Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (John 4:43-54), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [48] Jesus abruptly interrupts the desperate father’s urgent request: “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” How do you feel about this interruption? Does it feel like Jesus is wrong to do this, that he isn’t being compassionate or empathetic? (It’s okay to be honest here.) Do you realize there are aspects of Jesus you don’t understand or don’t like? What do you think about that?

• Jesus is confronting a common approach to God: the fact that we “need to see” something before we will believe that God is good. This means we make our faith contingent upon him fulfilling expectations that we place on him. What’s wrong with that?

• What demands do you place on God before you will trust him? Are you able to detect this sort of bargaining in your prayers? How do you feel about God when your prayers go apparently unanswered? Do you take him at his Word that he is with you, that he loves you, that he will take care of you? Or do you subtly believe his Word isn’t enough, and you need better proof?