Group Notes | March 5

Storytellers: The Story of Sight

March 5, 2017
Pastor Jonathan Falwell

Open:

Nearly everyone has a favorite story that they love to share, whether it’s for encouragement, humor or pure enjoyment. Although we have only time for a couple, will someone share their much-loved story?

For three weeks, we are going to look at some of the true stories that were written about Jesus’ ministry, trying to identify the characteristics of the storyteller, and decide what points he was trying to make as he re-told the events. This week we will look at the story of Jesus as He restores sight to a man blind from birth.

Focal Passage: John 9:1-27

Discuss:

The Beginning of a Story

  1. Read John 9:1-3. What were some of the main points about the man who had been born blind?
  2. Did the man need faith to obey the instructions of Jesus? Why or why not? (For a parallel passage to study, read 2 Kings 5:9-12.)

The Power of a Story

  1. Read verses 6-9. What were some of the reasons this man felt an urgency to assure people that he was the one who had been healed?
  2. If this had been you, what would have been your reaction or feelings?

The Faith of a Storyteller

  1. Read verses 10-11. Why was he able to be convincing as he told of the experience with Jesus?
  2. Which was his greater determination, to give Jesus the credit for healing him, or be afraid of what the Jewish leaders would do to him? Why?

The Courage of a Storyteller

  1. Read verses 15, 25-26. Can you understand his frustration when the Jews kept interrogating him with the same questions over and over? Why?
  2. Read verses 18-20. What had his parents done?

The Importance of a Storyteller

  1. Read verse 4. What did Jesus say your important job is? Why? What is your story? Are you excited to tell it—as the blind man—or are you fearful of repercussions from external sources, as his parents were?

Action Applications:

  1. Decide if you have a story. If you have been granted the gift of salvation, you have something to tell the world;
  2. Be committed to sharing your story at each and every opportunity;
  3. Pray each day that God would bring someone who needs to hear your story;
  4. Share your story even though you may experience sarcasm, doubt or skepticism!

Close:

We all have a favorite part of some movie—a line or two that perhaps defines the entire storyline for us. In “Up Close and Personal,” a mentored journalist eventually eclipses her teacher, ending with a final scene where she accepts an award with words dedicated to his memory: “He told me to ‘just tell the story’.” Whenever life throws a curve ball, those words come to mind: just tell the story. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that if “any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things become new.” A new life, a new creation, old things passed away—what more could a good story have as a plot? If you have been saved, you have the story inside you, waiting for every opportunity to share it with someone who needs it. Pray this week that God would guide you to that person!

Memory Verse: John 9:39: For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

 

/by