1. The gospel is the good news that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

• Read 1 Corinthians 15:1–4 carefully. Paul says he delivered these things first of all. Why would he put death, burial, and resurrection ahead of everything else he could have taught?
• Paul describes a gospel you received, a gospel you stand in, and a gospel by which you are saved. Which of those three is hardest for you to say about yourself right now?
• If someone asked you tonight what the gospel is, what would you actually say? Try it out loud, in three sentences.

2. Love fuels the gospel. A radical love that will go to any length and pay any price.

• Read John 15:13. What makes laying down your life the greatest love a person could possibly display?
• The chapter says Jesus walked to His own execution willingly, not out of obligation, but to restore fellowship with His creation. Does that change the way you have pictured the cross?
• Where have you been treating God's love as something you still have to earn, when it has already been proven?

3. Sin can be atoned only through the shedding of innocent blood, and only one person in human history qualified.

• Why blood? Why not an apology, a better effort, or a long enough stretch of good behavior?
• The chapter says our debt was immense and our judgment impending. Have you ever honestly counted your own debt? What happens in you when you do?
• Jesus picked up the tab so you could walk free. So what are you still trying to pay for yourself?

4. In the Old Testament, mercy was delayed judgment. Jesus did not just delay judgment; He vanquished it.

• Ephesians 2:4 says God is rich in mercy. What does it mean for God to be rich in something?
• The blood on the Mercy Seat pushed judgment back. The blood of Jesus quenched it for sins past, present, and yet to be committed. Which part of that is hardest for you to believe?
• Read James 2:13. Are you living like mercy has triumphed, or like judgment is still hovering over you? What does your daily life say?

5. God Himself tore the veil, from the top down, and access to His presence is no longer restricted.

• A man would have torn that curtain from the bottom up. It was torn from the top down. What is the significance of the direction?
• The veil existed to keep the holy presence of God separate from unholy humanity. What veils are you still keeping hung between yourself and God?
• Read Hebrews 4:14–16. When was the last time you actually came boldly to the throne of grace, the way that passage says you can?

6. On the cross, Jesus was both the sacrifice and the one making the sacrifice.

• Read 1 Timothy 2:5–6. Why does it matter that there is one Mediator between God and men, and not many?
• Jesus was the Lamb and the High Priest, the offering and the one offering it. What does that tell you about how much of your salvation was your work?
• Read John 14:6. Is there anything else you have quietly been leaning on to get you to the Father?

7. The gospel is not only good news to hear but good news to experience.

• What is the difference between hearing good news and experiencing it?
• 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 says God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Who has He placed near you that needs to hear this news from you?
• What happened two thousand years ago is still happening right now. Where do you need it to happen in you this week?