Sunday, February 12th

Most people concede that Jesus was a great teacher. However, Jesus also made some audacious claims. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” Were Jesus’ claims just fake news made up by His followers? If His claims were authentic, what does it mean to be an apprentice of Jesus? What did Jesus really teach, and how can we understand what He meant when He claimed to be “The Way”?

Work through the following Scriptures and questions on your own, and get together with your running partner, Life Group, or friends and family to talk through what you are learning!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Jesus asked his closest followers two important questions: “Who do people say I am?” and “Who do you say I am?” If Jesus asked you the same questions, how would you answer?
2. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and God revealed in human form. To some, this notion seems crazy, but Jesus asks us to follow Him and see for ourselves. In that, we are able come to Jesus as we are and tell Him that we want His sacrifice (His death on the cross) to count for us as repayment for our wrongs. Have you expressed that you want what Jesus did to count for you? If you have, what was that experience like? If you haven’t, what types of things are you discovering as you explore faith and the teachings of Jesus?
3. This week we learned about a parable with blind men and an elephant that was analogous to the many different descriptions of God held by various religions. In our limited ability to truly comprehend, we may describe God a little differently. How do you describe God? Jesus?
4. Read John 14:1-6. Believing in Jesus and all that He claimed involves trust. Is it a challenge for you to trust God to keep His promises to you? Can you think of a time when you trusted God for something? How did things turn out?
5. The unseen God has revealed himself in a form you can understand and know relationally. Many believe in Jesus, but their actions and attitudes may not match what Jesus believed. Do you believe in what Jesus believed? If so, do you think your belief in the beliefs of Jesus is at all evident to the people around you?
6.  Jesus prayed “Your kingdom come … Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” which was a way of Him saying that the time has come for the work that God wants done to get done. This work includes spreading the good news of Jesus far and wide and sharing His love. Are you doing your part to spread goodwill to mankind?
7. Perhaps you are a Christ-follower seeking to be an apprentice of Jesus, desiring to truly know what He taught. Are you taking deliberate steps to know God more? How serious are you about apprenticing under Jesus to become the best version of yourself? What strides can you commit to making to know more about Jesus as “The Way” and to better grasp all that He taught?

KEY SCRIPTURES

John 14:1-6 — “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me…”

DIGGING DEEPER

• Spiritual Growth Path — One great way to learn more about what Jesus taught is to work through the Spiritual Growth Path. It offers a way to assess where you are in your relationship with Christ and then allows you to dive deeper as you discover what it means to follow Christ, develop foundational “spiritual outcomes,” and deepen your experience of following Christ by cultivating those “spiritual outcomes.”

• Baptism — In the message this week, we learned what it could look like to trust our life to Jesus by expressing that we want what He did (sacrificing His life) to count for us. If you expressed this for the first time, a next step for you might be to consider baptism, which offers an opportunity to celebrate your decision to follow Christ. For more information about baptism, click here.

SPRITUAL OUTCOME — Relate to God