Touring with John

I’m typically a safe adventurer. While you won’t find me out hiking mountain ranges or surviving the desert wilds, I love a good epic (and much like Bilbo, I prefer to read said good epic in front of my fireplace with a steaming cup of tea). Curled up with a sweeping journey through a vast landscape with all kinds of perils is my favorite. Should the villain gain too much ground or the challenge be too great, I can slam the book shut and go for a walk. This sort of adventuring allows for limits, boundaries to insulate its readers from insanity. (Because who needs to miss work for weeks due to the carnage of the battle at Hogwarts? Tempting, yes. Practical, no.) Calculated risks—the kind found only in the pages of a book—are my jam.

The gospel of John is anything but safe. Written by Jesus’ best friend, it leaves readers without a buffer, but in the kindest way possible. Adorable yuppies showing up for a well-polished bus tour are met with hiking boots, canteens, and the promise of finding a deeper purpose than they suspected could exist. There’s no comfortable distance allowed here. It’s intimate. You’ll walk away feeling just as read as the book itself. If you’ve grown a bit weary of having control over everything, first, I’m with you. Second, it’s time we took a trip.

Why John? Here are a few reasons:

“This is the unique, tender, genuine, chief Gospel… Should a tyrant succeed in destroying the Holy Scriptures and only a single copy of the Epistle to the Romans and the Gospel according to John escape him, Christianity would be saved.”
Martin Luther

“If you want a reason for not loving Christ, don’t turn to John. He knew Him too long. I don’t believe a man can read the gospel of John without being turned to Christ.”
D.L. Moody

“John’s gospel is deep enough for an elephant to swim and shallow enough for a child not to drown.”
Augustine

Over the next who-knows-how-long, I’ll be sharing a field guide of sorts through this incredible book. Using various translations, sermons, commentaries, and study techniques, we’re talking about an immersive experience. Let’s take our time and get personal as friends on road trips tend to do. I’ll update this landing page as we go. Here’s what we’re in for:

Intro: How It Works

Chapter 1 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 2 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 3 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 4 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 5 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 6 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 7 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 8 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 9 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 10 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)

Chapter 11 (schedule) (passage) (summary) (binder)