The importance of God's Word (the Bible), is described to two different audiences: the Greeks and the Jews, and the different reactions that the two audiences would have had. The purpose, meaning, and implications of the Word of God is described as intended by God.

Who was John the Baptist and why was he performing water baptisms in preparation for the Messiah? John was a humble person which allowed him to shine the light on Jesus. What does it look like to be humble: 1) seeing all that we have as being from God; 2) not getting jealous of other people's success; 3) sensitive to self-promotion, and 4) willing to humble ourselves before others.

Jesus attends a wedding at Cana, where he performs a miracle. Through this, we learn that it is the heart that matters not our external performance. We can approach God in a personal way and do not have to relate to God in a formalistic way.

The story of Nicodemus and his discussion with Jesus Christ on what it means to be a born again Christian.

The Samaritan woman at the well talks to Jesus and is amazed by all that he knows about her. Her status in the culture at the time does not define how Jesus sees her and chooses to interact with her. She learns that God is the only one who can satisfy our deepest needs. She is quick to want to tell others about her experience; God can and will use anyone who is willing to share His good news.

While Jesus was traveling to Galilee, a royal official approaches Jesus and asks him to heal his son who is sick. Through this interaction the role of miracles is challenged and compared to the Roman Centurion in Matthew 8. Faith and doubt are compared and we see that our faith should be placed in facts, and as we act in faith, we will experience the feelings that accompany it.

On the Sabbath, by the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem, Jesus seeks out a man who had been invalid for 38 years and heals him. Through this interaction, we see Jesus is exposing the flaws and hypocrisy of religious thinking. He is showing that all people are in need of God's grace and He is the way to that grace.

Jesus claims we can have eternal life through Him. He calls on four witnesses to testify about the truthfulness of this claim: 1) John the Baptist, 2) miraculous works, 3) the Holy Spirit, and 4) Old Testament scriptures. The prophecy in Daniel 9 is discussed as an example of the Old Testament validating Jesus as the promised Messiah.

A crowd of 5,000 men gathers around Jesus near the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and His disciples discuss how they will feed this crowd. This passage reveals the differences between having a horizontal and vertical perspective on life. Through the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus shows He wants to meet humanity's innermost needs and use His followers to do this work.

Jesus challenges people who are following Him with some hard teachings. He confronts them for following Him for only what they get out of it. He challenges them not to live for things that will perish, but for things that will last for eternity. He confronts the idea that they can work their way to God and claims He is the only way. Lastly, He tells them they need to believe in Him because He is the bread of life.

As the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles approaches, Jesus' brothers try to convince Him to make a public appearance in Jerusalem. Through this interaction, and what follows, we see different perspectives of who people say Jesus is. Five perspectives are discussed: 1) He is a good teacher or prophet; 2) He is a deceiver; 3) much of what we know about Jesus is a legend; 4) He is a madman, and 5) He is the Messiah. We are each faced with making the decision of who we believe Jesus is.

A woman, who was caught in adultery, is brought to Jesus in the temple courts. Jesus is confronted with how to handle her sin, which is punishable by death in the Old Testament. Through their interaction, Jesus reveals the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and shows immense grace and love toward the woman. We see how grace and love are the true motivators for life transformation.

As Jesus is speaking to a crowd of people the Pharisees begin to challenge him. Through this interaction, we are shown the difference between the light (Jesus) and the darkness (life without God). The Pharisees reveal their thinking does not reflect the truth of God. Jesus gives a warning to the crowd that they will die in their sins, apart from God, unless they believe in Him.

Jesus is with his disciples on the Sabbath. They encounter a man who was blind from birth. The disciples' question Jesus on why the man was born blind. Through Jesus' healing of the blind man and the Pharisees response, many theological issues are addressed such as sin, the Sabbath, and humanity's true spiritual condition.

Through the story of the Good Shepherd, we see what God's leadership looks like in our lives and how we should lead others. This is contrasted with the characteristics of a bad shepherd. Four things we learn about God's leadership are: 1) He wants a personal relationship with those who follow Him; 2) He leads by example; 3) He is continually involved in our lives; 4) His leadership is characterized by self-sacrifice. Are we going to commit to living as servant leaders as Jesus did?

On the last day of Jesus' life, he shows his disciples how much he loves them by washing their feet. We learn that we need to undergo two types of washing ourselves: 1) we need to be washed morally clean before a perfect God; and 2) we need to regularly be refreshed by God in our daily lives. Jesus calls his disciples, and us, to figuratively wash each other's feet by sacrificing for each other and providing spiritual refreshment. He gives us three motivations to do this: 1) he provided the example for us to follow; 2) he has met all our needs so we can meet the needs of others; and 3) we will be blessed if we serve others.

Jesus told the disciples he was going to be leaving them soon. He explained he was going to be with the Father and the only way for them to come was through him. Jesus told them he would not leave them alone, but God would send them the Counselor, i.e., the Holy Spirit, who had equality with God the Father and the Son. This three-part union is called the Trinity. Through Jesus' explanation of the Holy Spirit, we see eight distinct roles the Holy Spirit has and how they apply to our lives.

Jesus uses a horticultural example to explain God's role and the believer's role in abiding in Christ and the benefits that follow. God lifts us up, raises our level of need for Him, and disciplines us while the believer is called to read the bible, pray, commit to fellowship, and not resist God's discipline. The benefits of abiding in Christ are bearing fruit (i.e. the work God accomplishes through us in others), experiencing the privilege of being a part of God's great plan, cherishing God's friendship, and the joy that comes from Him.

The world system, or kosmos, is critiqued and drawn out in the topic of materialism and hedonism. It is used as Satan's tool to oppose believers and distract people from their relationship with God, and we are taught how to escape its grasp and focus on how Jesus overcame it.

After the Upper Room talk with his disciples, Jesus prayed summarizing the points he made in this talk. Jesus prayed for God to be glorified through His followers, and that non-believers would be attracted to Him through the truth, the unity of believers, and their lives.\r\n

On the night before his death Jesus takes his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and later Peter denies knowing Jesus three times. Comparing the actions and responses to sin by these two men illustrates difference between true repentance and worldly sorrow.\r\n

Through the details of the crucifixion, the world witnesses the depth of love that God has for humanity. At the cross we see Jesus, the king of the world, go through mental and physical torture to gift forgiveness for humanity's moral debt. God judged and punished His son for all the sin and atrocities committed by humanity. Jesus died for his enemies and his death is adequate for all people.

The resurrection of Christ is foundational to our faith. It is the final authority of Christ's plan to forgive the sins of humanity. The apostle Paul says if the resurrection didn't occur, our faith is useless. The eye witness accounts to Jesus' resurrection, the presence of women, and historical references are all examples of evidence for the resurrection. There are many proposed alternate explanations for the resurrection; each one is found to be inadequate. Christ has risen and is worthy of our faith.

God is the God of second chances. We see this play out in the life of Peter. As Jesus approaches Peter, after the crucifixion, He meets Peter where he is at in his failure and offers him compassionate discipline. Peter goes on to be foundational to the growth of the early church. Like Peter, God wants to use our failures to grow us into maturity and use us powerfully.