John 5:16- 29
ICE BREAKER
We spend a lot of our life trying to figure out what is real and true.
We try to discern what is true regarding media information as well as what happens politically.
Share a story regarding something you thought was true only to learn later that it was not true at all.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- The Father is a life giver and He brings life to us in spite of the ways we bring death.
We bring death in these three ways: we embody death, we negotiate death and we cover death.We bring death with our words, humor, and thoughts.
In what way do you bring death into your life and into the lives of those around you?
- The Father is a life giver and He brings life to us in spite of the ways we bring death.
Share from your personal story as to how the Father has brought life into your life. Or, think about how He has rescued you from some of your habits that brought death to you in the past.
- To follow Christ is to imitate Him in bringing life.
In what ways are you engaging in Christ’s mission to bring life? Share your thoughts with the group.Group leaders: consider pausing for prayer with a two fold focus: thanking God for the many ways He has rescued us from death and then asking God for clarity so that life giving paths may be embraced moving forward.
NOTES AND QUOTES
Jesus is bringing great clarity about TRUTH: truth about who He is and who the Father is.
We have felt needs and we have our ultimate need.
Jesus’ miracles touch our felt needs for the purpose of drawing us to Him.
Christ wants to get to our deepest need, namely, our need for healing from our sin.
As Jesus reveals that He is here to meet our ultimate need the opposition to Him is becoming fierce.
The Jews are seeking all the more to kill Jesus.
Christ is making a core truth crystal clear: He and the Father are one.
In John 5:21 Christ speaks of judgment.
Jesus judges the world by telling the truth about who He is.
His judgment focuses on how we respond to His invitation.
In the new heaven and new earth there will be no death. Judgment will have done its work to eradicate all death.
We lose clarity about who Christ is because we are seeking glory from others.
How much of our energy is really seeking glory from others?
We simply must be clear about who Christ is and from this clarity flows the craving to join Him in bringing life to others.
