The Raising of Lazarus, Morning Praise (3)

In one paragraph

On Super Bowl Sunday, guests from 180 Ministries Teen Challenge in Denver shared how their program reaches men bound by addiction and helps them find freedom through Jesus Christ. After those testimonies, the pastor preached from John 11 on the death and raising of Lazarus, anchoring the whole message in two words: "Jesus wept." He drew out three things those words reveal about who Jesus is, and...

Read together

1. John 11:35 The shortest verse in the English Bible, 'Jesus wept,' used as the central text around which the sermon is built
2. John 11:1-44 The full story of Lazarus read and expounded, from the sickness and death of Lazarus through his resurrection
3. Philippians 2:3-11 Cited for the call to have the mind of Christ, humility, and Christ's death on the cross
4. Hebrews 4:15 Quoted to show Jesus as a high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, tempted as we are yet without sin
5. Romans 12:15 Referenced as Paul's instruction to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice
6. Isaiah 53 Called a messianic Psalm; cited for the description of Jesus as a man of sorrows acquainted with grief
7. Leviticus 19:2 Quoted directly: 'Be holy just as I, the Lord your God, am holy,' used to define holiness
8. Luke 19:41-42 Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, saying the things that make for peace are now hidden from their eyes

Talk about it

1. Daniel and David both described a moment when they felt God speaking directly to them in the middle of their addiction. Have you ever had a moment where you sensed God pursuing you even when you were running from Him? What was that like?
2. Pastor noted that Jesus lingered for two days after hearing Lazarus was sick, even though it seemed like an urgent request. What does that tell you about how God's timing works, and how do you personally handle it when God seems slow to respond to something you've brought before Him?
3. Martha said 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,' but then followed it with 'even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.' Have you ever mixed grief and faith like that in the same breath? What did that feel like?
4. Pastor pointed to the contrast between Jesus weeping quietly and the loud professional mourners, and called Jesus's tears an expression of humility. Why do you think it is hard for people, especially men, to let themselves weep, and what does it mean to you that Jesus did?
5. Pastor closed by saying Jesus saw the need, let it affect Him, and then did something about it, using the image of removing the stone. Where in your life right now do you see a need that God might be calling you to stop watching from a distance and actually do something about?