Discussion Questions – CO:MISSION – Week One
To further the conversation started by the weekend message, use these discussion questions in a group study or for personal reflection.
Our message this week – Do you have faith to bring your friends? Mark 2:1-12 is the basis for our message this week.
1. In this passage we read about the faith that four friends exhibited in taking a sick man to Jesus for healing.
- We all have made excuses before as to why we do not do things: it’s too heavy, it’s too hard, we prayed before about something and God didn’t move, the crowd kept us away, it simply can’t be His will, we do not have the staff, we do not enough money, Jesus may not heal him… Do you have a situation like this that you can relate to, a time when you did not pray, did not witness, did not have faith? Do you have a time when you had the faith of the four friends and God moved?
- Four friends brought the man to Jesus, but it is possible that only one of them initially took action or initially prompted the others to take action. Do you remember a time when your faith was wavering and you borrowed from the faith of others?
2. Pastor shared 4 thoughts in relation to the four friends we read about in Mark, and in relation to our walk:
- Embrace your limitations – What does it mean to have faith that God has provided everything you need? Where do you see that thought in the scripture from Mark this week? We know that we should not focus on what we do not have, or cannot do, but on God’s provision and blessing. Where do you see that thought in the scripture from Mark this week? In what area of your life do you need to most remember or understand that right now?
- Be willing to fail! – The four men in the scripture did not know what would happen when they set out, and yet their faith led them. Share about a time when you failed? Share about a time when you did not know what the outcome would be and yet you moved forward with faith in God and He provided for your needs?
- Increase passion for the lost – We do not need to witness to the lost, we have to! Do you still have that same joy you had when you first accepted Christ as savior? Describe what that joy looks like in the life of a believer? That joy leads to sharing about Christ easily and freely with others. Share about a time recently when you shared with someone about your faith and the hope that is in you.
- Exponential innovation – Desperation leads to innovation. The four friends were desperate and that led them to the roof. When have you been desperate to communicate something you felt strongly about? We know we should be desperate to witness to family and friends. What would that desperation look like if it manifested itself in our life and our relationships?
3. We have a gospel message in two more weeks. Whose heart are you praying for God to soften? Who are you going to invite? In what way will your group cover those people in prayer over the next two weeks?
Scripture verses:
Faith Promises’ scripture verse for 2013:
