Sermon Discussion Guide: 8/18/24
Sermon Recap
Text: John 4; Isaiah 43:19
Big Idea: The Gospel flows from Christ, through His people, upon a dry and weary world.
Summary: The theme of the desert is one of testing, sin, judgment, pain, and lostness. God's people, and all of humanity, know what it feels like to "dried up" in the wasteland of this fallen world. However, though God's people would know the desert well, the prophets always foresaw a time when God would pour forth fresh water.
It's with this imagery that Jesus steps onto the scene. He meets with a woman, in the desert, as she seeks water. Jesus sees this woman's situation—far beyond the need for literal water—and He offers her a spiritual living water that will quench her soul's longings forever. As she encounters the life-giving water of Jesus, she is transformed. Later, in John's Gospel, Jesus will say that from His followers will flow streams of water. In this, we see that the Gospel's healing power flows in and through the Church to give life to those around.
Discussion Questions
1. What stories of the desert have most impacted you in the Bible? Why?
2. Describe the spiritual connections between God's people and the desert. How does that translate to us today?
3. What about the world we live in today leaves you, or those around you, spiritually dry and thirsty?
4. In what ways does "living water" describe the Gospel?
5. John 7 says that streams of living water will flow from Jesus' followers. What does that look like?
6. How can North Park Community Church cultivate an experience of the life-giving "living water" of Jesus?
7. What would you want someone you love, who is in a "desert" season of life, to experience if they were to show up to North Park on a Sunday morning?
Text: John 4; Isaiah 43:19
Big Idea: The Gospel flows from Christ, through His people, upon a dry and weary world.
Summary: The theme of the desert is one of testing, sin, judgment, pain, and lostness. God's people, and all of humanity, know what it feels like to "dried up" in the wasteland of this fallen world. However, though God's people would know the desert well, the prophets always foresaw a time when God would pour forth fresh water.
It's with this imagery that Jesus steps onto the scene. He meets with a woman, in the desert, as she seeks water. Jesus sees this woman's situation—far beyond the need for literal water—and He offers her a spiritual living water that will quench her soul's longings forever. As she encounters the life-giving water of Jesus, she is transformed. Later, in John's Gospel, Jesus will say that from His followers will flow streams of water. In this, we see that the Gospel's healing power flows in and through the Church to give life to those around.
Discussion Questions
1. What stories of the desert have most impacted you in the Bible? Why?
2. Describe the spiritual connections between God's people and the desert. How does that translate to us today?
3. What about the world we live in today leaves you, or those around you, spiritually dry and thirsty?
4. In what ways does "living water" describe the Gospel?
5. John 7 says that streams of living water will flow from Jesus' followers. What does that look like?
6. How can North Park Community Church cultivate an experience of the life-giving "living water" of Jesus?
7. What would you want someone you love, who is in a "desert" season of life, to experience if they were to show up to North Park on a Sunday morning?
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