Getting the Most out of Remaining with Jesus

reveals that He has had a place prepared this whole time where He wants His disciples to live/remain with Him. This is the point of the whole Gospel, from beginning to end: Jesus comes to make true disciples who, having believed in Him, remain in the Heavenly communion that He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. It was only by reading John 14 in the original Greek that I myself was able to see this connection for the first time.

This book is set up to help us live our own discipleship. And discipleship only happens in relationship, first with Jesus, then almost always with fellow Christians here on earth. Every chapter ends with (1) a prayer to bring to Jesus what we ’ ve learned and ask Him for the help we need to live it; and (2) questions to discuss in small-group Bible study. You can meet once per week. You can meet once per month. You can meet in person or virtually. However you do it, the best way to live what you are learning is to come together with fellow disciples so that you can help one another in your journeys. If it isn’ t possible for you to get together with others, at least take some time to think about the questions on your own—maybe this can be part of your prayer time. Please do spend time writing down at least some of your answers. There ’ s something about writing that makes things stick in our minds and hearts. Don ’ t skip the prayer; actually pray it. And don’ t skip the questions; let Jesus speak to your heart through the words of His Gospel. Finally, if you ’ re up for leading a small group but have questions about how to do it, turn to pages 87–88 for some tips.

Now that we know the basics, let’ s dive in to the first encounter between Jesus and His disciples. But first, I invite you to take a moment to pray. If you decide to pray these prayers with your Bible study group, change I to we, me to us, and my to our: