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Bible Study

Living It Out Together

Think about someone in your life who might be "on the mat" right now—spiritually stuck, distant from God, going through something hard.

October 8, 2025
7 min study
Living It Out TogetherDownload

Ice Breaker Question

If you were stuck and needed help, who’s the first person you’d call?

BIBLE READING

Mark 2:1-12 NKJV

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. [2] Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. [3] Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. [4] And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. [5] When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” [6] And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, [7] “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” [8] But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? [9] Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? [10] But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, [11] “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” [12] Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

EXPLORING THE STORY

Close your eyes for a second. Picture a packed house. People shoulder-to-shoulder. You can barely breathe. It’s hot. Everyone’s trying to get close to Jesus. There’s literally no way in…

  1. Imagine you’re the paralyzed man. You’ve been stuck on this mat for years. Your four friends show up one day and say, “We’re taking you to Jesus.” What are you thinking? Hopeful? Embarrassed that you need to be carried? Scared to get your hopes up again?
  2. Now you’re one of the four friends. You get to the house and it’s PACKED. You can’t even get close to the door. What do you do? Most people would say “let’s come back tomorrow,” right? But these guys look at each other and someone says, “What if we go through the roof?” What does it take to be THAT kind of friend?
  3. You’re up on the roof now, digging through someone’s ceiling—tiles and dust falling on people below. The homeowner is probably furious. People are yelling at you. Your friend on the mat is probably mortified. Why don’t you stop? What keeps you going?
  4. When the man walks out carrying his own mat, who do you think he goes to first? Jesus? Or his four friends who literally tore through a roof for him?

TALKING POINTS

Key Point 1: Real Friends Carry You to Jesus

  • These guys didn’t just pray for their friend from a distance
  • They didn’t wait for him to “get better” on his own
  • They CARRIED him—physically, spiritually, persistently

Key Point 2: Friendship Isn’t Easy or Comfortable

  • They faced obstacles (the crowd)
  • They got creative (the roof)
  • They risked looking foolish
  • They probably made people mad (homeowner!)
  • Real talk: “Spiritual friendship isn’t always convenient. Sometimes it means having hard conversations, checking in when it’s awkward, showing up when it’s inconvenient”

Key Point 3: Jesus Honors Friendships

  • He saw THEIR faith (v. 5)
  • The miracle happened because friends brought friends
  • Faith is meant to be lived in community
  • For this group: “Your questions, your showing up, your growth—it doesn’t just help you. When one of you grows, it pulls the rest of us forward”

Who’s Carrying You? Who Are You Carrying?

  • We all need both
  • Sometimes you’re on the mat, needing to be carried
  • Sometimes you’re holding the rope, doing the carrying

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Who in your life would literally “dig through a roof” for you spiritually? Like, who would push through obstacles to help you get to Jesus?
  2. Flip it: Is there anyone YOU would do that for? What would that actually look like in real life? (Not carrying someone physically, but checking in when they’re struggling, inviting them back when they’ve been absent, having a hard conversation about choices, etc.)
  3. What’s harder: being the one who needs help, or being the one who helps? Why? (This reveals pride, vulnerability issues, fear of being a burden)
  4. If this group became “roof-digging friends” for each other, what would change? What would we need to do differently? (Let THEM define what it looks like practically)
  5. The friends in this story had FOUR people working together. Why does that matter? Could one person have done it alone? (Emphasizes: we need COMMUNITY, not just one spiritual friend)

CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK

Two-Part Challenge:

PART 1 – Identify: Think about someone in your life (could be in this group or outside) who might be “on the mat” right now—spiritually stuck, distant from God, going through something hard. Write their name down.

PART 2 – Take One Step: Do ONE thing this week to “carry” them closer to Jesus:

  • Send an encouraging text with a Bible verse
  • Invite them to church/small group
  • Ask them “how are you doing spiritually?” and actually listen
  • Pray for them every day this week
  • Sit with them and just be present

End with: “Next week, we’ll share stories. Not names if it’s private, but what happened when you tried to be a ‘roof-digging friend.'”