05-10-2020

05-10-2020
Dr. E. Dale Locke and Pastor Efrain Silva
Sermon Series: “Amazed! A Closer Look At One Amazing Life”
Week 4 – “Amazed With Jesus’ Power to Restore”
English PDF file for printing.
Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español.

Each week, our Sermon Discussion Questions are here to help the sermon go deeper into your life. You can think these questions through on your own, or discuss them with your spouse, family, or small group.

1. Icebreaker: Since this Sunday is Mother’s Day, share something you admire about your mother.

2. Say our theme verse for this sermon series together. Mark 7:37a: “People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said.”

3. Read John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Some Christians assume that God keeps believers safe from any problems. What did Jesus actually promise?

4. Our focus this week is on Jesus’ amazing power to restore and heal broken lives. If you have experienced this in your own life or seen it in someone else’s life, share a story briefly with your group.

5. Read Mark 5:1-20:
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

What do you notice in this passage, and what questions do you have?

6. The biblical worldview is that what we see is not all there is. There are unseen personal spiritual forces in the world. How do you feel about that idea, and why?

7. Rationalism is disbelief in almost anything that cannot be seen through a telescope or microscope or proven through the scientific method. Naturalism is the belief that all we have is the material, and there is no spiritual world. These belief systems lead to skepticism toward anything spiritual, which pushes people toward agnosticism (doubting God’s existence) or atheism (denying God’s existence).

If you know someone who is an agnostic or an atheist, why do you think they feel that way?

8. C.S. Lewis wrote in his book The Screwtape Letters “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence altogether. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. [Demons] themselves are equally pleased by both errors and will hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.“

Why would demons be equally pleased with both errors?

9. Greg Boyd wrote in his book Letters from a Skeptic: “Why is the notion of a non-physical, personal being any more difficult than the notion of a physical, personal being? If beings with consciousness such as ourselves can exist, (remarkable in itself) why rule out the possibility of other types of personal beings existing? Actually, the more we know about our world, the stranger it becomes. Quantum physics – for example, deals almost entirely with a realm of the universe – the sub-atomic realm – which is almost entirely invisible.”

What is Greg’s point? Do you agree or disagree, and why?

10. In our modern culture, Satan is often more subtle than he was with the man in Mark 5. Few of us have ever seen a demon possessed person, yet Scripture teaches that Satan still seeks to cause damage and brokenness in lives and relationships. Read Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

What are some ways that you notice Satan working in our world?

11. Name some ways this man changed after his encounter with Jesus.

12. In Celebrate Recovery, we admit that parts of our lives have become unmanageable. Why is this step necessary before a person can experience healing?

13. Satan’s influence in this man’s life had separated him from other people, and he lived among the dead in the tombs. How did his encounter with Jesus impact his relationships?

14. Why didn’t Jesus let this man go with him?

15. How do you imagine the people of the Decapolis (a 10-city area) responded when they heard this man tell what Jesus had done for him?

16. What was the most helpful idea for you from this sermon or from this discussion?


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