The House You're Building

Key Verse:    So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” (John 7:28-29 ESV)   In Luke 12:51 Christ says He came not to bring peace to earth but division.   He also says in John 14:27 that He leaves his people with peace, to have untroubled hearts.   Later in John 16:33, He says that when we are scattered, His words will give our hearts peace.   So the division he brings is not emotional, but a separation of who is His and who is not.   Matt 25:32 says:      Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed b...

Key Verse:   “ I am the living bread that came down from heaven.   If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.   This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”   John 6:51 (NIV)   Jesus gave His life on earth so that we can live.   All that He asks in return is that we believe in Him.   In the second half of John 6, Jesus tells the Jews, His Disciples, and us how to do this – by eating His flesh and drinking His blood (v. 53).   Jesus is speaking metaphorically, yet the Pharisees and many of Jesus’ followers didn’t understand and therefore rejected His message.   As you study this week, please reflect on Jesus’ words. Think about your own response to Jesus’ message regarding His flesh and blood.   Reflect on how He was sacrificed so that you may truly live.     Read John 6:41-71   ·          Jesus makes several references to God c...

Key Verse of the Week :   “Jesus said to them:   ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’”   John 6:35 (ESV) Why do we seek temporary, immediate satisfaction from things on earth when Jesus provides everything we need and will do so for eternity?   This week’s passage illustrates how we can see the miracles that Jesus performs – even accept His gifts – and still not understand the depth of what Jesus provides for us.   As you read the first half of John chapter 6 (vv. 1-40), reflect on your own understanding of what Jesus provides for you.   What do you seek Him for?   Do you seek Him for the temporary or the eternal? Read John 6:1-40 and Exodus 16:4-15, 35 ·          Answer the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) about the two signs that Jesus performs in this section of chapter 6.   What was the people’s response ...

Key Verse of the Week: For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:21-24 ESV) Oh the compassion of Jesus! In chapter 5 of John we see the priorities of our Savior.   Despite the religiosity around Him and the disapproval of those who cared more about their own rules than the heart of God, He heals.   Jesus saw a man, lying there, lame and cripple for 38 years.   A friendless man with no one to help him.   His loneliness and lack of hope had been with him a long time.   So Jesus asks, “ Do you want to get well (v6) .”   Do you want ...

Key Verse of the Week: John 4:13-14 (ESV) Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Our culture is obsessed with self-satisfaction.   Feeling the emptiness of life without Christ, many turn to sex, beauty, food, academic accomplishment, wealth, power, or fame to feel complete.   Those things cannot satisfy because we are not able to feel satisfied by idolatry.   Idolatry is seeking anything besides God, hoping it will satisfy and bring peace.   I’ve heard it said that sin always overpromises and underdelievers.   This can be said for the craving inside to feel peace and significance.   Think carefully, has it ever worked?   Has the result of chasing after temporary things ever brought about meaning in your life?   Or does it quic...