This Week's Study Guide

Week 9 Message-Based Curriculum  

Text: 1 John 5:13-21 

Opening 

• Begin with a brief welcome and prayer to set the tone for the group time. 

• Introduce the theme: This week we are closing out our study through 1st John. This series hasn’t been about removing uncertainty from life—but about anchoring ourselves to what is eternally true through a relationship with God.  

Discussion Questions 

CONNECT 

• Have you ever been absolutely confident in something only for that thing to let you down?  

• When life feels uncertain, where are you most tempted to look for stability and control?  

• Which is harder for you: Not realizing what’s coming next or admitting you were confident in the wrong thing?  

DISCOVER 

Read John 17:3 together 

• How does Jesus define eternal life in this verse? How is it different from how we normally think about eternal life?  

Read 1 John 5:13-21 together 

• How does Jesus’ definition of eternal life from John 17:3 reframe 1 John 5:13?  

• In vv. 14-15 on prayer, what stands out to you about the confidence John says believers can have before God in prayer?  

• How does praying “according to His will” challenge the way we usually think about unanswered prayers?  

• In vv. 16-17 John talks about the “sin that does not to lead to death” or unconfessed sin.  

• Why do you think confession is so important for the Christian life?  

• What practices of confession do you have in your own life?  

• In vv. 21, John ends with the warning to keep away from idols.  

• Why do you think John ends the letter this way?  

• How can good things quietly become substitutes for God in our lives?  

• What is one “false sense of security” you need to loosen your grip on this week?  

PRACTICE FOR THE WEEK:  

• Confess one area where you’ve been looking for certainty outside of Christ. 

• Pray daily—not to control outcomes—but to realign your trust with God’s will. 

• Name Jesus as Lord in moments of stress, fear, or temptation. 

GROUP PRAYER  

This week, we are going to tie our prayer requests to what we’ve been talking about:  

Pray together for: 

• Honest confession and renewed confidence in Christ 

• Deeper knowledge of God, not just more information 

• Freedom from idols that promise security but can’t deliver 

CLOSING 

Share Christmas plans and a reminder to invite others to Christmas Eve services. Encourage your group to sit together for services if you’re all attending the same ones.