Sorry I am behind, Ally dilocated her arm on Sunday night when I was planning on putting this in and we've been busy with that since.
Tuesday:
Read John 1:35-51
1. What does it mean to follow Jesus and what hinders many from doing so?
2. What makes many skeptical of Jesus today? If you are convinced Jesus is who He says He is, what made you feel this way?
Wednesday:
Read John 1:35-42
1. What can we learn from what Andrew did after finding out about Jesus?
2. What can we learn about Christ by His initial encounter with Peter?
Thursday:
Read John 1:43-51
1. What can we learn about Jesus in the calling of Philip? Does He really need us?
2. What can we learn about Philip's response and action after meeting Jesus?
Friday:
Read John 1:43-51
1. Philip gave a couple of incorrect thoughts of Jesus to Nathanael, what does this say to us "not knowing enough to share my faith?"
2. Nathanael's disbelieving response is one we will recieve when we share Christ with others, what can we learn here about that?
3. How does Jesus prove who He is to Nathanael? What is Jesus showing you to prove who He is?
Saturday:
Read John 1:35-51
1. What type of people did Jesus choose for His disciples?
2. What do these verse tell you about sharing Christ with others?
3. Please take time to pray for all who are trying to share Christ with unbelievers: Missionaries, Pastors, Evangelists, and Yourself.
These are some great verses on how Jesus allows us to make an impact for Him. I think it is crazy that Christianity is here because of these encounters. It also amazes me that Jesus choose these men to use in His ministry, they were uneducated fishermen. As I go through these men, I think we will see that our excuses for not sharing Christ are not legit.
ReplyDeleteJohn the Baptist - I just want you to notice that this is the second time that JTB points to Christ. He did it the day before as it says in verses 29-30. To me this shows that sometimes we will have to tell someone more than once, we shouldn't give up just because they weren't receptive the first time. God wants people to come to Him and He often gives them more than one opportunity to do so, we have to be willing to be the tool to bring His Word.
Andrew - We see that Andrew spends time with Jesus to see if what he has been told is true. I think this is what we should do ourselves and challenge others to do it also. I believe that anyone who does so with an open heart and mind will come out a believer just as Andrew did. The second point with Andrew is how he reacted to the news. He didn't just keep this information to himself, he didn't just stay in Jesus' presence (although I'm sure he wanted to), he went immediately and told Peter. I come up with many excuses why I don't talk to people about Christ but the truth is that there is no excuse, if you want to show Christlike love then you must be sharing Him with others. All we have to do is take a small step of faith and God will do the rest. If you want to see another time when Andrew made an impact, read John 6:5-13 (feeding of the 5000; Andrew took a small step of faith in introducing the boy to Jesus, knowing not what Jesus would do but that He could do something).
Peter - Although this exchange would be short, Peter became probably the most well known and influential disciples. I think that it is important to know that Jesus knows who we are and who we are going to be, just as He does Peter. He calls Peter, Cephas which means rock. He was not a rock at this point, he was an ordinary fisherman. But throughout the New Testament we see him walk on water, he is the one that usually steps up and answers Christ, and he is the leading disciple in the church after Christ had resurrected. He becomes that rock that Jesus knew he would be.
Post 2 of 2 - I was too long but here is the second part.
ReplyDeletePhilip - these verses is also very short but say alot. Jesus just says, "follow me," and Philip does. This simply shows the power of God, He doesn't need us to share, He can do it Himself. Don't get me wrong, this doesn't give us the excuse either, we are still commanded to share with others. To me, this makes me feel more comfortable to share, knowing that regardless of what I say that God can make it work. In fact, we get a glimpse of someone goofing it up but God using it when Philip witnesses to Nathanael. Philip was a new believer and it shows by his words to Nathanael. "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph," if Philip would have known Jesus a little better he surely would have known that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and not the son of Joseph. Rightly, He would have said, "Jesus of Bethlehem, the son of God, born of the virgin Mary." But God used this misinformation to get Nathanael's attention.
Nathanael - God used disbelief to create belief. Look at Nathanael's response in verse 46, "nothing good can come from Nazareth." He was probably laughing all the way to meet Jesus. Probably thinking he was going to prove that Jesus was not the Messiah and hold it against his friend as a joke for a long time. "Remember that one day when I made a fool of you and that Nazarene? I can't believe you thought he could be the savior of Israel! Ha!" But when he came to Jesus, he found that he was the one who was wrong. Jesus probably didn't have to say anything but He did tell him what he was doing and that was enough for Nathanael to become a follower.
I hope and pray that you can see how God can work through us is we are willing to take a step of faith for Christ. He does all the work, He does the saving, all we have to do is be willing. I pray that God will help me have this willingness and boldness that it takes to share my faith with others and I pray the same for you. Try it and see how God will work through you.