Day 3: Back to Jerusalem
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
(John 19:17 – 20:31) 

Focus—
•	Muslims believe Allah will accept them if they perform the five pillars of faith (confessing faith in Allah, almsgiving, praying, fasting, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca).
•	Buddhists believe they will experience Nirvana as they pursue the Four Noble Truths (the Knowledge of suffering, the Origin of suffering, the Destruction of suffering, and the Way to remove suffering).
Finally, when push comes to shove, there are two “religions:”  a) faith in Jesus’ work;  b) faith in my own work.  Biblical Christianity is unique amongst all the “religions” in the world in that it teaches that Jesus’ work and Jesus’ work alone saves us.  And yet, it seems as if we believers can sometimes “yawn” when we hear that Jesus saved us.  Consider each of the following: 
•	What are the devils’ strategies in getting us to think that way?  
•	What steps might we take to combat that sort of thinking?  

Inform—Read John 19:17 – 20:31
To rediscover the unique claims of Christianity, as you read these segments, put events under one of the four headings.
1.	Words/events that demonstrate God’s right to be angry over sin.

2.	Words/events that demonstrate how God still loves sinners.

3.	Words/events that announce “your sins are forgiven” and/or encourage you to trust it.

4.	Words/events that describe how believers live lives of love.

5. 	In addition, write down any questions which you want to ask.  

6.	After you’ve finished reading the segments, complete the following sentence:  “It was vital for me to read these segments again because … ”

Connect—
1.	Jesus spoke 7 times from the cross.  John records three of those statements.  Page through Matthew, Mark and Luke to find the other three statements.  When you have them all listed, attempt to put them in chronological order.  Then, explain how each of those statements helps us to appreciate our salvation more clearly.  

2.	Read the article on the word “Peace.”  After you’ve all read the article, decide on 3-5 key thoughts to share with the rest of the class.  

3.	Read the commentary on Jesus’ dealing with the Apostle Thomas.  Decide on 3-5 key thoughts to share with the class.  

For at home: 
	•	As you read through the liturgy in the hymnal or the worship folder from last week, search for the four messages from the “Inform” section.
	•	Do you have the courage  now to make a plan to share these messages with the people you listed in the exercise at the end of the lesson for Day 2?