BEGIN WITH PRAYER · 5 MINUTES
Gather together as a Community in a comfortable setting (around a table, on the couch, the floor of a living room, etc.). Have somebody lead a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together.
MAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS · 5 MINUTES
Take this time to go over any details pertaining to any gatherings of your groups that may be upcoming. Additionally, invite the participants of your group to take out their phones, open up the Missio Dei App, and navigate to the Events Tab on the App. Highlight a couple of events that are upcoming that you feel are pertinent to your group.
Group reflective reading of scripture · 5-10 MINUTES
Prepare
Slow down in preparation for your reading. Be silent in the presence of Jesus for a minimum of 2 minutes. Ask the Holy Spirit to shift you from control to receptivity, from information to formation, and from observation to obedience. In the silence release control of your reading to the Holy Spirit, and ready your soul to receive whatever it is the Spirit wants to do during your time of reading.
Read
Read the selected passage slowly. Consider reading multiple times and reading out loud. Select a portion, a smaller portion that really stands out or connects to things happening within your life or group. Reread it, pause, breathe, and relax for a few minutes to let these words really sink in.
Reflect
Place yourself in the story imaginatively, perhaps as an observer who is experiencing what is taking place. Consider the following questions as you use your imagination to participate in the story.
What do we imagine we would be experiencing through our body’s 5 senses?
What would we see, hear, touch (if applicable), smell (if applicable) and/or taste (if applicable)?
What do we feel as a result of imaginatively participating? (Anger, Fear, Loneliness, Hurt, Shame, Guilt, Sadness, Gladness) Why might we be feeling these things?
What are we thinking about as a result of imaginatively participating? Why?
What might the Holy Spirit be showing us as we participate in the passage through our thoughts, our emotions, and how we are experiencing it with our bodies through our imagination?
Rest
Breathe, perhaps express some affirmation of God’s love for you and presence with you. Know that He sees you, He knows you, He loves you and He is with you.
John 10:22-33
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
reflect & DISCUSS · 10-15 MINUTES
Introduction
Because 2025 is the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Council, we are taking a few weeks to consider the non-negotiable theological principles that were affirmed in the Nicene Creed. The second principle is stated, “We believe…in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of one essence with the Father by whom all things were made.”
We looked at John 10:22-33 as one of the New Testament foundations of this doctrine.
During the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), Jesus is surrounded by an antagonistic group asking Him to declare plainly whether or not He was God’s promised “Christ.”
Jesus responded that He had answered plainly, but was not believed.
He said that His works bear witness about Him, but those were not believed.
The people did not want a Shepherd to follow.
In the midst of this, Jesus made the profound declaration, “I and the Father are one.” Jesus's claim was understood by the people as Him making Himself God. This led to the bid idea for the morning, “Jesus declared and demonstrated Himself to be the One True God” and serves as a foundation for the doctrine of the Trinity.
The word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, but the concept is.
There is one God.
The one God is three distinct and unified persons.
Each distinct person is fully God.
The teaching that Jesus is God is based on His declaration, His deeds, the Apostles affirmation, and His death by His enemies for these things. If He is not God, then we must not consider Him to be a good teacher or a prophet from God since His declarations would be false. We also would be left with a God who does not keep His promises to send a Redeemer and to bless all families of the earth.
Jesus is God who laid His life down and took it up again to hold His people and give to them eternal life.
Jesus' life is the life of God in humanity. His death becomes a substitute for our separation from God and His resurrection holds us.
*There is no pressure to use any or all of these prompts, these are meant to serve as guides and resources for your use.
apply • 15-20 minutes
From v 27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me,” we took our call to respond; God has kept His promises and keeps His people, therefore, we can trust Him, which looks like listening, being known, and obeying.
Listening • If we will hear God, we must listen to the words of Jesus.
How much of our time with Jesus is spent listening (instead of talking)?
Being Known • Trust in God is demonstrated by transparent vulnerability with Him.
What aspects of your life do you try to keep hidden?
Obeying • Actively following Jesus includes using the resources with which you have been blessed to bless others.
How do you use the resources with which you have been entrusted?
CLOSE IN PRAYER · 15 MINUTES
Create a public forum space where people can pray and offer prayer for one another. Fight the urge to talk more about prayer than you do spend time praying. Invite someone to begin this time and someone to end this time together. Remember, silence is not the enemy of a time of prayer.