HTDO- Who is Jesus?

Icebreaker:
1- Go around the room and ask someone to list off 3 words to answer the question, “Who is (your name)?”

2- Ask people to give their top 3 words that come to mind when you ask the question “Who is Jesus?”

Transition:
When a church does a doctrine series like, “Hills to Die On,” most people assume that the questions and teaching are geared toward helping Christians learn how to tell people who Jesus really is.  Yet oftentimes, the people that need a reminder of who Jesus really is are the people that claim to know him the best: Christians and church people.


READ John 4:43-54

3- What are some of the common misconceptions you hear religious/church people and Christians say when they answer the question “Who is Jesus?”  (i.e., did not live a sinless life, wasn’t born of a virgin, didn’t really die, was just a good person, was a prophet but not the Son of God).

4- Does it surprise you that in the Bible it was the ungodly, non-religious, lost people (like the Samaritans) that loved being around Jesus, while the religious people often hated him and didn’t want him around?

5- Why does it seem so different today, that non-Christians really don’t like to be around church people and others that typically call themselves Christians?


In a bold statement in vs 48, Jesus seems to ask if they are more interested in what Jesus can do FOR them instead of a desire for Jesus himself?  

Put another way, are they more interested in the miracles than they are the messiah?  More interested in him changing your situation than being your savior?

6- What are the signs that your belief and trust in Jesus is built mainly on his “performance” in your life?  What are the signs that your belief and trust are rooted in something more than that?


Oftentimes God will focus on changing your MIND before He focuses on changing your SITUATION. He’s going to change your HEART and SOUL before He changes your CIRCUMSTANCES.

God can bail you out in life by changing your situation, but if in the process your heart and mind doesn’t change, then you’ll find yourself back in the same situation again.  Why?  Because even though your circumstances changed, YOU didn’t change.  And if you don’t change, then nothing changes.


7- How has God changed your heart and mind in the past, even before any of your life’s circumstances changed?


READ 5:1-16

Despite the man never being able to be the first into the pool, Jesus heals him.  He didn’t earn it and didn’t deserve it.

8- Do you struggle with the concept of grace (freely receiving something you didn’t deserve?)  Do you like for things to be fair in life, for people to get what they deserve?  Or are you ok with “freebies”?


Despite being healed, it seems like the man doesn’t thank Jesus, and even throws Jesus under the bus when the church leaders ask him why he’s breaking the rules of the Sabbath.  He seemed to be so nonchalant about the healing that he didn’t even get Jesus’ name after he was healed.

9- How do people today (especially Christians) show a lack of gratitude for the grace they have received from God?


Sometimes it’s easier to focus on the things we DON’T have in life as opposed to the things that God has already done for us and given us.  

10- Why is it so easy to lose sight of things like the freedom, forgiveness, life, and salvation that God has given us and so easy to focus on the areas of our lives where God hasn’t moved or answered yet?


The religious leaders were so caught up in following the rules, living a good life, being a good person, and knowing the right things, that they totally missed who Jesus actually was.

11- Do you struggle with being a rule follower?  What’s the danger in your relationship with God having a foundation of just doing, saying, and obeying the right things?


ADDITIONAL STUDY:

FAMILY DISCIPLESHIP QUESTIONS:
(Here’s a way you can take the story of John 4 home and make disciples in your home)

1. Act out the story as a family, each person portraying one of the characters (the sick son, the official, Jesus, and the servants). Afterward, discuss the story. Who had the best job?

2. Together, think of some individuals you know who are sick. Take time to pray for them. Remind your children that God’s timing may not be ours and there is healing in the resurrection.

3. Ask your family: Are there times when we get frustrated by Jesus— when he does not seem to listen or give us what we want? How can we overcome our lack of faith? Do we remember God’s answers to prayer? Make a list of recent answers to prayer (like healing from a cold or safety in travel).

4. What does this story tell us about Jesus?

5. How can this story encourage us when we experience sad or hard things?

6. What do the invalid’s actions tell us about his faith in Jesus? Together, think through what it might look like for your family to live with that kind of bold faith.


APPLICATION
1. Spend time sharing ways God has answered prayers in your life. Share both the answers you received in joy and those that were difficult to receive.

2. Write down at least three prayers you would like God to answer. Begin praying over these requests with desperation, consistency, confidence, and hope. Be sure to track your thoughts throughout this time of prayer by journaling and/or confiding in someone you trust.

3. Take time to do a self-assessment. What has God saved you from? What has he saved you to? Evaluate how you are doing in following Jesus’s command to, “Sin no more.”

4. In what area(s) of your life do you need healing? Pray to the God who has ultimate authority. Pray for healing, but also ask that he would sustain your faith through the hardship—even if ultimate healing does not occur in this life.