JOHN 16:16-24
THE BIRTH OF JOY

Application Guide

READ THE TEXT

JOHN 16:16-24

16 “In a little while, you will no longer see me; again in a little while, you will see me.”

17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this he’s telling us: ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again in a little while, you will see me,’ and, ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They said, “What is this he is saying, ‘In a little while’? We don’t know what he’s talking about.”

19 Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, and so he said to them, “Are you asking one another about what I said, ‘In a little while, you will not see me; again in a little while, you will see me’? 20 Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. 22 So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy from you.

23 “In that day you will not ask me anything. Truly I tell you, anything you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. 24 Until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

  1. In general, was there anything that stood out to you from the sermon or the reading of the text? Was there anything you were encouraged or confused by?

  2. During the sermon, there were four things mentioned that caused the disciples sorrow: loneliness, confusion, loss, and hopelessness. Share a recent time when you felt one of these emotions.

  3. Share a time in the past when God turned your sorrow into joy.

  4. Why did Jesus say that the disciples would rejoice? How is this encouraging to us in the midst of sorrow?

  5. How was the gospel and the work of Jesus magnified through the text or sermon?

  6. Is there anything the Spirit is calling you to obey as an individual or as a group?

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