PDF format is at: April 11, 2021 Bible Study
Adult Bible Study
April 11, 2021
God Is with You in the Ordinary
What was the last request you made to God? Was it for something big? Something small? Have you ever caught yourself apologizing to God for your requests?
“I know you might not care about this…..” “I know this doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things…….” “I know this seems like such a silly request…..”
Why do we do this? Why are we so hesitant to pray for the “small things” in life? Perhaps it has to do with how we view God. We see him as holy and distant. Someone far off and far above everything happening on earth. We don’t view him as near and present, involved in our everyday lives, or moving through the world in an intimate way.
John opens his Gospel with the statement, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1). John tells us the Word is Jesus, “The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” and that he “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (verse 14). Jesus was God-in-the-flesh. Once Jesus ascended into heaven, he left us with his Spirit (see 2 Corinthians 5:5)—a guide who, like the air around you, is everywhere, and like the breath in your lungs, is inside you.
So, if God is as near as your own breath, surely he is aware of what is happening in your life, in your mind, in your heart, and in your body. Furthermore, he is concerned about the details of your life—in your mind, heart, and body. He is with you in the highest of highs and deepest of lows. He is with you just as much during a trip to the supermarket as he is when you’re heading to the hospital for a checkup. He is in the ordinary moments of life.
Find comfort in Jesus who was divine yet altogether ordinary. This man who woke up each day, worked, fished, drank water and, occasionally, turned water in into wine.
- Share
Do you wonder if your prayer requests are too small for God? If so, why do you think that is the case?
(1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.)
- John states that Jesus and his disciples were invited to a wedding (see verse 2). What does this indicate about Jesus’ social life? What does it tell you about who Jesus is?
- At one point, Mary turned to Jesus and told him there was no wine left (see verse 3). Why do you think Mary chose to make this particular statement to Jesus? What does this tell you about the way that Mary viewed Christ?
- The closest English translation of Jesus’ words in John 2:4 appear to be, “Mother, your concern and mine are not the same.” It is as if Jesus carried an “appointment book” and had a specific time in mind when he planned to reveal his power to the world—and this day in Cana was not that moment. Given this information, what does it tell you about Jesus that he decided to do the miracle anyway?
- There were six waterpots at the wedding, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. This means that Jesus turned 10 to 180 gallons of water into wine. What is significant about the fact that Jesus provided this much abundance in performing the miracle? What does this ay about the way he provides for you when you come to him with your requests?
- How does John describe the quality of wine (see verse 10)? What does the quality of the wine tell you about Jesus, his generosity, and his power?
Application
The miracle at the wedding in Cana was not a healing, a deliverance, or a resurrection. Jesus simply turned water to wine. An incredible feat…but what was the point? Compared to Jesus’ other miracles, this one accomplished something quite ordinary. This is perhaps the point……….the ordinariness of it all.
- Has God ever answered a “big request” in your life? Has he ever answered a “small request”? If so, what were your requests? How did God answer?
- I John 5:14-15 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” Are there any small requests that you have not brought before God in prayer? Why?