21st February, 2022

Group Guides

By way of introduction: Why do people want to have “greatness”? Why could humility be better for our hearts?

Read John 3:22-36

1. We see in this episode that a discussion about purification leads to John the Baptist’s disciples being concerned about “the competition” of Jesus and his disciples baptising. John the Baptist then responds to this in verses 27-30; have a go at summarising John’s response in your own words.

2. Have a read through some of the places in Scripture where the Scriptures speak of God being a bridegroom. In each passage highlight what stands out about this view of God?

   • Isaiah 62:4-5

   • Jeremiah 2:2

   • Hosea 2:16-20

   • 2 Corinthians 11:2

   • Ephesians 5:22-33

   • Revelation 21:2 & 9

   • Revelation 22:17

3. John the Baptist says in John 3:29-30 that his joy is complete now that the bridegroom has come. As we read through those passages earlier, how does the Christ the bridegroom act toward his bride?

4. It seems that John 3:31-36 is written by the writer of this Gospel, John (not the Baptising one), and he writes about our response to Jesus Christ in verse 36. How are the words ‘belief’ and ‘obey’ used here?

5. How will Jesus change everything for us by experiencing his greatness through:

   a. Believing upon him as Saviour?

   b. Obeying him as Lord?

6. What does a deeply discontented heart show about how we view Christ and his love for us as bridegroom?

7. We know humility helps our hearts so much, we know that trying to be humble doesn’t get very far - what difference does life with Christ make to our humility?

8. How can we see Christ increase in our lives, and what might we need to change to see that happen?

Pray in the way that is shaped by God’s word here.

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