He Chose the Nails

Watch: He Chose the Nails, He Chose to Be One of Us (15 Minutes)

Take a few minutes to talk about today’s video:

1. What part of the teaching had the most impact on you?
   
   
2. How would you describe your understanding and experience with Lent over the years? In what ways is it similar or different from what you heard in the video today?
   
   
3. What does it mean to you that Jesus chose to be one of us?
   
   
4. What do these two words “rend and return” suggest about what it means not only to seek reconciliation with God but also to do so with all your heart?
   
   
   • What three words or phrases would you use to describe “the joy of being cleaned out”?
     
     
5. Considering the examples of crowns and thorns in the Bible and in today’s video, what insights do they suggest for Jesus’ crown of thorns?
   
   
6. As you consider the coming weeks of this study, what request would you like to make of the group? Examples:
   • You can help me take Lent seriously this year by…
     
     
   • I’d really like you to consistently challenge me about…
     
     
   • It really helps me to engage in a group when…
     
     
   • I tend to withdraw or feel anxious when…
     
     
   • In our discussions, the best thing you could do for me is…

Close Your Time Together in Prayer

Watch: He Chose the Nails, He Chose to Forgive Us (16 Minutes)

Take a few minutes to talk about today’s video:

1. What part of the teaching had the most impact on you?
   
   
2. What does it mean to you that God chose to forgive you?
   
   
3. Read Colossians 1:20-23. Paul describes our condition prior to reconciliation as that of “enemies”. In what ways, if any, are you tempted to resist, minimize, or otherwise rationalize this truth?
   
   
4. Do you find the truth about yourself - that you are whole and holy in God’s sight - easier to believe and accept than the truth about being God’s enemy? Why or why not?
   
   
5. How would you describe what it means in practical terms to “stay grounded and steady” in your reconciliation?
   
   
6. Max pointed out that it wasn’t the angry mob, jealous religious leaders, or even Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus. It was Jesus himself who chose the nails. “No one can take my life from me” Jesus said, “I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also take it up again” (John 10:18)
   
   
   • Why do you think it matters so much to understand this-that Jesus is not a victim but one who made a sacrificial choice from a position of authority?
     
     
7. What hopes or fears come to mind when you consider taking Jesus’ love for you more seriously than you do right now? What steps can you take towards this?

Close Your Time Together in Prayer (consider confessing your need for Jesus)

Watch: He Chose the Nails, He Chose to Invite Us into His Presence (15 Minutes)

Take a few minutes to talk about today’s video:

1. How did last week’s discussion impact your week? Did you feel more aware or less aware of God’s love for you throughout the week?
   
   
2. What part of the teaching had the most impact on you?
   
   
3. Max used the image of Jesus’ robe to describe what Jesus did for us on the cross. What thoughts or insights come to mind as you consider this?
   
   
4. Have a group member or two read Matthew 27:50-51 and Hebrews 9:24-26; 10:19-20. How does the parallel between the temple curtain and Christ’s body help you understand what Christ’s death on the cross really accomplished? What might have been less clear or harder to understand if the temple curtain had not been torn?
   
   
5. Are there times you are tempted to take for granted that you have direct access to God’s presence through Jesus? Why or why not?
   
   
6. Take a few moments to reflect on what you’ve learned together so far in this study so far.
   
   
   • How has learning more about the gifts of the cross impacted your relationship with God?
     
     
   • Since the first session, what shifts, if any, have you noticed in yourself and or how you view God?

Close Your Time Together in Prayer

Watch: He Chose the Nails, He Chose to Love Us Forever (16 Minutes)

Take a few minutes to talk about today’s video:

1. How did last week’s discussion impact your week?
   
   
2. What part of the teaching had the most impact on you?
   
   
3. God used the cross to forgive us without lowering His standards. What does this statement mean? What does this mean to you personally?
   
   
4. Read 1 Corinthians 6:11. As you reflect on your own experience of surrendering your life to Jesus, which of Paul’s three words in this passage do you relate to the most or find most meaningful?
   
   
5. We can’t be more saved than the we were the day we accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and received salvation….but we can grow in that salvation? What does this mean? What does it look like practically speaking to grow in your salvation?
   
   
6. As you reflect on your life with Jesus, what is one gradual but significant change you’ve experienced over time, and what insights might this experience provide as an encouragement for any gradual changes you are working through now?
   
   
7. Christ demonstrated His love for us on the cross, but His love didn’t stop there. Every day, He invites us anew to be changed by it. How do you hope you might be changed by that love?

Close Your Time Together in Prayer

Watch: He Chose the Nails, He Chose to Give Us Victory (19 Minutes)

Take a few minutes to talk about today’s video:

1. How did last week’s discussion impact your week?
   
   
2. What part of the teaching had the most impact on you?
   
   
3. Read John 12:24. For a seed, there is life on both sides of death (planting), but each life is of a very different kind. What three words or phrases would you use to describe the life of the seed before death? What three words or phrases would you use to describe the life that follows death?
   
   
   • What parallels do you see between the seed and our own lives?
     
     
   • In what ways do the words/phrases used to describe the seed apply to us?
     
     
4. Read Romans 8:37 and 1 John 5:4. Based on how Paul and John describe the victory that is ours in these verses….how would you describe it’s opposite…defeat? In other words how might we refuse or thwart our victory, perhaps especially when we are suffering?
   
   
5. Speaking of Jesus’ empty grave clothes Max said, “God took a tragedy and turned it into a symbol of triumph”. How can this perspective change the way you navigate tragedy and hardships in your life?
   
   
6. At the end of the video, Max suggested a simple exercise. Think for a moment about Paul’s words: “In everything God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). Remove the word everything and replace it with whatever symbolizes a tragedy or hardship in your life.
   
   
   • In __________ God works for the good.
     
     
   • What would you fill this blank with from your own life?

Close Your Time Together in Prayer