March 13, 2016    John 16:21 – 33

Download discussion questions:  John 16_21-33 plain words

These are the last words John recorded of Jesus speaking to His disciples before His arrest.  Immediately after this passage He begins His fervent prayer to the Father (John 17), and then He goes to the garden where Judas betrays Him (John 18).

Download the handout for this passage and see what words Jesus had for His followers.  Are they words of comfort or caution or encouragement or challenge or counsel?  How do His words relate to us to turn temporary grief into everlasting joy (John 16:22)?

March 6, 2016      John 16:6 – 23

Download discussion questions:  John 16_6-23 many things to say

Time is short.  Jesus has many things to say to His followers (John 16:12), but they are in no condition to take in all that He has for them.  He must have been choosing His words with special care, knowing that what the disciples heard in the next few minutes would be their last memory of Him before the arrest.  But He also continued to describe the coming Helper who would continue to teach them.  No wonder He describes both their grief and their joy.

The handout this week includes the passage and some very general Observation, Interpretation, and Application questions.  I will probably not be able to attend our study group this week.  The discussion will be an opportunity to see what thoughts this rich passage prompts from others in the group.  I look forward to hearing the results.

February 28, 2016         John 15:20 – 16:11

Download discussion questions: John 15_20-16_11 Spirit of Truth

Imagine that you have been training a small group for several years, but now you have to leave them.  How do you reassure them?  How do you encourage their continued work in the face of their distress?  What better way than to remind them that the task is important, a specific mission you were sent on.  Then you reveal that there will be another representative to continue the training, helping them in the work you are leaving to them.  That’s what Jesus is doing in this passage. Continue reading →

February 28, 2016         John 15:20 – 16:11

Download discussion questions:  John 15_20-16_11 Spirit of Truth

The arrest of Jesus is rapidly approaching.  He is using these last precious minutes to communicate amazing things to His confused disciples.  He even acknowledges to them, “Sorrow has filled your heart” (John 16:6).  In His teaching before He leaves them He has extraordinary truths to tell them, realities that will radically alter their understanding of the core of their belief:  “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One.”  Yes, He is indeed One, but even that truth has more depth.  Jesus wants them to begin to understand that depth, the One God in three Persons, before He is arrested.  Twenty centuries later we still wrestle to know how to know the One C. S. Lewis calls “the Three-Personal God.”  Download the passage and see what you can discover about the One who are Three, and the Three who is One.

February 21, 2016         John 15:1 – 19

Download discussion questions:  John 15_1-19 The Vine

Download discussion questions:  John 15_1-19 The Vine – highlighted

Seeing past familiar parts of Scripture can be challenging.  Reminders of what we have learned and what we know about our faith are important.  Equally important is pressing further up and further in (to borrow a phrase from Narnia) to continue growing deeper in our spiritual formation.  This passage is familiar to many believers with the metaphor Jesus used of the Vine and the branches.  Rather than review the important truth He taught (our absolute dependence on Him), we looked to see what else He said in this passage. Continue reading →

February 21, 2016         John 15:1 – 19

Download discussion questions:  John 15_1-19 The Vine

Download discussion questions: John 15_1-19 The Vine – highlighted

“John 15?  That’s the passage about the vine and the branches.”  That is often the first reaction from Christians who have been around church and Bible studies for a while.  Familiarity can be an obstacle to good inductive study.  If we come to a passage already decided about what it says, we will have difficulty seeing new insights the Holy Spirit may want to illuminate for us.  The goal this week will be to discover what else Jesus says in this passage, and how those subjects relate to the Vine and the branches.

The second handout (the “highlighted” version) already has the beginning of the Observation phase, but if you want to start completely fresh, the first handout is just the passage with similar questions for your own observation of repeated words.  Download one or both and see what you discover in this powerful passage.

February 14, 2016         John 14:15-31

Download discussion questions: John 14_15-31 Another Helper

Our discussion began with the question, “What does it mean to love God?”  Jesus uses the verb “love” (agapao, ἀγαπάω) ten times in the brief passage.  (The fact that this passage and this topic are a part of our study on Valentine’s Day was purely providential.) Continue reading →

February 14, 2016         John 14:15-31

Download discussion questions:  John 14_15-31 Another Helper

Jesus has just given His disciples a “new” commandment about love.  In this passage He repeats that word at least ten times.  He adds another element to the discussion, the Holy Spirit.  Download the discussion questions and look at the passage to understand how and why Jesus seems to connect those two themes.

February 7, 2016  John 13:36-14:15

Download discussion questions:  John 13_36-4_15 Ask anything

Jesus continues the last extended discourse before His arrest.  The disciples continue to try to understand what He is telling them (just as we do).  In particular, three of His followers question Him, and He responds to each of them. Continue reading →

January 31, 2016                     John 13:36-14:15

Download discussion questions:  John 13_36-4_15 Ask anything

Download the passage and think about what things Jesus wanted to communicate to His remaining eleven followers before He was arrested.  Expect a good discussion on Sunday.