Looking Back at the Upper Room
Month 10: The Upper Room · Family Worship
Today's Scripture
Read together: John 13:34-35 & John 14:6 & John 15:5
34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” — John 13:34-35
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. — John 14:6
5 I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. — John 15:5
Memory Verse
“Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”— John 17:3 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Mark 15-16; Luke 1
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (The cross and the empty tomb in Mark, then Luke opens with angels announcing John and Jesus.)The Heart of It
For a whole month, our family has lingered in one borrowed upstairs room in Jerusalem. On His last night, Jesus poured out His heart to the friends He loved. Tonight we gather up the three great treasures He left on that table. First, He gave us a new commandment. "Love one another, as I have loved you" (). Second, Thomas asked how to find the way home to the Father. Jesus answered with the boldest and most wonderful claim ever spoken. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (). Third, He told us how to live every ordinary day. "I am the vine, you are the branches... without Me you can do nothing" (). Love one another. Come to the Father through Jesus alone. Stay connected to Him like a branch on its vine.
See how those three fit together? We cannot love one another the way Jesus loved us just by trying harder. That love only flows when we stay close to the Vine. And we cannot stay close to a vine we were never joined to in the first place. We are joined to it when we come to the Father through Jesus, the one Way. Tonight's memory verse ties the whole month into a single bow. Jesus called eternal life knowing God. It isn't just knowing facts about Him. It's a real, growing friendship with the Father and the Son. That is what the upper room was always about. Jesus wasn't handing His friends a set of rules to keep. He was inviting them into a friendship to enjoy forever, starting right now.
Around the Table
Jesus gave His friends three big gifts: love each other, come to God through Jesus, and stay close to Jesus every day. The best gift of all is being God's friend forever!
Let's do it: Hold up three fingers and say together: "Love. Jesus is the way. Stay close." One finger for each.
All month Jesus has been teaching one big idea: eternal life means really knowing God, not just knowing facts about Him. Knowing your name is not the same as being your friend.
Let's talk: What is one thing you learned about Jesus this month that you want to remember?
Look how the three verses connect. We come to the Father through Jesus, then we abide in Him like a branch, and the fruit that grows is love for one another. One leads to the next.
Let's go deeper: Jesus defines eternal life as knowing God. How is that different from just believing the right facts or being a good person?
💬 Conversation Starter
Think of your closest friend. How did you get to know them? And how could you get to know Jesus more like that?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Some people say all religions lead to God, as long as you're sincere. But Jesus proved His authority by rising from the dead. And He said plainly, "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (). A loving God told us the one safe way home. Trusting Him isn't narrow-minded. It's simply taking the Rescuer at His word.
For Dad · Go Deeper
Notice that Jesus equates eternal life with knowing. The Greek verb ginōskō speaks of relational, experiential knowledge, not bare information. This is the quiet heartbeat of all of John 13–17. Discipleship is not behavior management. It is a deepening acquaintance with a Person. J. I. Packer warned that we can be "cumbered with much knowing" about God while scarcely knowing Him at all. Here is the searching part for a busy father. Your children will absorb the kind of faith they see in you. If your walk is mostly duty and information, that is what they will inherit. But suppose they watch you actually enjoy God. They see you pray as to a Father. They see you return to Jesus the Vine when you run dry. Then they will taste that eternal life is a friendship, not a chore. So lead them, this month, into knowing Him.
Draws on: J. I. Packer, Knowing God.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You for everything Jesus taught us. Help us love one another the way He loved us. Help us come to You through Jesus. Keep us close to Him, like branches on a vine. And most of all, help us truly know You. In Jesus' name, amen."
Eternal life isn't just knowing about God. It's knowing Him, beginning today.