Life Groups // Spring 2023 // Week 2

Posted April 21, 2023 — Lincoln Berean

The Resurrected Jesus and Our Confusion // Luke 24:13-35

Serve Day – Prayer Walk

This year for Serve Day we are asking all of our Life Groups to participate in a Prayer Walk together during Week 5 of this Life Groups Session. On that week, you will venture outside as a group and take time to pray for those in your sphere of influence which includes, but is not limited to, your family, neighbors, those you work with and those you see on a regular basis. Imagine what God may do when over 1000 of us from Lincoln Berean are praying for thousands of others in our city!

There are several things you can do to prepare for this time together.

1) Discuss this with your group. We realize this may be a little out of our comfort zones. Take a few moments to share about that with the people in your group and pray together.

2) Make a list of those in your circle of influence (as defined above).

          What do you know about these people that could lead you in your prayers for them?

          Ask God to begin revealing to you the needs in their lives.

Introduction

This week Jesus joins two confused disciples on the road to Emmaus, yet they don’t recognize him. As they explain their confusion to him, he joins in the discussion and applies the scriptures to their situation in a way that makes their hearts burn within them and eventually their eyes are opened, and they recognize him. This passage has profound implications for how the resurrected Jesus comes to us in our confusion!

To think through the main ideas in the sermon and prepare for your discussion together, we invite you to look over all the questions on the following pages and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group. Due to preferences over a wide range of groups, we do not expect you will cover every question each week.

Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)

1) If you had to change your first name, what name would you choose?

2) Do you tend to save everything or toss everything? Why?

Getting Started

Transition into group discussion.  

1) Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items: 

a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth 

b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives 

c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you

2) Choose someone to read the passage aloud for the group.

Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)

1) What specific point or idea in the sermon has stuck with you this week?

2) In Luke 24:13-16, Jesus approached two disciples who are processing the events of their lives and yet their eyes are prevented from recognizing Him. Pastor Matt mentioned that often times we don’t recognize Jesus is right next to us in our situations, because we aren’t looking for Him. How often would you say you are aware of Jesus’ presence in your everyday life?

What are the things in your life that might prevent you from recognizing Jesus as you go about your everyday life?

3) In Luke 24:17-24, we find out the source of the disciples’ confusion and sorrow. They had expected Jesus to be the one who would deliver Israel. They had put a lot of hope in Jesus. But things had not worked out the way they had planned. Have you ever found yourself in a place like this – where you put a lot of hope into a person or event and then things did not turn out the way you had hoped or expected? Or have you ever felt like God has let you down? If you are willing, share your situation and feelings with your group.

4) In Luke 24:25-27 Jesus explains the circumstances of these disciples from the point of view of the scriptures. He brings the truth to bear on their circumstances. In verse 32, we hear what was happening inside the disciples during this: “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while he was explaining the scriptures to us?” Have you experienced Jesus doing this in your own life? If you are willing, share about this experience with your group.

What are the specific scripture passages that Jesus has used to encourage you in times like these?

5) In John 8:31-32 we see the idea of staying (abiding) in the truth. Staying in the truth means living in the truth, obeying the words of Jesus, and following His way which is what sets us free. Pastor Matt mentioned that many times coming to terms with reality and the truth is like coming out of a dark room into bright sunlight; we need time for our eyes to adjust. We need to stay (abide/obey/live) in the truth long enough that our eyes begin to adjust. Have you ever had an experience like this in your life where you began to live according to the scriptures and it felt awkward at the beginning but when you stayed in it long enough, it set you free?

6) Pastor Matt mentioned that one of the things Jesus was doing was teaching His followers how to recognize His voice when they can’t see Him (i.e. when He comes to them as the Holy Spirit). Take a look at John 14:16-21, 25-26 and John 16: 7-15. What do you see in these passages that will help us recognize the leading of the Holy Spirit?

How have you experienced the leading of the Holy Spirit in your own life?

Personal Spiritual Exercises

Just like physical exercises help strengthen and stretch our bodies for healthy living, these spiritual exercises are meant to move us spiritually in ways that may be new so we might experience inner growth. Since God longs for us to experience Him with our whole selves—mind, body, spirit—we invite you along each week to strengthen your souls with suggestions and prompts. Next week in Life Group, take a few moments to share how the Lord may have used this exercise in your life.

Prayer Focus: Consider going on your own walk to Emmaus with Jesus.

1. Take a walk in your neighborhood.
2. Talk to Jesus about a confusing situation in your life.
3. Ask Him to show you how He is present in this situation.
4. Ask Him to bring truth to bear on your circumstances to help you see it from His perspective.
5. Listen to what He has to say to you.
6. Continue looking for Jesus in your situation and for Him to reveal more truth to you as you read the scriptures during the next week.

Scripture Focus: Read Galatians 5:13-26 each day this week. Consider reading it in several different translations throughout the week – The Message paraphrase is particularly descriptive and beautiful. What might God be saying to you through this passage about walking by the Spirit or keeping in step with the Spirit? Consider writing your responses to this question in a journal.

Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)

A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together.

Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?