Sermon Discussion Guide 8-24-25

Sermon Discussion Guide
The Gospel of John | John 7:1-24

Gathering Question:
What is one way you’ve experienced God in your life this week?

Gathering Prayer
Father, by Your Spirit, would You guide us into all truth. Help us to hear and be attentive to Your voice as we work through this study. In the name of Jesus, Your Son, we pray, Amen.

Opening Questions

• What stood out to you in the sermon? 
• What insights did you gain? 
• What questions did it raise?

Read John 7:1-24

John 7:7 | The World Hates Me

• In what ways do you see Jesus confronting the world’s false values in this passage? How is that different from simply being “against culture”?
• Jesus contrasts himself with his brothers, saying, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me…” What does this reveal about the difference between Jesus’ mission and His brothers’ mindset?

To be worldly “is a system of thinking that puts the world as its end.” (Tim Keller)

• How does Keller’s definition of worldliness—“a system of thinking that puts the world as its end”—help explain the kind of conflict Jesus experiences in John 7?
• Keller frames worldliness as a system of thinking. How does thinking this way shape choices, priorities, and values? How might it distort our perspective on what matters?

1 John 2:15-17

• John warns us not to love the world or its desires. In what ways might good things in life—work, relationships, possessions, or pleasures—become ultimate things that distract us from God? 
• How can we recognize when our hearts are drifting toward worldliness?

2 Timothy 3:12

• What does this tell us about the inevitability of conflict when following Jesus? How does this promise shape the way we should expect the world to respond to our faith and obedience?
• In what ways have you personally experienced tension, misunderstanding, or opposition because of living according to God’s ways? How does knowing this is promised affect your perspective?

Closing Prayer