Group Notes | March 13

One Week To Live: Watch and Pray
March 13, 2016
Charles Billingsley

 

Open:

No doubt most of us have been in a crisis so severe that our entire being was saturated with anguish. Can anyone share such a time, and tell how you responded?

The past two weeks we have studied the last week of the life of Jesus, before He went to the cross. Today we will look at the hours He spent prior to His arrest, and see how He handled a situation most of us will never have to face.

Discuss:

The Setting

  1. Read Mark 14:32-35. Jesus gave Peter, James and John two instructions: what were they (vs.34)? What do you think they were to watch for, and pray about?
  2. These three disciples needed to witness the greatest suffering in history. Why?

The Suffering

  1. What were some of the sufferings Jesus was going through internally in vv. 33-36? What was the Cup He was referring to?

The Submission

  1. Verse 36b gives us a foundation for our prayer life. What is it?

Watch and Pray

  1. Jesus had prayed constantly during His earthly ministry. Can you give some examples.
  2. What are several life lessons we can take away from the verses as Jesus prayed to His Father in His suffering?

Close:

It is so easy to read this passage on auto-pilot, as many of us have grown up with the story of the Resurrection. Jesus commands us, as He did the disciples, to “watch and pray” rather than reading without engaging our brain, for otherwise we, too, might “enter into temptation” (Mark 14:38). As you break into small groups, discuss the temptations that can attack us when we mentally fall asleep in our Christian walk. It is imperative in this day and age to spread the story of His life, death and resurrection so that others may have hope. Join a Life Group so you can serve Him more efficiently. Pray before you leave that you will be watchful and faithful in your daily walk with Him (1 Pet. 4:7).

Focal Passages: Mark 14:32-42; Matthew 26:47-56

Memory Verse: Mark 14:38: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Pray: Faithfully (often); Authentically (with complete honesty); Intimately (talk to your Abba Father “Dad”); Fervently (it’s okay to be passionate); Fearfully (respect His power); Submissively (seek HIS will, not your own); Confidently (He is in control).

 

           

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