What are we doing here?
This is a time to share and wrestle together. No one expects a quick fix or a ‘sweep it under the rug’ approach to real questions.
Tonight, we will spend some time reflecting on the thief on the cross. We are wrestling with regret, anxiety, and finding ourselves present to Jesus’ presence and promise:
"Today you will be with me in paradise." - Luke 23:43
Ground Rules
Be honest.
Speak in "I" statements about your own experience, not generalizations.
Everyone has a right to lament their anger without our judgments.
Listen to understand, not to correct or convince.
This is not a space to argue who is right but to wrestle with hurt and anger faithfully.
What's shared here stays here—honor each other's vulnerability.
Scripture: Luke 23:39-43
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Discussion Questions
On Anxiety:
What worry follows you through your days or keeps you up at night?
When you imagine the future—personally, politically, globally—what are you most afraid of?
What would it look like to stop white-knuckling that anxiety and hand it over?
On Regret:
Is there a choice or season you replay, wishing you could do differently?
What would you need to hear from God—or from yourself—to find peace?
Where have you been told to "just let it go" when what you really need is to grieve?
Take It To Its End
If that anxiety came true, what would happen?
If that regret could never be undone, what would that mean for you?
Memento Mori Reflection:
What do you need to do to cultivate prayerful presence and love where you live?
What unfinished business or unreleased fear would you need to surrender?
What does it feel like to hold your mortality and turn toward Jesus?
Journaling Prompts
What's stirring in you?
What feels hard to release?
What does "today" mean right now?
Prayer and Commission
Prayer
God, you know our anxieties before we name them. You see our regrets before we confess them. We bring them to you because we need you. Teach us to be present. To stop running from the past or gripping the future. To be here—fully alive—in the homes, relationships, and lives you’ve given us.
Help us hear Jesus say, “Today, you will be with me in paradise,” and trust that your presence is enough. May the love we cultivate now echo long after we’re gone. Amen.
Commissioning
This week, practice memento mori—honestly, not morbidly.
When anxiety rises, ask: Am I here, or somewhere else in my mind?
When regret surfaces, name it—and hear Jesus say, “I remember you.”
Ask yourself: What am I doing today to cultivate prayerful presence and love where I live?
You don’t have to fix everything. Just practice being present.