Who Is Jesus: Week 4 Discussion Guide

Who is Jesus?
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Discussion guide written by: Rebekah Backoski, Dan Hutti; with Praxis contribution by Kelley Webber. 


A note: Leaders, at the end of this guide you will find a list of upcoming events. These events would be great to invite your group to attend together as a form of fellowship and discipleship. (Find exhaustive list of Gathering events on the app under: Events)

Opening Prayer
 
Dear Father/Son/Holy Spirit, thank you for being here with us at this gathering.  We pray for you to open our hearts and minds in understanding your Last Supper message to your beloved disciples, which is how you are the way, the truth, and the life.  Thank you also for dying for the forgiveness of our sins the very next day. It’s in your name we pray. Amen.
 
Ice breaker

This week’s sermon was on how Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. But with so many distractions in our world (24 hour news, social media, broadcasted opinions, etc.), it can be really hard to find Jesus. So let’s find Him!

Find these 6 terms in the WORD FIND below.  Optional:  Make it a timed contest or a race, either individually or divided into teams.

WAY, TRUTH, LIFE, DIRECTION, REAL, LAST FOREVER
 

 
Circle back 
 
Last week we inquired if there were ways to prune away distractions and refocus our energies on connecting with Jesus.  Did you identify any particular troublesome distractions? In what ways were you able to connect better or more often with Jesus? How about  an improved reliance on Him more throughout the day/week?
 
Scripture - John 14: 1-6
 
1“Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. 2 My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? 3 When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too. 4 You know the way to the place I’m going.”

5 Thomas asked, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
 
Head 
 
The people of Israel had read about God in their scriptures, but now He had shown up in person.  On the same evening when Jesus made the claim, “No one comes to the Father except through me,” he added, “If your really know me, you will know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (v.7)
 
Jesus doesn’t say he is merely one of many; he says he is GOD.

Jesus doesn’t say he is one pathway to God among many; he claims he is the [only] WAY.

Jesus doesn’t say he simply speaks the truth; he says he is the TRUTH.

Jesus doesn’t say he can give life; he tells us he is the source of LIFE itself.

• Which of these words (God, way, truth, and life) resonate with you the most?

• Earlier in John, Jesus preaches at the Mount of Olives, “If you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” (8:24)  

• Who was the audience?

• Do you think Jesus’s audience believed him? Why or why not? 

 
Heart

• We are bombarded on all fronts on ways and means to reach God….i.e. which church to attend, how to worship, political do’s/don’ts, whatever feels best.  

• How can we know the way to God?

• Have you ever been angry, confused, too busy, or even lost your way from God?  If so, how did you find your way back to Him.

 

Hands

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and he called us to follow him. But sometimes, things get in the way.

Our culture is jam packed with options for snack foods, quick-fix health solutions, thousands of audio/video clips on demand, and more. You may find yourself searching for the truth and for something that will last forever.

Jesus is life and He invites us to live forever with him.  Our money will perish, our vacations will end, our beauty will fade, but Jesus will never end.  Instead of looking to the world, everything we are looking for can be found in him.

Sometimes believing and following Jesus means giving up other things.  

• What might you have to give up to follow Jesus?
• In what ways can we rely on Jesus’s truth for our lives?

Over the course of the week, reflect on these questions.  Spend some time reflecting and inviting revelation.  Converse with God, who hears you and loves talking to you. Consider bringing your insights back to CoreGroup next week to share.
 
Finish lent strong with The Gathering’s Lenten devotionals. Here’s the link to access:  https://gatheringnow.org/blog/category/lent-devotional-2023

PS: God is still working in your heart this season!
 
Closing Prayer
 
Jesus, we are yours.  You know us so well.  You created us and are aware of our “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” We pray that this week you would help us find our way to the promises you have prepared for us.  Help us to filter out the world's messages and focus all the wonderful ways in which you are indeed our true pathway to eternal life.  In your holy name we pray, Amen.



Praxis Core Group Questions: 
During Lent the Praxis team is helping us dive deeper into the book of John.

John 14: 1-6  
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”


It’s amazing how this verse has been weaponized time and time again against anyone who isn’t a Christian. We all, in the Abrahamic faiths, espouse to be the children of Yaweh. Yet, you’ve probably heard this verse used as the line in the sand. A litmus test. But what does Jesus actually mean? Jesus isn’t using this in a weaponized, exclusionary context, but in a comforting and inclusive way. He was talking to outsiders and rule breakers and saying, “you belong.”  

What has Jesus been teaching the disciples all this time?   (Go back and read John 4:7-21)

He’s been teaching them how to love. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love is the way. Love is the greatest truth. The purpose of our lives is to Love. Jesus is the incarnation of Love in his final act of sacrificial Love, of redemptive Love.  Jesus isn’t just loving, he is Love.  

What have you been taught about this verse in the past?  How might this understanding change your relationship with Jesus and your image of God?  

Hear Jesus say to you, “Follow me. I am the way of Love; I will show you the truth about Love; I want you to live a life of Love.  This is who I am, who the Father is.”

Lent & Holy Week Events:

Easter Egg Hunt	4/02/23 (Sunday) Blackburn Park 3:30-5:30
Maundy Thursday	4/06/23 (Thursday) Gathering: Clayton 5:30-7:30
Good Friday Service	4/07/23 (Friday) Gathering: McCausland Site 7:00-8:00
Easter Sunday Service  (Easter STL)	4/08/23 (Sunday) Stifel Theater 10:30-11:30 (Doors open at 9:45)

Also feel free to check out our Easter page on the website for more details!
https://gatheringnow.org/easter