Failures are Welcome (John 21)

Group Guides | Sharing the gospel, sharing our lives (1 Thessalonians 2:8)

By way of introduction: How would you define forgiveness and why do we find forgiveness so hard at times?

Read John 21

1. The disciples did not know that it was Jesus who was one the shore that morning (v4), yet the disciple who Jesus loved worked out quickly it was him (v7). How did he know?

2. In this final episode of John’s gospel we see the true nature of Christ: he is gracious. What evidence do we see of Jesus’ grace in this scene?

3. We also get to see Jesus is not naively gracious but that he is all knowing and STILL gracious. What evidence do we see that Jesus is God, the one who knows all things in this passage?

4. What does the forgiveness of God look like throughout the scriptures, have a look at passages such as Isaiah 43:25, Psalm 130:3-4, Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32. 

5. Jesus moves towards those who fail him, yet our default nature is to walk away. How does this passage shape us when it comes to relational disappointments and hurts? How can we ‘follow him’?

6. John tells us that the purpose of his gospel is that we may believe (20:31). What is it about Jesus that we truly need to see and believe from this passage today? And what difference does this make to our life and community?

Pray for our church, that we would grow the grace of God.

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