In the World–April 20, 2025

Download “In the World” for April 20, 2025, here.

LIFE BEYOND DEATH

This month in St. Paul, Minnesota, a play called The Tin Woman debuted at Historic Mounds Theatre. The play, which is about a woman who receives a heart transplant, is directed by Joy Donley, whose teenage son died eight years ago. Because the young man was an organ donor, his tissue and organs have gone on to help others—at least sixty at last count. Donley wanted to bring the play to the stage to give hope and to raise awareness about organ donation. “Just knowing that a part of Lewis is still living on this earth is so comforting,” she said. “He always wanted to be a superhero. And as an organ donor, and an eye and tissue donor, he is that superhero.”

VICTORY OVER DEATH

Upon Jesus’ death, the temple curtain rips in two, the earth shakes, and the dead are raised. But Jesus’ power doesn’t stop there. Today’s reading from Matthew records the moment when two women are the first people to see the risen Lord. They fall to the ground and cling to His feet in worship. But Jesus assures them to not be afraid and sends them on with the greatest news of all.

1. What is your opinion of organ donation, and why do you feel that way?
2. How do you think you would’ve reacted if you’d been among those who first saw Jesus risen from the dead?
3. Who do you know who needs a resurrection to eternal life?

Additional Resources

Any videos or web materials are for your personal use. If you play any media files in class, be sure to have the necessary rights to do so.

• Contemporary Worship Weekly
• Echoes Worship Weekly
• Traditional Worship Weekly
• Stanley Saunders’s “Commentary on Matthew 27:27–61”
• Mark L. Strauss’s “Matthew: Jesus Is the Promised Messiah”
• Thomas L. Constable’s Notes on Matthew 27