25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it,
“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you: Come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 Then it came out, shrieking and throwing him into terrible convulsions.
The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He’s dead.”
27 But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.
28 After he had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately,
“Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 And he told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer.”
Disciples and Jesus.
List the outcomes of the disciples’ and Jesus’s attempts to heal the boy.
Examine Jesus’s response to the disciples concerning their failure to drive out the demon.
share their thoughts about the relationship between consistent prayer and stronger faith.
Point out that it’s hard to grow in our faith
if we don’t stay connected to the One who gives us faith
and serves as the foundation of our faith.
The emphasis in this passage is not on our ability to have faith,
but on God’s ability to strengthen our faith through our dependence on Him.
As we wrap up this session, think about what dependence looks like in your life
and how you can become more dependent on God to use you to help others.
Lead the group to discuss the Apply the Text questions on page 63.
Identify ways individuals and churches can work as agents of light in a dark world.
Give each adult an index card and a pencil.
Instruct them to draw a cross on one side of the card.
Direct the group to write on the cross ways that they tend to depend on themselves instead of depending on God’s power.
Encourage the group to spend time talking to God about those areas of self-dependence this week.
Remind them to use the Daily Exploration on pages 65-67 to dig deeper into God’s Word.
Close in prayer
asking for God’s help to strengthen our faith
even when we are tempted toward unbelief.
Reinforce the session by examining your own life to determine areas in which you are tempted to depend on your own strength rather than trusting God’s power. Consider what you might need to surrender to God so you can depend on Him fully. Contact the group through email or text reminding them of the importance of depending on God during life’s doubts and uncertainties.