Group Time | March 4

Crossroads: Where His Road Meets Your Roa
March 4, 2018
Pastor Jonathan Falwell

Open:

We’ve all experienced a time when we have arrived at a “T” in the road where we must make a choice—sometimes with no knowledge of direction—whether to go left or right. Can you share your story?

Today we begin a new series “Crossroads,” as we look at the opportunities to decide to follow God’s call, whether it is for the first time—deciding to become a believer—or as an experienced believer, rejecting or accepting the path to a new plan or purpose for our lives. This can be a time to be forever changed, alert to the encounters where we find our lives intersecting with Christ’s leading, and being willing to follow Him.

Focal Passages: Matthew 15:29-31; 20:29-34.

Discuss:

WHAT THEY DID…

They Heard

  1. Read Matthew 20:29-34. What type of life had these men probably led until their encounter with Jesus?
  2. What evidence would they have heard that led them to believe He could heal them?

They Called

  1. Why would they have desperately desired that Jesus would eventually come their way?
  2. What would have happened to the two blind men if someone had not told an amazing story of a miracle? How did they know that Jesus was not an “average” person?
  3. Read verse 30 again. Why did they cry out? What happened when the crowd told them to be quiet?

They Knew/Believed

  1. What was the significance of calling Him the Son of David?
  2. These men were blind. What could they have done on their own to find Jesus?

They Persisted

  1. Read verse 31. Why did they keep crying out? Was He their only hope of healing?
  2. Read John 9:32-33. Was their hope founded on the truth? Why?

WHAT HE DID:

He Listened

  1. Read verse 32. What would you change if you fully realized that whenever you call on God, He stops and He listens?
  2. How do you think these men felt when they knew they had the full attention of the Messiah Israel had been looking for so long?

He Cared

  1. Read verse 34a. How did Jesus react to the men?
  2. Do you see Him moved with compassion for your plight, or do you struggle with feelings that He doesn’t care?

He Healed

  1. Read 34b. What did He do for the blind men? At that time in His ministry, did Jesus ever walk away from someone?
  2. He doesn’t change; does He walk away from His children today?

They Followed

  1. What type of answers to prayers for healing does He perform today?
  2. Have you desperately prayed for healing for a loved one, and it did not happen? Did that affect your love for Him? What might change if you could see the answer from God’s viewpoint?

Close:

The passage from Matthew 15 was an illustration of people seeking Jesus, based on what they had seen Him do, or they had heard enough about Him that their curiosity or hope caused them to seek Him. The second passage, in Matthew 20, illustrates the Savior seeking out someone to intersect their lives and change them. What a picture of His love, that He would go out of His way to find a lost sheep!

Which background did you come from? Jesus healed the blind men, who not only were able to see but who turned their lives around and followed Him. Do you believe Jesus calling you to Himself creates a situation where you will never again come to a crossroads? What about the times when your life or situation hits the ground, and you need God desperately and His answer is not what you wanted? Do you continue to love and follow Him when the going gets tough? Hopefully you will follow Him throughout the good times and bad. The old hymn says, “I once was lost but now am found, ‘twas blind, but now I see!* Life will never be perfect on this earth, but with God beside us, whatever our ups and downs, we can be assured that He will never be but a call away. Just as parents recognize the cry of their child, so God will always have His ear tuned to us, listening for our call, and then giving us His undivided attention. May we remember this lesson!

Key Verse: Matthew 15:30: Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. (NKJV)

*Amazing Grace, John Newton.