9.13.20 Huddle–BECAUSE 2020 Week 3

Zach Below   -   September 13, 2020

INTRO QUESTION

  1. Have you ever been lost . . . like really lost? Have you been lost and waited too long to admit it? Share a story.

 

 

LESSON INTRO

This lesson kicks off week 3 of our BECAUSE 2020 series. This series is all about worship. We are asking questions like, What is worship? Why do we worship with music? And why do we worship Jesus? Today we are going to continue examining that last question, why do we worship Jesus, by continuing to look at what is perhaps Jesus’s most controversial statement about his identity.

 

 

BIBLE ENGAGEMENT—READ JOHN 14:1-6

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a];believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

 

 

QUESTIONS

  1. How is this statement from Jesus about being the way different than other religions?

 

Leader Note: Most, if not all other religions claims about “the way” are made up or steps or actions to follow over the years to somehow achieve or find “the way”. Jesus is the only religious leader not to point to some path or way but to point himself . . . to say “I am the way.”  

 

 

THREE AREAS OF JESUS IDENTITY THAT SHOWS HE IS THE WAY

On Sunday, Bret gave us three areas of Jesus’s identity that points to him being the way.

 

#1 Jesus is the way because . . . His Life is Revelation

 

#2 Jesus is the way because . . . His Death is Substitution

 

#3 Jesus is the way because . . . His Resurrection is Confirmation

 

 

QUESTIONS

  1. In this week’s text, Jesus says, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” Hebrews point to this as well. Read Hebrews 1:1-2. With these passages in mind, what does the following quotation mean . . . “When you look at Jesus, you are looking at who God is and what he is really about?

 

  1. How do these passages answer the question, How can I know what God is like?

 

  1. When you thought of heaven as a kid, what did you picture?

 

Leader note: This question will lead into the next one. We are using it to try to move beyond the idea that the classic caricature of heaven as perfect place, where everything is perfect . . . you hit a home run every time you swing the bat. Everything you eat is your favorite, etc. But first, we have to paint that picture of the classic caricature.

 

  1. In our John passage, Jesus doesn’t say “no one gets to heaven except through me.” He says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” This points to a relationship over a location. How is the idea of heaven as a perfect relationship with God different than the picture of heaven as some kind of perfect place?

 

  1. Why would/should you consider Jesus raising from the dead a confirmation of Him being the way?

 

  1. Do you agree or disagree with the following quote from apologist and historian Michael Licona: “You always have to remember, If the resurrection is real, Christianity is true . . . period.” Why or why not?

 

 

  1. Which do you struggle more with accepting . . . 1) Jesus as the revelation of God, 2) Jesus as your substitute, or Jesus’s resurrection? Why do you think that is?

 

 

OPTIONAL STUDY—A SHORT STUDY ON THOMAS

The apostle Thomas doesn’t speak up many times in the gospels, but when he does it is always interesting. In this activity, we are going to look at a few quick instances where Thomas speaks up and try to get an idea of what he is like. Look at all three together or break down into smaller groups, each group taking one. The first one comes from the passage we have been studying the last few weeks in what is perhaps Jesus’s most controversial statement about His identity.

 

  1. John 14:1-6

 

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a];believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

 

 

  1. John 11:11-14

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

 

  1. John 20:24-29

 

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

 

20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me,I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

 

THOMAS EXERCISE QUESTIONS

  1. What are some things that stand out to you from these passages?

 

  1. How would you describe Thomas? If you were describing him to a friend based on these passages alone, how would you characterize him?

 

  1. Do you identify with Thomas at all? If so, how are you similar. If not, how are you different?

 

 

CLOSE IN PRAYER