Galatians 2:2020 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. We use the term “crucified with Christ” often in Christian circles, but what does it really mean? Why would we follow Christ to our own crucifixion? Are we really wanting to die that badl...  Read More

John 15:1313 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.This is the kind of text that we have come to love. We love the idea that this is the kind of love that we have from our God. However, it becomes a great deal more uncomfortable when we start thinking about how much love that takes for us to give our lives for those around us. I think that because the language is t...  Read More

INTRODUCTIONThe following is a guide to help facilitate discussion. Feel free to add or subtract or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.OPENHave you ever experienced a miracle? What was it and what was it like to experience it? Did anyone ever doubt or question your experience?HEADRead John 2:1-11; Exodus 7:14-24; John 14:6; and 1 Corinthians 3:1...  Read More

1 Corinthians 3:11-1511 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. 12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder wil...  Read More

John 14:66 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. Here is an uncomfortable truth. And this text has been used often to show the exclusionary nature of Christianity. Only, I am not so sure that taking this text out of context, without putting into the greater flow of what was happening in John is appropriate. The whole of the 14th ch...  Read More

Exodus 7:19-2419 Then the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt—all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.’”20 So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. As Pharaoh and all of his offic...  Read More