Getting Started
1. When you think of a great day, what comes to mind? Who is with you? What are you doing? How do you feel? Describe what it looks like for you to have a perfect day.
2. In a broader sense, how do you know that your life is going well? What are the ingredients for a high-quality, purpose-driven existence?
3. Outside of following what the Bible teaches, how do people go about looking for the “good” life? Describe some non-biblical strategies.
Going Deeper
1. King Solomon, the son of King David, did some research into the good life. Read the following verses and discuss what he found.
a. Ecclesiastes 1:1, 2
b. Ecclesiastes 5:10
c. Ecclesiastes 12:8
d. Ecclesiastes 12:13
2. Read John 1:4-5. What does this verse say about the person who gives life? Who is this person? Also, what does it say about those who live without Him (i.e., those who live in darkness)?
3. Read Jeremiah 29:11-29 and Matthew 10:18. How do these two passages give us a clue about how to pursue a good life? Describe a time when you started to realize and practice this in your own life.
4. Read Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 as a group. When you think of the Word–Jesus Christ–being with God in the beginning, what kind of picture comes to mind? Tell your story of the way in which Jesus has given you life.
5. Now read Genesis 1:26. Think about the “us” in this verse. How does this verse illuminate the way in which God gives life and the way in which we can enjoy the good life? What do you notice about His relationship with Jesus (the Word)? In what way is your relationship with Jesus similar? Different?
6. Read John 1:10-11 and John 3:19. Paint a picture of a person living in darkness, resistant to Jesus’ love.
Applying the Message
1. When you think of Jesus (the Word), which of the four descriptors below feels like the way in which you most often think of Him? Perhaps a good way to connect with this question is to say, “When I think of Jesus, I think of…”
Life
Light
Truth
Love
2. With that in mind, how does this awareness help you create an eternal, unchanging, God-dependent lens through which you view the challenges, successes, setbacks, and victories of your life? In the eternal scheme of things, how is God giving you a good life?
