Forsaken | Matthew 27:45-46

Icebreaker

What’s a time you followed directions (GPS or otherwise) and thought, “This cannot be right”…but it ended up getting you where you needed to go?

Discussion Questions

1. The sermon opened with the question: “Why does God sometimes feel absent when we need Him most?”
   When have you personally felt that tension in your life?
2. Which part of the message resonated most with you this week: the pain of abandonment or the purpose of Psalm 22? Why?
3. Read Matthew 27:46.
   What stands out to you about Jesus’ words on the cross? What emotions do you hear in them?
4. The sermon described the weight of sin in everyday life (guilt, shame, anxiety).
   Which of those experiences feels most real or familiar to you right now?
5. Jesus didn’t just feel sin, He carried it.
   How does that deepen your understanding of what happened on the cross?
6. Hebrews 13:5 says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
   Why is that promise trustworthy because Jesus was forsaken?
7. The phrase: “Don’t mistake God’s silence for His absence.”
   How do you respond to that? Is that encouraging, difficult, or both?
8. The sermon explained how Jesus was quoting Psalm 22.
   Why does it matter that His cry wasn’t random, but intentional and rooted in Scripture?
9. Read Psalm 22:27–31.
   How does knowing the ending of the story change how you view suffering or hard seasons?
10. Where in your life right now does the “road feel wrong”?
    What would it look like to trust that God is still leading you?

Prayer Prompts

• Honesty with God:
  Invite people to name where God has felt distant or silent in their lives.
• Gratitude for the Cross:
  Thank Jesus for bearing sin and experiencing abandonment so we don’t have to.
• Trust in the Waiting:
  Pray for faith to trust God’s presence even when it’s not felt.
• Surrender:
  Ask God for the courage to trust Him with the parts of life that feel off-course.
• Hope in the Ending:
  Thank God that the story doesn’t end at the cross, that resurrection is coming.