Do you often struggle to see eye to eye with a certain group or individual? Jesus did, too. On numerous occasions, Jesus went head-to-head with the religious folks of his day, but why? These people believed in God, worshiped regularly, and lived moral lifestyles, wasn’t that enough? Find out what Jesus objected to in one of four messages in this series entitled “Jesus vs. The Religious,” part of The Gospel According to John Series.
********************************************
MESSAGE STUDY NOTES (also as PDF download above)
********************************************
WARM UP
How do you tend to behave when you disagree with someone?
READ
John 5:1-15; I Timothy 1:15-16
KEY INSIGHTS
Signs you are becoming “religious”:
1. You focus on the exterior instead of the interior
2. You focus on details over the big picture
3. You treat your rules as God’s
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What do you think separated what Jesus was teaching from the “religious” teachers of Jesus’s day? Why?
2. While many would consider Christianity a religion, what do you think separates Christianity from all others?
APPLICATION
Why do you think “religion” is such a temptation among churchgoers?
FOR MENTORING
How do you think you can ward off becoming “religious” and teach others to do the same?
