Hold These Truths Discussion Guide - Week 3

Welcome
Welcome, friends.  This is the third and final week of the series called “We Hold These Truths: Centering Jesus in a Divisive Political Season.”   In the first week, we discussed the two myths which incorrectly suggested that Jesus was not political, and that Jesus was partisan.  Last week, we focused our attention on an important commandment that Jesus gave which was to love God with our whole hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves.   This week, we will discuss how fear has become a weaponized messaging tactic to move and manipulate our thoughts and actions.  Even more important, we will look at the guidance Jesus provided about that kind of fear. 


Opening Prayer
God, thank you for bringing us together today.   Please guide our conversation in ways that comfort.  Help us to see truth, and to seek you when our minds are in doubt.  Please bless our time and guide our thoughts.  It is in your name we pray, Amen. 


Ice Breaker
What is the first thing you were afraid of as a child?  It’s close to Halloween after all and this spooky topic is timely.  Most of us had fairly active imaginations as children and unfamiliar things, shadows, and sounds could be spun into some pretty epic ideas.  What ghastly things did your mind conjure?  


The Head
This week, we are looking at verses in the New Testament Book of John.  Now this John was one of Jesus’ disciples and so his writings were based directly on eyewitness testimony.  In this section of verses, John quotes Jesus as He was speaking about fear and truth.  Jesus sought to comfort his disciples and to calm their fears.  But, this was also said to provide guidance to us as fear and uncertainty weigh heavy in our lives.  

John 14:1-3

“Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. 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? 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. You know the way to the place I’m going.”

• What things come to mind when Jesus speaks about “My Father’s house”?  How would you describe the room of this house?

John 14:8-10

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father; that will be enough for us.”  Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I have spoken to you I don’t speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me does his works.”

• In this section of verses, disciples are getting increasingly concerned about the future.  As Jesus addresses those concerns, what stands out most to you in these verses?

John 14:15-17

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you.”

• The Spirit of Truth is another name for the Holy Spirit, the aspect of God that sometimes nudges us from time to time to do good.  Even more than the nudge though, what does the name Spirit of Truth invoke? 

John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.”

• The peace that Jesus provides is something different than worldly peace.  What do you think Jesus meant by that? What does that type of peace feel like to you? 

The Heart
Have you ever noticed political speeches and stories that strike a tone to create fear? Speeches and stories that strike in ways that make you feel anxious or concerned?  You may even notice that these stories get stacked one after another to magnify the effect.  This is not a mistake.  Politicians learned a long time ago that fear-based messaging resonates deep with people and the rhetoric gets loud especially around election seasons.  Politicians learned how to harness this style partially from news media outlets.  In the recent past, there was a rule managed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called the Fairness Doctrine which instructed the media to present controversial news in ways that reflected opposing viewpoints.  The Fairness Doctrine was repealed in 1987 and that contributed to some dramatic one-sided shifts on how things get reported. Some politicians chose to leverage the shifts to influence voters.

• When you hear or read about things in political speeches that make you feel afraid, do you seek to gain more information? Or do you accept the material at face value?  What guides your actions?
• Fear-based messaging does not always equal truth. How do you determine the truth?
• Another way to look at this issue is that Jesus provided us with a companion named the Spirit of Truth.  If fear is something that distracts and creates distance away from God, what can we do to seek that companion?

The Hands
So here we are under the constant barrage of communication styles meant to steer our decisions and votes in specific directions.  Fear is interesting in that it places pressure on our mental wellbeing which may cause us to make unwise choices.  It is a sneaky way to force quick actions without thoughtful consideration. How do we navigate this?

• What can you ask for when praying to God about guidance when fear is present?
• If you could list out a step-by-step process to follow when encountering fear-based messaging, what would your steps look like?
• What are some ways you can help loved ones who seem too far entrenched in issues based on fear?  Gentle approaches could be best.  What would those look like? 

Closing Prayer
Hey God, thank you for loving us like you do.  Thank you for providing ways to seek truth when we are faced with worldly challenges.  Please help us to shine bright as beacons of truth when others are in need.  Help guide our paths in ways that seek peace and comfort and forgive us when we stumble.  It is in your name we pray, God.  Amen.


Going Deeper
The United Methodist Church (UMC) published a video in 2022 titled “5 ways to overcome anxiety.” This is a short video that lays out simple tools to follow when fear and anxiety permeate our lives. The full video is linked above, but here are the 5 steps for quick reference:

• CONNECT - Talk to someone…a friend, therapist, pastor, or family member.
• PRAY - God wants to hear from you to surround you with love.  Unload your burdens.
• BREATHE - Pause, breathe deeply, relax and let go of all that's out of your control.
• MOVE - Head outside and stretch away your tension.
• CREATE - What brings you joy?  Do it!  Write, Draw, Craft, Cook, Build.

References
Brittanica reference to the Fairness Doctrine