Introduction
In this session John 5: 10-18 we ask ourselves a question, “why would sick persons stay at the house of mercy, or grace or kindness (Bethesda) for 38 years and not connect to grace?. Here we will focus of the external evil of religion and how it keeps people diseased. After Christ helping the man in turning obstacles Into stepping stones, he responded by worshipping the healer in the temple and finally went back to make the healer known to the religious leaders.
Objectives
By the end of this session the learner will have:
- Understood what prevents sick people from connecting to God’s grace, though within their reach by looking at the invalid man at Bethesda.
- Appreciated that healing may result to worshipping the healer or the healing
- Been warned that religion always stands in the way of the travellers’ healing and health
Outline
- Sick persons at the house of mercy but not connecting to mercy
- Religion one of the three evils obstruct healing and health. (other evils are witch craft and racism)
- Healed to proclaim and worship
Group Study Time
John 5: 10-18
Connecting
- Gather with two or more people for a community discovery bible study session.
- Start with a heartfelt prayer, inviting God to guide and bless your understanding.
- Explore the passage by reading it at least twice, using different Bible versions if available, then retell the story together as a group.
- Reflect and share the challenges and blessings you experienced from the previous study.
Comprehending
- What are the enemies of God’s grace, mercy and kindness? Self, sin, Satan’ evil , system of the World,
- Read John 5: 10-18. What is religion? Discuss how religion kept the sick person in the house of mercy, or grace or kindness (Bethesda) for 38 years and not connect to God’s grace?
- People’s pain on the earth could be caused by five things, abuse from enemies, abuse from their leaders, silence from other people, helpless of victims and immature worldview. How could of the five things keep off the man for 38 years from connecting to grace and mercy?
- Read Psalm 121. Where does my help come from? Discus 4 places where man’s help could come from? (God’s help, self help, hills help, and dark world help)
Committing
- Engage with the Bible—read, study, memorize, meditate, pray, listen, and live it out.
- List three lessons you have learnt as an agent of change that you would like to put into practice and teach others about.
- Take time and worship Jesus with the attributes revealed about Christ.
- Use the SPACEPETS model, to assist you in putting God’s word into practice. Look for:
- Sin to confess
- Promise to claim
- Attitude to change
- Command to keep
- Error to change
- Prayer to make
- Example to copy
- Truth to obey and
- Something praiseworthy
Communicating
- Identify one person you can connect with and share the valuable insights and lessons you gained from this session.
- Reach out to a new believer—either in person or by phone—and pray with them to support them through their challenges, including any concerns about attending church.
- Create a new group and guide others through this study to help them grow in their understanding.
Post Lesson Teaching Summary
Great job completing the study! Take a moment to listen to this summary to reinforce your group’s understanding of the text and ensure you’re all on the same page. We’re here to support your learning journey!