Where in your life are you most tempted to look for hope, direction, or identity outside of Jesus—and what would it look like to “turn your eyes back to Him”?
How does remembering both the divinity and humanity of Jesus shape the way you relate to Him in your daily life?
In what ways can your priorities, values, and activities better align with the priorities, values, and mission of Jesus?
Where might God be calling you to sacrifice comfort or convenience to participate in His mission of serving others?
When pressures, doubts, or cultural voices pull you toward discouragement or deconstruction, how can you actively cultivate a renewed captivation with the person of Jesus?
What specific sin, attitude, or misplaced identity do you sense God inviting you to repent of in order to “prepare the way” for Him?
Where do you need to practice humble submission—letting Jesus, rather than your preferences or fears, reign over your decisions?
What would daily repentance and daily submission look like in your current season of life?
How might your life more clearly point to Jesus, the way John’s entire ministry did?
Where do you need a fresh experience of the Holy Spirit’s renewing, empowering work in your spiritual life?
What “nets”—sources of security, identity, or comfort—might Jesus be calling you to leave behind in order to follow Him more fully?
Where do you sense Jesus pursuing you right now, and how will you respond to His call to repent, believe, and surrender?
How is God inviting you to join His mission of becoming a “fisher of people”—helping draw others from darkness into light?
What part of following Jesus currently feels like a dead end, confusion, or hardship—and how can you keep “following the thread” with trust?
How can you more fully make Jesus—not your career, family, reputation, or comfort—the supreme goal of your life?
- What area of your life right now feels “paralyzed”—stuck, powerless, or unable to move—and what would it look like to bring that need honestly to Jesus rather than trying to manage it yourself?
- The friends in this story were desperate to get someone they loved to Jesus. Who in your life needs the kind of persistent, creative, burden-bearing love that brings them closer to Him?
- Jesus prioritizes forgiveness before physical healing. What does this reveal about your deepest need—and how might God be inviting you to shift your focus from fixing circumstances to receiving His grace?
- Where are you tempted—like the scribes—to question, doubt, or internally resist what Jesus is doing because it doesn’t fit your expectations or comfort?
- Jesus tells the healed man to “rise, pick up your mat, and walk.” What old patterns, identities, or reminders of your past does Jesus want you to “pick up and move on from” as you walk in the freedom He’s given you?
- Who is the “other” in your life—the person or group you instinctively keep at a distance—and what does Jesus’ willingness to eat with sinners reveal about how you are called to view and love them?
- In what ways have you begun to “look the part” spiritually—doing Christian activities or maintaining appearances—without actually engaging your heart with Jesus?
- Where have your religious habits (church attendance, serving, giving, fasting, devotional routines) become motions you go through rather than practices that help you enjoy Jesus Himself?
- How might your priorities need to shift so that people—made in God’s image—matter more to you than your preferences, traditions, routines, or expectations?
- What area of your heart has begun to harden (self-righteousness, cynicism, judgment, numbness, entitlement), and what would it look like this week to bring that area honestly to Jesus for healing, softening, and renewal?
- In your current season of life, what does it practically look like for you to “be with Jesus”—to cultivate a real, ongoing, relational life with Him rather than simply doing things for Him or asking things from Him?
- When you honestly examine what shapes you most—your habits, desires, routines, media, mentors—where can you see other “disciplers” forming you more than Jesus, and what needs to shift for you to live as His apprentice?
- Jesus chooses ordinary, diverse, imperfect people to extend His ministry. What excuses—about ability, knowledge, past mistakes, personality, or confidence—keep you from embracing the identity of being sent by Jesus?
- Where is God giving you an opportunity to “preach the good news” in natural, relational ways—whether in your home, workplace, neighborhood, or church—and what would obedience look like this week?
- What lies, accusations, or spiritual strongholds have taken root in your thinking, and how might Jesus be inviting you to confront those with His truth, His presence, and the authority He has given you as His disciple?
- Where are you tempted to base your sense of being “in” with God on status, family background, church involvement, or moral behavior—and how does Jesus’ teaching invite you back to simple faith in Him alone?
- The scribes called Jesus’ good works evil, and His family misunderstood Him. When have you felt pressure—from culture, family, or even religious environments—to minimize or misinterpret what Jesus is doing in your life? How will you remain faithful when misunderstood?
- Jesus says the only people “out” are those who persist in unbelief. How is the Holy Spirit inviting you to examine subtle forms of resistance, hardness, or unbelief that may have taken root in your heart?
- Jesus defines His true family as those who do the will of God. What good thing in your life—family, success, comfort, approval, children’s activities, career—tends to compete with God’s will for your primary loyalty?
- What would it look like for you this week to actively prioritize the two things Jesus prioritizes here: (1) the family of God, and (2) the will of God?