Hey guys, this is John
This week we are continuing our series “Lion and the Lamb” by looking at Jesus through John 15. In this Chapter Jesus uses the metaphor of the Vine. This illustration drives home the point that we need to “remain” in Him to have the best life possible, to bear fruit, and to carry out his command to “love each other.” We will be focusing on what it means to “remain” in Jesus.
Jesus is describing Himself as the source that we need to be constantly tapped in to. He goes so far as to say that without Him we can’t do anything. We will be looking at ways that we can tap into this life-giving power of Jesus.
Thinking about this idea of being tapped into the perfect source of Jesus I kept coming back to the idea of “sweet spot” or being “in the zone.” This could be that I am a huge sports fanatic (I’m actually not, but thought it would be funny to write). I began to look back and identify times in my life where I felt as connected to God as I ever had. Generally these were either hard times, where I was being forced to rely on God more than before, or times of service, where I was “doing the will of the Father.” In preparation for this week begin to think about times to share with your group when you have felt most connected to God.
Small Group Questions
Start by reading John 15 for a refresh. Take your time, and take turns reading aloud in your group.
Tonight John talked about times in his life when he felt that he was “in the zone” with God and really living out the life that God intended for him. Share times in your life when you’ve felt really close to God and that you were “living in Him.” This isn’t meant for us to sound like we’re bragging to one another, but rather to encourage each other. Be bold and share times that you are proud of.
Sometimes it seems easier than others to “remain in Jesus”, what do you think contributes to that? Are there ways we can shape our lives to best be connected to Jesus? (Think about things that may be helping or getting in the way. For example the music you listen to, how often you are reading the Bible, and so on. Come up with a list of positive and negative.
In John 15 Jesus talks passionately about love. He commands us to love each other just as He loved us. Saying that we should love each other so much that we would be willing to lay our lives down for one another. Just as He did for us on the cross. Take some time and think about ways that you as a small group have been good and bad at loving each other so far this year. Have there been times where you really came together and put each other first at elevate or at school? And have there been times and things that you need to improve on together. Be open and honest. Come up with ways to help keep this command of Jesus.
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7 comments:
I love this section of the book of John just because of Jesus' command that we love others like he loved us. That we love other people enough that we are willing to lay down our lives for them. I really think my girls will connect to this lesson and get to thinking more deeply about the times when they've been "in the zone" and what that felt like. I also like the idea of lists because its something active that the girls can do to get them into the lesson.
-Emma S.
This is actually very similar to what we did last week in housegroups, so I'm glad I have the chance to apply what we talked about last week here, and ask them the same questions that I had.
Kian H.
This is actually very similar to what we did last week in housegroups, so I'm glad I have the chance to apply what we talked about last week here, and ask them the same questions that I had.
Kian H.
I think this lesson will really help the kids dig deeper into their faith this week. I hope that the talk and our small group discussions with help the kids realize how close they are in their relationship with God right now, and in remembering a time when they felt really close to Him, hopefully that will inspire them to grow closer to God if they aren't feeling that way now. Personally, I've found that I feel closest to God when I'm serving Him...so Mission Chicago this last year might be a good topic for me to share with my girls about my own faith. I hope this lesson will really help bring the kids closer to God and help us all "remain" in Him.
-Holly M.
i love this series that we are covering and i have been having questions about these sort of things so i am excited to explore it with my small group
~ christina cauble
This is a great topic becuase it is very similar to last Sunday at UR.
-charlie
Good for people to know.
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