Sermon Discussion Qs

1. Advent is a season of waiting. We reflect on Jesus’s first coming as we anticipate his second coming. What does it mean to wait well upon the Lord?

2. Mary’s actions are quickly criticized by Judas. Have you ever experienced criticism due to your devotion to the Lord? Why is this so often the case in a fallen world?

3. Mary’s act of devotion displayed a heart overcome by the worth of Jesus. What is Jesus calling you to do in this season that will simply reflect His worth?

1. God used Caiaphas’s wicked actions as high priest to pave the way for Jesus, our Great High Priest, to accomplish our redemption. How does God’s sovereignty over evil give perspective on our trials?

2. Israel’s leaders were self-serving, but Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). How can you grow in imitating Jesus’s selfless leadership in your life?

3. The penalty we deserve for our sin is death, and Jesus took our punishment on the cross as our substitute. How should we live in light of what Jesus has done for us?

1. As Jesus encounters the enemy of death, He displays both deep anger and sorrowful tears. What does this passage teach us about the heart of God?

2. Brokenhearted boldness calls Christians to have firm conviction against evil, and tender compassion for the lost. How can you grow in imitating Jesus’s posture toward a fallen world?

1. We all have a tendency to undersell Jesus. If you’re a Christian, is there an area of your life where you’ve lost hope that Jesus can help you? If you’re not a Christian, what is keeping you from belief in Jesus?
   
   2. The resurrection life that Jesus gives empowers us to not settle for a normal life. Where might God be leading you to make radical sacrifices for the sake of his Kingdom?

1. Jesus loved Lazarus. And Paul prays in Ephesians 3 that believers would grow in their understanding of the love of Christ. What in your life is obscuring your experience of Christ’s love for you?
   
   2. Jesus’s zeal for his Father’s glory above all things reminds us that God is at the center of the universe, and not us. What is your highest priority in life right now? How is this aligned or not with Jesus’s priorities?
   
   3. Jesus waiting to heal Lazarus must have been confusing to Mary and Martha, but even this was an expression of Jesus’s pursuit of what was best for them. How do Jesus’s actions help shape our understanding of what love truly is?

1. Many people today do not hate Jesus, they simply do not care about him. How is this response similar and different to the Pharisee’s response to Jesus in this text?
   
   2. Jesus’s sheep hear his voice because they have been given to him by the Father (John 10:29). How should this truth humble us?
   
   3. Jesus says about his sheep, “No one is able to snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). How does this passage help us trust in God to keep those who are his?

1. Knowing and enjoying the Good Shepherd is the heart of abundant life. What has been helping or hindering your enjoyment of Jesus recently?

2. David Livingstone, and many other missionaries, have found abundant life through much suffering for the sake of the gospel. How are Christians uniquely equipped to handle suffering in this world?

3. Our world continues on because Jesus has many other sheep to bring into his fold still. Who is someone near to you but far from God? What is your next step in being a welcoming witness to this person?

1. Evil is any distortion of God’s good creation. Can you think of a time in your life when you cried, “No!” in response to evil?

2. Wrestling with the “why” of evil is not a lack of true faith but an exercise of it. How can we faithfully wrestle with the “why” when we encounter evil?

3. In the cross of Christ, God brought about the greatest good imaginable from the worst Evil ever conceived. How does the cross help us trust God in the midst of our suffering?

1. We typically think of a “polarizing” person in a negative way, but Jesus is the most polarizing person there has ever been. How is Jesus rightly polarizing?

2. Spiritual blindness and spiritual sight are key themes in John 9. If you are not a follower of Christ, do you want to see? If you are a follower of Christ, do you regularly treasure the sight you have been given?

3. Jesus rightly receives worship because he is God. What in your life is helping you worship the Lord Jesus right now? What in your life is hindering that worship?

1. Jesus is unfazed in the midst of the worst insults, possessing a radical security from His Father in heaven. How does our security in Christ help us face our own trials?

2. It is easy to use Christ for our own cause without true allegiance to Him. Is your devotion to Christ first and foremost or is something else guiding your heart?

3. There are many more in these cities who are waiting to hear Jesus’s invitation to life! How does this truth fuel our calling as a church to be welcoming witnesses?

1. We have seen several examples of senseless evil in recent days. How does Scripture inform how we process tragedies like these?

   2. If you’re at peace with your sin, you’re probably at war with God. If you’re at war with your sin, you’re probably at peace with God. Are you currently at peace or at war with the sin in your life?

1. When one judges by the flesh, Jesus and His gospel message is not impressive nor attractive. When in your life did the gospel become truly good news to you?

   2. In John 8:24, Jesus gets the crowd’s attention by saying, “unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” What makes this such a staggering claim?

   3. In the Christian life, we must first be something before we do something. We must be born again before we can obey our heavenly Father. How is Jesus gloriously unlike us in this way?

1. Everyone is busy, but we all make time for what we value most. What step can you take to ensure you are consistently hearing from Jesus through his word?

2. Jesus is the light of the world that exposes sin, illuminates truth, and invites us home. What aspect of his light resonates most with you at the moment?

3. Some people “believe in Jesus,” but their faith is all talk and no walk. True faith leads to a joyful pursuit of obedience to Jesus in all of life. How would you describe your current walk with Jesus?

1. No historical figure has been talked, read, written, or sung about more than Jesus Christ and his impact demands an investigation. Have you considered Jesus’s claims about himself? Who do you say that He is?

2. Jesus is the Fountain of Living Water and the only one who can truly satisfy our thirsty souls. What has your soul been thirsting for lately and how does this thirst find its satisfaction in Christ? 

3. Jesus fills us with His Spirit so that we may share Him with others. Who in your life is close to you and far from God and what is the next step in giving Jesus to them?

1. The gospel of John was written so that we may believe in Jesus and have life in Him. How have you experienced true life in Christ recently?

2. Self-will is a mark of darkness in all of us. Is there a place in your life where you are saying to God “my will be done, not thy will be done?”

3. Baptism is a precious sign that displays our union with Christ. Have you been baptized as a believer? If not, why not? If you have, what enduring effect has this had in your life?

1. Jesus has several “hard sayings” in the gospels. Can you recall a time when you experienced or saw the offense of Jesus’s teachings?

2. The cross of Christ says two things: “you’re wrong and you’re loved.” Why is it important that we understand both of these truths?

   3. God’s ‘effectual calling’ teaches us that we believe and stay believing by His grace alone. What kind of people should we be in light of this truth?

1. Jesus cares deeply about our earthly needs, but our spiritual needs are far greater. What do you most need from Jesus right now? What have you been asking Him for recently?

2. The crowds asked Jesus, “what must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Why does humanity crave a religion they can control? How is Christianity different from all other religions?

3. Our service culminates every week at the Lord’s Table, in which our souls are fed by our Savior through faith. How has this weekly communion with Jesus been a blessing to you? How can you grow in meaningfully engaging in this precious ordinance?

1. When humans encounter God in Scripture, fear is a consistent response. What does a healthy fear of God look like? 

2. Jesus walking on water takes a central place in John’s gospel. What do we learn about who Jesus is from this text? What other ways has Jesus revealed himself thus far in the book of John?

3. For the apostle John, light and darkness represent spiritual realities. Can you remember walking in darkness? How did the light of Christ break into your own life and darkness?

1. All of God’s kindness to us is purposeful, not random. Where have you seen evidence of God’s kindness in your life recently?

2. Jesus patiently teaches his disciples who don’t understand, and abundantly provides for the fickle crowds. Take some time to reflect together about the greatness of our Savior. What else does this miracle teach us about Him?

3. Jesus knew there was a cost in being loyal to his Father’s will. Is there a place in life where you are feeling the cost of discipleship?

Bonus Question:

1. The church is a lifeboat, not a cruise ship. Is there a person close to you who you know is drowning? What is one next step you can take with them evangelistically?

1. Despite knowing his enemies were seeking to kill him, Jesus speaks to them so that they might be saved. What does this reveal about the heart of our Savior and how can we imitate Him more?

   2. The Pharisees were experts in the Scriptures but missed the One who the Scriptures pointed to. How might we fall into the same mistake, and what can we do to prevent it?

   3. The biggest roadblock to belief in Jesus is the hunger for self-glory. Where in your life are you seeking self-glory over God’s glory?

1. Jesus speaks to us through His life-giving Word. What does it mean to hear Him and what can you do to listen better?

2. Those who hear Jesus have eternal life. In your life, what difference does it make that eternal life is not simply a future destination but a present reality?

3. If you have eternal life, you have been changed. This is the reality of conversion. Can you testify to how Jesus has changed your life?

1. “Not my will but your will be done,” was not a one-time saying but a habitual prayer of Jesus’s life (John 5:30). What does Jesus’s example teach us about our own lives of prayer?

2. Our Father in heaven is constantly giving life. Where in your life do you need strength from the Lord in order to keep giving to others?

3. If you don't honor the Son, you don't honor the Father. What are some ramifications of this radically exclusive claim from Jesus? How should this shape our witness to those who don't know the Son?

1. Jesus’ work in the world is personal, not ‘vaguely spiritual’. How is God’s personal work in our lives both a comfort and a challenge?

2. ‘Legalistic henchmen’ are quick to denounce a work of God when they’re not involved with it. Have you been prone to think this way? How can we rejoice in good things that we were not a part of? 

3. We need to be attentive to Jesus Christ. How can we help each other see His work and remember His realness in our lives?

1. Faith in Jesus means taking Him at His word. Is there a promise of Jesus that has brought you comfort recently? Is there a word of His that you have been struggling to believe? 

2. True faith often emerges in the hard circumstances of life. How can this truth give us joy amidst trials and greater trust in the Lord?

3. Jesus is powerful enough to heal any affliction, but also demonstrates His kindness by carrying us through the pain. What does this teach us about God’s purposes in our suffering?

1. Jesus invites us to see others as He does. How do we know we see as Jesus sees? And, who in your life do you need to see that way?

2. Obedience to God is soul food. Is there a place in your life where you have been starving your soul? What’s one way you could feed your soul this week?

   3. In a world starved of meaning and personal connection, a personal testimony has great power. How has Jesus fed your soul that you could share with others?

1. Why is it significant that Jesus speaks with a high-ranking Pharisee in John 3, and a complete societal outcast in John 4? How might this impact your view of others?

2. Six relationships did not make the woman at the well too sinful to save. Do you struggle to believe that your sin is greater than the mercy of Christ?

3. Is there a place in your life where the wall of hostility to Jesus seems too high? Do you believe that Jesus can overcome that wall?

1. How does Jesus being Jesus change the way you live in the vocation God has called you to? As a parent? Spouse? Friend? Church member?

2. Jesus is the bridegroom, John the Baptist was the friend of the bridegroom. How is Jesus being center-stage actually freeing for us?

3. Our “mission complete” is coming. How does the hope of eternity bring significance to our day to day actions?

1. Jonathan proposed the image of the church as a life boat rather than a cruise ship. What aspects of the life boat illustration do you appreciate?

2. In what ways does this contrasting illustration personally challenge you?

3. In what ways are we, even as Christians, tempted to look past the main problem of our sinking ship (that “we are going down” and “doomed” without Jesus)?

1. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son...” (John 3:16). Did you see anything afresh in this familiar verse from Sunday?

2. Paul prays that the church would know the depth of God’s love for them (Ephesians 3:14-19). What in your life is clouding God’s love for you?

3. God loves us even in our unloveliness. How should this shape our love for those around us?

1. John wants to give us a full portrait of Jesus. What do we see about Him in this text?

2. Jesus has the authority to clean what is His. What does this mean for Christians since we are temples of His Spirit?

3. Why is it good news that Jesus is our shame-bearer?

1. Did anything in this passage cause you to see Jesus in a new/fresh way?

2. The sign at the wedding in Cana kickstarted Jesus’s ministry that brought about the new covenant. What does Jesus’s first public sign teach us?

3. Jesus’s glory calls for a response. What is the next step in your faith journey with Jesus?

1. Do you remember the first time you saw Jesus clearly? Was it an instant change in your life or something more gradual?

2. Seeing and sharing Jesus is the heartbeat of the church. Who’s one person in your circle of influence that you could invite to “come and see”?

3. God is the one who draws people to himself. How does this encourage us as we strive to be welcoming witnesses? How does this fuel our life of prayer?

1. John the Baptist is a voice defined by his witness to the Word. What most defines who you are? What does your voice most clearly bear witness to?

2. John the Baptist confessed: “I am not the Christ.” In what areas of your life do you need to be reminded that you are not the Savior? 

3. Like John the Baptist, we should clear the way for others to get to Jesus. In what ways are you potentially getting in the way of the gospel? How can you strive to clear the way instead?

1. Have you had a time in your life where God felt absent and you wondered where he was? What “fillers, substitutes, or idols” are we prone to go to when God feels distant?

2. “And we have seen his glory...” What do you most need to see in your life? How does seeing Jesus change the way we see all our other needs?

3. “Only those who have been found know what it’s like to have been lost.” Have you ever written down your testimony? What ways has God met you in the past? How could this foster more worship of God and witness to others?

1. We were designed to receive God’s Word. What habits can you cultivate to ensure you are hearing and receiving God’s Word often?

2. Jesus is our True Light. How can we be welcoming witnesses to the Light this week in the places we live, work, and play?

3. What have you been finding life, joy, and satisfaction from? If this thing is sinful, how can you remove it from your life? If this thing is good, how can you enjoy God more through it?