John
Memory Verse: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Author: John, the disciple of Jesus
Why
written: The
Gospel of John shows that Jesus is the Son of God and helps people believe in
him.
Key
Content: John
was written for everyone who wants to understand who Jesus really is.
John
reports miracles and teachings that show that Jesus is the Son of God.
When
written: Jesus taught and performed miracles from A.D. 26 to 30.
Location: Most of these events took place
in
Lesson 1: John 3: 13-21
“No one has ever gone into heaven except the
one who came from heaven – the Son of
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed
in the name of God’s one and only Son.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved
darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil
hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will
be exposed. But whoever lives by the
truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has
done has been done through God.”
- Who does God love? (The
people of this world).
- Why does He love us?
(Because we were created in his image for his purpose)
- Who is God’s son? (Jesus)
- Why did God sacrifice Jesus?
(So that all who believe in him will have eternal life).
- What does the word
“condemned” mean? (It is a sentence for punishment)
- Did God send Jesus to
condemn the people of this world? (no)
- Why did he send Jesus? (He
sent him to earth to save the people of this world).
- What does it mean to “live
by the truth”? (answers will vary)
- What actions can you do so
that your friends can know that Jesus lives in your heart? (answers will
vary)
- You have choices to make every day. What
are some situations where you can make choices to follow God’s purpose for
your life? (answers will vary)
Summary:
Because God loves us so much, He sent his son Jesus to die for our sins
so that we can be reunited with God in heaven.
The way to heaven is not by doing things, but by believing.
Lesson 2: John 6: 35-40, 44
“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and
he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my
will but to do the will of him who sent me.
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all
that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who
looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise
him up at the last day.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and I will
raise him up at the last day.”
- Jesus used bread as a
metaphor for himself. Just as people need bread to sustain their bodies,
people need Jesus to give their spirits life. What is your spirit? (Who we are is made
up of our body, mind, and spirit. Our spirit is the part of us that helps
us make decisions about right and wrong).
- Can you see your spirit?
(No, but it is the central part of who we are).
- Did Jesus come down for his
own purpose? (No. He came down to earth to do the will of God).
- Just like Jesus, should we
do whatever we want to do here on earth, or do you think that God has a
purpose for each one of us? (God has a purpose for each of us. Spend a
moment and talk about what you think your purpose is here on this planet. Let the girls think about their purpose
and spend some time discussing what God might call them to).
- Jesus says that “everyone
who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I
will raise him up on the last day”.
We do not spend life with God by what we do, but by believing. What
do we need to believe? (We need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God
and that he died for our sins.
Jesus sacrificed his life so that we might have eternal life with
God in heaven).
- Is their any other way to go
to heaven than through Jesus? (No)
Summary: Pray that God will draw each
girl to him and that He will reveal His purpose for them each day.
Lesson 3: John 9: 1-3
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked
him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
Neither this man nor his parents sinned’, said Jesus, ‘but this happened
so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day we must do the work of
him who sent me. Night is coming, when
no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
- Do you ever think that bad
things happen to people because they have sinned? Jesus said that the man
was not born blind because of sin. Sometimes bad things happen so that
people can draw closer to God. God’s goodness can be revealed through his
actions in our lives. (Share how God has helped you through a difficult
situation).
- Ask the girls if they have
seen God’s hand in any bad situations in their life. Give them an opportunity to talk through
troubles that they might be having within their life or their family’s
lives.
- Discuss different scenarios
in which God’s hand can be seen in difficult times.
- How did God reveal himself
through the blind man? (He gave Jesus the power to perform a medical
miracle and made the blind man see again. This was one way to prove that
Jesus was the Son of God).
- Do you think that God
performs miracles today? Have you seen any?
Summary: God can be seen working in
difficult situations in today’s world.
God can work through all of us in tough times and use them as a light to
the world.
Lesson 4: John 12: 25, 26; 13: 14-17
“The
man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this
world will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will
be. My Father will honor the one who
serves me.”
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have
washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do
as I have done for you. I tell you the
truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than
the one who sent him. Now that you know
these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
- What do you think Jesus
means by verse 25? (answers will vary)
- To serve God, we must be
Christ-like. What are character
traits of being Christ-like? (love, joy, peace, patience, honesty, caring,
compassionate, giving)
- Allow the girls to come up
with examples of using the above character traits to serve others.
- Have the girls talk about
ways that they can serve the people in their family this week, and
encourage them to do it.
- Jesus said that “My Father
will honor the one who serves me.” How do you think that God honors those
that are loyal to him? (answers will vary)
- Jesus washed the feet of his
disciples. What lesson can you
learn from his actions? (No person his above any other and all are called
to serve)
Summary: We are all called to serve
others just as Jesus served his disciples.
May God teach us to have humble hearts and a compassion to serve others.
Lesson 5: John 15: 4-12
“Remain
in me, and I will remain in you. No
branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain
in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from
me you can do nothing. If anyone does
not remain in me, he is a like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such
branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in
you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear
much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in
my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his
love. I have told you this so that my
joy may be in you and that your joy many be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have
loved you.”
- Jesus starts this section by
teaching that Christians need to be vigilant and constantly aware of an
on-going growing relationship with Christ.
What can you do to abide in Christ? (pray, daily devotions, read
the bible, go to church, attend Brave Hearts, family bible study, memorize
scripture, Christian school)
- If you abide in Christ, then
Christ will remain in your heart.
However, if you choose not to abide in Christ, what will happen?
(You can make choices that will have bad consequences – talk about some
examples).
- Jesus says “if you remain in
me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given
you.” What kinds of things do you think God will honor? What kinds of
prayers do you think God will not honor and why? (answers will vary)
- What advice does Jesus give
to remain in His love? (obey His commands)
- What is the outcome of
obedience? (joy)
- What is his command at the
end of this section? (Love each other as I have loved you)
- What are some ways in which
we can love each other on a daily basis? (let the kids have a chance to
brainstorm on this one)
Summary:
Jesus teaches us to abide in Him, obey his commandments, and to love each
other.
*The
scriptures used for this study were taken from the “Young Women of Faith Bible
New International Version published in 2001 by the Zondervan Corporation.
