, destructive habits, hurt, pride, tragedy. Instead of focusing on our commitment, he suggests that we focus instead on the one to whom we are committing. Share practical ideas to shift this focus for ourselves and our loved ones.
Review the expressions of love that Jesus made from the cross (below). Do these words help you see a loving God who offers our deepest happiness? Share your reactions after these weeks of focus on the last words of an innocent man.
“Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23: 34
“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
“Woman, here is your son… Here is your mother.” John 19:26-27
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34
“I am thirsty.” John 19:28
“It is finished.”John 19:30
“Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46
PRAY: To write of Your love would drain an ocean full of ink. In response, we commit our lives and our spirits into Your hands. Deliver us, loving Father.