Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:22-30.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
John 10:22-23 (NIV)
22  Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23  and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.
 
On verses 22-23:  The Feast of Dedication was a relatively new festival that the Jews first began celebrating in 164 B.C. to commemorate the reconstruction and rededication of the temple in Jerusalem by Judas Maccabeus in 165 B.C. after it was destroyed by the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 B.C.  This Feast of Dedication involves a celebration of lights and is now more commonly known as Hanukkah, a festival that Jewish people continue to celebrate to this day.  During Jesus’ time on earth, whenever the Feast of Dedication was celebrated, there was an undercurrent of hope among the Jews that the Messiah would arrive at the temple and begin establishing Israel as an independent nation.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:1-10.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
John 10:1-5 (NIV)
1  “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2  The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.
3  The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
 
On verses 1-5:  Back during Jesus’ time on earth, shepherds would often bring their respective flocks together to be placed in a communal pen for the night.  One shepherd would be assigned to be the watchman to watch the flocks at night while the other shepherds slept.  In the morning, the shepherds would return to the communal pen to collect their sheep.  But how would they separate their own sheep from the rest of the sheep in the communal pen? 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 9:24-34.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
John 9:24-25 (NIV)
24  A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25  He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
 
On verses 24-25:  When questioned again by the Pharisees, the “once was blind but now I see” man is not afraid to testify about what Jesus has done in his life.  He didn’t claim to have all the answers.  Rather he simply boldly shared his experience about the difference Jesus made in his life.  To be an effective witness for Jesus, you don’t need to have all the answers, but you do need to be willing to share your story. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 9:1-12.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

John 9:1-3 (NIV)
1  As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2  His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

On verses 1-3:  When the disciples saw a man blind from birth, the disciples immediately assumed that the man’s blindness was somebody’s fault.  The only question for them was “Who is to blame?”  But Jesus didn’t play the blame game.  Instead, Jesus explains that the reason why this man was born blind was not due to this man’s sins or his parents’ sins, but “so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (v3).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 8:33-47.  I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!
 
John 8:33-36 (NIV)
33  They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
35  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
36  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
 
On verses 33-36: When you don’t know that you’re a slave, you’ll have no reason to want to be set free. That was the predicament of Jesus’ opponents. They were slaves to sin but they didn’t know it (v34). Jesus came to turn us who were slaves to sin into children of God and members of God’s family (v35). So if you know that you have sinned and like a slave are bound to sin again, look to Jesus. He is the only One who can set you free.