Note #1: Your heart is the CORE of who you are.

Note #2: When our heart is set on SELF fulfillment or worldly STUFF, we lose heart.

Jesus High Priestly Prayer (John 17:1-21)

John 17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

Theology moment: If Jesus is God, who then is He praying to?

Answer: The creator God revealed in the Bible is ONE BEING (essence) comprised of three coeternal, coequal, and yet distinct persons.

John 17:2-3 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Observation: Eternal life is a QUALITY of life and a QUANTITY of life.

John 17:4-5 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

John 17:6-10 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

Observation: When Jesus faced his WORST, he prayed for our BEST.

John 17:11-13, 20-21 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.

Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them…. 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

QUESTION: What causes you to lose heart?

If PEOPLE are causing you to lose heart, remember Jesus prayed for unity.

If PURPOSE is causing you to lose heart, remember Jesus prayed for mission.

If DIFFICULTY is causing you to lose heart, remember Jesus prayed for protection.

If SIN is causing you to lose heart, remember `Jesus prayed for sanctification.

BOTTOM LINE: When you take his PRAYER to heart, you won’t lose heart.

Small Group Questions:

1. Modern culture loves to talk about the HEART. Why do you think this is? How would you define heart?

2. Read John 17:1-21. Make a list of all the things Jesus prays for.

3. What one word would you use to describe being prayed for by Jesus? Why?

4. Describe a time when you stopped to pray for someone. Is this difficult or easy for you to do? Explain.

5. Look at 4 ways that people often lose heart. Which one resonates with you? How does what Jesus prayed motivate you to keep going?