Q1: Who or what have you found to be impressive in a healthy sense of the word?
(High IQ, made a great sacrifice, musical talent, athletic ability, etc.)
*Humans are made in God’s image and can do amazing things; it is good to recognize this fact.
Q2: What does it look like when this becomes unhealthy and imbalanced?
*When does it move from marveling at human capacity to idolatry, jealousy, etc.?
Read: John 18 (take turns reading through it together in the ESV or CSB version).
Note: Read Question 3 before you do this.
Q3: Everyone, give one thing that stood out as you read this chapter.
It could be a challenging thought, a question, or something you had not thought of before.
Q4: Jesus said that his kingdom is “not of this world.” This doesn’t mean that his kingdom is not going to have an impact on this world or be involved with it. What does it mean?
Note: The “world” here refers to human desires, values, goals, systems, behaviors, and thoughts that oppose God.
Read: “For although we live in the flesh (the world), we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:3-5
Q5: What are the weapons of our warfare?
Notice the clues: “We demolish arguments,”…“Every proud thing raised up against the knowledge of God,” and “We take every thought captive.”
*There is another clue in John 17:17-19
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”
Q6: To be properly “impressed” by Jesus would lead to us obeying Jesus
Why is this so?
Read: 1 John 2:16-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
(The “will of God” for John is to believe and obey the gospel, the good news of Jesus.)
Q7: What are the three “things of the world” given in this passage, and what do they mean?
Pray that you would not love the world (Use specific aspects of the world you are attracted to. Don’t be overly specific.)
Pray that you would love and obey God’s word. (Pray against specific barriers to this happening in your life.)
Pray that you would truly be impressed only with God. (Repent of ways in which you are wrongly impressed with people and name the qualities of God that are truly impressive).