No Vacancy (Part 2: “Healing of the Demoniac”)
Welcome to our Advent and Christmas series, No Vacancy. Through this series, we will be seeking together to make room in our hearts and lives for our Savior this season.
For this series, we will begin our Primer Podcasts with the monologue from each Sunday’s service. If you missed Sunday, we encourage you to watch it below before beginning your group discussion!
Monologue Minute: Have you ever kept God at arm’s length to avoid giving up your plans or your sense of control? Discuss how this week’s monologue impacted you.
Read Mark 5:1-5.
1.What are the two primary ways the people attempt to deal with the man with the impure spirit? Why don’t these attempts work?
2. Why do we attempt to deal with our own demons through control or through hiding? What kind of results do we usually get?
Read Mark 5:6-10.
3. In these verses, we see how this man is internally conflicted—he both wants to be healed (he runs to Jesus, falling on his knees), yet he’s terrified of what this will entail (he begs Jesus not to be tortured).
How are we similar, wanting to draw nearer to Jesus yet afraid of the change He promises to bring?
4. In verse 9, Jesus asks the man his name and the demons respond. Why is there power in naming those things holding us back from a deeper relationship with God?
Read Mark 5:11-17.
5. Why do you think the people in the story react the way they do to the man’s healing?
6. How does their reaction shed light on our reaction to transformation—either our own, or someone else’s?
Read Mark 5:18-20.
7. At the end of the passage, Jesus gives the healed man an important mission: to share with others “how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (verse 19).
If you have experienced transformation or healing of any sort, how can you share (or, how have you shared) with others what God has done for you? Or, with any time remaining, share with your group now.
(*Video available after Sunday services)
