Bible Study - AFTER LIFE - Before and After
Sermon-Based Bible Study – April 11, 2021
- What is something God has done for you that you are thankful for or are celebrating? How have you experienced God’s love and faithfulness this week?
- Where are you experiencing stress, anxiety or discouragement? How would you like to see God move in your life or in the life of someone close to you?
- What did you hear in this week’s sermon that was new or particularly interesting? Did anything stand out to you as puzzling or troubling?
- Read John 11:38-44. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, but Lazarus still has the grave clothes wrapped around him. How is Lazarus’s being raised from the dead similar to what you experienced when you believed in and accepted Jesus as Lord and savior? How is it different? How does this story illustrate that, “Being made alive in Christ is where our journey begins, but it’s not where our journey ends?”
- Read Colossians 3:1-17. Make a list of the “grave clothes” that are mentioned in this chapter. Which of these have been the hardest for you get rid of? Make a list of the clothes we should be putting on in the “After Life.” Who do you know and trust that could help you get dressed?
- Read Luke 4:18; John 8:31-36. Freedom is a huge theme in the after-life. Freedom from what? Do you think of yourself as in bondage to anything, or a slave to anything? What would you most like to be set free from? Why?
- Read John 12:1-11. This is the only glimpse we get of what life was like for Lazarus after Jesus raises him from the dead. Chris mentioned that Lazarus honors Jesus, leans in to fellowship with Jesus, and bears witness to Jesus with his resurrected life. Has your encounter with Jesus prompted you to do similar things? What does that look like? How have you seen others honor Jesus, or lean in to fellowship with Him, or bear witness to Him?
- What is a simple, next step you could take in obedience to what the Spirit is saying to you through this time in the Word? Who would benefit, or be interested in hearing about what you’ve learned in this study?