Alive in Christ
Scripture
John 11:15-26
Program Ideas
Set up and supplies:
- Round tables (which will allow the women to see each other)
- Screen – YouTube channel setup
- Hand out of today’s scripture in NIV and NLT versions
- Personal journal, notebook, or blank piece of paper (write message to Jesus)
- Pen, highlighters and a few boxes of tissue and candles
Hand Out Copies of the Scripture
John 11:15-26 in both the NLT and NIV.
Messages to Jesus
Ask the women to read over the scriptures several times and answer the following questions.
- Do they identity with Martha or with Mary?
- How would they have reacted if it was their brother who had died?
- Would they have rushed out to meet Jesus or remained at home?
- What would have been their reaction to why Jesus said He had not come right away?
- Have they faced a situation in their life where it felt that Jesus had not been present?
- How has their life changed since they came to know Jesus?
- Invite them to bring to Jesus anything they are struggling with and where it’s hard for them to say, “I believe.”
Pray asking the Lord to be with each of the women as they face struggles in their lives.
Praise and Worship
This I Believe – (The Creed) Hillsong Worship
https://youtu.be/nNiYUPsHgls?si=gaW3-cC1lMIyc4rU
Alive in Christ
As children, we often believe in things like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and other characters from stories and movies. But as we grow older, we come to understand that these characters are made up for fun and entertainment. However, Jesus is not like these fictional figures—He is real. The Bible provides the evidence, revealing the truth about our Heavenly Father, His son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls us to believe in Him in a deeper, more personal way.
We’re going to focus on a story that reveals truth, and it challenges us to answer one important question: Do you believe? Why is what we believe so important? And why does this story still matter to us today? It matters because we are all going to have to face human mortality. How we respond will affect how we live. Here we witness the powerful moment when Jesus, having heard of Lazarus’s death, arrives in Bethany to find his dear friend already in the tomb. The conversation between Jesus and Martha, Lazarus’s sister, reveals not just her deep grief, but her hope in Jesus as the Messiah. Yet there’s an underlying question that Jesus addresses: Do you believe?
Martha initially expresses her faith in the resurrection, but also her struggle with the reality of death, allowing space to acknowledge the full spectrum of emotions in grief. But Jesus gently challenges her faith further, declaring, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Jesus wasn’t only talking about a future event. He was speaking of Himself as the very source of life and resurrection, available in the present. I can only imagine her thought process as the reality of what Jesus was saying sank it. We are often like Martha. We believe in God’s promises, but sometimes our faith is limited to the distant future. We trust in heaven but forget that God has power to transform our circumstances now. Jesus asks us the same question he posed to Martha; Do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life?
Jesus is not just a healer, not just a teacher—He is the source of all life. He brings life to what is dead. Lazarus was in a tomb for four days, and his body already begun to decay. But Jesus calls him out of the tomb, proving that there is no situation too hopeless for His power. When Jesus speaks, dead things come to life.
In verse 26, Jesus asks Martha a crucial question: “Do you believe this?” It is not just theological question. It is a personal invitation to trust in Him, to believe that He can intervene and bring life where there is death. Jesus doesn’t just want us to intellectually assent to His power. He wants us to trust Him with our lives, our fears, and our challenges.
Martha was experiencing in real time what we today have had time to process. But it is important for us to realize that Jesus is asking us today, just as He asked Martha: “Do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life?” Do you trust Me with the impossible? Martha’s response is a powerful declaration of faith: “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John11:27). It is a response that acknowledges Jesus as the source of all hope and life.
Reflection
As we reflect on this scripture, we are encouraged to take a moment to examine our own faith. Do we truly believe that Jesus has the power to bring life into the darkest and most hopeless areas of our lives? Do we trust that He is not only the resurrection and the life in the future, but also in the here and how? This passage invites us to consider how we view Jesus’s power and presence—not just as something to look forward to in the afterlife, but as something that can transform our lives today.
Message to Jesus
Take 10 minutes and write a message to Jesus. Share with Him how your life has changed since you first got to know Him and started believing in Him.
