READ

Read the following passage aloud slowly. 

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? 

The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe because of the evidence of the works themselves.  (John 14:6-11)

  1. (After the first reading, leave a moment of silence to reflect on this question) 
    What stood out to you? Why do you think that word or phrase caught your attention during this particular season of your life?
  2. Read the passage again slowly.
  3. (After the second reading,  leave a moment of silence to reflect on this question) 
    As you consider what stood out in your reading, how might God be inviting you to reorient your picture of God?

DISCUSS

Use the following questions to guide group discussion

  1. How would you answer the question, “What is my picture of God?” Do you resonate with any of the common pictures of God: a demanding parent, a divine drill instructor, an indulgent grandfather, or non-existent?
  2. Can you remember a season of hardship in your life that made it difficult to believe in your picture of God? 
  3. What sources influence your picture of God? It could be a combination of your faith tradition, Scripture, experience, etc. 
  4. How does the truth that Jesus is the fullness of God in human flesh change your picture of God?

View a pdf of this guide here.