Sermon Discussion Guide 3-29-26

Sermon Discussion Guide
The Book of John | John 19:17-42

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 19:17-42

• As you read this passage, what details or moments stand out to you? Why?

The Loss of Jesus

• The sermon described Jesus as being stripped of honor (mocked as king). In what way do you see people chasing honor, recognition, or status? Do you personally feel that pull?
• Jesus is stripped of dignity and publicly shamed. Why is shame such a powerful part of the human experience? In what ways do people try to cover or manage their shame?
• On the cross, Jesus is isolated—separated from even those closest to him. How have you seen sin lead to isolation or broken relationships in your life or others’ lives?
• Jesus experiences abandonment and cries out in thirst. What are some ways people try to satisfy their deeper “thirst” apart from God?
• Jesus ultimately loses his life. Why is it important to face the reality of death when thinking about sin and the human condition?

Grace

• John Stott writes in The Cross of Christ,  “Before we can see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.” What does that statement stir in you? What does this teach us about the cross? 
• The gift of grace means that God does for us what we can’t do for ourselves. Why is that hard for people to accept? 
• The cross challenges both “religious” people (who focus on what we do for God) and “spiritual” people (who focus on what makes us feel good). Which of those do you tend to drift toward, and why?
• Why do you think it’s so natural for us to turn Christianity into something we do (performance) or something we feel (experience), instead of receiving it as grace?

Closing Prayer