God Loves Freely

Relevant Verses: Zephaniah 3, Luke 15, Psalm 146, Romans 5 Theme: To Be Pleasing to God Leading Question: Which is our more serious challenge: Convincing arrogant sinners to abandon their arrogance, or convincing repentant sinners in their chagrined and depressed condition, that God really is eager to accept them? This week’s memory text, Zephaniah 3:17, is a good place to start this week’s discussion: Zephaniah 3:17: The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.” As the official study guide comments: “Zephaniah 3:17 ...

Relevant Verses: Genesis 6, 9, 15; Deuteronomy 7; Jeremiah 31, Psalm 136 Theme: Covenantal Love Leading Question: “How does the idea of covenant help us understand the word “love”? Our lesson speaks of “covenantal love.” Just what does that mean? Comment: Where we live there is a “covenant” which spells out what can be built and what cannot be built in our neighborhood. Does the restriction which such a word imply enrich or impoverish our understanding of love? In the early chapters of Genesis, the word “covenant” appears several times. The first instance is in Genesis 6, just before the great flood: Gen. 6:17-22: ...

Relevant Verses: Exodus 33; Hosea 14; Matthew 22 Theme: God Loves Freely Leading Question: Given all that we know about the human race and about ourselves, is it “reasonable” to expect that God should love us? Our lessons this quarter juxtapose the concepts of God’s love and justice. Here are some crucial questions that help us address the tension between his love and his justice: Which is the more pressing question for us: Can I love God? Or: Can God love me? What drives each question? Perhaps the more sensitive and devout person would be the one to raise the question: Can God ...

Relevant Verses: John 21 Theme: Knowing Jesus Leading Question: What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? Question: Can you think of any events in your life that seemed bad at the time but in hindsight were meaningful? The last chapter in the Gospel of John contains Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on the shores of the Sea of Tiberius. One recognizes here multiple resonances with themes occurring throughout the Gospel. The disciples have returned to their job of fishing, and it is into the ordinariness of daily life that the resurrected Jesus reveals himself. The Gospel provides a list of ...

Relevant Verses: John 18:33–19:5; 19:17–27; 20:1–18 Theme: The Crucified and the Risen Jesus In his book Night, Elie Wiesel describes a scene from the concentration camp in Auschwitz: One day, as we returned from work, we saw three gallows, three black ravens, erected on the Appelplatz. Roll call. The SS surrounding us, machine guns aimed at us: the usual ritual. Three prisoners in chains – and, among them, the little pipel, the sad-eyed angel. The SS seemed more preoccupied, more worried, than usual. To hang a child in front of thousands of onlookers was not a small matter. The head of the ...

Relevant Verses: John 14:10, 24; 16:7–11; 17:1–26 Theme: Inseparable Companionship Leading Question: What is your preferred way of thinking about the Trinity? John's Gospel has been a significant source for the Christian doctrine of the Trinity from the patristic period to the present. The Fourth Gospel cintains the most comprehensive raw material for this doctrine, but also the most highly developed patterns of reflection about the oneness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus’ Farewell Speech in John 14–16 is especially rich in this regard. After Jesus’ response to Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one ...

Relevant Verses: John 14:1–6 Theme: Jesus, the Only Way Leading Question: How do we know the way to God? In postmodern times, one of the most important discussions in Christianity is whether salvation, or soteriology (soteria in Greek means "salvation"), is particular or universal. Is salvation only through Christ? If there are other ways to reach up to the Father, then why did the Son have to come and die? Interestingly, the Gospel of John is the most important source for this very question about Christian particularity or universalism. In John 14:6, we read that no one can come to the Father ...

Relevant Verses: John 1:4, 12, 13; 6:61-68; 10:10; 14:6 Theme: Life in Abundance Leading Question: What metaphor do you like to use to describe life? The Gospel of John begins with God as the life-giver: times. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of all people.(John 1:4 NRSV) The theme of life appears with the Greek word zoe 36 times in John’s narrative and uses word pictures or metaphoric language to describe “life” and “eternal life” like, light, a well of fresh water, bread, Jesus’ flesh, Jesus’ blood, and Jesus’ words. In John 6:1-15, Jesus takes five loaves of bread and multiplies ...

Relevant Verses: John 5:17, 20, 36–40, 46, 47; 8:12–30 Theme: The Father’s Testimony Leading Question: Have you ever waited for something important to happen and it felt like a life time? Healing on Sabbath (John 5)There were many who were sick—the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed—all aying at the pool gate of Bethesda. The man who was ill for 38 years was singled out. The length of time that the man has been ill, in the context of a human life span in the first century, suggests that he has been sick virtually his entire life. This includes his life-long dependance ...

Relevant Verses: John 8:54–58; 12:1–8; 19:4–22; 20:19– 31 Theme: Signs Faith versus Blessed Faith Leading Question: What do you need to believe? The tension between signs faith and belief without having seen is a curious one in John’s Gospel. On one hand, Jesus’ sings are featured with prominence in order that people might believe that Jesus is the Messiah. On the other hand, Jesus rebukes the seeking of signs, and those who believe without having seen are considered blessed. The Anointing of JesusThe anointing of Jesus, like previous sign acts in the Gospel of John, is described in a single verse, indicating that ...