Remember to prep for your group
- Pray for your group by name.
- Review the sermon recap, key scriptures, and takeaways.
- Choose which questions you will use for your group.
- Plan the prayer and ministry time.
🎬 Sermon Recap
On the first Easter morning, the women came to Jesus’ tomb carrying spices, fully expecting to care for a dead body. Instead, they found the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, and two angels asking, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Though Jesus had told his followers multiple times that he would die and rise again, they were still living from a different narrative—one shaped by grief, loss, and their own assumptions.
This same pattern continues with the disciples, Peter, and the two followers on the road to Emmaus: the true story (Jesus is risen) is right in front of them, but the internal story they’re clinging to (Jesus is dead, hope is lost) shapes what they feel, how they interpret events, and how they live.
The sermon explored how we also live from powerful inner narratives—about God, ourselves, and others—that may not be true. Like the women at the tomb or the cardiologist/anesthesiologist in the heart procedure story or the “rat-bitten apples” incident, we can be confidently wrong and still act decisively from our false narratives. The invitation of Easter is to let the “true truth”—that Jesus is risen, present, and restoring—become the loudest and most defining story of our lives, replacing “our truth” wherever it contradicts his.
This same pattern continues with the disciples, Peter, and the two followers on the road to Emmaus: the true story (Jesus is risen) is right in front of them, but the internal story they’re clinging to (Jesus is dead, hope is lost) shapes what they feel, how they interpret events, and how they live.
The sermon explored how we also live from powerful inner narratives—about God, ourselves, and others—that may not be true. Like the women at the tomb or the cardiologist/anesthesiologist in the heart procedure story or the “rat-bitten apples” incident, we can be confidently wrong and still act decisively from our false narratives. The invitation of Easter is to let the “true truth”—that Jesus is risen, present, and restoring—become the loudest and most defining story of our lives, replacing “our truth” wherever it contradicts his.
Key Scriptures
- Luke 24:1–15
- Luke 24:25–27, 30–32 (road to Emmaus context)
- Luke 9:22; 18:31–33 (Jesus predicting his death and resurrection – referenced)
- (Leader: you may also want to have Romans 6:4 or Ephesians 1:18–20 handy if you’d like to connect resurrection to new life.)
Key Takeaways
- We are narrative creatures.
We constantly build stories to explain what we see and feel. We fill in gaps, then forget we filled them in, and treat our interpretations as facts. - Even devoted followers can live from wrong narratives.
The women at the tomb and the disciples loved Jesus, but their grief narrative (“Jesus is dead”) was louder than his promise (“On the third day be raised again”). - The resurrection is true whether we believe it or not.
The tomb was empty and Jesus was walking with them whether they understood it or not. Our belief doesn’t make the resurrection real; it only affects whether we live in its benefits. - Spiritual and emotional maturity involves letting our narratives be questioned.
Maturity looks like holding our assumptions loosely enough that truth—especially God’s truth—can get in, even when it’s humbling. - False narratives damage relationships—with people and with God.
Our unexamined stories can cause us to misjudge others, live with unnecessary fear or resentment, and relate to God as if he is distant, uninterested, or powerless. - Easter offers a new, true narrative.
Jesus is alive, present, and at work. His resurrection means forgiveness, restored relationship with God, and participation in his ongoing work of restoration in the world. - We are invited to respond.
Through repentance, receiving truth, and resisting lies, we can move from “preparing burial spices” to living as witnesses of the risen Christ.
Leading the Group
👋 Welcome
Thank everyone for coming and making this group a priority in their lives.
💛 Vision
Consider paraphrasing / summarizing the vision for discipleship / C-Groups:
- We’re here as a group to honor God and make disciples
- Discipleship is being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and boldly doing as Jesus did.
- In other words, we grow together in the LORD and go together (where we work, live, and play)
📬 Announcements
🔥 Warm-Up
- Tell a lighthearted story about a time you were completely sure you understood what was going on—but later discovered you were totally wrong. What was the narrative in your head, and what was actually true?
💬 Suggested Discussion Guide
Please choose ahead of time which of the following questions you want to use for your c-group.
Discussion Questions
You don’t have to answer all of these. Choose the ones most helpful for your group.
- Understanding the Text & Theme
- In Luke 24:1–8, the angels ask, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
- What does that question reveal about the women’s expectations and narrative?
- How is it both a rebuke and an invitation?
- The women and the disciples had heard Jesus predict his death and resurrection. Why do you think those clear words didn’t shape their expectations when Easter morning came?
- Think about the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–15, 25).
- How did their narrative (“we had hoped…”) affect what they could see and recognize—even with Jesus walking right beside them?
- In Luke 24:1–8, the angels ask, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
- Connecting to Our Lives
- The sermon said, “Believing false narratives is not necessarily a sign of low intelligence or weak character. It is what all human minds do.”
- How have you seen this in yourself recently—assuming you know “the full story” about someone or something, only to realize you didn’t?
- What are some common false narratives people carry about:
- God?
- Themselves?
- Other people (friends, spouse, coworkers, church)?
Which of these feel most tempting or familiar to you?
- The angels say, “Remember how he told you…”
- What are some truths Jesus has told us in Scripture that you tend to forget when life is hard or confusing?
- The sermon contrasted “our truth” with “true truth” (God’s reality).
- Where do you see a tension in your life between how something feels and what God says is actually true?
- What makes it hard to trust God’s truth in that area?
- The sermon said, “Believing false narratives is not necessarily a sign of low intelligence or weak character. It is what all human minds do.”
- Going Deeper into the Resurrection
- If the resurrection is true, what does that actually mean for:
- How we face suffering and disappointment now?
- Our hope for ultimate restoration of all things?
- Our role in God’s restoring work in the world?
- The sermon said, “Are you organized around a reduced version of Jesus that doesn’t include the power of resurrection life?”
- In what practical ways might someone live as if Jesus is still “in the tomb” (powerless, absent, uninterested)?
- For those who resonate with skepticism or hurt:
- What would it look like to “hold your narrative loosely” and let the resurrection story at least be considered?
- What questions or hesitations feel most important to name honestly before God?
- If the resurrection is true, what does that actually mean for:
Practical Applications
Of all we have discussed tonight, what is 1 step God is calling you to take in order to follow Him more fully this week?
In addition, you can mention some of these steps to consider.
In addition, you can mention some of these steps to consider.
- Name a narrative.
This week, ask God: “What story am I currently living from that isn’t fully true?”- Write it down in a sentence (e.g., “I am alone,” “God doesn’t come through for me,” “People always abandon me,” “I’ll never change”).
- Share with a trusted friend or group member if you’re comfortable.
- Counter it with Scripture.
Find one verse or passage that directly speaks to that false narrative (e.g., “I am with you always…”).- Read it daily.
- When the old narrative rises, pause and consciously say, “That’s my old story; here’s the true story…” and recite the verse.
- Practice the “4 R’s” this week.
Sometime in the next few days set aside 10–15 minutes to:- Recognize (ask the Holy Spirit to reveal a false narrative you’ve been believing).
- Repent (turn from believing that lie; tell God plainly you don’t want to live from it).
- Receive (ask God to give you his truth and receive his forgiveness and healing where the lie has harmed you).
- Rebuke (in Jesus’ name, tell the enemy he has no permission to harass you with that lie).
- Relational experiment.
This week, when you find yourself assigning motives to someone’s behavior (silence, tone, decision):- Pause and ask, “Do I know this, or am I filling in the gaps?”
- If appropriate, kindly ask for clarity rather than assuming. Notice what happens.
- Live as a resurrection witness.
Identify one person in your life who needs restoration, encouragement, or hope.- Do one concrete act this week (visit, text, meal, prayer, practical help) as a way of participating in Jesus’ restoring work, not just believing it abstractly.
🙏 Prayer
Close your time by praying into these themes. Invite the group to pray either in smaller groups (men with men or women with women) or all together using this guide.
- Thank Jesus that he is risen, alive, and present—whether we fully perceive it or not.
- Confess ways you (individually and as a group) have lived as if he were distant, powerless, or uninterested.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal specific false narratives each person has been believing about God, themselves, or others.
- Pray through the 4 R’s together:
- Recognize: “Lord, show us the lies we’ve been living from.”
- Repent: “We turn from these false stories and our confidence in them.”
- Receive: “Jesus, we receive your forgiveness, healing, and the true story of your resurrection life for us.”
- Rebuke: “In Jesus’ name, we say no to the enemy’s lies and invite your truth to rule our hearts and minds.”
- Close by asking God to make the reality of the resurrection “louder” than any other narrative in your lives this week, and to use your group as part of his restoring work in the world.