Morning Star Las Cruces

2026 Discussion Questions

March 1, 2026

Series: Good Grief: Where Hurt and Holiness Collide

Title: Denial

Text: Matthew 16:21-23

1. What is your favorite emotion? What emotion do you try to avoid at all cost? (Examples: joy, excitement, curiosity, gratitude, surprise, sadness, fear, anger, frustration, loneliness, awe.)

2. When something hard or upsetting happens, what's your first reaction: Ignore it? Push it aside for a while? Talk it out? Something else?

3. What stood out to you in the message titled Good Grief: Denial? Did any story, image or idea invite you to reflect differently on how you respond to loss or grief?

4. Read Matthew 16:21-23. What surprises you about Peter's reaction to Jesus? What do you notice about denial or resistance in this passage?

5. Jesus responds to Peter in a really strong way. What might this teach us about the spiritual or relational costs of denying hard truths?

6. Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-4. How does this passage acknowledge seasons of sorrow, loss and change? How might that help us move from denial toward acceptance?

7. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. How does Paul speak to those struggling with grief? What hope or perspective does he offer to those who resist facing painful realities?

8. In what ways does denial sometimes serve a protective purpose in grief? When does it become harmful? How can we discern the difference?

9. During this season of Lent, how might God be inviting you to name and begin to process (or re-process) an experience of grief in your life?

10. How might your group pray for you as our community makes the journey to the cross with Jesus once again?