When God Seems Distant, John 11

Questions for discussion: 1. Have you ever had a time or experience when God didn’t make sense to you? What was that like? Explain the situation if it’s not too difficult. 2. What do you think is the difficulty in trying to understand God solely by our circumstances? What are some other ways we might understand who God is and what he is like? 3. Read John 11:1-6. What strikes you as odd about this passage? What would you have expected Jesus to do? Why do you suppose he waited? 4. Have there been times in your life where it seems like God has been distant? What do you think might have been happening in your situation? 5. What do you think is so important about verse 11:35? What does that tell us about God? 6. Read verses 25-26. What do you think Jesus might mean by what he said? He ends that sentence asking “do you believe this?” Do you believe this? Why?