Session 2
LIVING BETWEEN TWO GARDENS
Jesus learned through His suffering an obedience that matured over time.
Welcome! (2 minutes)
Welcome to Session 2 of It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way. A key part of getting to know God better is sharing your journey with others. Before watching the video, briefly share with one another any personal revelations you’ve had since the last session.
Opening Discussion (15 minutes)
Answer the following questions to prepare for this week’s video teaching:
• What insights did you discover in your personal study from last week or in chapters 1–4 of the It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way book?
• Discuss some of the things you wrote down in your personal study time about your life that are “less shiny.”
VIDEO
Living Between Two Gardens (18:30 minutes)
LEADER:
Play the video segment for Session 2. Instruct your group to use the outline below to follow along or take additional notes on anything that stands out.
THIS WEEK’S STATEMENT TO HOLD ONTO:
Jesus learned through His suffering an obedience that matured over time.
Revelation 21:3–6; 22:3: Eden is restored in the last two chapters of the Bible.
[Your Response Here]
We live with anxiety from the first garden and with anticipation for the final garden.
[Your Response Here]
Mark 14:32–36: The garden of Gethsemane is a picture of what it’s like for us living between two gardens.
Jesus told the disciples to keep watch.
“Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me.” (Mark 14:36)
[Your Response Here]
I can’t start at my feelings and process my circumstances. I have to start with what I know is true: God is good.
[Your Response Here]
HEBREWS 2:14–18
He [Jesus] had to come and experience the deep sorrow of this life between two gardens.
Since He knows what it’s like to be human, we can know He understands what we’re going through.
Fix your eyes on Jesus.
[Your Response Here]
HEBREWS 5:7–10
Jesus learned obedience through what He suffered.
[Your Response Here]
Genesis 14:17–24; Hebrews 7:1–17: Melchizedek was both king and priest.
[Your Response Here]
Because Jesus knows the depth of what we suffer, we can trust everything He teaches.
[Your Response Here]
GROUP DISCUSSION
(25 minutes)
LEADER, READ EACH NUMBERED PROMPT TO THE GROUP.
1. What part of the teaching had the most impact on you?
[Your Response Here]
2. The last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22, shows that our ultimate destiny is returning to the garden of Eden in the midst of a glorious city, the new Jerusalem. Revelation 21 says that the city will be built of gold and precious stones (echoing Genesis 2:12).
Open your Bible to Revelation 22:1–5 and have someone read the verses aloud.
• What will happen to the tree of life when Eden is restored? What do you think this signifies for us?
[Your Response Here]
3. You’re returning to the garden of Eden, where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). How does knowing this help you?
[Your Response Here]
4. Open your Bible to Mark 14:32–36 and have someone read these verses aloud.
• Why was Jesus’ soul “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (v. 34)?
[Your Response Here]
• What could the disciples have learned if they had kept watch (v. 34) instead of falling asleep? Why is this so valuable?
[Your Response Here]
• Describe a time when you prayed for God to take away a situation or hard circumstance from your life.
[Your Response Here]
• Why is Jesus’ response, “Yet not what I will, but what you will,” so important?
[Your Response Here]
• What can keep us from wanting the Father’s will?
[Your Response Here]
• How does the story of Gethsemane illustrate what it’s like to live between two gardens?
[Your Response Here]
5. Turn to Hebrews 5:7–9 and have someone read aloud.
7During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
• In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus “was heard because of his reverent submission.” And yet His Father didn’t say yes to His prayer to be delivered from going to the cross. His Father allowed Him to endure all the suffering ahead of Him until His last breath. How does it affect you to know that the Father heard Jesus’ prayer and said no?
[Your Response Here]
• Why did the Father say no?
[Your Response Here]
• When has the Father heard your prayer and said no?
[Your Response Here]
• Jesus was able to be obedient to the cross because of what He learned from the sufferings He endured throughout His life. These sufferings weren’t pointless. They prepared Him to trust God even in the midst of asking God to take away this cup . . . the pain of the cross. How does this provide perspective about the suffering you are currently experiencing? How does it help you to know it’s not pointless, but the perfect preparation for a future way you’ll need to trust God?
[Your Response Here]
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11)
6. Turn to Hebrews 2:14–18 and have someone read these verses aloud.
• What was the reason Jesus had to be made like us, fully human in every way?
[Your Response Here]
• How does knowing this change how you approach Him in your times of suffering?
[Your Response Here]
• How have you been tempted to avoid the process of becoming mature through suffering? What have you been tempted to do instead?
[Your Response Here]
GROUP ACTIVITY (20 minutes)
What we see from Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane is the holy exchange of His humanity for God’s divinity. So now, let’s make this same kind of holy exchange in our lives.
Following are some possible places we may need to make the holy exchange. Fill in the chart on the next page and discuss what these holy exchanges entail. Are they easy? Difficult? Why?
[Your Response Here]
| HOLY EXCHANGES | |||
| My Wants | for | God’s Will | |
| COMFORT | We want God to take away our pain. |
|
God wants to develop our character. Romans 5:3–5 (read and summarize) |
| SELF-FOCUS | We want God to make our circumstances better for our own version of good. |
|
God wants to take our healing to help others. 2 Corinthians 1:3–7 (read and summarize) |
| QUICK FIXES | We want to quickly get out of our situation. |
|
God wants us to be positioned to produce long-term fruit in our situation. Galatians 5:22–23 (read and summarize) |
| IMMEDIATE ANSWERS | We want to know all the reasons and the step-by-step plan. |
|
God wants us to know Him more and to develop deeper trust. Proverbs 3:5–6 (read and summarize) |
OPTIONAL GROUP ACTIVITY AND DISCUSSION
Praying, Not Worrying (20 minutes)
If your group meets for two hours, include this activity as part of your meeting. Allow 20 minutes total—5 minutes for the individual activity, 15 minutes for the group discussion.
Individual Activity (5 minutes)
Complete this activity on your own.
Which one of these holy exchanges do you currently need to make in your life?
[Your Response Here]
Group Discussion (15 minutes)
1. What will it cost you to make this exchange?
[Your Response Here]
2. How will it help you?
[Your Response Here]
CLOSING ACTIVITY
(5 minutes)
Complete this activity on your own.
1. Briefly review the video outline and any notes you took.
2. In the space below, write down the most significant thing you learned in this session—from the teaching, activities, or discussions.
WHAT I WANT TO
Remember
FROM THIS SESSION
Personal Prayer
(8 minutes)
Write a personal prayer here that reflects the area of this week’s teaching you feel most in need of prayer.
[Your Response Here]
CLOSING PRAYER
(2 minutes)
LEADER, READ THIS PRAYER ALOUD OVER THE GROUP BEFORE DISMISSAL:
Jesus, we are awed by the fact that although You are eternal God and forever sinless, You took on human flesh and learned obedience and maturity through what You suffered. You experienced unimaginable disappointment, rejection, and physical pain. You carried the sins of all humanity in Your mind and body on the cross. You asked the Father to spare You from that suffering, and He heard You because you are His Beloved One, and yet He still allowed You to go to the cross. Please help us to walk in Your footsteps, seeking to do the Father’s will, accepting the suffering that comes our way. We entrust our sufferings to You and we say, “Not our will but Yours be done.” In Your name we pray, amen.