Home Group Discussion Guide

Opening (before the questions): Start by asking someone to read Isaiah 52:7 aloud. Then open with a simple icebreaker: "When you were growing up, what did you think 'the gospel' or 'the good news' was mostly about?"

Q1 — Reconnecting with the Story

The sermon makes the case that the gospel was always first announced to Israel — and that there's no good news for us apart from that story. Before this sermon, did you think of Israel's story as your story? How does it change the way you read the Old Testament if the promises to Abraham, David, and Isaiah's prophecies are the foundation of the good news you believe?

Anchor texts: Genesis 12:2-3, Isaiah 40:9, Galatians 3:8

Q2 — The Cosmic Gospel

The sermon says the gospel isn't just about forgiven souls — it includes the renewal of the physical heavens and earth. Romans 8:19-23 describes creation itself "groaning" and waiting for liberation.

Does that change how you think about the physical world — your body, the environment, the material stuff of life? In what ways have you been trained to think of the gospel as mostly spiritual and individual, and how might recovering the cosmic dimension change how you live now?

Anchor texts: Isaiah 65:17, Romans 8:19-23, Revelation 21:5

Q3 — The Disciples' Despair and Our Own

Luke 24:21 is one of the most honest verses in the New Testament — "we were hoping he was the one to redeem Israel." Their hope died with Jesus on Friday.

Can you think of a time when your hope in God's promises felt dead — when circumstances made the gospel seem unreliable? What did the resurrection of Jesus do to the disciples' dead hope, and what does it do to yours?

Anchor texts: Luke 24:20-21, 1 Peter 1:3

Q4 — "Now Is Not Always"

The sermon's refrain was: "Now is not always." Israel won't always walk in rebellion. The nations won't always walk in ignorance. The heavens and earth won't always be under a curse. Your body won't always die.

What area of your life right now most needs to hear "now is not always"? Spend a few minutes as a group praying specifically over those things — naming them out loud as things that are temporary, in light of a resurrection that is permanent.

Anchor texts: Isaiah 25:8, Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

Closing prayer prompt: Thank God for one specific promise from the sermon — something "now" that will not always be — and ask Him to make the resurrection feel as real this week as the empty tomb was on that Sunday morning.