April 19, 2025
A video introduction using illustrations, personal stories, metaphors, or active learning examples to begin the discussion.
After the video, prompts are supplied for thinking and sharing with others personal perception and experience. This opening activity prompts participants to think about and relate to the topic, and to share with others.
Take a moment to look at the list of emotions below. These are words that reflect both Jesus’ experience and what many people still feel:
Pick 3 emotions from the list that you see people around you experiencing the most.
For each one, think about how you would respond to someone in that emotional place:
Would you just be present with them?
Would you pray with them?
Would you encourage them with words?
The Bible discussion begins with a careful reading of the whole passage, either from your own Bibles, or from the provided images below.
Then participants are to ask:
Read Matthew 26:36-41:
Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Peter believed he would stand firm for Jesus, even if everyone else walked away. But when pressure came, he denied Him—just as Jesus had told him he would. Peter meant what he had said, but he overestimated his emotional strength. Jesus’ words, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” aren’t meant to shame us—they’re honest. We often want to do what’s right, but we’re still weak and need help. That’s why staying prayerful and alert matters.
In the garden, Jesus didn’t hide His sorrow. He said, “My soul is overwhelmed,” and asked His friends to stay close. Even the Son of God leaned on others when hurting. He prayed honestly, asking for another way, yet still chose to trust the Father’s will.
Three times, He returned to find the disciples asleep. But He didn’t scold—He gently called them to wake up. Later, in Acts, those same friends stayed awake, prayed, and stood strong.
Compare before and after:
John 20:19 and Acts 4:31
Luke 9:46-48 and Acts 3:12-16
Matthew 26:56 and Acts 5:40-42.
We can grow too—by showing up and trusting the plan Jesus made.
A parting video clip with a personal invitation to apply the message to “knowing Christ” and “living in Christ” in the coming week.