Bible and a Brew

All welcome to join us for a pint and a lively discussion about this week's sermon. Remember, you can always find the sermon written in this week’s Ekklesia Newsletter

Growth Group Questions
based on the Sermon from Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026
based on Matthew
Getting to Know Me

1. The preacher described moments when people are especially “hungry for hope.” When in your own life have you felt most in need of hope or encouragement?
2. The story of the young man in prison and his deployed wife highlights unexpected burdens people carry. What is something about your own story that others might not expect but has shaped your faith?
3. The sermon mentioned how we often live with both grief and joy at the same time. When have you experienced those two emotions side by side?

Into the Bible

1. Matthew’s resurrection account includes dramatic imagery—earthquakes, an angel like lightning, guards fainting. What do these details reveal about God’s power and the significance of the resurrection?
2. The angel “sits on the stone,” almost mocking death. What does this detail communicate about the finality (or lack of finality) of death in the Christian story?
3. The women leave the tomb with “fear and great joy.” Why do you think Matthew emphasizes both emotions, and what does that teach us about encountering the risen Jesus?

Application

1. The sermon says the resurrection allows us to “make snow angels on top of graves.” What might it look like for you to live with that kind of resurrection hope in your current circumstances?
2. The preacher described prisons, battlefields, and graveyards as symbols of the world’s pain. Where do you see these “symbols of death” in your own community, and how might God be calling you to bring life there?
3. Jesus meets the women before they even leave the cemetery. Where might Jesus be trying to meet you right now—in the middle of fear, grief, or uncertainty?
4. The sermon ends with the reminder that “because he lives, we have hope.” What is one specific area of your life where you need to lean into that hope this week?