MISSION GROUP QUESTIONS FROM JOHN: 7 Words + 7 Signs - 5/10/09

This week we started our series in the Gospel of John by looking at the first 'word' that Jesus gives about himself - I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE (John 6.35)

Jesus feeds the 5000, walks on water and then gives his famous discourse about being THE bread of life (with lots of allusions to him being the “new and better Moses”).

This is how the discussion goes

vs 25-27: The crowds say “fill our bellies again….give us your blessing” - Jesus replies “I have something eternal to offer you”

vs28-29: The crowds say “what must we do…so you’ll give us what we want” - Jesus replies “your work is to believe”

vs30-36: The crowds say “give us another sign like Moses did…..give us bread” - Jesus replies “I am THE bread come down from my father”

The crowds reveal that they don’t want Jesus they want his blessings, they don’t want the giver they want the gift, they don’t look to where the sign points to, they just want more signs! And yet since Jesus taught this in the synagogue (vs69), he is actually addressing God’s people - we all do this everyday.

And here is the fruit of someone that doesn’t go to God to ‘get God’ but goes to God for his blessings

(1) Dry Prayer life

(2) Inability to handles suffering resulting in

—- anger towards God
—- jealousy of other
—- self-pity

To move from a bargaining relationship to a love relationship we have to see that “the bread was broken for you” - that has to melt your heart and captivate you. You need to see he could not have given us a greater or more costly gift - he gave us himself.

Reflecting on similar themes John Piper has said “The fight of faith is the fight to keep your heart contented in Christ – to really believe and keep on believing that he really will meet every need and satisfy every longing”.

Reflection and Questions for Application

(1) Sing some songs that talk about just wanting God because he is our greatest treasure - e.g “As the deer pants for the water.”

(2) Meditate on Psalm 84 and Psalm 27.1-4 - use these Psalms to praise God and seek more of him.

(3) Share communion together and thank Jesus that he was broken so you could have life.

(4) When and why do you go to God to get things from God rather than just to get God?

(5) How do you balance going to God as a child who asks their father for good things (as Jesus taught us to pray) without entering into a bargaining relationship with him?

(6) Where do you see the fruit of a bargaining relationship in your life? - reflect on the 4 negative fruits above

(7) How do you react when God doesn’t answer prayers the way you had hoped? Why? How does Jesus giving himself for you help you trust him when life is tough?

(8) How can you (corporately and individually) help each other cultivate a love relationship with God? What helps you keep him at the centre for you?

(9) What does the “fight of faith” look like for you week to week and how can you win it?

photo credit: tschörda