*Group Leaders: Plan this group ahead of time to think through how you can worship together as a group. Some options might be singing/music, giving prayers of thanks, reading Psalms of praise, sharing God stories/testimonies, etc.
Ice Breakers
First impressions are always interesting because they’re incomplete and can sometimes be comically way off. Have the group share their first impressions of you, or their spouse, or Watermark as a church.
Thoughts on Sunday’s teaching…
Jesus shattered the expectations of what the people were looking for in a Messiah and in Jesus specifically. He still challenges our first impressions, expectations and assumptions. Steve had us reflect on what those might be.
- What are some false assumptions about Jesus that get made in our time and culture?
- Have you bought into those at some point in your life? How did they get shattered?
Passover Discussion
This is “Holy Week”, the week leading up to Jesus death and resurrection. We sometimes forget that this was also one of the biggest Jewish holidays that Jesus and all Israel were going to celebrate in Jerusalem… Passover. The following is a reflection and discussion on The Passover.
Read together (maybe take turns around the group) Exodus 12, the story of how this holy season began.
- Discuss why and how this event was the most important, defining event in Israel’s history.
- In what ways was the situation at the time of Jesus similar to the time of Moses for Israel.
- God provided a way for the people to avoid the last plague, the death of each family’s first born. What was that way?
- Compare and contrast God’s provision to avoid physical death with the way God provided rescue through Jesus. What’s the significance of lamb, blood, door posts, first born, etc.?
- Extra credit: Have someone read about the tradition of the Afikomen which takes place even today during the Passover Meal.
Share what comes to mind as you think about the significance of God purposely mirroring the Passover around 1500 years later.
Application
God’s plan for rescue was purposeful and planned out from before creation. (1 Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8) This realization nearly always results in worship. How can we take some time right now to worship God for what he has done in history and what he’s done personally for us?
Next Steps
What realizations did you make through the time together today?
Who could you share this with this week in a completely natural setting?
Who could you invite to dinner and a gathering for this weekend’s Easter gatherings?
