Irmela

John 4:39-42). Why do you think Jesus stayed two days in Samaria, when elsewhere he instructed his disciples not to preach in Samaritan villages? What does it mean that Jesus is the Savior of the whole world? What are its implications for our lives? For your church's mission? Many of the people believed because of the woman's testimony. Others who had doubted, believed when they heard Jesus. Jesus saw they were receptive and the work was not complete so He stayed a further two days. Jesus is not only the Saviour of the Jewish nation. He came so that we all would believe and receive Him. The Gospel is for everyone who will receive it. Those who reject it is because it is their choice.

John 4:36-38) Sowers and reapers usually got "paid" when the crop was harvested. According to this analogy, what will Christian workers receive at the end of the age when the final harvest takes place and Christ comes? We will rejoice together with our Lord and have eternal life together with the souls that have come in.

(John 4:35) What caused the harvest to ripen so rapidly in Sychar? How likely is it that the testimony of one, discredited woman could make such a huge impact? What might God do with your testimony if you were to share it? Why is it necessary to "open our eyes" to see the potential spiritual harvest? God sees the heart and He knows when the "harvest" is ready. The excitement of the woman was very catchy and they couldn't help but listen to her and i guess before they knew it, they too came along to see and hear who she was talking about. God is able to reach out to whoever is ready and willing to, and He too can use anyone willing to be used of Him. He is wanting willing vessels. To "open our eyes" can be taken to be willing at any and all time to be used to go ahead, testify, and see the result. This could be used as planting, could be watering or could be reaping.

(John 4:31-34) What does Jesus mean by "food" in these verses? What was his passion? What is your passion? What will it take so that your passion, your goal in life, is to do the Father's work? In your life, what do you think that might look like? Jesus was talking about doing the will of God the Father and to accomplish and completely finish His work. He went about telling the people and drawing people into the Kingdom of God. His passion was for the people not to be bowed down with extra rules and regulations, but to draw them to God. I too want to do what God has called me to do. Not to shy away from it but to live for Him.

Q6. (John 4:23-24) What does it mean that "God is spirit"? That is one of His attributes. He is not visible to the human eyes. But He is omnipresent. What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? Being real. Worshiping with your all. Have you ever "gone through the motions" of worship without worshipping? Yes it does happen. But if you mean 'business' with God, it does not last. Once you focus on Him, your surroundings move into oblivion and you become aware of Him, His greatness, awesomeness and love. How can you worship in a way more pleasing to God? Be real. He knows what's going on inside of you anyway. You cannot hide anything from Him.

Q5. (John 4:19-22) What motives cause the woman to bring up a religious controversy to Jesus? Why do people today try to generate religious controversies with us? What are their motives? I can only assume that it was uncertainty and she was starting to be uncomfortable and so she was bringing to remembrance the fact that their places of worship was not even the same. Jews and Samaritans just did not mix. I can only think that they feel they are in a corner as it were and need something to come out of that situation. I guess the motives would be needing to stop the conversation as one was getting to spots they couldnt handle yet, or something in that line. We need to be careful not to loose the opportunity and at the same time not to be over pushy either. It helps to be sensitive to the Spirit's leading.

(John 4:16-19) What was the effect of Jesus' special knowledge of the woman's history with men? What effect did it have on her faith? How can such gifts of the Spirit work today to bring people to faith or deepen their faith? She recognized Him to be more than just an ordinary man. She wondered if He was a prophet. (In the past it was they who were the ones who revealed hidden things). She trusted Him completely. One can say her faith in Him was complete that soon she acknowledged Him as the Messiah. It can lift a heavy spirit and make one's faith grow greater, as one realizes it was God who sent that person because of His great love for us.

Q3. (John 4:9-15) What does the "gift of God" and the "living water" (4:10) refer to? What does receiving this gift result in (4:14)? Does this gift differ from or is another way of saying the "baptism with the Spirit" that John the Baptist spoke about in 1:33? The "Gift of God" is Christ Himself having come and imparting eternal life. This is the "living water" which quenches every longing, loneliness or thirst that comes up. Receiving Christ results in Peace that passeth all understanding.

(John 4:9-15) Jesus' words to the woman in verses 10-13 seem to imply that all people are spiritually thirsty. What has been your experience? Does the woman seem spiritually thirsty at this point? What caused her deep thirst to surface? What does this teach us about our own witness? I do agree. Each and everyone is thirsty as soon as we get a taste of what Jesus offers. It might get pushed aside but that is GUILT having its way. Yes, the woman does seem thirsty. Jesus gently prods her into seeing her need. He uses what she 'opens' to provide more until she opens up completely. This teaches us to work with what is given us, by the ones we witness to. When counselling women who wanted to kill their unborn babies, it was also what they opened up about that we used to share further with. If they opened up and said, they used to read the Bible. We could use that point and ask them what the Bible said about fornication, adultery, murder etc. We do need to follow the Holy Spirit's leading.

(John 4:7-9) Why do you think Jesus went against the social norms to communicate with the woman? Why do we hesitate to go against social norms to share the good news? How do we balance our need to obey God and our need to live peaceably in our culture? Not only did Jesus know her need, He came for those who were in need. The fact that she came to the well in the heat of the day, already made her stand out as different from other women. Jesus also knew that she wouldn't keep the news to herself but would call others, viz., she was a vessel that was prepared and willing to be used to tell others the GOOD NEWS. Possibly fear of rejection. We need to be willing vessels and also need to have an ear to hear when Christ says, GO.

(John 3:36) Is it possible to believe in God's love and God's wrath at the same time? How does God's justice allow salvation, when what we deserve is punishment for our sin and unbelief? (Hint: the "substitutionary atonement.") Yes. God is a just God. Sin needs to be punished. Christ took that punishment on my behalf. (Thank You, dear Lord). So punishment for sin has been metered out. The price has been paid. I have received SALVATION, full and free. HALLELUJAH!!!!

(John 3:30) In what sense, in order to be successful in your Christian life, must you decrease and Christ increase? How can you facilitate the shift necessary for this change to occur? What steps might help you do this? By yielding my will over to Him. In fact by yielding my mind, will, emotions, my all to Him. Allowing Him to have full control. Letting Him sit on the throne of my heart, of my life. Whatever I do, doing it with and ultimately for Him.

Q3. (John 3:29) How does John the Baptist find joy in Jesus' success? Do you find joy in the success of others who could be seen as competing with your ministry -- in your church or in your community or in your denomination? Why do you think some pastors seem to compete with each other? John knows that his work is almost complered. He was there as the "forerunner". Now he was happy to see Jesus continuing. As the friend of the bridegroom rejoices with him so John rejoiced that the people were going to Jesus. It is not easy to step back when you feel your time has not run out in a specific ministry. But if you know it is time to move on, it is amazing to see the next person continue where you left off. When pastors compete with each other it is actually heartbreaking.

John 3:26) Have you ever resented "larger churches" that attracted people from "your" church? What is wrong with this kind of possessiveness? Is it self-pity or something else? No. Whose place of worship is it? Who is being worshiped? We are the "church", it is not the building. So if they are blessed and are being a blessing and have been placed in a different part of the vineyard, so be it. If that is where God is using them. Great. Who are we to stand in their way.

Q1. (John 3:22) What is the importance of Jesus spending time with His disciples? What is His strategy? How does Jesus make disciples today? Where is our time with the Discipler? How important is your time as a discipler, "hanging out" with people God puts on your heart to disciple? Jesus spent as much time with His disciples as was feasibly possible. In this way they learnt how He handled different situations. They were there to observe, learn and serve. Eventually He was able to send them out also. They too could be used as He was. Today He has given us His Word. We can learn by studying the Word. Spending time in prayer and waiting on Him for guidance. He has sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter. We are not left to struggle or try alone. He encouragez us to call on Him. The more time we spend with Him the more we become like Him.

. (John 3:16) Why is this verse so famous? What does it teach us about God? What does it teach us about salvation? Since "entering eternal life" is a synonym for "entering the Kingdom of God," what does this verse teach us about our destiny? This verse is the Gospel in a nutshell. It says it all. God's love for the world is so great, that it did not stop Him from giving His only-begotten (unique) Son. It cost God so much and it is for EVERYONE (NOBODY IS EXCLUDED). We need to believe in (trust in / cling to/ rely on) Him,to be saved i.e., not to perish or come to destruction. There are two destinations. If we reject what God is freely giving us, our destination is hell. If we accept what God is freely giving us our destination is ETERNAL LIFE.

(John 3:5-7) What does it mean to be "born of water and the Spirit"? What do you think "water" refers to? Why have you come to this conclusion? How, then, would you paraphrase "born of water and the Spirit" to best bring out the full meaning? Born of water and the Spirit, would be an action of repentance and regeneration/renewal. Water is a symbol for purification, cleansing and sanctification. * Procelytes to Judaism had to go through a ritual of baptism. (Almost like washing off the stains/marks of the old life). * John the Baptist called the people to repentance and baptized those who truly repented. Pharisees felt they didn't need that (lived a good enough life trying to follow all their rules). They in fact looked at the whole thing with scepticism. A man is to repent /change his ways, be renewed in his mind/in his thinking and actions.

(John 3:5-7) What does it mean to be "born of water and the Spirit"? What do you think "water" refers to? Why have you come to this conclusion? How, then, would you paraphrase "born of water and the Spirit" to best bring out the full meaning? Born of water and the Spirit, would be an action of repentance and regeneration/renewal. Water is a symbol for purification, cleansing and sanctification. * Procelytes to Judaism had to go through a ritual of baptism. (Almost like washing off the stains/marks of the old life). * John the Baptist called the people to repentance and baptized those who truly repented. Pharisees felt they didn't need that (lived a good enough life trying to follow all their rules). They in fact looked at the whole thing with scepticism. A man is to repent /change his ways, be renewed in his mind/in his thinking and actions.

(John 3:3-5) What does "entering the Kingdom" have to do with being "born anew"? Which do you think is the best translation here: "born again," "born anew," or "born from above"? Defend your reasoning. You cannot enter the Kingdom as you are. A change has to occur. When you are born and come out of your mother's womb, your life continues physically and is formed by experiences, surroundings, etc. Your character or personality is formed by this. To enter the Kingdom this all has to be transformed or renewed. You need to go through a "new birth" to be able to start afresh. Your lifestyle will change because you will now be living for God. This transformation can be seen as being born again, born anew or born from above. This transformation does not happen on your own volition , only by the power of God in Christ Jesus.

(John 3:3, 5) What does Jesus teach here about the nature of the Kingdom of God? Do you think Nicodemus understands Him? Why or why not? The Kingdom of God is spiritually discerned and spiritually entered. A birth is a start, a new beginning. In essence Jesus is saying that a "new personality" must come about. As a personality is generally formed as a result of the experience of the years gone by, this is not an easy phenomenon. Nicodemus is then questioning, how can this be. How can all the experience be wiped away? How can the past be undone? Yes, I do think Nicodemus understands Him eventually. At this stage he is still perplexed and formulating more questions in his mind to bring out answers which satisfy his questioning.

John 2:23-25) What is the problem with faith that rests solely on miracles? The faith is then not on the Miracle Worker Himself but only on the deed. When the miracles stop , the faith stops. So this faith is not very stable. Is it true faith? No it is not true faith. What is necessary for it to develop into true faith? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. That means we need to get into the Word. Read it. Study it. Ask God to reveal hidden mysteries so the eyes of your understanding are opened. Did Jesus see these problems as a reason not to perform miracles? He was careful because He knew the heart of man. As soon as things are different to the way you want it to be man changes sides. Easily deserts. His nature is to 'look after' his own interests. So easily a friend becomes a foe.

John 2:11-17) Apparently, Jesus was angry. Was his anger justified? Yes, it was. His actions too, were appropriate. Why? The people were using the temple courts as a market place. They were actually insulting God by what they were doing. The normal coinage which was in use was also exchanged for the coin which they accepted as temple tax, for a price. In other words they had a thriving business going there. Is anger good or bad? It can be either. What about anger gets us into trouble? What the anger causes us to do gets us into trouble, if it is not controlled.

John 2:14-17) What was going on in the temple? The people were selling oxen, sheep and doves for the sacrifices. There were also money changers at their stands. This was to change the money for the then coinage used for the temple tax. It sounded like a market place. Why was Jesus offended by it? The area where this was taking place was supposed to be the place where the Gentiles gathered for prayer. (It was in the Court of the Gentiles). What action did Jesus take? Jesus made a lash (a whip) of cords. He drove them (the sheep and the oxen) all out of the temple enclosure. He spilled and scattered the money-changers trays. Tossed over their stands. He told those that sold doves to take tbem out of there.

1 Corinthians 2:9-16). Explain how we can "have the mind of Christ." How does this work, according to these verses? How does having the Holy Spirit "circulating" through our minds explain spiritual gifts working through us? If and when we have come to Christ and accepted Him as Lord and Saviour it is then He that reigns. It is He on the throne of our hearts. By that we should also have the mind of Christ operating in and through us. Therefore it should also be His gifts that should be working/operating in and through us.

1 Corinthians 2:1-6) Why didn't Paul conform to the rhetorical standards of his day in order to communicate more clearly? What is the danger of "repackaging" the message? What does it mean that Paul relied on a demonstration of the Spirit's power? Paul was not prepared to water down the Gospel. He presented the Gospel as is. He did not repackage it just so that it was acceptable to all and sundry and thereby be misunderstood. He remained focused on Christ and Him crucified, then risen. He testified of what Christ had done and did this even amidst persecution. Sometimes signs and wonders happened. But he relied on the convicting Power of the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of the people.