Done? Good.

Think about the normal three questions for Wednesday night, and this bonus question: There is a phrase or idea that occurs quite a few times in these chapters. What is it and what is its significance to John as he writes?

What does this passage tell us about the way people are?

What does this passage tell us about what people need?

What does this passage tell us about Jesus?

John 5:
What does this passage tell us about the way people are?
What does this passage tell us about what people need?
What does this passage tell us about who Jesus is?

Bonus question:
How do verses 19-20 relate to verses 45-47 

Next, take a look at chapter 4 and come up with answers for these three questions: 1) What does this chapter tell us about the way people are? 2) What does it tell us about what people need? 3) What does it tell us about who Jesus is?

For starters, why does he choose to include the fact that the stone jars were for the purification rites?

What other significant details like this are present?

What is significant about water into wine? Could Jesus have turned olive oil or milk, both commonly available, into wine instead? Or why not fill the empty jars with wine immediately?

Keep thinking along these lines as you continue through the passages and pull out the details that make themselves apparent.

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

–William Carlos Williams

This week, we're going to be introducing John's Gospel, and it seems fitting to do some warm up poetry exercises. So think about this poem a bit. What is Williams doing here? The structure of the poem is deceptively simple, yet it holds a host of imagery. Why do the lines break the way they do? What is significant about the color imagery? What scene is Williams painting and why is it significant?

When you're done thinking on that for awhile, take a look at John 1:1-18. Thinking about this introduction as a poem or a hymn almost at the beginning of his book, what is the purpose of this section and what kind of imagery is John utilizing? Think about the words that are repeated several times and why John has chosen them.

Should we add omnibenevolent to this list?

Thoughts?

What are they conveying here with the words and the images?

If so, please tell her to come to youth group. We all have tons of economics homework to do, but you don't see us staying home, right?

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Alright everyone, so the month of September is celebrate Matt month around here. Not really, but who says not. It is now. So celebrate him, tell us about your celebrations of him and send your pictures of him so we can put them on this blog...

We'll start with this one.

A forwarded article from our missionaries to Germany, Thadd and Laura Davis:

A worldwide survey by Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation has found religion is as strong as ever among most of the globe's young people, with Europe the main enclave where religion is on the decline.

On to the article:

"Releasing details Thursday, July 10, the respected social-science foundation said the findings would surprise Europeans. It said the notion that young people were less religious than their parents was a typically European perception, not a global reality."

Read the article by going here.