Do you want to get well?
Questions Jesus Asked, Pt. 2
Every time we gather as a group, these are some ways we ensure the best group discussion:
We make the circle safe by staying honest and transparent - leave the masks at the door.
We keep it inside the circle. Each person’s story is theirs alone to share.
We look to the Bible for wisdom and truth, and work together to let it shape how we see the world.
We don’t try to fix each other in front of each other or give unsolicited advice. We lovingly save hard conversations for private moments.
We respect each others’ time by starting and ending when we say we will.
We believe that in Jesus Christ, there is hope for everyone.
Hypofineriac (n.)
a person who knows they’re sick, but keeps saying, “I’m fine.”
John 5:2-6 (NIV)
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie--the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
We all have:
Was
Is
Is to come
Spin-Cycle Living
Try harder
Fail
Guilt
Shame
Hide
Promise
Try Harder again…
Self-Deception + Self-Reliance = Self-Destruction
We won’t change until the pain becomes greater than the fear of change
If we don’t really want to get well, we will lack the power to change.
Bill W.
“We found that God could and would if he were sought.”
John 5:7-9
“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Take up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
If we want to get well…
Believe Jesus can make you well
Believe Jesus wants to make you well
Stop Blaming
Accept and Obey Jesus
We Have a Story to Tell
Start with M.U.D.
Memorable + Understandable + Doable
What was the most memorable part of the message or service this weekend for you personally? Why?
Did anything you heard challenge or influence how you think about God or your life?
How can what you learned influence or change how you live in everyday life? What tangible steps would it take to make that change a reality?
Additional Questions
Could you be described as a hypofineriac? Do you often avoid telling someone how you are really doing and say some version of “I’m fine” instead?
Can you relate to the idea of “spin-cycle living” that Mike talked about? What toll does that kind of cycle take on you? What breaks you out of it?
We won’t change until the pain becomes greater than the fear of change.
How has pain motivated you to change and get well?
Mike said that blaming others keeps us from changing and getting well.
Why is blaming others so deadly for our own change?
How has blaming kept you from changing and getting well?
Did you connect with any of Alia’s experiences? How did her story encourage or challenge you?
