CONNECT
If new people have joined your group, take time to introduce yourselves to each other.
Here are some questions to get the conversation rolling:
1. When you think about life after death, what kinds of questions or emotions tend to come up for you?
2. How has God used another person to bring change in your life?

PRAY TOGETHER
Take a couple of minutes to let go of the day's distractions and focus your attention on God. Breathe in and out a few times. Relax your neck and take a moment to let your muscles release any tension you might be holding.

Then spend a few minutes asking God to meet each of you personally, right where you are. Pray that He would show you new and beautiful things and lead you further along your journey of faith. Allow time for everyone to pray as God leads.

STUDY AND DISCUSSION
◾It’s OK if you don’t make it through all the questions. That’s not the point. Let the Holy Spirit guide your reflection and discussion. Spend time reading and really thinking about what the Bible is saying.

◾If your group has eight or more people, it might be helpful to break into circles of four or five for greater participation and deeper discussion. When you come back together, invite each group to share a few takeaways from their conversation.

Insight: The Sadducees were a Jewish religious group in the time of Jesus. They’ve been described as the Jerusalem elite because of their connection to the priesthood and the temple. They held closely to the Law of Moses, but unlike groups such as the Pharisees, they denied the resurrection and future life altogether. This explains why they often resisted Jesus and the apostles, since the apostles boldly preached that Jesus had risen from the dead. After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70, the Sadducees quickly disappeared from history because their influence was so closely tied to the Temple.

1. How does the opening of this passage describe the Sadducees, and what do you notice about the way they approach Jesus?

2. Why did they ask the question about the woman and her brothers? What point were they trying to make?

3. How does Jesus answer differently than they might have expected?

4. What contrast does Jesus make between this age and the age to come?

5. Does the Old Testament teach that there is, or is not, a resurrection (life after death) based on what Jesus teaches in this passage? What parts of this passage lead you to believe that?

6. Why will those considered worthy of life after death not be married (verse 35)?

7. What does it mean to be children of the resurrection (verse 36)?

8. What might it mean that resurrection life is not defined by the same structures, needs, or limitations we experience now?

9. What does it mean that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living?

10. What’s one practical way you could live this week as someone whose life belongs to the God of the living?

11. What fear, grief or longing might this passage be touching in you?

12. Where might God be inviting you to loosen your grip on the idea that this present life has to satisfy every longing?

13. How could this passage shape the way you think about marriage, family, singleness, or relationships in light of eternity?

14. How would you summarize the main point of this passage? What’s Jesus trying to get us to understand?

15. What part of this passage do you think people in our world most need to hear right now?

We are in error when we imagine the world to come by merely projecting upon it our earthly reality.
Matthew Henry

Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, (the Gospel of) Luke

PERSONAL APPLICATION
Pause and ask God what He wants to say to you. Allow time for Him to speak, being sensitive to thoughts that come to mind. Growing often comes by simply making yourself available to God. Share with the group what you sense God is saying to you.

SCRIPTURE MEMORY
Memorizing Scripture enables us to carry within us the life-giving, life-shaping words of God at all times in all places. Here’s a verse to memorize based on this week’s teaching:

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5 (NIV)

PRAY
Invite someone to close your time in prayer.

App and the Daily Devotional
Spend time with God with the Daily Devotionals available on the App. You can also find Sunday Message resources and videos, leave prayer requests, give and more.

Why Jesus?
If you’ve never experienced God’s forgiveness and grace, we’d love the opportunity to talk with you about a life-changing relationship with Jesus. Email thepastors@brookwoodchurch.org or call 864.688.8200.

Additional Study Tools
For additional Bible Study tools, guides and devotionals, check out bible.com, youversion.com, biblegateway.com and blueletterbible.org.