Bring the Boy to Me

In one paragraph

Pastor Blake walked the congregation through Mark 9:14-29, the account of Jesus healing a demon-possessed boy. The two themes he kept returning to were the father's struggle with faith and the disciples' failure to pray. The passage opens with Jesus, Peter, James, and John coming down from the mountain where Jesus had been transfigured, only to find the rest of the disciples in an argument with...

Read together

1. Mark 9:14-29 main passage for the evening, Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy
2. Romans 1 quoted during worship: 'I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes'
3. Mark 6:7 referenced to show Jesus had previously given the disciples authority to cast out evil spirits
4. Mark 4:24 closing verse: 'Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given'

Talk about it

1. Pastor Blake pointed out that the disciples came down from a mountaintop experience with Jesus only to find themselves caught up in an argument. When have you come down from a high point in your faith and found the 'real world' waiting for you, and how did you handle it?
2. The father in the story says 'if you can' when he asks Jesus for help, and Jesus pushes back on that 'if' directly. What does that small word reveal about how we sometimes approach Jesus with our own needs?
3. The father cries out 'I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief.' Pastor Blake called this a beautiful example to follow. What would it look like practically for you to pray that kind of honest prayer in a moment when your faith is wavering?
4. Pastor Blake said that faith is always a gift from God and never something we can produce on our own, and that the way to receive more faith is to yield our will to God's will. Do you agree with that? What does yielding your will actually look like in day to day life?
5. Jesus told the disciples that this kind of spirit could only be cast out by prayer, yet they had gotten caught up in the argument at the bottom of the hill instead. Willie pointed out that in that moment they were relying on yesterday's grace. Where in your own life are you tempted to rely on past experience with God instead of staying connected to Him through prayer right now?