Reflection Questions: Urgent! We Are Running Out of Time! (John 8.21-30)
by Pastor Gene
- Have you felt an increased sense of ‘urgency’ recently? What are some of the things that have led you to feel this way? Has this ‘urgency’ changed the way you live for Jesus? How? What should you do with this ‘urgency’?
- Look at Jesus words in Luke 6:46-49. Why does Jesus begin His parable by asking, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” What is the point of the parable that follows? How does it prove Jesus’ initial statement (6:46)? List all the things the two men in the story have in common. How do they differ. What is the result of their ‘doing’ or ‘not doing?’ What can we learn from this parable for the ‘stormy’ days which lie ahead?
- In John 14, Jesus is speaking to His disciples. It’s a poignant moment; tomorrow morning He’ll be on the cross. He is sharing His final words with them. In 14:15, He makes a salient point: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Then in 14:21, He similarly says: “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me.” And again, in 14:23 & 24: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word,” and, “Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words.” Jesus’ words here are made emphatic by their repetition. Why is He so emphatic about this? Why the repetition? Why was it so important for Him to drive this lesson home to them on His final night? How does Jesus define love?
- Notice also the ‘urgency’ of Romans 13:11-14. What is the urgency in this passage? What does Paul ask us to do in response to it? Why do you think he asks this of us?
- Another important ‘urgency’ passage is found in 1 Thess. 5. What does Paul say believers are “NOT in” (5:4)? What do you think this means? According to the same verse, what should this prevent us from? What does 5:5 say believers are? What does it say we are not? In 5:6, Paul speaks of ‘those’ who sleep. Who do you suppose he’s referring to? What does he mean by saying we need to “keep awake and be sober”? In 5:8, what should naturally follow from the fact that “we belong to the day”? Why is this so? In 5:9 & 10, what truths should motivate us toward obedience? Knowing these things, what should we ‘keep on doing’ for one another (5:11)?
- In Ephesians 5, Paul encourages us to “be imitators of God, as beloved children” (5:1). He then describes how ‘disobedience’ and sinful behavior belong to the other kingdom, not to God’s (5:3-5). In fact, he writes, “because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (5:6). But, beginning with verse 7, Paul describes who we are, what we’ve been delivered from, and how we should conduct ourselves now that we’re “light in the Lord” (5:8). What does it mean to be an “imitator of God” (5:1)? What does Paul suggest we use our speech for (rather than “filthiness,” “foolish talk” or “crude joking”) in 5:4? How do we square Paul’s charge to not “become partners with” the “sons of disobedience,” while still keeping opportunities for evangelism open (5:7)? What’s the balance? What about believers who are living in disobedience to the Lord? How should we treat them? (Find the SHOCKING answer in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13!) What are the “unfruitful works of darkness” Paul tells us to “expose” in 5:11? How do we do that? (Hint: what drives out the darkness? See 5:8b-9, 13). How can we make “the best use of the time” (5:16). What’s the opposite of being foolish in 5:17? In 5:18, why is drunkenness contrasted with being “filled with the Spirit”? Finally, notice the joyful expression of the ‘newness of life’ in 5:19-21! YES!
