John 6:22-51
ICE BREAKER
Think about a time you had a massive appetite.
Share with the group where you were and what lengths you went to in order to satisfy that appetite.
Share how you felt after you satisfied the appetite.
Jesus tells the crowd that their physical appetites are meant to tell us something about our spiritual lives.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Group leaders: consider reading Isa. 55:1-3 together before discussing the following question.
We all are thirsty and we long to be satisfied.What are the things you try to find life from instead of looking to Jesus?
Think not only in the category of obvious sinful choices but also think about more things that may appear benign such as working long hours, eating too much, looking to people for significance, or giving first place in your heart to any relationship other than Christ etc.
Try to identify what it is that keeps drawing you back to these things.
Share your thoughts with the group.
Ask the Spirit to help you to discern the truth.
- We know the truth that we are completely fulfilled in Christ.
Yet, the enemy attempts to deceive us just like he did with Adam and Eve in the garden.The enemy invites us to seek anything or anyone outside of Christ to satisfy us.
The work of the Spirit is to open our eyes to see the all satisfying beauty of Christ.
Truth deflates every one of our false attempts to find satisfaction outside of Christ.
Share some truths that have helped you on your journey toward being more fully satisfied in Christ.
- Why are we, as believers, different from our unbelieving neighbors?
The answer is grace.Grace alone brought us from death to life.
How does the truth that your salvation depends fully on Jesus stir your heart to greater love and obedience?
NOTES AND QUOTES
Our souls are thirsty. We are constantly searching to find satisfaction.
God has designed this thirst to draw us to Himself.
Jesus, the bread of life, satisfies our infinite longing.
As Jesus addresses the crowd He peels back the layers of the onion to get to the core thirst which He wants the crowd to see.
The crowd demands another sign from Jesus.
Remember, Jesus did perform the miracle of feeding the 5 thousand and walking on the water just prior to Jesus’ interaction with the crowd.
Jesus speaks of Himself as the true bread from heaven:
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.”
Christ satisfies 100% so that we never thirst again(we still ache in this world as we continue to long for heaven and for complete intimacy with Him in heaven).
If we have Christ and have not found tastes of real satisfaction are we like the crowd? Have we come to Jesus but come to Him “on our own terms”?
God uses the “means of grace” to satisfy His people in Himself.
The “means of grace” include: His Word, prayer, corporate worship, and the ordinances.
The battle with sin is not just the battle to do the right thing but to love what is beautiful and thereby to satisfy our hearts.
This is completely impossible without His grace working mightily within us.
We do not have the ability to come to Christ in our own strength.
What makes me different from my unbelieving neighbor?
Grace alone.
All we have done is to give God a reason to condemn us.
“We are secure, not because we hold tightly to Jesus, but because He holds tightly to us.” R. C. Sproul
“If He is the friend of sinners, and if you know yourself to be a sinner, then let Him befriend you more deeply than you ever have.
Open up to Him as you do to no other earthly friend. Let Him love you as the friend of failures, the invincible ally of the weak.” Dane Ortlund
