Today’s reading is John 14
“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.””

‭‭John‬ ‭14:5-7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.14.5-7.esv
All,
This stands out because Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Is this a loving statement? The world would say it’s not loving, but exclusive. How can Jesus love everyone and yet say He is the only way. Is it unloving to tell a friend that gravity exists? Is Jesus’s statement any less true than gravity? Does Jesus love people who doesn’t believe Him? Absolutely, but He will not force anyone to love Him. Do you have any friends that need to know Jesus? Please pray that we and our friends love our unbelieving friends. Please pray for David and John as they are building their group. 

Today’s reading is John 13:18-38
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

‭‭John‬ ‭13:34-35‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.13.34-35.esv
All,
This stands out because Jesus says, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Do you have love for one another? It sounds good in Sunday School, but can you say you truly love everyone that you come across today? C.S. Lewis said we have never met a mere mortal. We are all a child of God. Jesus commanded us to love one another. Did Jesus command us to “agree” with one another? “Tolerate” one another? He said Love one another. The world will tell you love is to agree or to tolerate, but love is to truly care for the person in front of you. Please pray that we and our friends love one another. Please pray for Scot and Danielle Seagrave to be transparent as they speak publicly to a large crowd about their rekindled marriage tonight. 

Today’s reading is John 13:1-17
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13:1-5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.13.1-5.esv
All,
This stands out because John says, “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Jesus loves us and wants to transform us. He doesn’t rule us as a tyrant that wants to be served, but as a loving father that wants to save us into eternal life. Please pray that we and our friends introduce the love of Jesus to our loved ones. Please pray for Sean Doughtie as he is building his group. 

Today’s reading is John 12:20-50
“”Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.””

‭‭John‬ ‭12:27-32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.12.27-32.esv
All,
This stands out because Jesus says, “now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” Christ saves us. No ritual or religion saves us, but Christ saves us. He was constantly challenging the religious leaders of the day because they were weighing down His children down instead of producing the fruit of Faith. His purpose in being crucified was to save us. How else can He save us without a relationship with Him. Please pray that we and our friends know Whose we are and obey Him. Please pray for Darren Short as he is building his group. 

Today’s reading is John 12:1-19
“Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.””

‭‭John‬ ‭12:3-8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.12.3-8.esv
All,
This stands out because Jesus says, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.” Jesus loves the poor very much, but He still encouraged Mary’s action. Are we about glorifying God when we serve the poor? “To whom much has been given, much is expected” Luke 12:48, but is it dangerous when we serve the poor and NOT glorify God? Please pray that we and our friends truly serve the poor by addressing their felt needs while introducing them to Jesus and the fountain of living water. Please pray for the flood victims in Eastern North Carolina. 

Today’s reading is John 11:1-17
“So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.””

‭‭John‬ ‭11:3-7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.11.3-7.esv
All,
This stands out because John says, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” John makes a point of saying that because Jesus loved Lazarus, He waited two days longer. Jesus earlier says, “It is for the glory of God”. I’ve always read this passage as Jesus glorifying God, but this reading seems to say it was also because He loved “Martha and her sister and Lazarus”. Sometimes love doesn’t feel like love at the moment? Do we trust that Jesus loves us in our trying moments. Are there times when He let’s things happen so we can “truly see Him”? Please pray that we and our friends trust God today and know He has a plan. Please pray for the flood victims in Eastern North Carolina. 

Today’s reading is John 10:22-42
“At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 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.” 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, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10:22-26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.10.22-26.esv
All,
This stands out because Jesus says, “I told you, and you do not believe.” Where is the line when we believe? Most of us can remember when we started to believe. What happened? Did God do anything different or did we get out of our own way? I hesitated to believe because I wanted to be in control. If I believed, then I had to obey. I thought I wanted to obey myself rather then obey God. At some point I realized how futile that thought was. Do we have any friends that are hanging on to being in control? Are we? Please pray that we and our friends follow God’s nudges today. Please pray for the flood victims in Eastern North Carolina. 

Today’s reading is John 10:1-21
“So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10:7-12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.10.7-12.esv
All,
This stands out because Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” This is my favorite verse in the Bible. Jesus creates such a clear picture for me to see how He wants the best for us, while knowing there is a thief who wants to “steal, kill and destroy” us. This helps me to understand how nothing is neutral. We are either obeying Christ or falling for the schemes of the thief. One wants to give us abundant life while the other wants to destroy us. Please pray that we and our friends chose to obey the good shepherd today. Please pray for Hunter and Stephen as they are building their group. 

Today’s reading is John 9:24-41
“Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9:35-38‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.9.35-38.esv
All,
This stands out because the blind man says, “Lord, I believe”. To believe is so simple yet completely life altering. To believe implies surrendering our will to God’s will. Surrendering to God’s will means wanting to obey Him because we believe God wants the best for us eternally. There will be many decisions today where we will get a check in the Spirit asking us “Do you believe”. Please pray that we and our friends trust God with the hard and easy decisions today. Please pray for Debbie, Makenna and Kole. 

Today’s reading is John 9:1-23
“They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9:13-16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

http://bible.com/59/jhn.9.13-16.esv
All,
This stands out because the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” Does the 10 commandments say you can’t heal someone on the Sabbath? Certainly the Pharisees knew God didn’t put that restriction. The Pharisees had previously added many laws to the 10 commandments and Jesus constantly debated them about what they added and the intent behind it. Jesus also says in Revelation not to add anything to God’s Word and do not take away. Religion gets apart from God when things are added or taken away. Please pray that we and our friends seek to know Jesus and His Word. Please pray for Sean Doughtie as he is building his group.