This week, Pastor Ruth Carver kicks off a new series, “Jesus on the Move,” with a look at a series of healing stories from Luke 5 and 7.
SERMON OUTLINE
Story #1 – Luke 5:12-14
- Jesus’ activity: He heals a man of leprosy
- Jesus’ heart: to release the man from shame and isolation
Story #2 – Luke 5:17-26
- Jesus’ activity: He heals a paralyzed man
- Jesus’ heart: to release the man from sin
Story #3 – Luke 7:1-10
- Jesus’ activity: He heals a centurion’s servant
- Jesus’ heart: to release humanity from the bondage of racial hatred
Story #4 – Luke 7:11-17
- Jesus’ activity: He raises a widow’s son from the dead
- Jesus’ heart: to release humanity from the power of the grave
Pursuing Healing Today – 4 Biblical Guidelines
- Receive prayer and anointing for healing (per James).
- Seek medical help.
- Recognize the sufficiency of God’s grace.
- Cling to Christ no matter what.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Although there are no more leper colonies in the US, it wasn’t until 1969 that lepers in the colony of Kalaupapa on a small island of Hawaii were released into regular society. Can you think of any other modern-day outcasts isolated so completely?
- Read Luke 5:14 and discuss what Jesus’ desire for the leper he healed was.
- Jesus had rejected Satan’s temptation to be a wonder-worker (Luke 4:1-13). He knew that healings could easily become ends in themselves for people, and he had a larger purpose in his ministry. How does this help you understand Luke 5:16?
- How can the story of the paralytic (Luke 5:17-26) be seen as our basis for intercessory prayer (praying for one another)?
- Reflect on Luke 5:24b-25 about the man carrying the mat that had formerly been carrying him. How can this help you understand freedom from sin?
- Matthew tells the story of the centurion’s servant (Luke 7:1-10) differently in Matthew 8:5-13. How can these two accounts be harmonized by thinking of the concept of “agency”?
- How would Luke’s account of the centurion’s servant encourage Luke’s Gentile audience?
- There are only 2 times in the gospels that Jesus is said to be surprised: at the faith of the centurion (Luke 7:9) and again in Mark 6:6. Look up Mark 6:6 and discuss why you think Jesus was surprised in these two situations.
- Cessationists believe that miraculous healings ceased at the end of the apostolic age. Do you think this way? If so, what is the basis for your thinking this way?
- Read II Corinthians 12:7b-9a and talk about ways the Lord’s “power can be made perfect in your weakness”. Can it take you out of shame and isolation like the leper, or assure you of forgiveness like the paralytic, or bring people together who would not otherwise have anything to do with one another like the Jews and the centurion? How else might God use your “thorn in the flesh”?