Seeing Beyond the Darkness--Lesson 4--Behold Your Son; Behold Your Mother

Discussion Questions:

1. What challenges have you had dealing with the world while associating yourself with the cross of Jesus? What helps you have courage to stand boldly with Him?

2. How does it help you to deal with trials and challenges when you see that the mother of Jesus faced so many experiences of anxiety and difficulty?

3. What does it say to you that Jesus did not call upon His own brothers to provide care for His mother? How is His blood thicker than family ties?

4. What does the creation of Jesus’ new family mean to you? What responsibilities do you see are yours because of Jesus’ example from the cross?

5. How well do you see the church (Jesus’ new family) providing for the needs and offering hope to others who come before Him at the foot of the cross? What are some things that could be done differently or better?

Seeing Beyond the Darkness--Lesson 3--Today You Will Be With Me

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some ways in which God demonstrates His sovereignty and love in the midst of the crucifixion? How important is it for you that God makes sure Jesus does not die alone?

2. From this story of Jesus hanging between two thieves, how far is God willing to reach into your life to rescue you?

3. In what ways have you treated Jesus like a spare tire? What can you do to avoid falling into this?

4. What fear do you have of standing up for Jesus against the crowd? What kinds of things helped the thief to develop the courage that he did?

5. How has following Jesus provided more than you thought you would receive when you first called upon Him?

6. How did Jesus and the thief who called upon Him both see beyond the darkness?

Seeing Beyond the Darkness--Lesson 2--The 1st Word is Forgiveness

Discussion Questions:

1. What makes forgiving people difficult?

2. How important is being forgiven for ignorance? What role has not knowing what you were doing played in your treatment of Jesus?

3. How have you seen prayer change things? What are some of the changes that take place as a result of Jesus praying from the cross?

4. How does Jesus’ continual prayer for forgiveness help us to see that forgiveness is more of a process than a one-time act?

5. How would forgiveness be affected if we saw people as not knowing what they are doing?