week of 6/14

Unit 22  Session 2

THE HOMETOWN REJECTED

Luke 4:16-30

 

Key Concept:

Jesus' identity and the gospel message can lead to rejection.

Luke 4 contains a couple of well-known milestones in Jesus' ministry, such as Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Then Jesus began His ministry in Galilee. Based upon the parallels from the other Gospel accounts, Jesus had already called His disciples and performed miracles at this time. His reputation and authority were spreading amongst the Jewish people. The people in Jesus' hometown of Nazareth, however, would have their own opinion on this matter.

As you examine Luke 4:16-30:

 

✞   Note that Jesus identified Himself as the Anointed One Whom Isaiah said would preach 

    good news and set the captives free.

✞   Reflect that Jesus' hometown questioned His identity and authority after He preached 

    grace for Gentiles.

week of 6/7

 Unit 22  Session 1

THE OFFICIAL BELIEVED

john 4:46-54

 

Key Concept:

Faith includes believing in Jesus' authority and power.

After Jesus met with the woman at the well in Samaria, she believed Jesus was the Messiah and told the people in her town. Many people in Samaria believed in Jesus as the Messiah. Two days later, Jesus resumed His travels in Galilee. While in Cana, He was stopped by an official who was in great distress because his son was at death's door. Yet his son was in Capernaum, roughly twenty-five miles away. Jesus revealed His authority over sickness in a way that showed His Messiahship.

As you examine John 4:46-54:

 

✞   Reflect that Jesus is compassionate even when people look for signs to believe.

✞   Emphasize that faith is believing without seeing, but seeing leads to deeper faith.

week of 5/31

Unit 21  Session 5

WATER TO LIVING WATER

john 4:7-11, 13-15, 19-23, 25-26

 

Key Concept:

Jesus came to give eternal life to all who believe in and worship Him.

In John 3, Jesus revealed to Nicodemus that belief in Jesus' death to pay for sins was required to enter the kingdom of God. In John 4, Jesus revealed to a non-Jewish woman with a sinful past that religious tribalism had no place in His mission to redeem sinners. Though Jews and Samaritans generally steered clear of one another, Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman who needed the eternal satisfaction only He could bring.

As you examine John 4:7-11, 13-15, 19-23, 25-26:

 

✞   Identify how Jesus crossed societal boundaries to share the gift of eternal life.

✞   Consider Jesus' assertion that true worship involves worshiping in Spirit and truth.

week of 5/24

Unit 21  Session 4

HEAVEN TO EARTH

john 3:25-36

 

Key Concept:

Belief involves acknowledging the supremacy of Jesus.

Jesus began to attract a crowd after His first miracle and driving out the money changers in the temple. Not long after meeting with Nicodemus, Jesus and His disciples went out to preach the message of the kingdom. Jesus and John the Baptist found themselves baptizing in the same vicinity with crowds flocking to each. John the Baptist's disciples questioned Jesus' rise in prominence, and John took that moment to explain that true joy comes from glorifying Jesus, the Son of God.

As you examine John 3:25-36:

 

✞   Note that John understood that he was the messenger, not the Messiah.

✞   Recognize that believers lift up Jesus and humble themselves so that He gets the glory.

week of 5/16

 Unit 21  Session 3

BIRTH TO REBIRTH

john 3:5-8, 14-21

 

Key Concept:

Salvation requires being born again by the Holy Spirit and believing in Jesus Christ.

Early in Jesus' public ministry, large crowds followed Him. Yet their faith was inadequate. They were interested in Jesus - particularly in the miracles He performed - but not committed to Him. Because of their shallow faith, Jesus did not "entrust Himself" to them (John 2:24). Jesus' conversation with a man named Nicodemus in John 3 explains what true, saving faith in Jesus truly entails.

As you examine John 3:5-8, 14-21:

 

✞   Note that being born again of the Spirit is necessary for 

    entering the kingdom of God.

✞   Meditate on God's gift that believing Jesus died on the

    cross for our sins results in eternal life.

week of 5/10

Unit 21  Session 2

WORSHIP TO ZEAL

john 2:13-22

 

Key Concept:

Jesus has the authority to purify all things because it all belongs to Him.

Jesus performed many more miracles than were recorded in the Gospels (John 20:30-31), though Jesus' earthly ministry was more than a series of miraculous signs. Jesus demonstrated He is the Son of God in other ways too, including His driving out the vendors from the temple. John recorded an earlier temple cleansing than the one recorded by the other Gospel writers that took place during the week prior to His crucifixion. In this earlier incident, everyone who witnessed the event recognized that Jesus asserted authority like no other teacher of the law.

As you examine John 2:13-22:

 

✞   Recognize that the temple, where God dwelled with His people,

    had become a place of business and greed as opposed to a 

    place of worship.

✞   Dwell on the fact that Jesus pointed to His future death and 

    resurrection as a sign of His authority for His actions.

week of 5/3

Unit 21  Session 1

WATER TO WINE

john 2:1-11

 

Key Concept:

Jesus' power over creation reveals His divine glory and our only hope for salvation.

The prologue to John's Gospel declared Jesus to be God (1:1), the One through Whom all things were created (1:3), and the revelation of the Father's glory (1:14). Then John recounted John the Baptist's witness (1:19-34) and Jesus' calling of His first disciples (1:35-51). Turning water into wine was Jesus' first miraculous sign recounted in John's Gospel. The site of this first miracle, Cana, was a town in the region of Galilee near Jesus' hometown of Nazareth. This episode marked the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.

As you examine John 2:1-11:

 

✞   Contemplate that while the Father's will was Jesus' first priority,

    He also met the needs of others.

✞   Recognize that this miracle revealed Jesus' glory and further

    convinced His disciples to believe in Him.