#BigBible, Week 7: Transformation

By
bigbible
– January 13, 2012Posted in: BigRead

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Check for a reminder of the menu structure. 

Nibbles:

  • Think back over the previous week. Did you ‘eat your chocolate’, e.g. read with a paper in one hand, the Bible in the other?
  • Talk about what you’ve taken from this course, and start to think about what happens next.
  • You may enjoy: http://youtu.be/BDp1PmapmLE (and http://youtu.be/TbU7oVz0Uq0)

Main:

He’s alive! He was dead and He’s alive. A new way of living is available which offers transformational living to all.

Video:

Bible Reading (Tom Wright Translation)

The Resurrection

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could come and anoint Jesus. 2 Then, very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb, just at sunrise. 3 They were saying to one another, ‘There’s that stone at the door of the tomb – who’s going to roll it away for us?’

4 Then, when they looked up, they saw that it had been rolled away. (It was extremely large.)

5 So they went into the tomb, and there they saw a young man sitting on the right-hand side. He was wearing white. They were totally astonished.

6 ‘Don’t be astonished,’ he said to them. ‘You’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has been raised! He isn’t here! Look – this is the place where they laid him.

7 ‘But go and tell his disciples – including Peter – that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You’ll see him there, just like he told you.’

8 They went out, and fled from the tomb. Trembling and panic had seized them. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Other translations: Mark 16: 1-8.

Reflection: Eunice Obianagha (Pentecost Festival)

Picture the person that is always there for you, no matter what. Close your eyes if it helps. Think of the person you look up to and makes you laugh the hardest when you’re feeling down.  Now imagine a life without them. Imagine them, dead. How do you feel? Would your life be the same?Now picture yourself two days after your friend’s funeral, on your way to visit their grave. How do you feel?  As you approach the graveyard, Not only has your friend’s heavy gravestone disappeared but also a strange man with the most frightening presence begins to tell you that your friend is no longer dead (“go and check for yourself”) but alive and walking up to your house right now…….. Your friend is back. There is no need to grieve. Your friend is back.  With this second chance of having that one special person back in your life, would you continue to live life as though you were still morning?
The good old oxford dictionary defines transformation as a marked change and this is exactly what the acceptance of the Resurrection brings to our lives and the understanding of who Jesus is.Mark 16:18 gives a concise snapshot of the events of the resurrection. His description of what took place doesn’t have as much detail as the other accounts however the mention of the tombstone being rolled away without any explanation (vs.3-4) and the description of the women’s astonishment at Jesus’ tomb being empty (vs.8), is enough to show that something truly miraculous took place that Sunday morning.Jesus being raised from death revealed that He was not just a good, God-fearing man but is in fact a mighty God with power so beyond human comprehension, that just like Mary at the tomb, you can be left in complete amazement when His power touches your life. It confirmed God’s promise of a saviour whose death and resurrection would enable us to have a relationship with him free from sin. It also laid the path for the His Holy Spirit help us become the embodiment of His love.So in a nutshell, what does the Resurrection mean….? Well quite simply that Jesus is alive! And that we no longer need to live a life of mourning but instead we can be transformed by his presence and “……… just as Christ was raised from the death by the glorious power of the Farther, so also we might live a new life.” (Romans 6:4)

#BigRead 12: Week 7: Transformation: Eunice Obianagha by bigbible

Questions:

  1. What does resurrection mean for you?  for the world?
  2. What transformation do you want to see?
  3. On Easter Day Tom Wright says “”People today are afraid of Easter….” Discuss why people might be afraid of Easter?
  4. On Easter Monday Tom Wright says “But these surprised and unprepared messengers go out anyway, with no great skill of their own but simply with ‘the message’, the good news. And the Lord worked with them. That is the key.” Why might these messengers have been surprised? And what do you find most surprising about Easter?

Pudding:

Hot: What has Jesus done for you? What are you going to do for him?

Discuss your interpretation of what these questions mean, and consider what a transformed life would/could look like for you individually/as a group.

Cold: What has Jesus done for you? What are you going to do for him?

Write a letter, either to Jesus, or as a ‘stream of consciousness’ (writing with your non-dominant hand often helps with this) which may allow Jesus need to ‘speak’ to you.

After Dinner Chocs:

  1. Plan your next option for Bible Reading. Options could include
    1. http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/
    2. https://www.wordlive.org/
    3. http://www.grow-with-the-bible.org.uk/pages/3147.htm
    4. http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.biblestudy
  2. Fancy watching a scary movie this week? In recent years films such as ‘Shaun of the Dead’, featuring zombies, have become popular (you may enjoy: http://youtu.be/bVnfyradCPY; http://youtu.be/eqPhHuEThmU; http://digital-fingerprint.co.uk/2011/10/winchesters-zombosium/ ). Consider what’s the difference between resurrection and ‘the living dead’.
  3. For Christians, Easter could be seen as the start of a ‘new year’. Make a post-Easter resolution.

The Book

The related material in Lent for Everyone: Mark can be found on Easter Day, pp 171-175 which finishes:

Today
Lord of life, risen from the dead, lead us on through fear and astonishment to share in the new work of your kingdom.

Twitt
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About bigbible

The #BigBible Project. Educating in the digital spaces, creating 'bigger Bible conversations' between 'digital disciples'. Ran the #bigread12.