Welcome to Week Four of Pursuing God’s Beauty: Stories from the Gospel of John. This summer, we’re digging deep into God’s Word and praying that with a word, passage, or story we will be wonderstruck by Scripture and fall in love with the Bible once again, or maybe for the first time. (Join us! Click here).
Here’s the homework for Week Four: When Worship Costs More than Expected:
- Watch Session Four (When Worship Costs More than Expected) on Your Pursuing God’s Beauty DVD (16 minutes) and begin working through the homework.
- Read John 12-17.
- Come back to MargaretFeinberg.com on Thursday, the same day you can enjoy the Midday Connection podcast on the session, to discuss what God’s revealing to you along the way. (To subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss a beat, click here).
If you have a blog, consider linking up with MargaretFeinberg.com each Thursday and share what God is teaching you through the Gospel of John!
Here are five things you must know before diving into John 12-17:
- The Greek word for “poured” also means “anoint.” The anointing of a king by pouring oil on his head at coronation was observed not only in Israel, but in other countries (Judges 9:8, 1 Samuel 9:16).
- Respectable Jewish women always kept their hair up in public. To allow one’s hair to flow freely was the sign of an immoral woman. Despite this cultural taboo, Mary lets down her hair with reckless abandon in this beautiful expression of adoration in John 12.
- John’s account of the Last Supper differs from the other Gospels. John notes the final supper is the night before instead of the night of the Passover. John doesn’t mention the securing or preparation of the upper room, but includes the scene of the foot washing as well as the account of Judas’ betrayal. In addition, John lacks the Eucharistic language or detailed description of Holy Communion found in the other Gospels.
- Shalom, the Hebrew word for “peace” used in John 14:27, communicates much more than a lack of conflict. Shalom suggests the idea of the blessing that overflows when one is in right relationship with God.
5. Moses (Numbers 11:15), Elijah (1 Kings 19:4), and Jonah (Jonah 4:3, 8) all asked God to take them out of the world. God denied all of their requests. In John 17:15, Jesus prays that his disciples would not be taken from the world, but remain in it—set apart as God’s people and protected from the evil one.
FOR DISCUSSION: Answer the following questions as a comment to this blog post. Feel free to ask questions, reply to others’ comments, and post prayer requests.
- What is the most meaningful gift you have ever received? Ever given?
Click here to download 20 Must-Read Passages from John’s Gospel Free PDF Download.
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Want to catch up on the online #SummerBibleStudy at MargaretFeinberg.com? Here are the links to the Pursuing God’s Beauty: Stories from the Gospel of John Online Bible Study Posts:
Session One: MONDAY | THURSDAY
Session Two: MONDAY | THURSDAY
Session Three: MONDAY | THURSDAY
Session Four: MONDAY | THURSDAY
