Tips for Teaching This Week’s Session of The Gospel Project for Adults

Listen to this week’s leader training podcast with Y Bonesteele, team leader for The Gospel Project for Adults, for a summary and guidance in leading your group.

This week’s additional resources for study and preparation:

• Sermon Manuscript: “The Waterpots at Cana” by Charles Spurgeon
• Article: “The First of Jesus’ Signs” by Ligonier
• Sermon: “Water into Wine” by Richard Sipes
• Sermon: “The Third Day” by Marc Sims

Transcript of Leader Training Podcast:

Hi, this is Y Bonesteele, team leader of the Gospel Project for Adults. Welcome to another Leader Training podcast. Today we are in Unit 21, Session 1, Water to Wine. With the core passage of John 2:1-11; and with the key concept of: Jesus’s power over creation reveals His divine glory and our only hope for salvation.

We’ve seen Jesus baptized and tested by temptations; He was now ready to start His ministry. In John 2:1, we see that “a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee.” Jesus’s mother and His disciples were at this wedding as well. Unfortunately, the wine ran out, and Jesus’s mother told Jesus about it. He responded, “What has this concern of yours to do with me, woman?” Some people think this is a harsh response from Jesus, but when considering the cultural times, it’s not as harsh as it seems. Jesus called His mother “woman” at the cross as well in John 19:26. Jesus continued with the words, “My hour has not yet come,” referring to the fact that Jesus was on a mission, to obey the Father and redeem humanity, according to the will of the Father. No one else could tell Him what to do and when to do it. Neither people nor demons nor circumstances. It seems that Mary understood that in His answer so that’s why she told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you,” in verse 5. For all the pondering that we see Mary doing early in the Gospels, we know that she was faithful and discerning. And she did not know what was going to happen at this wedding, but she knew that all they had to do was to obey Jesus. The Gospel Project Commentary on page 115 quotes Colin G. Kruse in his commentary saying: “It has often been remarked that Jesus’ mother only ever gave one instruction that has been preserved for us: that people should do whatever Jesus tells them to do. It seems that, as she knew she could turn to her Son in time of need, she also knew to leave things to him once she had made the need known.”

At this point, Jesus didn’t need to do anything. A wedding running out of wine is not the end of the world. Yes, the family or couple would feel shame in their context for poor hospitality, but in the wider context of problems, probably less of a catastrophe than most others. But indeed, the family and the wedding party would have been distressed and anxious. And Jesus would have known that. And Jesus did care about the people and the wedding. The next verse tell us that there were six water jars meant for washing, for purification, in verse 6. “Fill the jars with water.” Jesus commanded and it was done. He then said, “draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.” Again, the servants obeyed. The headwaiter had no idea what had just happened, after tasting the wine, seeing that it was better wine than what was set out earlier which was never the norm for the culture. And Jesus did that with six jars that were about 30 gallons each: that’s 180 gallons of fine wine left!

Why might we struggle to believe Jesus cares about our everyday lives? Sometimes we think Jesus cares only about the big things in our life, big moments, big events. Because there are people in our lives who only care about the big things. The details of our everyday may seem boring. But Jesus is not like others. He cares. He cares about everything we care about. He knows every little detail, so He cares about every little detail.

How does Jesus’s care for our temporal needs remind us of His ultimate provision for our spiritual needs on the cross? If Jesus cares about the everyday little details of our temporal life, how much more does He care for our spiritual eternal life. He wants the best for us; He wants to shower us with His blessings, with His presence. We can believe He cares for all of it because He loves us.

Jesus saved the day. He saved the wedding and He saved the honor of the family and couple celebrating. He did something miraculous—changing water into wine isn’t just a magic trick. He altered the physical world; He altered creation. It was a divine act of God. And John tells us the why and the result in verse 11: “He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.” Not everyone believed. Maybe not everyone knew what Jesus just did. But His disciples saw and they believed.

When have you witnessed God’s supernatural work, and how did you respond? When I was in college, I did an all-nighter, finishing up on a final paper due that next morning for an 8am class. I remember finishing up the paper at 4am, went to print it on my printer and it wouldn’t start, it said low ink. I was frantic. I said a quick prayer, simply asking God to help and decided to take a nap, and I would see if any print shop would be available when I woke up. I woke up at 7am, later than I hoped, and again frantic I thought, no harm trying the printer again. I clicked on print and the printer started printing. I was elated! I thanked God for the little miracle, for loving me in the everyday little stuff, and it stuck with me forever, how God does do little miracles for us because He loves us so much. There have been other times of surprise miraculous healings and getting out of tough situations, but I remember this incident the most because I knew God didn’t have to do that. He didn’t have to make that printer print. But He did. And I praise Him for it as I see more today all the “little” things He does for me. Some might question that miracle as a glitch, but I truly saw God working in that moment, and it did help solidify my faith in Him. Jesus is the Creator God and can perform miracles to reveal His glory. And His greatest miracle is seen in His resurrection, conquering death and sin for our salvation.

On to the Group Experience, start with the icebreaker, polling your group about categorizing miracles as seen at the top of page 114. Continue with the Context, sharing how the Bible is filled with stories of miracles, that even before Jesus, the prophets performed with God’s direction. Display Pack Item 12: Christ as Prophet to show what a prophet is, who were the prophets, and Jesus as the ultimate Prophet.

Recap, sharing some of the key points from the study and transition into the Group Activity to discover common components of miracles looking at our core passage and a Mark 10 passage.

Form two groups and give each group a column from the chart. Have someone read John 2:1-11 and have the first group report their findings. Some suggested answers may be:

• Instigating Request: Mary told Jesus they don’t have any wine.
• Call to Action: Jesus told the servants to fill the jars with water and draw them out for the headwaiter.
• Faith Factor: Mary knew Jesus would do what was needed and told the servants to do whatever He said. And after, the disciples believed.
• Need Met: 6 jars were filled with good wine for the wedding party and guests.
• End Result: Jesus’s glory was revealed and the disciples believed.

Have someone read Mark 10:46-52 and have that group report their findings. Some answers may include:

• Instigating Request: Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, asked Jesus to have mercy on him.
• Call to Action: Jesus stopped and called him over, asking, “What do you want me to do for you?”
• Faith Factor: Bartimaeus knew Jesus could heal him so called out for mercy and told Him he wanted to see.
• Need Met: Bartimaeus was healed and could see.
• The End Result: Bartimaeus began to follow Jesus.

Discuss: “In the water-to-wine miracle, if Jesus pointed out that His hour had not yet come but He then yielded to His mother to accomplish what she asked, what may have been His purpose?” A suggested answer is on the top of page 116 of the Leader Guide. It says, “The miracle itself was not the end result because the purpose of miracles is to glorify God and to draw human beings to Christ, our only hope of salvation.” Jesus, also, only takes orders from the Father. Though we may ask for help, Jesus works out all things in line with the will of the Father and in God’s own timing not ours.

Another question to ask is: “Is faith a requirement for a miracle to be accomplished or its byproduct? Why? What is the place of obedience in a miracle?” Both these narratives have a faith factor connected to it, but because God is God, He can accomplish a miracle with our faith or without it. We see it in Jesus’s incarnation, resurrection, and the creation of the world. No human faith was needed when God accomplished those miracles. We cannot put God in a box that says what He does is subject to what we do. We are the ones that have limitations, not God. There is a place for faith and obedience in miracles though too. When we live in faith and obey His commands according to His will and not our own, miracles do happen. God performs miracles in accordance to what gives Him the most glory. We are not always privy to knowing all that is involved in those circumstance though, so we always submit to His will.

Debrief with: “What do these miracles tell us of Jesus’s response to our earthly needs?” It tells us that He truly cares about every detail of our lives. “How do these miracles point to Jesus as the solution for our greatest need?” If He cares for the little details, then of course He cares about our eternal destiny. And if death is our end, He has done all He can, including giving His life for us, that we might live.

Tackle the Heart question in the Head, Heart, Hands section if time is limited: “What are some reasons you might resist taking your concerns to Jesus in prayer?” Sometimes we might think our requests are so insignificant or petty. We might think our requests are trivial. But God just wants to hear from us. He wants us to need Him and want Him and come to Him to enjoy the relationship we have. He does care about everything about us and listens to all our prayers.

Go over Next Steps as additional application points for the week. End with prayer requests and praises, and if time permits, end praying through Psalm 104:31-33, “31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works. 32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles; he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live.”

Hey, thanks for joining me on another Leader Training podcast. Write me at [email protected] and hope you have a great group time!