11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:11-13
Q & A：
- Do you view God more as a judge constantly looking out for punishment or a loving Heavenly Father and how has your view changed over time? From the story of the prodigal son where the father was gracious, loving and merciful to restore the sonship and the right to be in the family, discuss how you see God’s salvation plan through the Abrahamic covenant and God’s desire to have the entire mankind to be His children. (Gen 12:2-3; Gal 12:2-3; Gal 3:13-14)
- What is your perception on adoption and those families willing to adopt and love the children who are likely to have certain disabilities and rejected by the public? Knowing that we are accepted by God no matter how rebellious we were in the past, as long as we respond to His salvation plan, discuss how this can help us understand being adopted as “sonship” into the family of God. (Gal 4:5-7; John1:12-13; Heb 12:9; Eph 1:5-6)
- Explain what the signet ring of the restored prodigal son represents and what it means to be sealed with the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Why has the elder son misunderstood about his status of sonship and his provision? Seeing that King David restored Mephibosheth’s position and treated him as one of his sons to dine at the king’s table in honoring the covenant relationship with Jonathan, discuss how this helps you understand the entitlement of sonship as join heir with Christ. (Eph 1:13; Luke 15:29-31; 2 Sam 9:10-11)