Clue: Week 3

Clue Week 3

Small Group Study

Mary

This weekend we closed with a story that I want to remind you of. 

The story is told of two who were in an art museum and came upon a painting of a chess game. One character looked like a man; the other character looked a lot like the Devil. The man was down to his last piece on the chessboard. The title of the painting is called “Checkmate.” 

One of the two men looking at this painting was an international chess champion.  He began to study the painting and he became so engrossed that the man with him grew impatient and asked him what he was doing.  He said, “There’s something about this painting that bothers me, and I want to study it for a little while. You go ahead and wander around.”

He studied it. His head started nodding, and his hands started moving. When his friend came back, he said, “We have to locate the man who painted this picture and tell him that either he has to change the picture, or he has to change the title. I have determined that there is something wrong with this painting, and I am an international chess champion.”  His friend asked, “What’s wrong with the painting?” 

The man said, “Well, it’s titled Checkmate, but the title is wrong. The painter’s either got to change the painting or change the title, because the King still has one more move.”

Last friday was good friday. The day we remember and honor Jesus’ death on the cross. We call it good Friday because we know what happened on Sunday. We know the resurrection that took place. We know that Jesus conquered death and the grave and in doing so set us free from sin and shame for all of eternity. We know that Friday had to happen so we could be set free. 

Mary, the mother of Jesus, didn’t know that. It wasn’t a “good” Friday for her. Even though Jesus had told them a bunch of times, the disciples still didn’t know that Jesus' death was going to be a good thing. 

I want you to think about that Saturday. How do you think they would have felt? They put all their eggs in this basket. They trusted Jesus and believed in Him and then He was just gone. Mary was probably so confused. The angel told her he would be the messiah but how can he do that if he is dead. Imagine the heartbreak they felt mourning the loss of their friend and their hopes for what He was going to do. 

But just like in that story the king had another move. Jesus didn’t stay dead. He took what seemed like a horrible thing and turned it into the best thing that happened to the world. That is something you need to know about God. 

God is in the business of turning bad to good. 

Jesus turned the devastation of the cross into salvation for all mankind. 

Joseph was sold into slavery and then placed in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. God turned that into an opportunity for Joseph to lead Egypt and save millions of people from a famine, including his own family. 

God took Paul and all the evil he had done and turned his life around, becoming the greatest missionary in history. 

Moses was just a baby when the Pharaoh decided to kill all the boys under 2 years old. His mother made the tough decision to send him in a basket down the river to avoid death. He ended up being raised by Pharaoh's daughter and God used that to give him access to the Pharaoh to have him release God’s people. 

Over and over again God takes the broken things that happen in the world and he works it out for good. That’s what Jesus did on the cross and that’s what God continues to do for His people even today. Look at Romans 8:28

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

I don’t know your situation. Maybe life is good for you right now and you aren’t worried about it going wrong. Maybe you are in a really tough spot and you are not sure how it is going to work out. But take comfort in the fact that God can work out every situation for our good and his glory. We just have to trust Him. Let’s talk about what that looks like in small groups. 

Small Group Guide: Clue Week 3

Icebreaker: Did you do anything fun to celebrate Easter? 

1. Let’s read the story of Jesus’ resurrection. Matthew 28:1-10. The fact that Jesus didn’t just die but rose from the grave, is essential to Christianity. Why do you think that is? 
2. Read Romans 8:28 and Genesis 50:20. What do these verses tell us about God’s character? 
3. Do you have any examples from your own life of God taking something bad and working it out for good? *leader start with your own example*
4. What do you think stops people from believing that God is working things out for the good of His people? 
5. What stops you from believing that? 
6. We are going to go through hard things and it might not be easy to see what God is doing through it. But it’s important to trust God in those times. What does it mean to trust God? 
7. Do you find it easy to trust God no matter what you are going through? Why or why not? 
8. What does it look like to trust God in the middle of a hard time?
9. How can we lean on each other in hard times to help each other trust that God is working the bad into something good? 

Moving forward: The best way to develop your trust in someone is to get to know them. One of the best ways to get to know God is through His Word. As a small group we want to be people of God’s Word. So for the next two weeks we are going to help each other study God’s Word. We are going to start small just with the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Just a couple chapters. This week go home and read Matthew 27:11-65. If you break it up all you have to do is read about 8 verses a day. When you read I want you to write down anything that really sticks out to you or anything that confuses you. Next week we will come together and discuss what we learned and what questions we have. 

Let’s Pray.