Introduction

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.    But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

John 20:30-31

For his devotional on these verses Robert Huse wrote, “These verses show us the Gospels were never intended to simply be biographies of Jesus’ life. Their aim was to give life!   To read for information is to miss their purpose. The gospel writers want us to see Jesus, and in seeing Him believe he is the Son of God, our Saviour and Lord.”

Jesus did many amazing things.  Not only was He the most influential person in history, his life, death and resurrection has changed the lives of millions of followers.  Hope Community is made up of many of those people.  Each of us is on a life-journey with Christ.  We have beliefs, questions and reflections.

As a community of Jesus, we desire to make and mature disciples (followers of Jesus).  Our goal in reading the Gospel of John is to get to know Jesus better.  By reading  and discussing the Bible together, we hope to understand God’s will and live for the sake of the world around us.  We will learn, but more important we will be.

During this Lent/Easter season, we ask you to intentionally set aside time to read, reflect and practice being in relationship with this Jesus we long to know. We encourage you to find a friend and discuss these scriptures. Exploring God’s Word in community is a powerful experience.

As you read ask the questions –

  What does this passage show us about Jesus?

  What is God saying to me in this passage?

  What questions/prayers do I have for God?

We give a sincere thank you to all who participated in this booklet.  May God bless you on this Easter from your friends from Hope Community.

From the back page of the booklet:

Still getting to know Jesus.

On March 15, 2000 Hope Community published a devotional Walking with Jesus written by people from Hope.  It seems fitting that 10 years later we would return to our roots, reading through the gospel of John together.

    Like a quilt, our faith in Christ as individuals creates our community.  We acknowledge walking together with Jesus today will effect the next generation of believers.

    It is our hope that we still seek to know Jesus better together.  We see God’s love in our town changing lives. As a congregation, we wait in anticipation to experience his power and guidance, calling on us into our community.  

    Remember always, the tomb is empty.  Jesus is with us.  God still speaks.