Gospel of John Series for Lent. God s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Transcription

1 Give Up, Take Up Gospel of John Series for Lent God s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Romans 5:5b LENT203 LIFE TOGETHER SMALL GROUP GUIDE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, SPOKANE

2 Published for Small Groups by Brenda Norton, Director of Community Life at First Presbyterian Church, Spokane 38 S Cedar St, Spokane WA Available online at

3 WEEK OF FEBRUARY7 We are a month and a half into 203. What has been a highlight of this year so far? CHECKIN What are you looking forward to in the next couple of months? Give Up: Control Take Up: Holy Spirit In the scripture reading Jesus speaks some of his finals words to his disciples before he is arrested later in the evening. There is some indication that the disciples were needing some plain words from Jesus that they could grasp in their limited insight, instead Read this before reading the scripture text for the week. of his usual figurative language. Jesus continues to be a bit cryptic about what is about to happen but he explains to them that when he is gone the Holy Spirit will come and help them understand. Read John Listen for the Give Up, Take Up theme. Remember... The goal is NOT necessarily to get through ALL of these questions. The goal IS to have fruitful conversation in which everyone is sharing and listening.. prayerfully supporting one another.. and encouraging one another toward greater faith & love. What experience do you have with giving something up for Lent? Discuss some of the common things that people traditionally give up for Lent. 2 If some in your group attended the Ash Wednesday service and others did not, have those who attended share a bit about the purpose of Ash Wednesday; the scripture & message; the presentation of the Give Up, Take Up theme; and the prayer stations. 3 What do you think will be helpful as we journey through Lent with this theme of Give Up, Take Up? What challenges do you foresee? Do you generally gravitate more toward the Give Up or the Take Up? 4 What is in these verses in John that instructs us to give up control of the circumstances of our lives? 5 According to these verses in John, what does the Holy Spirit do for us? 6 What does giving up control look like for you? How do giving up control and taking up the Holy Spirit come together for you? 7 Recall what was said and done in worship on Sunday in regard to our Give Up, Take Up theme for the week. Also consider the readings and activities from the Devotional Guide for this week. What scriptures, thoughts, prayer, activities, etc. have been most helpful to you? Give everyone a moment to think back over the discussion about what we are giving up and taking up this week. Then, share how you would like your group to pray for you in regard to this. Make notes here or in the space provided at the back of this guide.

4 7 WEEK OF FEBRUARY24 Recall the Give Up & Take Up from last week and how you were praying for one another. CHECKIN How did the practice of these go for you throughout the week? What challenged you? How were prayers answered? Give Up: Independence Take Up: Interdependence In the scripture reading Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, prays for all his disciples. He prays to the Father, who is his Father. His prayer here is tied directly to the coming Read this before reading the of his hour, meaning his impending arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Jesus asks for the scripture text for the week. Father to glorify him so that he in turn may glorify the Father. He then asks for the Father to protect the disciples from the world and to unify them within the unity of the Father and the Son. Read John 7 Listen for the Give Up, Take Up theme. Remember... The goal is NOT necessarily to get through ALL of these questions. The goal IS to have fruitful conversation in which everyone is sharing and listening.. prayerfully supporting one another.. and encouraging one another toward greater faith & love. If you didn t meet last week you might find it helpful to talk through questions # & #2 from last week. They will get you started with the Give Up, Take Up theme for Lent. 2 Look carefully through the verses of John 7. List all the things Jesus says he has accomplished. List all the things Jesus asks his Father to do. What do you see in these verses that indicate Jesus motives? 3 What about this prayer is most meaningful to you? 4 Talk about what is meant by the terms independence and interdependence (our Give Up, Take Up for this week). Recall what was said and done in worship on Sunday in regard to this. Look up the definitions in the dictionary if it is helpful. 5 Pick out phrases from John 7 that indicate Jesus hopes for us to give up independence and take up interdependence. 6 As you consider the invitation to give up independence and take up interdependence, what are you being challenged toward? 7 Where do you see interdependence being lived out by our FPC community? Give everyone a moment to think back over the discussion about what we are giving up and taking up this week. Then, share how you would like your group to pray for you in regard to this. Make notes here or in the space provided at the back of this guide.

5 WEEK OF MARCH3 Recall the Give Up & Take Up from last week and how you were praying for one another. CHECKIN How did the practice of these go for you throughout the week? What challenged you? How were prayers answered? Give Up: Our Desire to Save Others Take Up: Trust in the One Savior The scripture reading tells of the arrest of Jesus. Simon Peter cuts off the ear of Malchus, Read this before reading the the high priest s slave. John notes that Caiaphas, the high priest, is the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people. scripture text for the week. Read John Listen for the Give Up, Take Up theme. Remember... The goal is NOT necessarily to get through ALL of these questions. The goal IS to have fruitful conversation in which everyone is sharing and listening.. prayerfully supporting one another.. and encouraging one another toward greater faith & love. What do you notice about the environment in which this event takes place? What do you notice about the disciples actions? Talk about what they might have been feeling and thinking. 2 Why didn t Jesus avoid arrest (8:4)? What did Jesus do that made it easy for the soldiers to arrest him? Based on just these verses (8:-4), how would you describe Jesus character? 3 What does Jesus say and/or do in John 8 that indicates his desire for us to trust him as the One Savior and not to take saving people into our own hands? Jesus does protect the disciples but he doesn t let them save him. Consider the motives behind Jesus actions. How does this inform you about the difference between when it is appropriate for you to protect someone and when you should not inappropriately try to save someone? 4 Recall what was said and done in worship on Sunday in regard to our Give Up, Take Up theme for the week. Also consider the readings and activities from the Devotional Guide for this week. What scriptures, thoughts, prayer, activities, etc. have been most helpful to you? 5 As you consider the invitation to give up your desire to save others and take up trusting Jesus as The Savior, what are you being challenged toward? Is this Give Up, Take Up pair more or less challenging to you than the ones from the past two weeks? Is one aspect of this pair more difficult for you than the other? Give everyone a moment to think back over the discussion about what we are giving up and taking up this week. Then, share how you would like your group to pray for you in regard to this. Make notes here or in the space provided at the back of this guide.

6 WEEK OF MARCH0 Recall the Give Up & Take Up from last week and how you were praying for one another. CHECKIN How did the practice of these go for you throughout the week? What challenged you? How were prayers answered? Give Up: My Desire to Save Myself Take Up: Trust in the One Savior The scripture reading tells of the denials of Peter and the questioning of Jesus by the High Priest. Read this before reading the scripture text for the week. Read John Listen for the Give Up, Take Up theme. Remember... The goal is NOT necessarily to get through ALL of these questions. The goal IS to have fruitful conversation in which everyone is sharing and listening.. prayerfully supporting one another.. and encouraging one another toward greater faith & love. What do you notice about the environment in which this event takes place? Who are the characters involved? What do you notice about Peter s actions? Notice how the situation he was in evolved. Talk about what he might have been feeling and thinking each step along the way. 2 In what ways was Jesus assertive during this event? In what was he passive? Talk about how both approaches demonstrate his authority in the situation. 3 We are proposing here that Peter s denial of Jesus was based in a motivation to save himself. Talk about common circumstances in which people most often react out of a desire to save themselves. In which of these circumstances does that seem appropriate? In what ways in these circumstances, as Christians, are we called to be motivated by our trust in Jesus over our desire to save ourselves? 4 Recall what was said and done in worship on Sunday in regard to our Give Up, Take Up theme for the week. Also consider the readings and activities from the Devotional Guide for this week. What scriptures, thoughts, prayer, activities, etc. have been most helpful to you? 5 As you consider the invitation to give up your desire to save yourself and take up trusting Jesus as The Savior, what are you being challenged toward? Is this Give Up, Take Up pair more or less challenging to you than the one from the last week? Is one aspect of this pair more difficult for you than the other? Give everyone a moment to think back over the discussion about what we are giving up and taking up this week. Then, share how you would like your group to pray for you in regard to this. Make notes here or in the space provided at the back of this guide.

7 WEEK OF MARCH7 Recall the Give Up & Take Up from last week and how you were praying for one another. CHECKIN How did the practice of these go for you throughout the week? What challenged you? How were prayers answered? Give Up: Partial Truths Take Up: The Truth The scripture reading tells of the trial of Jesus before Pilate. Jesus tells Pilate that he Read this before reading the comes to testify to the truth and Pilate asks, What is the truth? scripture text for the week. Read John Listen for the Give Up, Take Up theme. Remember... The goal is NOT necessarily to get through ALL of these questions. The goal IS to have fruitful conversation in which everyone is sharing and listening.. prayerfully supporting one another.. and encouraging one another toward greater faith & love. What do you notice about the environment in which this event takes place? Who are the characters involved? Describe the relationship between Pilate and Jesus. What do you notice about Pilot s words and actions? Talk about what he might have been feeling and thinking. What do you think Jesus wanted Pilate to do? - base you answer on what Jesus says in verses 34, 36 & 37. What is motivating the crowd? 2 What do we mean by partial truths. Where do you see partial truths in this text? What partial truths are commonly accepted in our culture? 3 In verse 38 Pilate asks Jesus, What is truth? Why do you think his question is not followed by an answer from Jesus? Pilate s attitude when he asked this question may have been cynical, sarcastic, wistful, angry, honest, etc. Where do you see our culture questioning truth with these various attitudes? Do you have people in your life who are asking, What is truth? How are you responding? In what ways are you asking this question yourself? How do you answer this question? What is your answer based on? 4 Recall what was said and done in worship on Sunday in regard to our Give Up, Take Up theme for the week. Also consider the readings and activities from the Devotional Guide for this week. What scriptures, thoughts, prayer, activities, etc. have been most helpful to you? Give everyone a moment to think back over the discussion about what we are giving up and taking up this week. Then, share how you would like your group to pray for you in regard to this. Make notes here or in the space provided at the back of this guide.

8 9.-6 6A WEEK OF MARCH24 Recall the Give Up & Take Up from last week and how you were praying for one another. CHECKIN How did the practice of these go for you throughout the week? What challenged you? How were prayers answered? Give Up: My Throne Take Up: Jesus Kingdom In the scripture reading Jesus claims his own power before Pilate (the power to surrender himself to crucifixion). Pilate, uncomfortable with the holy authority of Jesus and not Read this before reading the wanting to crucify him, tries to get the Jews to free Christ, who Pilate calls their king. scripture text for the week. The Jews insist on crucifying Jesus and equally insist that they have no king but the Roman emperor (the ultimate denial of God). Read John 9.-6a 6a Listen for the Give Up, Take Up theme. Holy Week talk about making this journey together as a group. Maundy Thursday 6pm Dinner please call the church to let us know you will be attending (Cost:$5) 7pm Worship Good Friday 7pm Worship Holy Saturday 9am-noon prayer at the church Easter Sunday! What do you notice about the role of authority and power in this text? Note how the soldiers use symbols of power and wealth to humiliate Jesus. Note how Pilate uses his authority. Why does he want to release Jesus? Why do you think he refers to Jesus as the King of the Jews? In what ways do you see the Jews denying authority and using authority? Who do you think has the most influence in this situation? Why? 2 How does Jesus respond to the soldiers, Pilate and the crowd? How would you characterize his response? In what way does he demonstrate his authority over the situation? 3 Recall what was said and done in worship on Sunday in regard to our Give Up, Take Up theme for the week. Also consider the readings and activities from the Devotional Guide for this week. What scriptures, thoughts, prayer, activities, etc. have been most helpful to you? 4 As you consider the invitation to give up your throne and take up Jesus Kingdom what have you being challenged toward? Give everyone a moment to think back over the discussion about what we are giving up and taking up this week. Then, share how you would like your group to pray for you in regard to this. Make notes here or in the space provided at the back of this guide.

9 9.6B-42 EASTER MARCH30 Recall the Give Up & Take Up from last week and how you were praying for one another. CHECKIN How did the practice of these go for you throughout the week? What challenged you? How were prayers answered? Read this before reading the scripture text for the week. Scripture Reading from Good Friday: John 9.6b-30 Scripture Reading from Easter: John These scripture readings are not accounts of Good Friday and Easter. They continue in our weekly reading through the Gospel of John and cover the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Read John 9.6b-42 As you listen to the reading of this text try to imagine yourself there when these events took place. Remember... The goal is NOT necessarily to get through ALL of these questions. The goal IS to have fruitful conversation in which everyone is sharing and listening.. prayerfully supporting one another.. and encouraging one another toward greater faith & love. What thoughts and feelings arose as you listened to the reading of this text? What did you notice about the setting and characters in this reading? 2 Were you able to participate in all or part of our journey through Holy Week: Palm Sunday (All-Together & Worship), Maundy Thursday (Dinner & Worship), Good Friday (Worship), Holy Saturday (Prayer) and Easter Sunday (Worship)? Tell about what this journey looked like for you. What were some of the meaningful moments? 3 How did what happened between you and God during the weeks of Lent with the Give Up, Take Up theme culminate into the journey through Holy Week? 4 Share one way the celebration of Easter has renewed your hope this year. Give thanks to God for the work done among you through the weeks of Lent and the journey through Holy Week. Praise God for the hope we have in the risen Lord. (Refer to your notes on the bottom of the pages or at the back of this guide.)

10 APPENDIX GIVE UP, TAKE UP Make notes on what God invites you and your group to Give Up and Take Up during the weeks of Lent. Pray Support one another in regard to these things. Watch for how your lives are being transformed. Celebrate this at Easter!

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12 Published for Small Groups by Brenda Norton, Director of Community Life at First Presbyterian Church, Spokane 38 S Cedar St, Spokane WA Available online at