This is the Way | The Way of Your Expectations
Summary of this week’s material: Jesus taught His disciples IN THE WAY, as they journeyed ALONG THE WAY to the cross where He would BECOME THE WAY!
How to use it: After watching/listening to this week’s message, from April 10, 2022, use the questions to go deeper into the message, with your group…or on your own. The questions will introduce you to the topic, reflect content from the sermon, go ‘Beyond the Message’, & get you thinking about practical applications for your life.
Andrew mentioned a time when vacation did not go as planned, is there a story from your own life where a vacation or something you were really looking forward to didn’t go as planned?
The Gospel of Mark 11:1-11 is where Jesus enter Jerusalem. Re-read this passage and consider the following questions.
a. What is the significance of Jesus riding in on a donkey’s colt? (ref. John 12:14-15)
b. How is the image of a king riding a donkey into Jerusalem different than him riding in on a horse?
In John 12:16 we are told, “at first the disciples did not understand this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him.”
a. What does it mean that Jesus was “glorified”? (ref. John 12:23; Phil 2:8-11)
b. Explain the analogy of “a kernel of wheat falling to the ground?” (John 12:23-26)
c. How did this change the disciple’s expectations about the Messiah?
In John 12:44-48, Jesus talks about the importance of his followers clearly seeing who he is. Read this passage and reflect upon the following questions:
a. How does seeing who Jesus really is rather than who we may want him to be, impact our beliefs about him? (v.44-46)
b. And then, how do proper beliefs about Jesus inform a follower’s activity in the world? (v.47-48)
Read the account of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet in John 13:2-117.
a. How did Peter’s beliefs and expectations of Jesus lead to his confusion about Jesus’ actions? (v.2-8)
b. In v.13-17 Jesus again draws a connection between right belief (orthodoxy) and right activity (orthopraxy). In your own words, explain what Jesus is saying in this passage.
c. What words in v.17 tie orthodoxy and orthopraxy together?
Share a personal story off a time when you completely misunderstood God’s prompting in your life. What lead to you seeing God’s leading more clearly? How did this change your experience and the way you lived?
