Introduction: All small groups will meet together first and listen to the reading of John 11. Students will be asked to listen for the “I Am” statement Jesus makes and discuss it in their small groups.

Study
1. What was the “I Am” statement Jesus made in this passage? (John 11:25: “I Am the resurrection and the life.)

2. Who is Jesus talking to in this verse? (Martha) What did Jesus tell her in verse 23? What did she think He was referring to when He said this? (The end times when all will be raised.)

3. Besides saying He was the resurrection, Jesus also said, “I Am Life.” (See John 1:1-4. What do you learn from this verse?) (Jesus is the Word referred to in this passage. It was through Him that all things came to be. Verse 4 says that in Him was life; this verse literally means, “In Him was all of life…”) Have you ever wondered if your life was meaningful—or meant to be? Have you ever felt you were a mistake or not valuable? How can knowing this verse be an encouragement to you?

4. Jesus didn’t just say He was the resurrection and the life; He backed it up with action! What did He do? (Raised Lazarus from the dead.) What was the peoples’ response? Read verses 45-46. (Many of the Jews who were visiting that day put their faith in Him; some told the Pharisees about it. The Pharisees called a meeting with the whole Sanhedrin and decided Jesus should be killed.)

5. If that wasn’t amazing enough, how else do we know Jesus is the resurrection and the life? (Read Luke 24:1-8.) Do you realize what a blessing this is? This means that when Jesus promises us that when we die yet will live again, we can believe Him!

6. Read 1 Corinthians 15:51-57in The Message:
“But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen:

“Everything perishable replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will be true: Death swallowed by triumphant Life! Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now…in a single stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank GOD!”

Challenge
Read John 11:25-26 again. Do you believe this—that believing in Jesus with your mind, and trusting Him with your life will allow you to have everlasting life? What difference does it make in your life?

Lesson 8: John 14:6: “I Am the Way“