Small Groups: Gospel of John
Gather some friends together, bring copies of the Bible, and utilize this small group outline as structure and a starting point for a small group study and discussion. Our topic this time is on the Gospel of John.
Week 1 — What do You Seek?
Reading: John 1
Quote on theme
“To seek after any honor on earth, or among people on earth, is not heavenly.” (Spiritual Experiences 780)
“The Word contains Divine truth united to Divine good, and this also is the Lord. This is precisely what is meant by the Word which was with God and which was God, from which people have life and light, and which became flesh (John 1:1-14).” (Married Love 129)
Insights / Discussion questions
Consider your values, goals, and intentions. Ask yourself, “What do I seek?”
Activity
Create a brief timeline of important events in your life. To what extent does the timeline reflect the answer to the question, “What do I seek?”
Week2 — Water Turned to Wine
Reading: John 2
Quote on theme
“All the miracles done by the Lord, as well as all the miracles by Him spoken of in the Old Testament, signified, that is, contained within them, such things as belong to heaven and the church, and that His miracles were Divine.” (Apocalypse Explained 376)
Insights / Discussion Questions
The story of the water turned into wine is a story of how an initial blessing, the first wine at the wedding, runs out. The Lord can then create a blessing out of ordinary water and turn it into wine.
When has the Lord created a blessing from something that ordinary to you?
Activity
Expand your timeline from last week to include the future. Add five significant events you hope to experience or create.
Week 3 — Rebirth
Reading: John 3
Quote on theme
“Regeneration is rebirth as a spiritual person.” (Heaven and Hell 279)
Insights / Discussion Questions
The Lord provides a model for attaining our goals: we must examine our lives, repent of the wrong things we’ve done, and resist the temptation to do those things again.
What was John the Baptist’s temptation, described in John 3: 22-36? How did he overcome it? What challenges or temptations have you faced when pursuing your goals?
Activity
Consider your timeline from the first week. Circle areas which are in need of renewal or rebirth in order for the five future events (added in the second week) to occur.
Week 4 — Overcoming Assumptions
Reading: John 4
Quote on theme
“Thought from the eye closes the understanding, but thought from the understanding opens the eye.” (Divine Love and Wisdom 46)
Insights / Discussion Questions
In the story of the Samaritan woman, the Lord provides an example of re-thinking assumptions. Jesus was raised a Jew. Jews at that time looked down on Samaritans, another ethnic group inhabiting the Holy Land, despite their shared religious traditions.
How does this story encourage you to re-consider assumptions?
Activity
Write down your reflections on the following questions. What assumptions do you carry about your own history, ethnicity, class, or relationships which limit your ability to find the “living water” the Lord offers? Do you make similar assumptions about others?
Week 5 — The Paralytic Walks
Reading: John 5
Quote on theme
“By the “healing of the sick” is signified the purifying of people from evils and the falsities of evil; by a “bed” is signified doctrine; and by “walking” is signified life.” (Secrets of Heaven 10360)
Insights / Discussion Questions
What insights do the tasks from the third and fourth weeks give you concerning your own paralysis? How does the Lord’s question, “What do you seek?” connect with His question “Do you want to be made well?”
Activity
Imagine your life without a particular bad habit or negative emotion that has paralyzed you. Write three pairs of sentences. The first in each pair should begin with, “What if I …?” The second in each pair should begin with, “Then I can ….”
For example: “What if I work through my fear of public speaking? Then I can share my story and make an impact.”
Week 6 — The Blind See
Reading: John 9
Quote on theme
“Since spiritual sight (the sight of the intellect and therefore the mind) and physical sight (the sight of the eye and therefore the body) correspond to each other, every state of faith is comparable to a state of the eye and its sight. The states of true faith are comparable to all the healthy states of eyesight. The states of false faith are comparable to all the unhealthy states of eyesight.” (True Christianity 346)
Insights / Discussion Questions
After the Lord rubbed mud on his eyes, the blind man had to walk a distance to wash at the pool of Siloam. That task could not have been done without a guide.
Who in your life has been a guide in a time of uncertainty and blindness?
Activity
Write a letter of gratitude to a person who helped you move forward on your life’s path.
Afterward, review these questions: 1. What do I seek? 2. How can I get there? 3. From whom do I need help? 4. Whom might I be able to help?
