Sermon Guide for Sunday, January 18, 2026

Today, we hear Jesus speak his first words in the Gospel of John: “What are you looking for?” This is just as good a question today as it was when it was first asked: what are you looking for? The answer to this and other things is our focus this morning. Let’s begin.

• Think of a time when you found something you had searched long and hard for. It could have been something you lost or something you wanted to possess for the first time. What emotions did you experience once you found what you were looking for?
  
  
• The Bible’s writers often prompt us to look beyond what is apparent to deeper meanings. What things in this story seem ordinary but might have something more to them? What is the ‘something more’?
  
  
• What does it mean for you that Jesus has taken away the sin of the world? What is the sin of the world? What does Jesus’ victory over sin mean for you personally? How does Jesus’ destruction of sin’s power help you to carry on his mission?

Next Step:  When Jesus removes sin’s power to keep us separated from God, a part of what happens is called reconciliation—a putting back together what was alienated, a re-establishment of a lost relationship. How have you experienced God’s reconciling power in your life? In what ways have you shared/can you share this power with others?