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Life Group Questions for 9/14 and 9/21

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Review and apply: Last Sunday, September 14, 2025 (Message here)

John 14:18-25; 16:1-4: Suffering (Will Rutt)


Opener: Is suffering good or bad, why or why not?...

Context: Though he is leaving (big transition!), Jesus is preparing the disciples for a new season without His presence, BUT with SUFFERING as He endured…

Text: Read John 14:18-25; 16:1-4. Don’t rush. Feel the story. What stands out to you?


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  1. Define suffering… (hardship while following Jesus)

    1. Personal disillusionment (14:28-31, 16:16-18)

    2. Divine pruning (15:1-11)

    3. Being hated (15:18-25)

    4. Being harmed (16:1-3)

    5. Grief (16:19-22)

  2. 15:18-25: Suffering for the sake of Jesus is a joyful reminder of what?

    1. I am a follower not a faker (15:18)

    2. I’m living consistent with my identity as an alien (15:19-20)

    3. A hater’s spiritual need is deeper than their hate (15:21)

      1. Paul and Ananias

      2. Jim Eliott and the Auca’s

  3. Imagine Charlie Kirk’s shooter came to saving faith in Christ and they met in Heaven one day - what do you think Charlie would say?

  4. Is there anyone you hope does NOT go to heaven? Pause and pray for God’s heart for this person(s)... (For a living example, read how Elisabeth Elliot returned to the Auca tribe who murdered her husband - and they believed.)


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  1. 16:20-4: Does suffering while following Jesus eliminate joy? How does following Christ change the way we experience suffering? (see joy graphic below)

  2. V32-33: What does Jesus promise here? How have you experienced this?

  3.  Growth: What is a key application you take from this passage / message?

  4.  Prayer: Practice again this pattern for prayer together:

    1. Review: your upcoming day & what you need

    2. Pray: Believe that He can do it & Ask Him to provide it

    3. Go: Trust what He does & Praise Him no matter what


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Consider ahead: Next Sunday, September 21, 2025 

John 15:11; 16:1; 16:33; 17:13: These things… (Will Rutt)


Opener: Is it important to you to understand the “WHY” behind things you do? Why or why not?

Context: We are in the upper room on the night of Jesus’ betrayal, and He is teaching them about life after His departure, this week specifically about WHY He is telling them all “these things…”

Text: Read John 15:11; 16:1, 33; 17:13. Don’t rush. What stands out to you? 


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  1. 15:11: Read 15:8-13 - What are “these things” (V11) that Jesus just told them, and how is it connected to their joy?

    1. Context in V8-13 is bearing fruit, abiding in God’s love, and loving others as an overflow of that love (V13). Conclusion: When you know God’s love for you and you abide (i.e. obeying depending on oneness with God) in it, you will know joy. So - KNOW LOVE, KNOW JOY.

  2. Why is being joyful hard in trials - even if we know all these things? How do you reconcile the “mixed emotions” of pain and joy? (hint - see joy graphic above)

  3. 16:1: Read 15:18-20 & 15:26-16:7 - What are “these things” in V1 that Jesus told them, and how is it connected to their endurance?

    1. Life will be hard, the lights will go out. Haters will hate. But - The Helper will help. KNOW the SPIRIT, KNOW HELP.

  4. 16:33: Read 16:31-3 - What are “these things” in V33 that Jesus told them, and how is it connected to their peace?

    1. God loves you. Jesus has overcome.

    2. Peace comes from abiding not only in God’s love but His victory - while we endure trials of many kinds, the pain is a “pregnant pain” meaning it gives birth to joy, which is the end of all suffering for the Christian in this life or the next. Example - if if a snake’s head is cut off and he is dead, he can still harm….

  5. 17:13: Read 17:6-13 - What are “these things” in V13 that Jesus told them, and how is it connected to their joy?

    1. Joy is the product of unity and holiness of the saints who are in the world but not of the world

    2. The holiness we live out is the holiness of God He gives us through abiding in Him, and through His Spirit abiding in us

  6.  Growth: What is a key application you take from this passage / message?

  7.  Prayer: Practice again this pattern for prayer together:

    1. Review: your upcoming day & what you need

    2. Pray: Believe that He can do it & Ask Him to provide it

    3. Go: Trust what He does & Praise Him no matter what




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