Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (John 1:6-13), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• Vv. 9-10 are talking about the pre-incarnate Word/Son. What does it mean that he “gives light to everyone… yet the world did not know him”? What is the relevance of this for evangelism?

• V. 11… Who are “his own people” who “did not receive him”? (Scholars have different answers to this question, but does it really matter?) Why did they not receive Jesus? What similarities with them do you recognize in yourself?

• What preconceptions do you have about God? What do you wish God was like? What do you wish he would do for you? How does this match up with what Jesus reveals God is really like?

• How can we help each other in the church to receive Jesus rather than reject him? How can we help people outside the church to do the same?