John 1:1-13
ICE BREAKER
Think of your fondest childhood family memory.
Next think of your worst childhood family memory.
We have deep longings when it comes to our family relationships.
Chances are the good memories we have revolve around being connected, loved or accepted.
There is a deep longing to be accepted, to be included in a family.
Share with the group one of your childhood memories and why it was the fondest or the worst.
Identify the longings that were met or unmet in the memory.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- How much do you believe God loves you?
Share with the group any obstacles that cause you to deflect Gods’ love.
Pray together over these obstacles.
Consider making it a goal for the next 30 days to intentionally read, meditate, reflect on verses where God speaks of His love for you.
As you do, be aware of what thoughts tend to deflect the truth. Write them down. Examine these thoughts through the lense of the truth of scripture.
Jeremiah 31:20 (message), Zephaniah 3:17 are great verses to consider.
Our stories have tremendous power to tell us a false narrative about ourselves and what God thinks and feels toward us.
So, be patient and kind toward yourself in the process of learning to receive God’s love but also be determined.
- How might accepting God’s love for you impact how you love others?
- Do you need to go to someone this week to offer or ask for forgiveness?
- Romans 8:17 speaks of suffering with Christ.
What does it mean to suffer like Him? It means to love people.
Who is in your life right now that when you are with that person you suffer?
Share with the group how you are doing with loving that person.
NOTES AND QUOTES
The progression in John chapter one is:Jesus is God, Jesus is the creator, and now He is coming into the world.
Jesus is becoming more intimate.
Yet, the world does not know Him–the very one who created it. This is shocking!
This gap is due to sin.
All of us have a hesitancy to resist Jesus being close to us when it comes to our sin or our pain.
How willing are you to let Jesus get close to you?
“But, to all who received Him, who believed in HIs name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nore of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13.
The good news is there is no lottery of who will be chosen.
There is no interview process.
ALL who receive Him He gave the right to become children of God.
So, we are included in God’s family.
He declares we are “children of God” through faith in the saving work of Christ alone.
Romans 8:15-16 tells us we are adopted into God’s family.
What binds a family together is the Dad and Mom and the family name.
So, what makes God’s family a family?
The answer is that He is our father and we bear His name.
This binds us together as His children.
All the kids have equal status.
We are in slavery if we are not a child of God.
There is no middle ground or neutral ground.
There is responsibility when we are part of a family.
It is no different when we are a part of God’s family.
Romans 8:17 speaks of being heirs with Christ and being heirs includes suffering with Him.
What does it mean to suffer like Him? It means to love people.
Who is in your life right now that when you are with that person you suffer?
In our flesh we judge, we cut down, we divide.
We have the most awesome Dad.
So, we are out of our minds when we start picking on God’s other children.
