Matt Zainea Rockford Campus April 2, 2023
PASSION SUNDAY
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE
REMINDERS
(Men)tal Health – This Spring, Men at Magnify has been going through a series about men and mental health. In it, we’ve been digging into Scripture, listening in on conversations with mental health professionals and discussing the tough stuff together in small groups. If you’d like to listen in on the interviews, you can find the link to the playlist here: http://bit.ly/3zoIxZn
Easter Sunday – April 9
Leader Appreciation – May – May is Leader Appreciation Month at Magnify Church! We’ll take time together to celebrate all that God has done in and through our groups and their leaders here at Magnify.
Stay tuned for more information soon on how we will take time to rejoice together!
TOGETHER IN LIFE
**This week we celebrated Passion (or Palm) Sunday together as a church. We sang, prayed, gave, learned, reflected, and celebrated Communion together.
This week as a group, talk about what that experience was like for you. Take time as a group to create a “mini” version of that celebration together. Consider the categories listed above and try running through it together in your group time.
TOGETHER IN THE WORD
THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: John 12
Note: We encourage you to read the entire text together as a group out loud.
REVIEW OF JESUS’ LAST WEEK
**See the bottom of this page for a reference list of the Chronological Timeline of Scripture for the Passion Week.
This week, Pastor Matt walked through Jesus’ last week and addresses some specific issues for each day. At the heart, God chose to reveal himself to us and make a plan for our rescue. In this, Jesus had to endure what he did (cf. Isaiah 53:10). With each section, Matt provided questions for reflection…
SUNDAY: This day, Jesus rides into Jerusalem as the Prince of Peace on a donkey
Do we see and acknowledge Jesus as the One True King?
If so, how do you do this? If not, why not?
Would others be able to see this in you?
MONDAY: This day, Jesus drives out the money changers from the temple and curses a fig tree.
Do we have genuine fruit of the Spirit and how do we engage in relationship corporately?
How do you live this out corporately?
TUESDAY: On Tuesday, Jesus’ authority is challenged, he examines the withered fig tree and he addresses the Pharisees directly.
Do you feel dead or fruitless, like the Fig Tree and the Pharisees?
How did the Fig Tree represent the Pharisaical heart?
How does a “dead heart” with God engage with him?
How can we ‘look Christian’ and yet be dead to God?
WEDNESDAY: This day is when the preparations for Passover would’ve occurred.
What are you doing to prepare for Resurrection Sunday?
In what ways have you celebrated Easter previously?
What have been helpful rituals or traditions that you’ve kept to aid in your time reflecting and celebrating Easter?
THURSDAY: As Jesus commanded his disciples to pray, so that they would not fall in the face of temptation.
In what ways do you repeatedly fall into temptation?
*The Upper Room Discourse (John 13-16) is Jesus’ longest and last teaching with his disciples. He observes the Passover Feast with them, commemorating Israel’s rescue from Egypt.
FRIDAY: Jesus willingly suffered the excruciating punishment that we deserve to suffer for our sins. He was imprisoned, humiliated, rejected, abandoned, beaten, whipped, and crucified.
What pit or prison do you find yourself trapped in?
How did you get there?
How have you tried to find freedom before meeting Jesus? Are you still doing this now?
BIG IDEA:
Jesus brings our rescue today, just like God did for the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians. Much like then, this is done by God for his people and we can rest in knowing for sure when we repent and turn to Jesus, we are secure in our soul’s rescue from the bondage of sin and celebrate a life eternally in the presence of the Father!
REPENTANCE AND RELEASE
We can allow ourselves to be blocked in our relationship with God through our Sin and Anxiety. To truly find healing, we must engage in Repentance and Release.
READ: John 12:25-26 (cf Mark 8:34-35)
Repentance requires acknowledging our sin is as bad as God says it is and hating all that keeps us from him. This active turning is not merely feeling bad about our sin. Guilty feelings merely wake us up to our sin, it does not make us right before God. We must turn to him for the forgiveness of our sins and make us whole again.
READ: Philippians 4:6-7
Release addresses our anxious fear. Being willing to take all our worries, cares, fears, and trials to God and lay them at his feet, trusting he is good and will do what is best for us is what release is all about.
*During the service, Pastor Matt provided us with a Rock (representing our sin) and a Card (to write our anxieties on) and we were invited to leave them at the foot of the cross.
QUESTION:
What was this experience like for you?
What were some of the things you were feeling and thinking about as you prepared and then repented and released?
How can this group help you continue to do this?
TOGETHER IN PRAYER + ACTION + SPEAKING
Take time to think through the various days of the Passion Week. Consider preparing for Easter Sunday by daily praying through the Scriptures and reflecting on the various events that occurred, and the questions Matt asked.
Circle Back: Take time this week to continue to pray for your 3 People who you hope come to a saving faith in Christ. Continue to encourage and practice sharing your faith with your group. Use this Easter season as the opportunity to help others see who Jesus really is: Savior of the world!
For more, refer to Steve’s Study Guide here: Magnifychurch.org/pray-act-speak
PASSION WEEK – SCRIPTURE LIST
| Sunday – Official Presentation of Jesus to Israel Luke 19:29-44 Matthew 21:11-17 (see also Mark 11:1-11, John 12:12-19)
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Friday AM 2-3AM – Arrest John 18:2-12 Matthew 26:47-56 2:30 AM – First Jewish Phase: Annas 3-4:30 AM – Second Jewish Phase: Caiaphas 4:30 AM – Peter’s Denials 5-5:45 AM Third Jewish Phase: Sanhedrin 6:00 -9:00AM – First Roman Phase: Pilate 6:00 -9:00AM – Second Roman Phase: Herod 6:00 -9:00AM – Third Roman Phase: Pilate Matthew 27:27-32 – Torture and Travel to Execution 9:00-12:00 Noon – Crucifixion Part 1: Luke 23:33b-43
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| Monday – Cleansing of the Temple Mark 11:12-18 John 12:20-50
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| Tuesday AM – Official Challenge of Christ’s Authority Mark 11:19-25 Matthew 21:23-23:39 (see Mark 12:1-40, Luke 20) Mark 12:41-44 – The Poor Widow
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| Tuesday PM – Prophesies Based on Jewish Rejection Matthew 24:1-25:46
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Friday PM 12 Noon to 3 PM – Crucifixion Part 2: Darkness Covers Matthew 27:45-56 John 19:28-30 Luke 23:46 Matthew 27:51-56 3-5 PM – Piercing of Side and Disposal of the Body
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| Wednesday – The Plot to Kill Jesus Matthew 26:1-16
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| Thursday – The Last Supper Luke 22:7-16 John 13:1-38 Luke 22:17-20 John 14:1-17:26 10:30 PM- 1:00AM – Gethsemane
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| Saturday Matthew 27:62-66 – Securing of the Tomb |
*Source: https://www.thedisciplemakingparent.com/scripture-readings-for-the-passion-week/*
