Faith That Takes Action

In one paragraph

This Monday night study at First B Jackson worked through two miracles in Mark 5, the healing of a bleeding woman and the raising of Jairus's daughter, with the pastor leading the group through the text and opening the floor for conversation afterward. The central thread running through both stories was faith, specifically what it looks like when belief stops being passive and becomes action. The...

Read together

1. Mark 5:21-43 main passage read and discussed, covering the healing of the bleeding woman and the raising of Jairus's daughter
2. Mark 5:34 quoted directly: 'Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.'
3. Mark 5:36 quoted directly: 'Don't be afraid. Just have faith.'
4. Psalm 34 quoted and partially sung: 'I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears'
5. James 5:14-15 quoted regarding elders praying over the sick and anointing with oil in the name of the Lord
6. Exodus 14 referenced via a rabbinic tradition interpreting the Israelites entering the sea up to their nostrils before the waters divided
7. Luke 12 quoted briefly: 'Don't be afraid, little flock, for it gives your father great happiness to give you the kingdom.'
8. Psalm 37 closing benediction: 'commit everything that we do to the Lord, to trust him, and he will help us'

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan pointed out that Jairus and the bleeding woman both believed and then acted on that belief. Where in your own life have you found it hardest to move from belief to action, and what held you back?
2. The bleeding woman was considered unclean and risked a lot by pressing through the crowd to touch Jesus. Has there been a time when coming to Jesus felt risky or costly for you? What happened?
3. When the messengers told Jairus his daughter had already died, Jesus said, 'Don't be afraid. Just have faith.' How do you personally respond when circumstances seem to say it is too late for God to act?
4. The commentary Pastor Nathan shared said, 'Belief about Jesus does not bring healing, but faith in Jesus that takes action does.' What is the difference between those two things in everyday, practical terms?
5. Monique noted that Jesus met Jairus and the woman each at their own level of faith without comparing them to each other. How does it change the way you approach God to know He works with the faith you actually have, rather than the faith someone else has?