Look Beneath the Surface

In one paragraph

Brian preached from John 7, with the central argument that most Christians know how to find verse 31, the moment when people believed in Jesus, but have never looked closely at everything surrounding it. The sermon pushed the congregation to ask whether the picture of Jesus they have carried since childhood is large enough to hold the full biblical portrait of who he is and what he will do. The...

Read together

1. John 7:31 central verse about people believing in Jesus amid controversy
2. John 3:16 quoted as the familiar gospel message poured out for two thousand years
3. Habakkuk 3:3-6 read as prophecy about the manner of Jesus's return, including pestilence and plagues before him
4. John 7:10 Jesus going up to the feast secretly, used to encourage those not seeing Jesus at work in their circumstances
5. John 7:12 grumbling and arguing surrounding the moment people believed
6. John 7:13 people fearful to speak out about Jesus
7. John 7:14 people were surprised by Jesus
8. John 7:20 accusation that Jesus was demon possessed
9. John 7:23 people were angry
10. John 7:24 Jesus's command to look beneath the surface and judge correctly
11. John 7:25-27 confusion about where Jesus came from and expectations about the Messiah
12. John 7:32 whispers and rumors surrounding those who believed
13. John 7:35 people were puzzled about Jesus
14. Psalm 2 Jesus ruling from earth, making enemies his footstool and ruling nations with an iron rod
15. Romans 10:9 confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, cited during the salvation prayer

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about a 'felt board flanograph Jesus' and said many of us carry a picture of Jesus that is only large enough for a verse 31 kind of faith. Where did your picture of Jesus come from, and has it ever been challenged or stretched?
2. Brian read from Habakkuk chapter three and pointed to descriptions of Jesus returning with pestilence marching before him and nations trembling, then said many people's instinct is to call that kind of language metaphorical and move on. Have you ever done that with a passage, and what do you think drives that response?
3. Brian said Jesus showed up to the festival secretly and is sometimes working in your circumstances in ways you cannot see. Is there a situation in your life right now where that idea is either comforting or hard to accept, and why?
4. The gym analogy came up, where staying with the same routine means no real growth, and someone in the group named the idea of upping the weight as a personal challenge to pray for strangers. What would upping the weight actually look like for you in your own walk right now?
5. Brian closed by saying that in the coming weeks of national turbulence, Christians are going to need to be steadfast and calm rather than caught up in the swirl. What, practically, do you think helps a person stay anchored beneath the surface of all that noise?