August 30 Small Group Guide

COME AND SEE  Small Group Guide | John 1:35–51 

BIG IDEA Faith often begins with a simple invitation to come close  enough to see Jesus for yourself.  

BOTTOM LINE You do not need every answer before taking your  next step toward Jesus. 

Read: John 1:35–51 before the meeting.  Goal: Help people take one honest step toward Jesus and consider inviting someone else to do the  same.  Suggested length: 60 minutes. Choose the questions most helpful for your group; you do not need  to use every one.  

Leader note: Create room for honest questions. Do not rush to correct every doubt or fill every  silence.  

Welcome and Connect  

Opening question: What is something you decided to try because someone simply said, “Come and  see”? What happened?  

Optional follow-up: What makes an invitation feel welcoming rather than pressuring?  

Read the Passage  Read John 1:35–51 aloud. Invite different people to voice the narrator, Jesus, Andrew, Philip, and  Nathanael. As you listen, notice every question, invitation, and declaration about Jesus.  

1. Jesus Begins With an Honest Question  

Focus: John 1:35–38  Jesus’ first words in John’s Gospel are not a lecture but a question: “What do you want?” He invites  the disciples to recognize the deeper longing that brought them to Him.  

Discuss  Why do you think Jesus asked the disciples what they wanted instead of immediately telling them who He was?  What are people commonly looking for beneath needs such as success, relief, security, or answers?  If Jesus asked you, “What are you looking for?” how would you answer today?  

2. Understanding Often Follows the First Step  

Focus: John 1:38–39  Jesus does not give the disciples an address or demand that they understand everything. He says,  “Come, and you will see.” Faith grows as they spend time with Him.  

Discuss  What is the difference between knowing facts about Jesus and knowing Him personally?  Why do we sometimes want certainty before we are willing to take a step of faith?  What practices help you move from observing Jesus at a distance to walking closely with Him?  

3. Doubt Does Not Have to Keep Us Away  

Focus: John 1:43–46  Nathanael arrives with skepticism and assumptions. Philip neither shames him nor argues him into  belief. He offers a simple invitation: “Come and see.”  

Discuss What assumptions or past experiences can distort the way people see Jesus?  What can we learn from Philip about responding to someone’s skepticism?  How can a doubt become a doorway to deeper faith instead of a reason to withdraw?  

4. Jesus Knows Us and Sees What Grace Can Do  

Focus: John 1:40–42, 47–49  Jesus sees Nathanael before their meeting and welcomes him fully. He also sees beyond Simon’s  present instability to the person grace will shape him to become: Peter, the “rock.”  

Discuss  Does being fully known by Jesus feel more comforting or unsettling to you? Why?  How does Jesus’ welcome challenge the carefully edited versions of ourselves we sometimes present?  What past failure, present weakness, or negative label might be limiting the future you believe is possible?  Where have you seen Jesus patiently reshape someone over time?  

5. People Who Encounter Jesus Invite Others  

Focus: John 1:40–46, 49–51  Andrew finds Simon. Philip finds Nathanael. Neither man has every answer; each simply brings  someone toward Jesus. The passage begins with “Come, and you will see” and ends with the  promise, “You will see greater things.”  

Discuss  What makes sharing our faith feel more complicated than it needs to be?  Who helped you move toward Jesus, and what did that person do well?  Who might be open to a simple, gracious invitation from you?  What “greater things” have you come to see as you have continued walking with Jesus?  

Personal Response  Give everyone a quiet minute to complete these statements:  The question or doubt I need to bring honestly to Jesus is…  My next step toward Jesus is…  The person I can invite to “come and see” is…  This week’s practice: Take your next step within twenty-four hours. Also offer one sincere, pressure-  free invitation—to worship, coffee, a group gathering, or a conversation about what Jesus has been  doing in your life.  

Closing Prayer  Jesus, thank You for noticing us, knowing us completely, and welcoming us as we are. We bring You  our questions, doubts, hopes, and unfinished places. Draw us closer. Give us courage to take the  next honest step and grace to invite others without pressure or argument. Open our eyes to the  greater things You are doing. Amen.