Friday Night Bible Study

Every Friday night a group of us sits down around an open Bible and works through it together. No performance. No program. Just the text, the questions it raises, and the time to sit with them.

This page is where the notes from those evenings live. Each week I post what we covered, the scripture we read, the word studies, the questions we talked through, and a few places to dig further. If you were in the room, use them to review. If you weren’t, you are welcome to follow along from wherever you are.

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

John 5:39, NKJV

What we are studying now

We are going through the Gospel of John verse by verse. The whole book, start to finish, with time to linger where the text asks us to and to follow the cross references where they lead.

John is the most deliberate book in the New Testament. Every scene is chosen. Every number is counted. He tells us plainly why he wrote, and he wrote so that we would believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have life in His name. That is what we are after.

The study runs twenty-nine weeks in four parts, following the way John built his Gospel.

PartChaptersWhat we will see
The Prologue and the first disciplesJohn 1The Word with God before creation, made flesh and dwelling among us. The first men who followed Him.
The Book of SignsJohn 2–12Seven signs that show who Jesus is, the “I AM” sayings, and a world dividing over Him.
The Upper RoomJohn 13–17The last night with the disciples. Foot washing, the promise of the Spirit, the vine, and the great prayer of chapter 17.
The Hour of GloryJohn 18–21The arrest, the trial, the cross, the empty tomb, and breakfast on the beach.

Start here

If you are new, begin with the introduction. Before we went verse by verse, we spent one evening on the man who wrote the book. The fisherman. The Son of Thunder. The old man in Ephesus who outlived all the others. Knowing him changes how the Gospel reads.

How to use these notes

  • Read the passage first. Every session names the verses we covered. Read them slowly, twice, before you read the notes.
  • Keep your Bible open. The notes quote the NKJV, but they are meant to send you back to the text, not replace it.
  • Check the words yourself. Word studies include Strong’s numbers so nobody has to take my word for what a Greek or Hebrew term means.
  • Sit with the questions. The discussion questions are the ones we talked through on Friday. They work just as well alone or around a kitchen table.
  • Go deeper if you want to. Each post ends with further reading and a plan for the week.

Sessions

New notes are added here each week as we go.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 20:31, NKJV

The Believer’s Creed

I believe in the eternal God— 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— 
One in essence, infinite in glory, 
the Maker of heaven and earth, 
whose wisdom shaped all things seen and unseen. 

I believe in Jesus Christ, 
the only begotten Son of God, 
conceived by the Holy Spirit, 
born of the Virgin Mary, 
holy and humble, yet Lord of all. 
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, 
was crucified, died, and was buried; 
He descended into the depths of hell, 
and on the third day He rose victorious. 
He ascended into heaven, 
and now reigns at the right hand of the Father, 
from where He will come again 
to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 
the breath and power of God within us, 
who gives life, convicts hearts, and sustains faith. 
Through the Spirit, the Church is made holy, 
a communion of saints across all generations. 
I believe in the forgiveness of sins, 
the resurrection of the body, 
and life everlasting in the presence of God. 

I believe in the sacred mystery of the Trinity— 
not three gods, but one holy unity: 
Father, Son, and Spirit—eternal, unchanging, divine. 

I believe in the sacred story revealed in Scripture: 
that from the beginning, light has warred against darkness, 
and though the enemy rose in pride, 
God’s promise prevailed through the Seed— 
Christ Jesus, born of a woman, 
who triumphed through His cross and empty tomb. 

I believe salvation is a gift of grace— 
received by faith, sealed by repentance, 
and made real through the transforming love of God. 

I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, 
a lamp for our path and truth for every soul. 

I believe in the call of baptism— 
a burial of the old, a rising to new life in Christ. 

I believe the Holy Spirit empowers believers 
with gifts of healing, wisdom, and tongues, 
that we may glorify God and serve the world in love. 

I believe in divine healing, 
for the power that raised Christ from the grave 
still moves with mercy among His people. 

The Believer’s Charge 

We believe that we are called and anointed— 
not as spectators, but as servants of the living God. 
We are His witnesses in all the earth, 
ambassadors of reconciliation and bearers of His light. 

We believe that Christ has commissioned us 
to go into the world and proclaim His gospel, 
to speak truth to the lost and hope to the broken, 
to open blind eyes and set captives free. 
In His name we move without fear, 
for the Spirit goes before us with power and signs. 

We believe the promise of our Lord: 
that these signs will follow those who believe— 
we shall cast out demons in His name, 
speak with new tongues of heavenly fire, 
lay hands upon the sick and see them restored, 
tread upon the works of the enemy, 
and walk in the authority of the risen Christ. 

We believe that the Spirit within us 
confirms the Word with power and grace— 
that we are vessels of His love, 
agents of His mercy, 
and temples of His presence. 

We choose to live as those sent by God, 
our hearts aflame with His gospel, 
our hands ready to serve, 
our voices lifted in praise, 
our lives poured out for His glory. 

The Blessed Hope

I believe in the glorious return of Jesus Christ, 
who will restore all things 
and reign in righteousness and peace. 

And I believe in eternal life— 
the home prepared for the redeemed, 
and the solemn truth of judgment for the unrepentant. 

This is our faith, our confession, our calling, and our hope. 
To God be the glory—forever and ever. 
Amen.