Message Notes and Small Group Questions

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Message Notes

5-3-26

Series: Gospel of John

Title: When Jesus Prays



John 17 : 1-5

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.



Eternal life = KNOWING GOD



John 17:11-19

11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.



We are Set Apart



Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.



Hebrews 10:14

For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.



John 17:20-26

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”



Our unity points to Jesus



James 3:16

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Small Group Questions


SHARE

What would you try to save if your house was on fire? Why? What would you be glad to see go? :-)


JESUS PRAYS

Read John 17:1-5.... Q: What is the difference between knowing God and simply knowing facts about God? Why do we often prefer information about God over relationship with God? If Jesus revealed the Father perfectly, what does that teach us about God? What does it practically mean to grow in ‘ginosko'—an intimate, personal knowledge of God?


SET APART

Read: John 17:6-19...Q: Why did Jesus specifically pray for His disciples’ protection? Why is uncertainty often a breeding ground for division and self-preservation? Why is God’s Word essential for sanctification in a way that culture, feelings, or popular opinion are not? What are some examples of ideas our culture celebrates that Scripture would challenge? How can we tell when we are following our hearts instead of following God’s truth?


UNITY > UNIFORMITY

Q: What’s the difference between unity and uniformity? Why does confusing them cause harm? How does the Trinity give us a model for healthy diversity within unity? What are the temptations we face that bring disunity?


WHY UNITY

Read: John 17:2-26...Q: Why do unresolved anger and resentment damage both our relationship with God and others? What practical steps lead toward reconciliation when unity is broken? How does the way Believers treat one another affect what outsiders believe about Jesus??


PRAYER

Pray together over the areas of our lives that we are facing trouble and need His peace. Pray to grow in dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Small Group Questions Download


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