CONVERSATION STARTERS

1. Read Mark 14:53-15:20.

2. Jesus’ Silence & Trust – Before both the Jewish and Roman authorities, Jesus does not defend Himself, even as He faces injustice (Mark 14:61; 15:5). How does His response challenge our own instincts for self-preservation and defense? What does it look like to trust God even when things seem unfair?

3. Peter’s Denial vs. Jesus’ Faithfulness – While Jesus remains faithful to his mission, Peter denies him out of fear (Mark 14:66–72). When have you shrunk back from faith when it was costly? How can we grow in courage and commitment to Jesus in difficult moments?

4. Jesus Takes Our Place – Barabbas, a convicted criminal, is freed while Jesus is condemned (Mark 15:6–15). How does this exchange reflect the heart of the gospel? In what ways do you see yourself in Barabbas?

5. Accepting Freedom in Christ – Sometimes, we struggle to embrace the freedom Jesus offers and instead hold onto guilt, shame, or old patterns of thought. What keeps people from fully receiving the love and redemption Jesus provides? How can you intentionally live in the freedom Christ has given you this week?

Title: Jesus Prays
Reference: Mark 14:53-15:15
Speaker: Taylor Fair, TaylorF@cckc.church

All human creativity is an echo of God’s creativity. When God makes man, he forms him in the dirt, breathes life into him, and sends him out in the world. We’ve been playing in the dirt ever since. Just as God took something he’d made, shaped it, breathed life and meaning into it, and transformed it into something new, so we set about our own business, taking creation, shaping it, and giving it new meaning and purpose. Clay becomes sculpture. Trees become houses. Sounds are arranged in time to become music. Oils, pigments, and canvas are arranged to become paintings. Various metals, glass, and petroleum products become iPhones. The same is true of stories. There is nothing new under the sun, and our stories—no matter how fresh and new they might feel—are all a way of “playing in the dirt,” wrestling with creation, reimagining it, working with it, and making it new. Our stories have a way of fitting into the bigger story of redemption that overshadows all of life and all of history. Because that bigger story is the dirt box in which all the other stories play. ~ Mike Cosper, The Stories We Tell: How TV and Movies Long For and Echo the Truth

– Where are you in this story?

– Until you see yourself as Barabbas, you’ll never be free.

– “Call it in the air”