Fill in the Blank | Bryan Pue | 03/29/2026

Isaiah 61’s image of oaks of righteousness frames a call to grow in godly character and to rebuild broken places in personal lives and culture. LifeSpring announces a Called conference on sexuality, a partnership with Renewed and Transformed Ministries, LifeSpring College enrollment and new midweek Bible classes, and a Palm Sunday prayer meeting ahead of Easter. The narrative focus turns to John 11: the story of Lazarus, who dies and lies in a tomb for four days while Jesus delays returning. Disciples misunderstand Jesus’ timing; Martha meets him and voices the painful honesty that “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus replies with the radical claim, “I am the resurrection and the life,” then asks, “Do you believe this?” — a question meant to expose the heart, not to collect information.

Honesty with God receives affirmation rather than rebuke. The text allows wrestling, doubt, and searching for evidence; intellectual engagement and raw grief coexist with faith. Unprocessed trauma and unanswered pain create spiritual vulnerability that can lead people into deceptive movements that offer easy answers. Jesus’ posture toward grief models compassion and proximity: he does not offer platitudes, he enters the sorrow, intercedes, and weeps. That empathy does not imply impotence; Jesus confronts death itself by incarnation and atonement, taking on sin’s consequences to defeat its power.

The theological tension of “now and not yet” appears throughout the passage. Resurrection belongs to the future consummation, yet Jesus presents resurrection as a present reality rooted in his person: wherever he is, life breaks through. The sermon urges congregants to identify personal “tombs” — places of dead hope, conditional trust, or half-hearted surrender — and to hear the voice calling, “Come out.” Grace arrives not by climbing a ladder of performance but by receiving the One who came into the ditch on humanity’s behalf. The gathering closes with an invitation to respond in faith, to receive prayer, and to bring others to encounter the resurrection and the life at Easter.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus welcomes honest questions and doubt Honesty toward God exposes real belief and creates room for growth. Questions function as soil where faith roots deepen rather than as evidences of failure. Holding doubts honestly invites an encounter that refines trust instead of shaming it. [24:12]
• 2. God is present in suffering now Suffering does not signal God’s absence; it reveals an invitation to deeper communion. Presence fills pain with meaning even when outcomes remain unclear. The incarnate God enters the human ditch, sharing grief and offering sustaining grace. [33:39]
• 3. Resurrection is now and later Eternal victory over death remains future, yet the resurrection breaks into present experience through Christ’s person. Belief in Jesus brings life amid death’s effects even before final glorification. This tension calls for patient hope and active trust today. [41:40]
• 4. Jesus runs to your tomb Compassion here looks like approach, not distance: the risen Lord moves toward places of death and calls the buried out. Healing often begins when honesty meets presence and a name is spoken over shame. Responding to that call requires stepping from the grave of old patterns into new life. [44:53]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [05:23] - Worship and God’s Presence
• [06:19] - LifeSpring College Announcement
• [07:23] - Midweek Bible Classes & Prayer
• [08:50] - Called Conference on Identity
• [09:27] - Risen Series Context
• [09:59] - John 11: Lazarus Introduced
• [12:25] - Lazarus: Four Days Dead
• [13:15] - “I am the Resurrection and the Life”
• [24:12] - Honesty with God
• [33:39] - Jesus Present in Suffering
• [41:40] - Now and Not Yet: Resurrection
• [44:53] - Jesus Runs to the Tomb
• [45:11] - Invitation to Respond
• [48:38] - Closing and Prayer Invitation

Bible reading: John 11:17-27 (ESV)
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Observation questions

1. What was the significance of Lazarus being in the tomb for four days according to the cultural understanding of the time? [12:25]
2. What two distinct parts are contained within Martha’s statement, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”? [24:12]
3. How does Jesus respond to Martha’s statement about his timing and presence? Does he correct her or get offended? [24:40]
4. What is the purpose of Jesus asking Martha, “Do you believe this?” according to the sermon? [13:33]

Interpretation questions

1. Why is it significant that Jesus does not offer Martha a theological explanation or rebuke for her honest, painful statement about his absence? [24:40]
2. How does the concept of Jesus being the “I am” connect his identity to his ability to be the resurrection and the life, both for the future and for the present? [19:51] [38:27]
3. What does it mean that Jesus gets into the “ditch” with us as our intercessor, and how does this differ from a God who merely observes our suffering from a distance? [39:22] [39:36]
4. How can a person hold the tension of experiencing pain and confusion while also holding onto the conviction of God’s good character? [32:43]

Application questions

1. Jesus is not intimidated by your honesty. [25:01] What is one situation in your life right now where you feel you need to be more honest with God about your disappointment, pain, or confusion?
2. There is a knowing of God that is only found in suffering. [37:09] Looking back, what is one difficult season where you can now see God’s presence with you in a way you didn't recognize at the time?
3. Unprocessed trauma and unanswered pain can create a spiritual vulnerability that leads people to seek easy answers outside of genuine faith. [30:10] Is there a past pain or disappointment you’ve never fully processed with God or a safe Christian community? What is one step you could take this week to start bringing that into the light?
4. Jesus asks, “Do you believe this?” not to collect information but to expose the heart. [13:33] When you hear Jesus say, “I am the resurrection and the life,” what area of your own “dead” hope or conditional trust does that statement most directly confront?
5. Jesus runs to your tomb and calls your name. [44:53] What “tomb” in your life—a place of dead hope, shame, or old patterns—do you need to hear Jesus calling you out of today?
6. Grace arrives not by climbing a ladder of performance but by receiving the One who came into the ditch on our behalf. [45:32] In what ways are you still trying to “perform” your way to God’s approval rather than receiving the grace he has already given?