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At a wedding in Cana, Jesus openly demonstrates a power over creation that only its Creator could have. John records; "What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which He revealed His glory..." this first sign reveals a love and concern for everyday people in their celebration. The next thing John records for us is Jesus' open demonstrationof His just anger at those who were corrupting God's house of worship withtheir greed and oppression. Jesus reveals a love and concern for God's peoplein their worship of Him.

As Jesus began his public ministry, John the Baptist introduced Him by declaring; “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” In one sentence he has summarized the reason Jesus came – to deal with mankind’s sin problem through His death on the cross.As He travels throughout the region, Jesus begins to call men to follow him. These men will become Jesus’ disciples, they will know Him intimately and join Him in His ministry and mission.

Jesus, who existed before all of time, came into a world immersed in sin and opposition to God. Though the world does not understand or appreciate or absorb the Light Jesus brings, it cannot overpower it!Out of the super-abundance of God’s grace and truth, we have received grace upon grace, favor upon favor, gift heaped upon gift in the person and work of Jesus Christ!Prepare for this week’s message by reading through and meditating on John 1:1-18.

Verses: Philippians 3:5-6, Acts 7:54-8:3, Acts 9:1-22, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, 1 Timothy 1:12-17, Philippians 3:7-10Main Point: God is mighty to save and graceful to pursue.Questions:1. What impacted you from this message? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God through the study of Paul?2. What details do you know about Paul’s life? Which details seem the most important to you?3. Read Philippians 3:5-6. How did Paul describe his religious background? Which things was he born into, and which things did he pursue? How could have Paul’s background created a barrier to following Jesus?4. Read Acts 7:54-8:3. What was Saul’s role at the Stephen’s stoning. What happened after Stephen was martyred? Describe Saul’s persecution of the early church?5. Read Acts 9:1-22. What was Saul doing at the beginning of this passage? How did the Lord get his attention? What did Jesus say to Saul? What would you have felt if you were in Saul’s place?6. What was Ananias’ response to

Main Point: The transformational love of Jesus softens and shapes the heart of His followers.Questions:What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God through the study of John?What details do you know about John’s life? Which details seem the most important to you?Read Mark 3:13-19. What name did Jesus give to James and John? What does it reveal about their personalities when they started following Jesus?Read Mark 10:35-45. What did James and John ask Jesus for? What was his response? What did the cup and baptism represent? How would James and John share in these things?Why were the other disciples angry with James and John? How did Jesus use this conflict to teach His disciples about the nature of servant leadership?Read Luke 9:51-56. How did the Jews and the Samaritans get along? How was this relationship reflected in James and John’s words? Why did Jesus rebuke them?Read Acts 8:14-17. How did things come full circle for John and the Sama

Verses: John 1:40-42, Luke 5:1-11, Matthew 14:22-33, Matthew 16:13-27, Luke 22:31-34, Luke 22:54-62, John 21:1-19, Acts 2:1-47Main Point: God uses our failures to grow us when we respond in love and trust.Questions:What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God through the study of Peter?What details do you know about Peter’s life? Which details seem the most important to you?Read John 1:40-42. What happened in these verses? What is significant about Jesus giving Simon the new name Peter?Read Luke 5:1-11. What do you learn about Jesus and Peter from these verses? What was Jesus doing when he told Simon to let down his nets? Why was Simon reluctant to let down his nets?How did Jesus get Simon’s attention through this miracle? What was Simon’s reaction? What did Jesus call Simon to do?Read Matthew 14:22-33. Describe the setting of this section of scripture? How did the men feel when they saw a man walking towards them on the water? What did J

Main Point: Our call to trust in God is rooted in His unchanging character.Questions:1. What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God’s character through the study of Mary?2. What details do you know about Mary’s life? Which details seem the most important to you?3. Read Luke 1:26-38. What details did Luke include about Mary in these verses? What do you notice most about Mary in her encounter with Gabriel? What does the angel say about God?4. What did the angel Gabriel say about Jesus and the role that Mary would play in His birth? How did Mary respond to the angel? What did this reveal about her faith?5. Read Luke 1:39-45. Why did it make sense for Mary to visit Elizabeth? How did Elizabeth’s baby (John the Baptist) respond to Mary? How did the Holy Spirit work in these verses?6. Why did Elizabeth call Mary blessed? How did Elizabeth refer to Mary’s baby?7. Read Luke 1:46-56. What can we learn about Mary’s faith from her prayer? What do w

Main Point: No matter how the situation may appear to us, God is faithfully working for our good.Questions:1. What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God’s character through the study of Esther?2. Read Esther Chapters 1-2. Who are the main people in these chapters? What happened between King Xerxes and Queen Vashti? What do we learn about Esther and Mordecai?3. How do you see God working in these chapters?4. Read Esther Chapters 3-5. How did Haman respond to Mordecai’s refusal to bow? How did this lead to the threat against all the Israelites?5. Read Esther 4:12-16. What does Mordecai’s statement reveal about the character of God? What did Mordecai say about God orchestration of Esther’s position as queen? What did Esther say in response?6. Read Esther 6-7. What happened in these chapters? What unexpected twists did Esther, Mordecai, and Haman experience? Did these things happen by coincidence?7. How do you see God’s orchestration in the

Main Point: Loving God provides clarity of purpose and courage to follow where He leads.Questions:1. What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouragedyou? What did you learn about God’s character through the study of Elijah?2. Read 1 Kings 17. Who was King Ahab? (See 1 Kings 16:29-33.) What does the author revealabout Elijah in this chapter? What is revealed about God and His character?3. How did Elijah interact with the widow and her son? How did God take care of His prophet andHis people?4. Read 1 Kings 18. Describe the confrontations in this chapter. Look at verse 21. What was theissue that Elijah raised to the people of Israel? Is this an issue that still exists for followers ofGod?5. How did the conflict between Elijah and the prophets of Baal go? What did God do to showHimself as greater than Baal? What happened to the people of Israel and the prophets ofBaal?6. Read 1 Kings 19. What is surprising about Elijah’s behavior after his confrontation with theprophets of Baal?

Main Point: Walking with God means failing forward and experiencing God’s fellowship andforgiveness.Questions:1. What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouragedyou? What did you learn about God’s character through the study of David?2. Read 1 Samuel 16. What happened to Saul that caused Samuel to anoint a new king? Whatdoes verse seven reveal about how God chose David? Why is the heart more important thanthe appearance?3. What is David’s role in Saul’s palace? How is David described in verse 18?4. Read 1 Samuel 17. What is happened in this chapter? Why wouldn’t anyone fight Goliath?What was at stake for the Israelite and Philistine armies? What was the reward for the soliderthat defeated Goliath?5. What was David’s motivation in fighting Goliath? What was David’s confidence?6. Read 2 Samuel 5. After many years of running from Saul, David eventually becomes King of aunited Israel. What did David do shortly after becoming King?7. Read 2 Samuel 6. Why is moving the Ark of the C

Main Point: God's providential care for His people demonstrates His lovingkindness.Questions:What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God’s character through the study of Ruth?Read Ruth Chapter 1. What was the situation at the beginning of the book of Ruth? Who were the main characters? What happened to the main character?How do you see God working in Naomi and Ruth’s friendship? How did Ruth express her commitment to Naomi and Naomi’s God? (See Ruth 1:16-18)Read Ruth Chapter 2. What does the writer of Ruth tell us about Boaz in this chapter? What examples of his character does the reader get from this text?How did God move in this chapter? What examples of God’s providential care are in this chapter?Read Ruth Chapter 3. What did Naomi tell Ruth to do in this chapter? Why was this a dangerous plan? How did Boaz respond to Ruth?What did Boaz commit to doing for Ruth? What did it mean to redeem Ruth? What stood in Boaz’s way?Read Ruth Chapt

Main Point: God will deliver His people in unexpected ways.Questions:1. What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God’s character through the study of Deborah’s life?2. Read Judges 4:1-3. What is the situation at the beginning of this chapter? How does this reflect the larger state of the nation of Israel in the book of Judges?3. What people are introduced in these verses? Why did the people cry out to God?4. Read Judges 4:4-12. How did God use Deborah in these verses? What was unique about Deborah? What was Barak’s response to God’s command spoken through Deborah?5. Both sides gathered their forces for battle. Where does the battle take place?6. Read Judges 4:14-24. What happened in the battle between Barak and Sisera? Where did Sisera run to escape Barak’s army? How does Jael greet him?7. How did Jael take care of Sisera? How did this fulfill what Deborah said? Why was Jael an unlikely hero?8. Read Judges 4:14-24. Judges chapter 5 is a p

Main Point: God works through His people as they trust in Him.Questions:1. What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God’s character through the study of Moses’ life?2. Read Exodus 1. How did the dynamics shift between the time of Joseph to the time of the current Pharoah in this passage? What was Pharoah’s wicked plan for getting rid of the Hebrews?3. Read Exodus 2. What were the circumstances that Moses was born into? What huge risk did his mother and sister take? How can you see God’s orchestration of events in this chapter?4. How did Moses respond to the mistreatment of the Hebrew by the Egyptian? Why did he flee?5. Read Exodus 3. Describe Moses’ encounter with God through the burning bush. How would you have reacted if you were in Moses’ place? What did God say to Moses? What was Moses’ response to God?6. Read Exodus 7-11. In these chapters, God used Moses to confront Pharoah and demand that Pharoah let the Israelites go. How did Phar

Main Point: Responding to adversity with trust and integrity honors God.Questions:What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God’s character through the study of Joseph’s life.Read Genesis 37. What do you notice about Israel’s family dynamics in this chapter? What did Joseph dream about? Why did his family resent his dreams? What did his brothers do to him? What do you think Joseph might be feeling during this time?Read Genesis 39-41. Why did Potiphar put Joseph in charge of his household? What temptation did he face? What did he say when he was tempted? (See Gen 39:8-10)How did Joseph display integrity in the face of adversity in chapter 39?What happened to Joseph in prison? How does his ability to interpret dreams get him out of prison? How old was Joseph when he was put in charge of Egypt? How did he respond to the impending drought?Read Genesis 42-47. How did Joseph get his brothers to bring whole family down to Egypt? Why was it so har

Main Point: Through faith God gives us a new identity to live into.Questions:1. What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouragedyou? What did you learn about the God’s character through the study of Jacob’s life.2. Read Genesis 25:19-34. What were the circumstances surrounding Jacob and Esau’s birth?What is the significance of their names?3. What did Jacob get his brother to do? Why was was the birthright so important?4. Read Genesis 27. This is a tragic account of deception, favoritism, and broken relationships.What did Rebekah do to help Jacob? How did Esau react when he discovered he had lost hisbirthright?5. How would you describe Jacob’s character at this point in the narrative?6. Read Genesis 29:1-30:22. Who deceived Jacob in this section of the story? Under whatcircumstances did Jacob marry Rachel and Leah?7. What was the relationship like between Jacob, Rachel, and Leah? Why were children soimportant? How did the names Leah gave her children change as she had more chi

Main Point: Growing faith requires trusting God when we don’t understand.Questions:What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God’s character through the study of Abraham’s life?Read Genesis 12. What promise did God make to Abram? How old was Abram? What kind of faith would it take to do what Abram did?Why did Abram lie to Pharoah about his relationship with Sarai? What does this show us about Abram?Read Genesis 15. In this chapter, God made a covenant with Abram, and promised him a male heir. What do we read about faith in Genesis 15:6? Why is this significant? What is symbolic about the ceremony that takes place in this chapter? What does this reveal about the Covenant God makes with Abram?Read Genesis 16. Abram and Sarai grew impatient and took matters into their own hands. What happened? What were the consequences of Abram having son with Hagar?Read Genesis 18:1-15. God fulfilled his promise to Abram and sent messengers to let him know.

Questions:1. What things come to mind in Paul’s proclamation of circumstances? How does this section connect with Philippians 4:4-9?2. Read Philippians 3:4-14Paul lists a series of accomplishments and points of pride but then says he considers them loss for the sake of Christ. What does that mean?3. What has Paul not yet taken a hold of in verse 13? How does that motivate him to do the things that he’s instructing others and that he himself feels called towards?4. What does Paul mean “forgetting what is behind”? How doing so help him to press forward towards his goal or vice versa?5. What barrier to contentment is greatest in your life right now? Self, hardship, or materialism? How can Paul’s instruction inform your outlook or help in overcoming it?6. Paul places the full weight of his contentment at the feet of Jesus. Why is this such an important part of contentment and how can we follow his example in our own lives?7. How does Paul’s commentary on contentment, wealth, and possessions in 1 Timothy 6:6-19 co

Main Point: Contentment is active and rooted in trust and fulfillment in ChristQuestions:Define contentment in your life. How do you view it? Is it a joyful assessment of reality, a choice to ignore hard or difficult things, a “settling” with what you have, or something else?What would you say has informed that understanding of contentment? (Family history, cultural standards, faith, etc.)What comes to mind when Paul says rejoice in verse 4? Do you often rejoice? Why or why not?What connection does Paul make between prayer and peace in verses 6-7? What elements of prayer does he present?Do you practice those elements of prayer? Is your prayer life oriented more around your circumstances, yourself, your creator, or a mix?What role do you think Paul’s call to action in verses 8-9 plays in contentment and rooting ourselves in Christ rather than “things” (circumstances, possessions, etc.)?What is something lovely, praiseworthy, or excellent that God has given you this week?What is one thing you can do this week t

Main Point: We will inherit an unshakable Kingdom.Questions:1. What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? What did you learn about God’s character in the passage studied?2. Read Hebrews 12:25-29. What strikes you about this passage? What words do you notice? In your own words, what is the main message of these verses?3. What is the author of Hebrews calling his readers to do? How should we respond?4. Read Hebrews 12:25. What is the author warning the reader not to do? What comparison does he make? What happened when the people refused God speaking through Moses? What will happen when people refuse to listen to Jesus?5. Read Hebrews 12:26-27. God shook the Earth at Mt. Sinai and promises He will shake the Earth again. What is different about the final shaking?6. What things can be shaken and what things can’t be shaken? What perspective does this provide about the material world?7. Read Hebrews 12:28-29. What confidence do these verses give the follower of Christ? H

Main Point: Through the work of Jesus, we can approach God with joy and without fear.Questions:1. What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouragedyou? What did you learn about the character of God in the passage studied?2. Read Hebrews 12:18-24. What are the two places being compared in these verses? Beyondthe physical locations, what other things are being compared in these verses?3. What words, feelings, and emotions are characteristic of Mount Sinai? What words, feelings,and emotions are characteristic of Mount Zion?4. Read Hebrews 12:18-21. What event is the author of Hebrews describing? (See Exodus 19-20 for reference.) Why are the people afraid?5. What does this passage communicate about the holiness of God? Why is understanding theholiness of God important to understanding God’s character?6. How does understanding God’s holiness help us to understand the significance of the sacrificeof Jesus on the cross? How does it help us to appreciate the grace of God?7. Read Hebre