Tag: Gospel of John

“I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus” – a new series at Eastbrook Church

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This coming Sunday at Eastbrook Church we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and begin a new preaching series entitled “I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus.” Exploring the seven “I am” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John, this Easter season we want to encounter Jesus again for the first time. Drawing upon the Gospel context and Old Testament history, we want to step more deeply into what Jesus was saying then and what it means for our life with God today.

Here are the weekly topics for this series, which begins on Easter Sunday and leads up to Pentecost:

April 9 [Easter] – “I am the Resurrection and the Life”- text: John 11:25

April 16 – “I am the Bread of Life” – text: John 6:35

April 23 – “I am the light of the world” – text: John 8:12

April 30 – “I am the gate/door” – text: John 10:7

May 7 – “I am the good shepherd” – text: John 10:11

May 14 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life” – text: John 14:6

May 21 – “I am the true vine” – text: John 15:1

Moving Out!

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This week at Eastbrook Church, we launched into our new series “Moving Out!”, the fifth and final part of our series on the Gospel of John through the month of May. After Jesus rose alive in victory over sin and death, He appeared to some of His followers. When He met them, He called them out of their old life and into a new kind of life – a resurrection life. We see this in four distinct encounters Jesus had with:

  • Mary Magdalene distressed by the empty tomb
  • The disciples fearfully hiding in the upper room
  • Thomas who finds Jesus in His doubts
  • Peter after his failure who is now fishing again

How do we respond to the risen Jesus in our everyday lives? In what ways do we need to move out of our old life and into the resurrection life of Christ?

Humble Service (discussion questions)

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Here are the discussion questions that accompany my message from this past weekend “Humble Service” on John 13:1-17 at Eastbrook Church.

Discussion Questions

  1. Our theme this week is humble service. Who is the most humble person you have ever known? What is it about this person that brought them to mind?
  2. An important word that appears throughout this passage is ‘know’ or ‘knew’. Take a moment to observe the things that Jesus knows or knew throughout John 13:1-17. Underline them or write them down. If you are studying with a group, discuss this together.
  3. What do you think is the significance of what “Jesus knew” in verses 13:1-3 for the humble foot washing that is about to occur? What seems appropriate? What seems odd?
  4. While it was at times common for a poor host to wash his guests’ feet, this would always happen well before the meal. Jesus, however, interrupts the meal to wash His disciples’ feet. He did this to Read More »

A Deeper Thirst (discussion questions)

Matt Erickson1 Comment

Here are the discussion questions that accompany my message from this past weekend “A Deeper Thirst” on John 4:1-42 at Eastbrook Church.

Discussion Questions:

1.       One theme in the “Conversations” series we are in right now at Eastbrook is that Jesus is personal and relational. Throughout John’s Gospel, He talks to everyday people like you and me through direct, personal conversations. How does this idea of a personal and relational God make you feel?

2.       When reading John chapter 4, it is important to understand that the Samaritans and the Jews had a long and difficult relationship as people. Though both traced their ancestry and religion back to Moses, the Samaritans and Jews thought different mountains were the sacred places of worship (Mt. Gerizim versus Mt. Zion), used slightly different Scriptures (The Torah – or first five books of the Bible – versus our entire Old Testament), and had a great dislike for one another culturally. It is also important to know that Jewish men did not relate much publically with women, whether Jewish or otherwise. With this in view, what do you learn about Jesus by simply reading the first eight verses of John 4?

3.       Jesus talks quite a bit about “living water” in the first part of this chapter. Living water is Read More »