Grace
To release our identities to be defined by the hands of the living God.
Readings
Devotion 1
Wait: Spend some time waiting on God, aware of your own frailty and God’s grace.
Read: John 18:15-18
Ask:
- What strikes you in today’s reading?
- In what ways do you relate to Peter’s denial of Jesus?
Share:
- Share communion
- End with the Lord’s Prayer.
Devotion 2
Wait: Take time to sit in silence together, aware of the presence of God’s Spirit.
Read: John 14:19-24
In stark contrast to Peter, Jesus stands resolutely by who he is and what he has said. He refuses to buckle in the face of the powers as they come against him with their full force.
Ask:
- What strikes you in today’s reading?
- What challenges or encouragements do you hear in today’s reading?
Share: Communion
Pray: End with the Lord’s prayer
Devotion 3
Wait: Spend some time waiting on God, in an attitude of repentance.
Read: John 18:25-27 as a Lectio Divina.
1) Have one person read the verses through twice.
2) Speak out any words or phrases that stand out to you.
3) Read through the verses again.
4) What thoughts, feelings, and impressions do you sense? Share them.
5) Read the verses a final time.
6) What challenges or encouragements emerge? Share them with the group.
Share: Communion
Pray:
- Pray for one another.
- End with the Lord’s Prayer.
Devotion 4
Wait: Spend some time waiting on God.
Read: John 18:28-38a.
As Jesus is brought before Pilate, the claims of John’s Gospel are brought to a head. From the beginning, John has shown Jesus to be the one who comes in truth (1:14), and we have seen Jesus constantly contesting with his opponents over the nature of truth. Here, the matter climaxes as Pilate asks the question, “What is truth?”
“In the exchange with Pilate,” says Miroslav Volf, “Jesus argues against the ‘truth of power’ and for ‘the power of truth.’”
Ask:
- What do you see as the difference between the “truth of power” and the “power of truth”?
- What do you see as the thrust of John’s understanding of “truth”?
- How might we live out God’s truth?
Share: Communion
Pray:
- Spend time praying for each of those present in the room and for the wider UNOH team.
- End with the Lord’s Prayer.