Toy Story 2
Sermon Notes
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Genesis 1:1
The first day - light was created
The second day - the sky was created
The third day - dry land, seas, plants and trees were created
The fourth day - the Sun, Moon and stars were created
The fifth day - creatures that live in the sea and creatures that fly were created
The sixth day - animals that live on the land and finally humans, made in the image of God were created
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- John 1:1
The first sign: Changing Water Into Wine (John 2:1-11)
The second sign : Healing the Royal Official’s Son (John 4:46-54)
The third sign: Healing the paralytic at the pool (John 5:1-18)
The fourth sign: Feeding over 5,000 with fish and loaves (John 6:1-14)
The fifth sign: Walking on the water (John 6:15-25)
The sixth sign: Healing a man born blind (John 9:1-41)
The seventh sign: Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-46)
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
- John 5:1-15
Table Group Resources
Mixer
What National Park(s) have you been to, or want to go to?
Neighborly - Daily Devotional
To get the Daily Devotionals delivered to you every morning, text ‘dailydevotional’ to 97000.
In Pastor Harry’s, 7/5/22 entry, Psalm 56, he asks: If Jesus showed up in your life today... would you recognize Him? King David could see God helping him, even in the darkest (or bumbling) moments. How would you recognize Jesus in your current situation? Is it by what he says, or what he does, or both? Journal those indicators with the support of scripture so you will see him with clarity next time he shows up! And then model it in your family and relationships so others can see him too.
In Youth Director, Cristina’s, 7/7/22 entry, Silence, she reminds us that God is calling us to speak righteousness and fight for His will. There is something God is placing on your heart today and He wants you to raise your hand - raise your voice. Contemplate that one conviction and create a plan on how you might take action against it as a Good Neighbor in Christ’s church. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give you boldness - and He will take care of the rest!
Sermon Questions
Scriptures: Genesis 1:1-2:2; John 5:1-15
What impacted or challenged you in today’s message?
Like Woody, share a time when you felt like your arm was left lying on the floor, and you in a panic. What is that emotional/spiritual area of your life that you want to be made well? What role or responsibility do you need to take in that journey?
As was the tendency of the culture, the paralyzed man of John 5 placed all his hope of healing and recovery in the belief that an angel dipping its wing in the pool and stirring the water would provide his healing. When we are dealt an unexpected blow, we often rely on earthly signs and even superstitions for hope, healing, and consolation. What types of habits, superstitions, and earthly
comforts do you turn to when things go wrong? How might these activities detract from the work God wants to do in you?
Modeling Jesus’ question in John 5:6, “Do you want to get well?”, Pastor Jared made the statement that our desperation has to exceed our pride in order for healing to occur. Is pride (i.e. a belief that you alone can fix or control the problem) a component of your unresolved condition? If so, on the scale of balance, how does your desire for change compare to your fear of embarrassment/change?
God is willing to risk His reputation to heal that place that has been troubling you for days, weeks, maybe even years. Do you believe you are a candidate for God’s healing? How would you imagine making room for God’s work in your life would benefit His church, your family, your relationships?
Serve
Check out our summer + ongoing Impact Serving Opportunities! Tag Sign Ups are going on in the Lobby and Good Neighbor Day is July 23!
Pray
Join us in praying for those in our church, and in our world, who have received some hard news in recent days. May their hope be in the goodness and the faithfulness of the LORD.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
Hebrews 10:23
