Faith That Depends on God

## 1. What Went Wrong? Read the story from Matthew 17:14-20: > When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus and kneeling before him, said, 'Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.' And Jesus answered, 'O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.' And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, 'Why could we not cast it out?' He said to them, 'Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.'

The disciples had cast out demons before, but this time they failed. Why did Jesus say they could not heal the boy? What does it mean that their faith was too small?

## 2. Little Faith, Big God Jesus said that even faith as tiny as a mustard seed can move mountains. When is a time you felt too small or too weak to do something hard? How does knowing that God's power works through your dependence on Him change the way you think about that situation?

## 3. Stop Going Solo The sermon taught that Christian power does not come from being self-sufficient or thinking, 'I can do this on my own.' When do you most often try to handle problems by yourself instead of asking God for help? What is one way you can practice relying on Him this week?

## 4. Faith Needs Food Just like your body needs food to grow, your faith needs spiritual food to grow stronger. The Bible, prayer, and time with other Christians are ordinary ways God feeds our faith. Read what Jesus prayed about God's Word: > Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. — John 17:17

How can you use God's Word and prayer this week to help your faith grow bigger and stronger?

## 5. Living Dependent The Christian life is not about independence; it is about growing dependence on God. What is one thing that seems impossible in your life right now? How can you trust Jesus with it instead of trusting your own ability?