Stu Quackenbush // Rockford Campus // April 6, 2025

SMALL GROUP
DISCUSSION GUIDE

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 22:39–46

REMINDERS

Men and Women’s Spring Bible Studies
Sign ups are open now for Men and Women’s Spring Bible Studies. Visit the Events section on the website to learn more.

Holy Week Experience (Sunday, April 13th, 5:30–7pm)
Come and experience the events of Holy Week, the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, at this event designed by Kid and Student ministries. Ponder the extent of His love for you while you walk through five self-guided stations at your own pace. The stations include clearing the temple, the anointing at Bethany, the garden, the last supper, and Good Friday. A meal will be provided at the beginning of the evening.

Easter Drama – Flames of Hope (April 17–19)
In our world where wars, disasters, political struggles, and desperate people surround us, the amazing Easter story comes to life on stage before us. Experience the passion of Jesus and the events that follow. Hunted by both religious leaders and irate Romans wanting to silence them, believers face fierce persecution, imprisonment, disasters, and even martyrdom under emperor Nero. What hope do they have? What hope does our world have? Be encouraged with the good news embedded in this immersive drama with an incredible cast, orchestra, live animals, authentic sets and costumes, creative choreography, and special effects.

FIND OUT MORE INFO HERE: https://magnifychurch.org/event/easter-drama-flames-of-hope/

TOGETHER IN LIFE

Share a favorite Spring Break memory.

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 22:39–46

Note: If you are meeting as a group, we encourage you to read the text together out loud.

KEY QUESTION:

• How much did Jesus sacrifice, and what does that mean for us?

GOING DEEPER:

A Difficult Moment in the Garden

Adam lived in a perfect world and yet he failed a test in the Garden of Eden by desiring to be like God rather than submitting to God’s will. Jesus lived in a sinful and broken world and faced His own test in a garden: to obey God the Father’s will in the face of immense difficulty and suffering.

QUESTIONS

• What challenges did Jesus face on the way to the cross?
• How do you think it would feel to have one of your close associates betray you for money? Is there anything in your life that could relate to that?
• When you think about your own relationship to Jesus and the other things you pursue in life, is there anything that would tempt you to betray Jesus? Why or why not?

The Cup of Wrath

It can sometimes be difficult to imagine the God who is love also being filled with wrath. But God is angry at sin because He loves so deeply, because sin attacks and destroys what is good. When Jesus took on the penalty we deserved, He did not merely shed His blood; He also endured the wrath that our sins deserved, and the enmity and rejection that it causes with the Father.

QUESTIONS

• What would it mean to face death without God?
• How has God met you in some of your darker moments? What difference did He make?
• Is there anything you struggle to understand, believe, or appreciate about the wrath of God?

Fully God and Fully Man

When God became man, He became fully human in every way, except without sin. In the process, He hid His glory, but did not give it up; He was still fully God in every way. Because of this, Jesus was able to act as our representatives, live a sinless life, and endure the full punishment for the sins of the world. And because Jesus could take on the fullness of God’s wrath toward your sins, it means that if you have been saved by Christ, God only has love for you.

QUESTIONS

• What would it mean to bear God’s just wrath toward every sin that has ever existed?
• Do you believe that God always only has love for you? Why or why not?
• How can understanding Jesus’s suffering help us appreciate and rest in God’s love?

TOGETHER IN ACTION

Take time this week to rest in Christ’s finished work for you, and for the love He has for you each day.

Tell someone about what Jesus did. You don’t need to have all the answers or control the outcome in order to testify to what Jesus has done for you.

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

Pray earnestly for the unsaved people in your life, that this Easter might be the time they experience God’s rescue.