Unwrapped: Finding Freedom Outside of the Tomb

In one paragraph

Brian walked the congregation through John 11, the raising of Lazarus, and built the whole conversation around one moment at the end: Jesus telling the crowd to unwrap Lazarus and let him go. The question he kept pressing was why alive people would still be wearing grave clothes, and what that looks like for people who have already been made new in Christ. The reading moved around the room, with...

Read together

1. John 11:11-44 read aloud in full as the main passage, the raising of Lazarus
2. John 11:25-26 Jesus says I am the resurrection and the life, used to anchor the new creation argument
3. 2 Corinthians 5:17 anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new creation, the old life gone
4. Revelation 19:8 the church given fine white linen representing the good deeds of God's holy people, the new wardrobe
5. John 8:36 whom the son sets free is free indeed
6. John 10:10 I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly
7. Romans 6:14 sin is no longer your master, you live under the freedom of God's grace
8. Romans 6:6-11 old sinful selves crucified with Christ, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God
9. Romans 12:2 do not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind

Talk about it

1. Brian prayed that we would read the story of Lazarus as if we were actually there, whether as Mary, Martha, or even Jesus. When you put yourself in the scene, which person do you most identify with and why?
2. Several people in the room offered different reasons why Jesus wept and was angry at the tomb. What do you think was behind those emotions, and what does your answer say about how you see Jesus?
3. Brian said that when we invited Jesus into our hearts, our spirits became new creations but our minds still needed to be renewed. How have you experienced that gap between a changed heart and a mind that still runs old patterns?
4. The sermon described grave clothes as things the world tries to put back on people who are already alive in Christ, including guilt, shame, fear, and thoughts like 'you are damaged goods' or 'you have gone too far this time.' Which of those has shown up most persistently in your own life?
5. Romans 6 says we should 'consider ourselves' dead to sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Brian pointed to that word 'consider' as the practical key to leaving grave clothes behind. What does that actually look like on a Monday morning for you?