Passage: John 14:1-6
“In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory.” —J.R.R. Tolkien
“Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” —C.S. Lewis
Sermon Outline:
- Trouble on the way
- End of the way
- Living on the way
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What does it mean to you to be home?
Read John 14:1-6. What does this passage show you about God’s character and about being his child? What challenges, encourages, or sparks questions for you in this passage?
Consider some of the troubles the disciples were facing in the context of Jesus speaking here. What troubles are you presently facing? How do Jesus’s words in 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me” provide perspective for you?
To provide hope and confidence in the midst of trouble, Jesus explains he has prepared a place, a home, for each of us – a home with him. D. L. Moody a Chicago pastor wrote, “Someday you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher.” How does the hope of heaven equip us to face trouble today?
J. C. Ryle described home as a place “where we are generally loved for our own sakes, and not for our gifts or possessions; the place where we are loved to the end, never forgotten, and always welcome…. Believers are in a strange land and at school in this life. In the life to come they will be at home.” What truths cultivate in you a longing for heaven and to be at home with God?
In 14:6 Jesus says the way to heaven, our true home, is him – his victory over sin and death on the cross is our way home. He is the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. Better than a map that points you in a direction, Jesus is our guide walking with us, securing the way for us to be at home with him. Later, in John 16:33 Jesus says: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” How does seeing Jesus as our way and hearing his words of instruction for our peace, provide for us as we live as pilgrims in this life? How have you experienced or witnessed the peace Jesus gives in the midst of trouble?
What from this passage and this discussion is something you want to put into practice or be more aware of this week?
PRAYER
Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Other Resources:
Timothy Keller’s memorial service
