Sermon Slides
Sermon Notes
I. Rampant __________ (v. 14-19)
II. The __________ of faith (v. 20-27)
A. __________ (v. 20-22)
B. The __________ of faith in God (v. 23)
C. Faith amidst __________ (v. 24)
D. Jesus can do __________ (v. 25-27)
III. An important __________ for the disciples (v. 28-29)
3 Obstacles to faith in God:
- Belief…in __________
- __________ of heart
- __________
Going Deeper
1. Read Luke 17:5 and Hebrews 11:1. What do these verses teach us
about faith? How does it apply to your life today?
2. There is a commotion when Jesus comes down from the mountain
with Peter, James and John (Mark 9:14). Jay Sklar says: “The core
problem of the opponents of Jesus, the spiritually oppressed, and
the disciples (cf. 2 Kings 4:31) is faithlessness - particularly, lack of
trust in Jesus (cf. Mark 6:6; 9:23; Luke 24:25), together with a lack
of prayer (Mark 9:29).”
3. Why does Jesus call the Scribes and his own disciples an unbelieving
generation (Mark 9:19)? What had they done? What had they not
done?
4. How might people take Mark 9:23 out of context? What does Jesus
mean in this verse?
5. Can belief and unbelief both be present in our hearts (Mark 9:24)?
Why or why not?
6. What does Jesus do for the boy in v. 25-27? How is this important?
7. What is the lesson the disciples needed to learn in v. 28-29?
8. Several authors comment on the importance of prayer:
R. Kent Hughes: “Jesus was teaching them that the faith that brings
power is a faith that prays.”
Jay Sklar: “Jesus calls his followers to believe and trust the powerful
and sovereign God as the object of their submitting faith and to pray
to that same God in a humble and ongoing way.”
Bonnie McKernan: “Pray desperately and expectantly — the belief we
do have is the only means of vanquishing the enemies of our peace.
Let your weak faith cling to our mighty God. Repent and pray for
deliverance from unbelief even before praying for deliverance from
your circumstances.”
Henry Nouwen: “We have fallen into the temptation of separating
ministry from spirituality, service from prayer. Our demons say: ‘We
are too busy to pray, we have too many needs to attend to, too
many people to respond to, too many wounds to heal.’ Prayer is a
luxury, something to do during a free hour, a day away from work or
on a retreat.”
9. Jay Sklar says: “There are many OT examples for such faith,
some of which are mentioned in Hebrews 11:1–40. They include, for
example, Abraham (Gen. 22:1–5; 26:5; Rom. 4:3) and Daniel (Dan.
9:2–19). Prayer and faith should never deteriorate to a sheer
demand placed before God whereby his majesty, purity, and
sovereignty are glibly dismissed for the sake of gaining what is
demanded. The heart of faith and prayer is worship in all areas of
life.”
10. Read John 20:24-29. What happened with Thomas? What did he
doubt? What does Jesus teach us in v. 29?
11. Three obstacles of faith in God:
1) Belief in myself
How do you see this in your life? What will you do the change?
2) Hardness of heart (see Hebrews 3:7-12)
What will you do to change your heart today?
3) Prayerlessness
What will you do to increase prayerfulness in your life this week?