sermon slide deck: "i believe! help my unbelief!" (luke 9:37-45)

“I Believe! Help My Unbelief!”

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Luke 9:37-45

God Gives Us His Words of Eternal LifeLuke 9:37-45

Found on page 867 in our guest Bibles.

Today’s Scripture:

Reality is a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there.

~ John Barth

”“

“In a sense, it [Christianity] creates, rather than solves, the problem of pain, for pain

would be no problem unless, side by side with our

daily experience of this painful world, we had

received what we think a good assurance that

Ultimate Reality is righteous and loving.”

~ CS Lewis Mere Christianity

How do you hope in the

midst of hopelessness ?

“I Believe! Help My Unbelief!”

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Luke 9:37-45

On the next day, when they had

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come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. [And whenthey came to the disciples, theysaw…scribes arguing with them…. And he asked them, “What are you

…arguing about with them?”-Mark 9:14-16]

Luke 9:38-39

And behold, a man from the crowdcried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizeshim, and he suddenly cries out. It

…convulses him so that he foams

Luke 9:40

at the mouth; and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. And I beggedyour disciples to cast it out, butthey could not….”

Jesus answered, “O faithless and

Luke 9:41

twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear you? Bringyour son here.”

While he was coming, the demon

Luke 9:42

threw him to the ground and con-vulsed him. [And Jesus asked hisfather, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, From childhood. And it has often

cast him into fire and into water, to

Luke 9:42

destroy him. But if you can do any-thing, have compassion on us andhelp us.” And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possiblefor the one who believes. Immedi-

ately, the father of the child cried

Luke 9:42

out and said, “I believe; help myunbelief!” - Mark 9:21-24.

But while they were all marveling at

Luke 9:43-45

everything he was doing, Jesus saidto his disciples, “Let these wordssink into your ears: The Son of Manis about to be delivered into thehands of men.” But they did not

understand this saying, and it was

Luke 9:45

concealed from them, so that theymight not perceive it. And they wereafraid to ask him about this saying.

[And when he had entered the house,his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anythingbut prayer.” - Mark 9:28-29]

Why do the Gospel writers record this account in their historical

biographies of Jesus?

Important Question

Jesus’ response to the pain and suffering and unbelief

of this world is to move towards it with his healing.

Main Idea

Jesus does not ask for perfect faith, but the presence

of true faith.

1

God’s heart is to move towards us in the mess of our lives2

“Christianity is the only religion whose God bears the scars of evil.”

!~ Os Guinness

Nomadic Lass: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomadic_lass/6469924423

StvnL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stvnl/4713277639

flickr images courtesy of:Will Foster: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mazakar/2777932633/