Bible Study 16/9

Alive (Mary Magdalene) by Natalie Grant from the album Music Inspired by the Story

link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om3mm2dv--k

We began class by going over the new vocabulary.



Then students read a verse or two from the scripture passage. We had a small discussion about the passage. Students shared what stood out to them or what they had never noticed before about the passage.

John 20:1-18

New International Version (NIV)

The Empty Tomb

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white,seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!”(which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

After that we listened to the song twice and students filled in the blanks. Then in pairs they compared their answers. We listened to the song a final time and I sang to help enunciate some parts that were difficult to hear and understand. Finally some students read the answers and translated the song line by line.

Alive (Mary Magdalene) by Natalie Grant from Music Inspired by the Story

Who but ________ could breathe and leave a trail of galaxies and ________ of me
What kind of ________ is writing my story ‘til the end with mercy’s pen?
Only _________
What kind of __________, would choose to wear a _________ that bleeds and scars to win my heart
What kind of __________, tells me I’m the reason He can’t stay inside the grave?
You, is it you? Standing here before my _________
Every part of my _______ cries
Alive, ________
Look what mercy’s overcome
_________ has lost and __________ has won
________, Alive
Hallelujah risen LORD the only one I fall before
I am __________ because He is __________
Who could speak and send the demons back from where they came with just one Name
What other heart could let itself be ____________ every time ‘til he healed mine?
You, only you, can turn my darkness into dawn
Running right into your __________
___________, Alive
Look what mercy’s overcome
_________ has lost and ________ has won
Alive, ___________
Hallelujah risen LORD the only one I fall before
I am ______ because He is
Emmanuel
The Promised _________
The __________ who made angels sing
Son of Man who ___________ with us
Healing breathing in our dust
The author of all __________
The __________ to all mysteries
The Lamb of God who rolled away the stone in front of every grave.
_________, Alive
Look what mercy’s overcome
__________ has lost and ___________ has won
I am _______ because He is _________

The blanks

At the end of class students pointed out their favorite parts of the song and explained why it was their favorite.

I also asked them about what it means to them to be alive. The shared some really beautiful and meaningful comments. Though this part of class was primarily in Portuguese it was important because it allowed all of us to grow a little closer and share a different part of our culture.

One student shared about how living can mean leaving a legacy even after we die. He shared an example of a friend of his who was killed in 2010. He told us that because of the way she lived her life, she is remembered and continues to be an inspiration today. One way that the lessons she learned and the person she was lives on is through the journals that she wrote about her faith and spiritual journey. He told us that they are going to be published soon.

Another student shared that the wants to make the most of his years, months, weeks, moments and seconds to be the best that he can be.

Another student shared that our lives touch so many other lives and that because of that when we live caring for others, being there for them, and helping them we make a significant difference that lasts beyond our lives.

Some other things that students mentioned in regard to what it means to live included: being present, being a part of the action (the verb), being remembered, "waking up to the Lord."

I am so thankful that my students and their willingness to go beyond the surface level in our class conversations. :)