Date: March 29, 2020
Title: Jesus Conquers Sickness and Death
Passage: Luke 8:40-56
Speaker: Kevin Maloney

These intertwined miracles give us an opportunity to look into the knowledge, power, and compassion of Jesus. He is a God who responds to our needs and desperation the way a father responds to the needs and desperation of his child. This passage helps us to see some of His purposes in our seasons of sickness, fear, and longing. He is a God who not only restores what we have lost but who will one day bring about the best of all possible worlds.

A Desperate Leader
- Jairus was used to being a leader in his community. But the sickness of his daughter brought him to his knees.
- How does this pandemic season reveal our true need? In what ways does it humble us?

A Sick and Lonely Woman
- This woman had experienced 12 years of social isolation, removal from worship, and a life’s savings spent on false hopes. But in the end, she is healed, and has faith in Jesus.
- Unbeknownst to her, the 12 years of misery were giving her the desperation that would send her running to Jesus and finding not only physical healing, but eternal life. Reflect on what this says about our suffering.
- Even in her 11th year of suffering, this woman never would have detected any good purpose in it. But in the 12th year it all came together for her good. Reflect on what this says about our long-term suffering that seems meaningless and only bad.

Jesus is Mocked
- The mourners laugh when Jesus claims that Jairus’s daughter is alive. The claims of Jesus will either be received with joyful laughter or rejected with mocking laughter.
- Which claims of Jesus are easy to mock? Which if his promises are often belittled in our day? What would it mean to receive them with joyful laughter, even the ones that seem far-fetched at first?

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