Grow Guide | April 12, 2026

Written By Kevin Bergeson

Text Study for Sunday, April 12, 2026

Series Theme: Continue to Believe

printable version

Reading: John 20:19-23

CONNECTING QUESTIONS

Take three deep breaths. Check the air quality index (AQI) for our partners in Guatemala City and Iringa, Tanzania via a search engine. What do you notice?

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

God of life, we celebrate the good news that Jesus has been raised from the dead. Make us confident in the truth of Christ’s resurrection and help us to grow as your people toward the fullness of eternal life with you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Carry On Cast

CONTEXT

Our sermon series will examine how the disciples and early believers CONTINUE TO BELIEVE. What did it mean for them and what can we learn from their experience of being sent into the world? As Christians, we carry the peace of Jesus in our hearts and are compelled to share it. We are to share Jesus with everyone! Through our kindness, to be bold in our knowledge of Jesus' resurrection, whether we've seen it not. We are to honor the many gifts we each have for the good of the kingdom. We are to stand side-by-side with those who are not like us. We are to lean into the holy spirit's guidance and CONTINUE TO BELIEVE!


From Dr Karoline Lewis at EntertheBible.org:

Unique to John is the description of the Holy Spirit as the paraclete, the one who is called to come alongside, which can be translated Advocate, Helper, Comforter, Aide, Assistant, Intercessor, Companion, Guide, and Teacher. Also unique to John is the language around the giving of the Holy Spirit in John 20:22. While most translations render the moment, “he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22) a better translation is “he breathed into them.” The verb, emphysaō, means “breathed into” and is the same verb used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, which the New Testament writers would have referenced because they would not have known Hebrew, in Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” The verb is also used in Ezekiel 37:9, “He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’” Jesus breathes God’s very breath (another way to translate the word “spirit”) into the disciples.

LOOK AT THE BOOK

  • How is it with your spirit this week?

  • What was one take-away from listening to the Carry On Cast podcast that connects with this Grow Guide?

  • The author of the book, Stranger God, Richard Beck, invites us to pay attention this Easter season to how Jesus may show up to us in disguise. Where might have you seen Jesus in disguise so far? He will be visiting Easter on April 22-26!

  • Open to John 20:19. What details does John include when this is happening? Jump back to John 20:1. When is Mary Magdalene going to the tomb? Is there a connection?

  • What does the “locked doors” communicate to you? Notice why they are locked. How is that fear mentioned here still alive and well in our country?

  • What is the antidote to this kind of fear? What is Jesus’s first word to them...behind the locked doors?

  • What does Jesus need to repeat himself (“Peace be with you”)?

  • Jesus gives the disciples the ability and call “to carry on the work of Jesus Christ.” What does verse 23 say is the cornerstone of this ministry?

  • In what ways can Easter Lutheran Church become a place for people to practice forgiveness? Where are you being called to practice forgiveness in your own life?

  • Have you ever had a breathing problem? Why is the Holy Spirit pictured being so connected to breath? Why might that image be important?

  • How is Jesus good news for us this week?

  • What would you like to talk about that we have not yet?

TAKING IT HOME

Pray and ask God for patience for people that you may say, “don’t waste your breath.”

 

Sending Prayer

God of new life, you sent your disciples into the world to preach, teach, and make disciples of all nations. Make this community into one that hears your voice and shares you with the world, so that all might know the love you have for them. We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Savior and Lord. Amen

Kevin Bergeson
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Grow Guide | April 5, 2026