September 19, 2011
A Forest For The Trees: Wk 3
Posted by Michael
Learn:
John 1:1-4; 14-18
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
Main Idea:
John says that Jesus is full of grace and truth (verse 14). This does not mean He is 50% grace and 50% truth. He is all grace. He is all truth. Although we may naturally lean more toward one or the other, we should seek to embody both fully, as Jesus does. If you are all grace and no truth, you will allow people to wreck their lives by not confronting them with things they need to hear. If this is the case, it may be possible you care more about your relationships than you do the people you have those relationships with. On the other hand, if you are all truth and no grace, you will annihilate people. If this is the case, before you confront people with truth you should ask yourself, “Do I have their best interests at heart right now, or do I just want to tear them up?” Checking your motives and ensuring that you are “for” the person will help you deliver the truth in a graceful manner. The only way to become full of grace and full of truth is to draw close to the One who displayed both in their fullest sense.
Know What: 100% truth + 100% grace = love.
So What: Without truth, grace ceases to be true grace. Without grace, truth ceases to be helpful.
Now What: Consider how you can move toward people in both truth and grace, as Jesus did.
Discuss…
1. Do you believe that the best expression of love is one that is full of grace and full of truth? Why?
2. In John 8, Jesus displays 100% grace and 100% truth to the woman caught in adultery by not condemning her, yet telling her to leave her life of sin. What are some other examples in Scripture of Jesus embodying both fully?
3. Do you tend to lean more toward grace or truth? Why? How has being filled with one but not the other gotten you in trouble in the past?
4. If you answered “grace” to the previous question, why is it difficult for you to bring truth into conversations? Is it possible that you fear losing relationships? If you answered “truth” to the previous question, why is it difficult to season that truth with grace? Is it possible that you care more about being right than about the well-being of those you love?
5. Describe a time in your life when someone confronted you with the truth in a graceful way. Did you feel like they were genuinely “for you”, as Isaac said? How did you respond? What can you learn from how they approached you?
6. Throughout this series we’ve stepped back and viewed Jesus from a wide scope. We’ve looked at him as our Redeemer, Lord, and Lover. Do you see Jesus in a different light than you did three weeks ago? As you read more about Jesus in Scripture, how can these three things provide the context to understand Him better?
Next Steps…
Think about some tough conversations you may need to have this week. How can you prepare yourself to go into them full of grace and truth? If grace is your weak point, examine your heart and make sure you are “for” that person. If truth is your weak point, ask God for the courage to love the person more than the relationship you have with them.
