Sermon Study Guide | Series: Benefit of the Doubt | Sermon: Believing in the tension |
Scripture: Mark 9:14-29 | Date: October 5, 2025

CONNECT - “A Personal Reflection”

This section is designed to help you relate personally to the theme of the sermon. It encourages you to reflect on your own life experiences and how they connect to the message.

We’ve all had moments when assumptions let us down—when we thought we were certain, only to discover we were wrong. Sometimes those moments are lighthearted but other times, they cut much deeper, especially when it comes to faith. Often, we assume that faith requires perfect certainty, and that admitting doubt means failure. But in reality, Jesus welcomes both our devotion and our doubt.

Think about a time in your life when your faith felt shaky or incomplete. Did you feel like you had to hide your questions from God—or did you bring them to Him? How did that shape your trust in Him moving forward? Share with your group

ENGAGE - “Exploring the Scripture”

This section invites you to dive into the biblical passage, discuss its meaning, and apply it to your life through thoughtful questions.

Read Mark 9:14–29 as a group and discuss:

• In the story, Jesus steps into the noise and arguments of the crowd to focus on the needs of a desperate father and son. 
  
  • Why do you think Jesus prioritized presence over debate?
  • What does that teach us about faith in today’s “noisy” culture?
    
    
• The father cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Can belief and doubt really coexist? When have you experienced this?
  
  
• Jesus doesn’t shame the father for his honesty but honors it with compassion and power. Why do you think honesty with God—even about our doubts—is so important?
  
  
• Consider the phrase “...resilient faith requires both your doubts and your devotion...” 
  
  • How have you seen doubt actually deepen or refine someone’s faith rather than destroy it?
    
    
• Think about categories we place on people (political, generational, religious, cultural). How might those labels prevent us from seeing people the way Jesus sees them?
  
  

APPLY - “Putting the Scriptures into Action”

This section challenges us to take what we’ve learned and implement it in practical ways in our daily lives.

• This week, how can you practice bringing both your doubts and your devotion to God? What would it look like to pray with that same honesty as the father: “I believe; help my unbelief”?
  
  
• Which of the four suggested practices could you try this week to build resilient faith?
  
  
  
  • Praying Mark 9:24 daily with honesty.
    
    
  • Spending 30 minutes in shared lament with a friend or group.
    
    
  • Having a peacemaking conversation in person with someone different from you.
    
    
  • Fasting from a loud source of “superficial certainty” and replacing it with scripture, worship, or prayer.
    
    
• Where in your life right now is “pain demanding devotion”? How might you redirect that devotion away from numbing or distraction and toward Jesus?

PRAY - “Seeking God’s Guidance”

This section offers a short prayer to help us center our hearts and invite God to work in our lives through his scripture.

Lord, thank you that you don’t ask us to pretend. Thank you for meeting us in the messy middle, where belief and unbelief live side by side. Give us the courage to bring our doubts and our devotion to you with honesty, trusting that you are big enough to hold both. Just like the father in Mark 9, we say, “I believe; help my unbelief.” Deepen our faith so it bends but doesn’t break, and help us walk with resilient trust in you. Amen.

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