Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (John 7:14-24), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [17] Jesus says you will only know his teaching is divinely authoritative once you have submitted to divine authority, once you have believed in the one whom God sent, and obeyed the Father’s command to “listen to him” (Matt. 17:5). Good judgment does not precede a favorable reception of Christ, it follows it. (“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” Prov. 9:10) Why is that so difficult to accept?

• [16, 18] Jesus insists that his teachings—the difficult ones along with the pleasant ones—come from God the Father and not from himself. Can you take his own humble word for it, or do you need some other proof? Are there particular teachings of Christ that you find more difficult to accept than others? What difference does it make to believe that they are all divinely authoritative?