Easter Sunday

Small Group Questions

1. When we tell stories (especially about ourselves), there’s this weird truth that the more specific something is, the easier it is for someone else to relate to it. Like, you could say, “My parents are crazy,” and lots of people would agree with you. But if you told a specific, wild story about your parents, that’s even more relatable. Watch this clip from Everybody Loves Raymond to get a better idea. Raymond_on_YouTube
2. That’s a really specific story, and yet it does a great job communicating how crazy parents can be. What else might show off this idea of how powerful a specific story can be? What other examples can you think of in TV, movies, or music?
3. Truth is often stranger than fiction. What experience have you had where this is true?
4. Think about the Easter story. In what ways is the truth stranger than fiction in the account of Jesus’s death and resurrection?
5. One common argument to refute Jesus’s resurrection is to point out the differences in the story in each Gospel. Perhaps it’s these differences that make it more believable. How can that be so?
6. Read the Apostles’ Creed out loud together… I believe in God, the Father almighty,
   creator of heaven and earth.
   I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
   who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
   born of the Virgin Mary,
   suffered under Pontius Pilate,
   was crucified, died, and was buried;
   he descended to the dead.
   On the third day he rose again;
   he ascended into heaven,
   he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
   and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
   I believe in the Holy Spirit,
   the holy catholic Church,
   the communion of saints,
   the forgiveness of sins,
   the resurrection of the body,
   and the life everlasting. Amen.
7. Talk about the ways the creed gets really specific. Why is that important? (one possible answer…Belief in Jesus is about a specific event more than it’s about a set of principles or a philosophy.)
8. Read Colossians 1.19-20. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” There’s a big difference between “Jesus IS risen” and “Jesus HAS risen.”  What does that mean for us? And, specifically, for you?