Truth

Eric Tomeo

CPMT • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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Transcript

Handout

Countdown

Something fun (eg. Game, video, etc.). It is not necessary for this to have a tie in to the lesson, but it can.

Game Time

Something fun (eg. Game, video, etc.). It is not necessary for this to have a tie in to the lesson, but it can.

Game 1. Ultimate Chicken (15 Min)

Game 2. Hot Wings (15 Min)

Game 3. Flickin Chicken Target Practice (15 Min)

Introductions

This is culture

Basic Opening Statement: Thanks for coming tonight. Here in just a few minutes we will head downstairs and enjoy some time together eating some good food and having a conversation. But before we do that, I just want to take a minute to pause and consider somethings from the BIble. At bcsm and we talk a lot about community, purpose, mission and truth. We want you to know that this is a safe space to process your faith and ideas, to ask questions we are better off with you than without you. We want to prepare you to experience and tell your friends that a relationship with God is possible.

You have community. You have purpose. You have a mission. You have truth.

And for the past few weeks we have been exploring those things a little more in depth. Today we are talking about Truth.

Now before we get started, let me pray.”

*Pray for God to use what you have to say to move someone further along in their journey towards Jesus.*

Devo

Tell a quick story that introduces the message

We live in a world where, sometimes, knowing the truth can be confusing or difficult. It is hard to discern right from wrong and, in some cases, to know whether or not there is a right and wrong. Before we dig in, I want you to struggle with some scenarios.

What is Truth Survey

Do you believe in “absolute truth” (That something can be true at all times in all situations for all people)?

Do you believe that some things are right sometimes and wrong at other times? For example. it’s wrong to cuss, but if you’re really mad it’s okay. (Use an example if necessary.)

Do you believe it is okay, in some situations, to talk behind people’s backs?

Do you believe it is okay to stretch the truth or lie if it means not hurting someone’s feelings?

Do you believe it is okay, to cheat on your homework? For example. you were out late the night before feeding the homeless and didn’t finish your homework. (Use example if necessary.)

Do you think it is okay to get revenge on someone?

Do you think that religions other than Christianity are true and useful?

DIGGING IN (30 minutes)

Read John 18:33-38

John 18:33–38 (ESV)

My Kingdom Is Not of This World

33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. In this passage Pilate and Jesus are discussing who Jesus claims to be. Pilate is struggling with the answer to that question. In 18:37, Jesus says that anyone who “is of the Truth hears my voice.” Discussion Questions: 1. What do you think it means to be "of the truth"? 2. If you examined our society, would you say that our country is "of the truth"? Explain.

Pilate responds to Jesus by asking, "What is truth"? 5. How do you decide what is true in your life? Pilate asks the question, and no answer is recorded here in scripture. But the Bible says plenty about truth.

But we are going to focus on one thing the Bible says about truth.

MAKING IT REAL (10 minutes)

One of the main themes in the scripture, as we saw a second ago, is that the truth should change our lives. Read John 14:6, 12, 15

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:12 ESV

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

When Pilate asked the question, “What is truth?” he didn’t realize it, but he was looking at the answer. Jesus is the truth according to this verse. Jesus doesn’t just tell the truth, He defines what it is. He is the personification of it. When we say that the truth should change our lives, we’re saying that Jesus should change our lives.

Discussion

Ice breakers

Chik FIl A or Popeyes?

Would you rather have to kill, defeather and cook any chicken you ate for the rest of your life or only be allowed to eat debreaded McDonald’s chicken nuggets in the place of any chicken dish you would normally eat?

If you could choose your age forever, what age would you choose and why?

Pray together

Take a few minutes of your time together to listen to what God is doing in one another’s lives and pray for any specific needs people in your group may have.

What would you say the Bible thinks of truth?

Do you think there is opposition to the truth in our world today? Why or why not?

Why is it so hard to tell right from wrong, and truth from lies?

How does this challenge your view of the truth—that it’s not some abstract reality but is summed up in the person of Christ?

Closing Thought

In the long run, the most unpleasant truth is a safer companion than a pleasant falsehood. ― Theodore Roosevelt

What do you think about that quote? What does it mean? Do you agree?

How can you let the truth that is Jesus change your life?

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