January 3, 2025
A video introduction using illustrations, personal stories, metaphors, or active learning examples to begin the discussion.
After the video, prompts are supplied for thinking and sharing with others personal perception and experience. This opening activity prompts participants to think about and relate to the topic, and to share with others.
Consider the ways to show your identity. Which of these identity markers tells the most about who you really are, and which tells the least? Why?
The Bible discussion begins with a careful reading of the whole passage, either from your own Bibles, or from the provided images below.
Then participants are to ask:
As you read John 8, notice how often Jesus says, “I am,” for example “I am the light of the world” (v. 12), “I am not alone” (v. 16), “I am from above” (v. 23). Each statement reveals something deeper about His identity, preparing us for the moment when the conversation reaches its peak in verses 54–59. The religious leaders challenge Him, but Jesus keeps returning to His relationship with the Father. “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing.” Identity isn’t something we create; it’s something we receive. That invites us to ask: What voices are trying to define who you are, and how might Jesus’ steady confidence in the Father shape your own sense of self?
Then Jesus makes His most astonishing claim: “Before Abraham was born, I am!” He is not simply older than Abraham, but rather disclosing that He is eternal, speaking the very name God used in Exodus 3:14. He is the One who stands outside time (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17).
A parting video clip with a personal invitation to apply the message to “knowing Christ” and “living in Christ” in the coming week.
