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The online groups guide is designed as a teaching series companion to foster discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting.
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Love
Teaching Text: John 6: 60-69
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Friends of God | The Kingdom of God Moving Along Lines of Friendship in the Life of Jesus
Peter and the Moment of Many Departures
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
What has changed about you since having a relationship with Jesus?
What was the most difficult thing?
You cannot encounter Jesus and not be faced with a call for personal transformation.
H. G. Wells said… “after two millennia, a historian like myself, who doesn’t even call himself a Christian, finds the picture centering irresistibly around the life and character of this most significant man…. The historian’s test of an individual’s greatness is “What did he leave to grow?” Did he start men to thinking along fresh lines with a vigor that persisted after him? By this test Jesus stands first.”
You cannot encounter Jesus and not be faced with a call for personal transformation.
You cannot be transformed by Jesus without somehow wanting to see your public world transformed as well.
What happens when you encounter Jesus?
More personally:
What will happen to me if I encounter Him?
What would God say to you if you could just hear hHm speak right now?
Jesus feeds the 5000 with 12 baskets full left over
He walks on water and meets the same crowd on the other side of the lake
They want more signs from Him… but only because He fed them.
They recall manna in the wilderness as God’s provision and think Jesus is doing the same
I do want to satisfy you but not in the way you think… and not by the means you prefer.
Jesus says I’m giving you something better: spiritual bread from heaven.
They ask for this bread
He says that He is the living bread.
They are disappointed by this and leave Him behind
He asks His closest disciples if they want to leave as well
They respond, “where will we go, for you have the words of life”
Very often, we want the benefits of the kingdom without wanting the authority of the kingdom or the process of the kingdom.
Thus, it should be evident that discipleship in John is far more than a matter of saying the right words or belonging to a group. It is a matter of obediently following Jesus
– Gerald L. Borchert,
The way of the disciple is the way of Jesus
Maybe a good measure at the end of our day is: ”Where did I have to die a little bit to myself today?”
All these deaths require trust.
What does trust look like?
Trust that what Jesus is saying is true
Trust that He will make good on His promises
Trust that ordering your life around the promise of the kingdom is worth it.
Trusting in God is a choice to believe in God's promise, character, and ability, even when your feelings, circumstances, or other voices want to lead you to believe otherwise.
Take stock of your anxieties, fears or other stand-out emotions.
What circumstance, person or situation brings you anxiety/worry?
What fears are active in your mind?
What thoughts dominate your thought life?
Pick one of those situations and ask God to speak to you about it.
What does He want to say to you?
What does He require of you in this situation?
What does trusting Him look like regarding:
His promises in the situation,
His ability to redeem it
The price you need to pay to trust him?
