Bible ReadingJohn 17:20-26 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
[31:20] [31:29] [34:08] [35:43]Romans 10:9 “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
[35:18]John 15:1-17 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.”
[43:42]John 16:5-15 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”
[43:52]Observation questions- In John 17:20-26, who does Jesus say he is praying for, and what does he ask the Father to give them or make true of them?
- What repeated words or ideas stand out in John 17:20-26—such as “one,” “glory,” “love,” “in,” or “given”—and what do they show Jesus cares about most?
- What are some concrete pictures of belonging and love that appeared in the church picnic story: what did people actually do, and why did that matter? [25:17]
- What is the difference between a warm welcome and real belonging? What signs show that a person may be welcomed on Sunday but still feel outside by the middle of the week? [29:58]
Interpretation questions- Jesus prays that his people would be one “just as” the Father and the Son are one. What does that suggest about where Christian unity comes from, and why can it not be produced simply by effort or politeness? [37:10]
- Jesus says he has given his people the glory the Father gave him, and in John that glory is seen most clearly at the cross. How does that shape the meaning of unity and belonging in a church? [38:26]
- Jesus ties the world’s belief to the visible love of his people for one another. Why might shared life across nations, languages, ages, and backgrounds become strong evidence that Jesus was sent by the Father? [39:27]
- Jesus ends this prayer with the Father’s love being in his people and Christ himself in them. How does that change the way a group should think about belonging—not first as a task, but as something received? [41:18]
Application questions- Belonging begins with being loved first, not with proving usefulness. Where is it hardest personally to believe that—at church, at home, at work, or somewhere else? What would it look like to receive Christ’s love there instead of trying to earn a place? [42:01]
- A welcome is not the same as belonging. Is there anyone in church life who is known by face but not by story? What small step could be taken this week to move past surface friendliness into real friendship? [30:20]
- Disunity does more than make things awkward; it hides the evidence of Jesus. Are there lines usually kept in place—language, age, background, personality, social comfort—that make it easier to stay with familiar people? Which one feels most real personally right now? [40:06]
- Cross-shaped love is the weight of self-giving love, not convenience. In one current relationship, what might laying down comfort, time, or preference actually look like in a practical way this week? [38:40]
- A distance that stays unnamed usually stays unhealed. Is there a relationship from which there has been quiet withdrawal? What makes naming that distance hard, and what might honest first words sound like? [45:43]
- Someone once crossed a line to make room for a young rascal. Who might need that kind of line-crossing love now—a newcomer, someone older, someone quieter, someone very different, or someone already sitting nearby? What would “cross one line” look like before next Sunday? [45:27]
- The church belongs to each other because it first belongs to Jesus. How would a week shaped by that truth change the way one enters the room, notices people, uses words, or responds to hurt? [47:38]
