Introduction
This year, we have decided to cover the Gospel of John. This is an exciting time for us and this is undoubtedly a great book. This book has a lot of depth to it. Yet, it is used to introduce new Christians into a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Never the less, this book is more then a Christian-premier. John contains some very deep theological concepts and some very simple truths.When we compare the Gospel of John to the other Gospels we find that it stands out like no other book. The other Gospels are considered to be synoptic. That is to say they give a general view of the life of our Lord. The Gospel of John, on the other hand, centers on the Deity of Christ. Of course, that is not to say that Christ is not deified in the other Gospels. He is. But, for the Gospel of John, this is the central theme.
The Gospel of John has been called “a different Gospel”.
Some background:
+ John was the son of a fisherman named Zebedee, and his mother’s name was Salome (see Mt. 27:56, Mk 15:40, Mk 16:1).
+ He is also called the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (the beloved).
+ He had a brother named James (Mt 4:21, Mt 4:22; Mk 1:19, Mk 1:20; Lk 5:1-10)
+ John was an “un-learned” man (Acts 4:13) but never the less gave us this remarkable book as a true miracle of God.
+ It is the Church tradition that John died in exile on the Island of Patmos off of Greece where he died around 98AD.
+ It is also tradition that this Gospel was written after the other Gospels were finished.
+ This had been called “The Spiritual Gospel”, “The Gospel if Incarnation” and “The Gospel of Love”.
+ John paints Jesus as the Great Comforter.
+ As a historical book John was an eye witness to the events around Jesus.
According to Scofield reference notes:
The book is in seven natural divisions:
1. Prologue: The eternal Word incarnate in Jesus the Christ (John 1:1-14).
2. The witness of John the Baptist (John 1:15-34).
3. The public ministry of Christ (John 1:35 - 12:50).
4. The private ministry of Christ to His own (John 13:1 - 17:26).
5. The sacrifice of Christ (John 18:1 - 19:42).
6. The manifestation of Christ in resurrection (John 20:1-31).
7. Epilogue: Christ the Master of life and service (John 21:1-25).
* Our task is to divvy out the leading of our weekly meeting.
* Each week we should agree to focus on a particular section in John.
* We should post our notes on the blog.
* Do not expose personal information on your blog entries.
* Do not gossip on the blog.
* Be as professional as possible.
* We should try to be prepared and not be scared or intimidated if we are not.
* Share from our own experience.
* Ask questions and lead discussion that leads us to a deeper understanding of this Gospel and mostly how it applies to our life.
Questions:
1. What are some of the goals you have for this year?
2. What are some of the goals you have for this group?
3. How can we achieve those goals?
4. Name one story in John that has impacted you most?
5. Name some friends that we as a group can pray for?
6. Is there anyone we know we would like to invite to our group?
Home work:
Read first chapter and answer the following questions:
1. Who does John say Jesus is? Describe what it means to you that He is the Beginning, the Word, and the Light.
2. Who was John the Baptist?
3. Who were the first disciples? Describe the person Nathaniel.
posted by Ray Andrade @ 3:06 PM
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