Sermon Discussion Guide 6-1-25

Sermon Discussion Guide
The Gospel of John | John 2:13-25

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 2:13-25

• What strikes you most about Jesus’ action in the temple?
• Why do you think John includes this story at the beginning of his Gospel, rather than the end like the other Gospels?

Religious Activity or Spiritual Reality

• The people at the temple were doing what they were “supposed to do”—but still missed the point. Why is it so easy for us to fall into that same pattern?
• Jesus doesn’t see worshippers in the temple courts; he sees shoppers. What might that look like in our lives today?
• Does your life ever look like the temple? What would your honest answer be?
• What activities or habits in your life could be more about religious duty than actual relationship with God?
• What are the “tables” Jesus might want to overturn in your life—not out of anger, but to make space for real connection?

Jesus is the True Temple

• What does it mean that Jesus refers to his body as the new temple?
• How does Jesus replacing the temple reshape the way we think about where and how we meet with God?
• The cross, which looked like failure, is the “sign” Jesus gives for his authority. What does that tell us about the way God works?

Closing Prayer