SCRIPTURE TEXT: MARK 2:1-12 - PRE-GROUP
STUDY
Before interacting with this guide, all leaders and group members should study the referenced text using the HEAR Method.
H: Highlight, or take note of, things in the passage that stick out to you as you read.
E: Explain what the passage means by asking simple questions of the text:
- Why was this written?
- To whom was it originally written?
- How does it fit with the verses before and after it?
- Why did the Holy Spirit include this passage in the book?
- What is He intending to communicate through this text?
R: Respond to God in prayer.
Study Question:
- In this passage four friends are passionate about bringing their friend to Jesus for healing. Who are the people in your life that God intends for you to bring to Jesus?
- What does this passage teach about Jesus and His authority?
- The friends and the paralytic were seeking physical healing. How did Jesus meet their expectations and go past them?
Group Lesson
Main Idea:
Knowing Jesus, and knowing what He has done for us, leads us to be passionate about bringing other people to know Jesus.
Introduction:
When is the last time you had a conversation about Jesus with someone who was not a church member?
Chances are it’s been a while. Although Christianity is a faith that was built on Christians going into a hostile world and telling others about Jesus, it would appear that the practice of evangelism is a way of the past for many Christians.
One recent study among churchgoers (people who attend church one or more times a month) showed that 80% believed that it was a Christian mandate to share their faith. Nevertheless 61% of those surveyed had not shared their faith in the past 6 months.
What does this mean? It means we have an evangelism problem. We have the best news in all the world and churches full of people who don’t talk about it.
At the end of the day, the biggest obstacle to evangelism is Christians who don’t share the gospel. – Albert Mohler
Understanding
Read: Mark 2:1-12
Isn’t it funny how Jesus offers so much more than what these five men were looking for? The four friends and the handicapped man came to Jesus looking for some physical healing. Which wasn’t a bad thing. They just had no idea that Jesus offers so much more.
Instead of Jesus healing this man’s physical ailment only, He says, “your sins are forgiven.”
Why do you think that He does that?
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Ultimately, Jesus is here to show everyone involved that He has come to not just fix the external. He has come to make all things new, and that starts with forgiveness of sins not the mending of bones.
The handicapped man had a need bigger than physical healing and he didn’t even know it. How do we show people that their biggest need in life is God’s forgiveness?
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Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and eternal life becomes clear in this passage. What may go unnoticed is our obligation to those in need of what Jesus offers. Our obligation is summed up by the handicapped man’s four friends. These four men had every reason to give up on their mission. The house was full. There was no way they were getting to Jesus. They didn’t give up. They resulted to a little destruction of property and did whatever it took to get people to Jesus.
What do these four men show us that our obligation is to people who need Jesus?
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Read Romans 1:14-15
Paul says that he is obligated to preach the gospel. Why is he obligated? Because he has the good news that everyone else needs.
The obligation Paul has in mind is of a doctor to a sick person. The doctor is obligated to seek the cure that the patient needs. Those of us who have the gospel are spiritual doctors. Those without Jesus are the spiritually sick. We have the cure, and we are obligated to give it to them.
Application
Part of the ONE initiative is everyone picking one person to pray for and commit to telling about Jesus. WHO’S YOUR ONE?
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What is it that keeps you from sharing the gospel more faithfully?
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Questions for Personal Reflection
1. Have I been complacent about telling people about Jesus and His salvation?
2. When is the last time that I prayed for someone who is lost?
3. When is the last time I told someone about Jesus?
Prayer
Close the group in prayer asking God to break our hearts for the lost people in our lives.
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