How can we be freed from sin?
John 8:31-36
31 So Jesus said to those who believed in him, If you obey my teaching, you are really my disciples; 32 you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
33 We are the descendants of Abraham, they answered, and we have never been anybody's slaves. What do you mean, then, by saying, You will be free?
34 Jesus said to them, I am telling you the truth: everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35 A slave does not belong to a family permanently, but a son belongs there forever. 36 If the Son sets you free, then you will be really free.
1. What do you think Jesus meant when he said: “everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” (v. 34)?
2. What does it mean to be free from the slavery of sin?
3. Jesus tells us that the truth will set us free from the slavery of sin. What do you think is this truth?
4. Jesus also tells us that the Son sets us free. Who is the Son and how do you think he sets us free from the slavery of sin?
Jesus is greater than Abraham
John 8:51-59
51 I am telling you the truth: whoever obeys my teaching will never die.
52 They said to him, Now we know for sure that you have a demon! Abraham died, and the prophets died, yet you say that whoever obeys your teaching will never die. 53 Our father Abraham died; you do not claim to be greater than Abraham, do you? And the prophets also died. Who do you think you are?
54 Jesus answered, If I were to honor myself, that honor would be worth nothing. The one who honors me is my Father—the very one you say is your God. 55 You have never known him, but I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see the time of my coming; he saw it and was glad.
57 They said to him, You are not even fifty years old—and you have seen Abraham?
58 I am telling you the truth, Jesus replied. Before Abraham was born, I Am.
59 Then they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and left the Temple.
5. In v. 51, Jesus says: “I am telling you the truth: whoever obeys my teaching will never die.” What do you think he means?
6. In v. 37, Jesus says: “I know you are Abraham's descendants.” Who is Abraham? Why do the people—the Israelites—call him their “father”? Why was he so respected?
7. At the end of the video, Jesus says: “Before Abraham was born, I Am.” What do you think this means? Why do you think the crowd got so mad?
Exodus 3:13-15
13Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
8. What did we learn about Jesus this week?
Friday, December 9, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Jesus is the Light
Read John 8:1-12
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until on Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Discussion:
Word meanings: circle the words you do not know and discuss
1. Why did the Pharisees bring this woman to Jesus? What exactly was the trap?
2. What did the Mosaic Law demand when someone was charged with adultery (read Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22)
3. What did Jesus do in verse 6? Why do you think Jesus did that?
4. How did Jesus turn the question back on the accusers? (verse 7)
5. How does Jesus show both justice and mercy in verse 11?
6. Jesus says he is the “light of the world”. What do you think is the connection between light and life? How might this apply to the story we just read?
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until on Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” 12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Discussion:
Word meanings: circle the words you do not know and discuss
1. Why did the Pharisees bring this woman to Jesus? What exactly was the trap?
2. What did the Mosaic Law demand when someone was charged with adultery (read Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22)
3. What did Jesus do in verse 6? Why do you think Jesus did that?
4. How did Jesus turn the question back on the accusers? (verse 7)
5. How does Jesus show both justice and mercy in verse 11?
6. Jesus says he is the “light of the world”. What do you think is the connection between light and life? How might this apply to the story we just read?
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