Don Denyes // Rockford Campus // June 1, 2025

SMALL GROUP
DISCUSSION GUIDE

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 18:35-43

REMINDERS

Summer is Here!

Summer events are here! Stay in the know by keeping an eye on our events page.

Life Together – HS Juniors and Seniors (June 9-13)

Students going into high school junior and senior years are invited to be part of a life-changing trip focused on serving, community, worldview, and what it means to glorify God in the whole of life. They will be blessed by a week of fellowship, learning, encouragement, and building relationships as they do life together. Magnify Rockford Campus will be their basecamp as they serve during the week. Then they will head out to a fun location for the end of the week. See the website for more information.

TOGETHER IN LIFE

In the sermon, Don talked about having an opportunity to meet a favorite baseball player when he was a child. Have you ever met a favorite sports player or a celebrity?  

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Luke 18:35-43

Note: If you are meeting as a group, we encourage you to read the text together out loud.

KEY QUESTION:

• Have you ever experienced a hardship that has caused you to see Jesus more clearly? Talk about what that was or has been like.

GOING DEEPER:

The Blind Man’s Tragic Condition

In Jesus’s day, blindness was considered a sign of God’s judgement. Many of the people passing by would have assumed that the man’s condition was because of his own wickedness. They may have refused to have anything to do with him so as not to encourage more wickedness.

QUESTIONS

• Have you ever seen or known someone who was struggling with some form of brokenness (poverty, divorce, disease, homelessness) and assumed it was because their sins were greater than yours? How does the gospel challenge that? 
• Are you more likely to help those who appear righteous than those who are lost or who appear to be lost?
• Have you ever experienced a hardship that has caused you to see Jesus more clearly? Talk about what that was or has been like.

The Blind Man’s Opportunity & Determination

When the man heard that Jesus was passing by, he cried out to Him in a loud voice. The religious people who were leading the crowd rebuked the man. Dr. Don noted that in Luke’s accounts of interactions with Jesus, he often included the opposition that those seeking Jesus faced. For example, the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-12), the Pharisee in the Temple (Luke 18:9-14), and the disciples who rebuked the parents who brought children near (Luke 18:15-17). In this account, the blind man was rebuked by the religious people leading the crowd. Yet he was undeterred, and he cried out even louder. Jesus blessed his tenacity and healed him.

QUESTIONS

• What or who in your life tries to stand in opposition to you getting closer to Jesus? How could you passionately pursue closeness with Jesus in spite of this?

The Blind Man’s Perception and Need

The blind man couldn’t see with his eyes, but he could correctly perceive through faith who Jesus is and his desperate need for Him. While the others called Jesus “Jesus of Nazareth,” the blind man called Him “Jesus, Son of David,” a Messianic title referring to 2 Samuel 7. 

The blind man not only saw who Jesus was, but he saw who he was. He knew he was a person who needed mercy – spiritual healing, physical healing, and forgiveness.

QUESTIONS

• The blind man’s cry wasn’t formal or lengthy, but it was genuine. Do you ever feel as though you can’t form the right words to bring your need or feelings to Christ? How does this account show us Christ’s heart for us in those moments?
• When others ask how they can pray for you, how do you respond? Are you able to bring your daily neediness to the throne of mercy and grace, or do you sometimes try to shoulder your daily responsibilities and personal growth on your own? 

Jesus’s Tender Compassion 

When Jesus heard the man’s cries, He didn’t just pass by. He stopped and commanded that the man be brought to Him. He had compassion and touched his eyes, and the man was healed. The blind man responded to Jesus’s gift of healing by immediately following Jesus and glorifying God.

QUESTIONS

• In Mark’s recording of this same event, the people say to the blind man “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you!” (Mark 10:49 NIV). How does it make you feel to know that even in your hardest moments, when you cry out to Jesus, He hears and calls you to Him?  
• Jesus asked the man, “What do you want me to do for you?” If Jesus asked you that question, how would you respond? Why?

TOGETHER IN ACTION

• Talk about how you can be a group that vulnerably confesses your needs for Christ’s mercy and grace as you pray for one another.
• Jesus demonstrated that kingdom care is both spiritual and physical. Talk together about how Jesus’s example can guide you as you care for the people around you in your daily life as well as for those in need in your community.

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

“…call upon me in the day of trouble;

    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” – Psalm 50:15 

Pray that you will see Jesus with the eyes of your heart, and that you will follow Him wholeheartedly and glorify Him. 

Bring your spiritual, emotional, and physical needs to Jesus and trust that He hears and cares.