Whatever He Says to You, Do It

In one paragraph

This message came from John 2:1-12, the wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine. Pastor Ray walked through the scene geographically and culturally before landing on two simple instructions Mary gave the servants: listen to whatever Jesus says, and do it. To get the congregation into the story, Pastor Ray laid out the physical reality of the journey. Jesus and the five new disciples had...

Read together

1. John 2:1-12 read aloud by Carl as the sermon's primary text, the wedding at Cana
2. Jeremiah 33:3 quoted as a verse Paschal had memorized through Awana: 'Call out to me and I will answer you, and I will show you great and mighty things that you do not know'
3. Hebrews 10:19-25 read aloud to show the encouraging nature of assembling together and exhorting one another

Talk about it

1. Ray described the 75-mile, 3,000-foot climb the disciples made before arriving at the wedding. How does thinking about that shared journey change the way you picture the relationship between Jesus and those first disciples by the time they arrived at Cana?
2. Tanya's reaction to hearing 'Woman' every time Ray read the passage opened up a real conversation between them about what Jesus meant and how tone carries meaning. Has a familiar Bible passage ever struck you differently depending on how it was read or who was reading it? What happened?
3. Mary told the servants 'whatever he says to you, do it' without knowing what Jesus was going to say. Ray called that word 'whatever' liberating. What feels liberating about it to you, and what feels difficult or unsettling?
4. Ray read a quote from C.S. Lewis: 'It is simply absurd to say you believe if you do not do anything he tells you.' He admitted that hit him hard the night before. How does that land with you, and where do you see the gap, if any, between what you believe and what you actually do?
5. Ray pointed out that Jesus could have made the wine appear instantly, but instead chose to work through the obedience of the servants. He said that is still the way God chooses to work today, through human agency. What does that say about the role ordinary obedience plays in something much larger than the individual act?