Sermon & Small Group ResourcesThis is the sixth sermon in our series “Promises You Can Count On'‘. This sermon is ‘I Will Send’. Preacher: The Rev’d Dr Daniel Rouhead. Bible Reading: John 16:1-15

Download the Small Group Questions, Going Deeper, and Sermon Transcript (PDF).

Next Steps this WeekBIBLE READING: John 16:1-15

All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

Download in PDF format.

CONNECT: In what ways can you see God’s strength at work through your weaknesses?.

WARM-UP Question

1. How have you felt during this time of physical separation and partial closure of many aspects of community? Has there been any point in which you felt alone?
2. Can you think of another time in which you felt alone? When was it? Did anything bring you comfort?

READ John 16:1-5a

1. What did Jesus tell the disciples would happen to them?
2. Why did Jesus tell the disciples what would happen to them?
3. How is the promise to send the Holy Spirit connected what Jesus says here? (see John 15:26-27)
4. How can followers of Jesus be tempted to act when they experience persecution and hardship? How do you want to react when you undergo difficult times?
5. Have you been ‘persecuted’ for you faith? Share your experiences with the group.
6. What has helped you - particularly at this time - to keep connected to Jesus? What do you think would be helpful to pursue more?

READ John 16:5b-15

1. Why must Jesus return to the Father, and how will this benefit the disciples (and us!)?
2. What is the primary ministry of the Spirit to the world (non-believers)? Is this still relevant today?
3. In what three areas does Spirit convict the world? How is the world wrong about these three areas?
4. How do believers participate in this ministry of conviction? Think about the example of Acts 2.
5. Even though this is not the focus of this passage, how does the Spirit continue to convict disciples of Jesus today?
6. Why can’t the disciples bear to hear all that Jesus had to tell them? Why was it so troubling to them?
7. What is the ministry of the Spirit to believers today?
8. What will the Spirit teach and to whom will the Spirit point? Why is this significant?
9. What does it mean for Jesus to be “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6)? How does the Spirit help us to comprehend this?
10. How is the Spirit linked with the sending out of the disciples to the ends of the earth?
11. How does the Spirit help us to reach the one person we have been praying for?

APPLY: How does the Holy Spirit shape your prayers and actions this week?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you that you sent the Spirit to help us stay faithful to Jesus even in times of hardship, to convict us of sin and our need for salvation in Jesus, and to teach us all truth and continually point us to our Lord. Help us to grow in our understanding of your truth, and help us to demonstrate this truth in our lives that we might share that truth in word and deed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

GOING DEEPER

On Your Frontline This Week: Join us this Wednesday from 7am - 8am for our Work + Faith Monthly Meeting, where we talk and pray about following Jesus at work.

For Families: Download some of the family resources to use at home

Listen:

• AUDIO: “Holy Spirit” by Dick Lucas
• AUDIO: “The Holy Spirit and Salvation” by Paul Dale
• AUDIO: “John 16” by Christopher Ash
• AUDIO: “Witness to Outsiders” by Simon Manchester

Read:

• ARTICLE: “Joy has an address” by Matt Smethurst
• BOOK: “God and the Pandemic” by NT Wright (available soon)

WITH CHILDREN

Grow as Families Each week St Bart’s Kids and CHARGE Youth provides resources for you to use at home.

St Bart’s Kids This Sunday

Families: Read, Learn, Chat, and Pray.

Families: Activity Pack.

High School: CHARGE Discussion Questions.

Bonus: Watch the Kids Talk

Let us know how you are engaging with all the resources by taking a photo, uploading it, and tagging #stbartstoowoomba.