Here are some questions to go along with this week’s sermon:

1 — How do you respond to losing someone you love?

2 — What does it mean to no longer have any separation between you and God?

3 — Have you ever thought about Jesus’ cry of desolation before? What were your thoughts?

4 — What does that cry mean to you now?

5 — Did you ever think that Jesus might not have been able to see out of the grave from his vantage point on the cross, and that he might have been going to the grave for you without the recognition he was coming back?

6 — Does that change what his sacrifice means to you?

7 — How many times have you read this text before this week?

8 — Why do you think Matthew put in the section about the resurrected saints?

9 — What can we do with that?

10— Would you be interested in studying more about these occurrences?

Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]

Text of the Day: and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. (Matt 27:52-53)

Reflection Questions:

1 — Have you ever been so upset that you wished the earth would respond with you? 

2 —How much do you think that those around Jesus were mourning his loss? Do we still mourn his loss in the same way?

3 —Have you read the text about the resurrected saints? What can we do with it?

Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]

Text of the Day: At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart...(Matt 27:51)

Reflection Questions:

1 — Has there ever been a time when you thought you needed someone to get to God for you? 

2 —What do you believe separates you from God now?

3 —Why can we approach God with confidence because of the death of Jesus on a cross?

Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]

Text of the Day:  But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.” 50 Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. (Matt 27:49-50)

Reflection Questions:

1 — Have you ever waited for a miracle from Jesus, and when it didn’t come, it verified your previous doubts about him? 

2 —Have you had the privilege to be there when someone you loved died? Spend a moment thinking about it, reflecting on it. 

3 —What gave your strength during this time?

Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]

Text of the Day: Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink (Matt 27:47-48)

Reflection Questions:

1 — How do you think God reveals himself to the biblical authors?

2 —How does He inspire them to write what He would like them to write?

3 — Do you think it was a divine/human partnership?

4 — Do you think God might still do this at times, to certain people?

Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]

Text of the Day: At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matt 27:45-46)

Reflection Questions:

1 — Have you ever thought about the last moments of the life of Jesus, and what he might have been thinking?

2 —Which explanation makes the most sense to you from the above explanations? Why? 

3 —How can you show Jesus some of the love that he showed for you? 

Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]

Text of the Day: Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. (John 19:28-29)

Reflection Questions:

1 — Have you ever felt like you “fulfilled prophecy” about your life? Did you do what everyone thought you might? 

2 —Why is it important for Jesus to have fulfilled all the OT prophecies about the Messiah?

3 —Why do you think most of the Jews at the time did not understand what was happening before their eyes? 

Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]

Here are some questions to go along with this week’s sermon:

1 — Why were there no other followers of Jesus at the foot of the cross?

2 — Do you think you would have been brave enough to be there?

3 — Would watching the soldiers take a business-as-usual attitude have frustrated you?

4 — Have you ever been adopted into someone’s family? Have you ever adopted someone?

5 — What does it mean to be a child of God? And who are your brothers and sisters?

6 — What role did women play in the life of Jesus? What role should women have in the church?

7 — How much time do you spend thinking about the cross of Christ throughout the year? Is it central to your faith as a Christian?

8 — For a powerful treatise on the Cross, read John Stott’s “The Cross of Christ.”

Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]

What does the Cross of Christ mean to you? 

Reflection Questions:

1 — What do you need to get done for your spiritual walk today? What do you need to get done for the more practical aspects of your life? Is there time for both?

2 —How could any conversation from the cross be seen as normal? What do you think the impact of Jesus’ words would have been on his mother and John?

3 —Does the picture of the soldiers playing a game of chance for the garments of Jesus seem sacreligious to you? Why do you think they couldn’t see Jesus for who he really was? Would you have been able to see him for who he was?

Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]

Text of the Day:  Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.  (John 19:27)

Reflection Questions:

1 — Have you ever “adopted” someone into your family? What were the circumstances?

2 —Have you ever been “adopted” into someone’s family? What were the circumstances?

3 —How can you show someone that they belong in the family of Christ this week?Want to get in touch with a pastor?

Crosswalk Redlands: [email protected] (Mike Rhynus)

Crosswalk Chattanooga: [email protected]