Glencairn Church

Going Deeper is designed for use with your small group, a friend, or on
your own. Its aim is to create time for you to spend with God and his word. Do as much or as little as you like. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our pastoral staff.

1.Pray for each other, our church, and our leaders, for personal and corporate renewal, and to allow God’s word to transform us. Share a recent entry from your Life Journal with the group.

2. This Sunday, the message focus was: “Great Reversals – Does God Change His Mind?” What thoughts or questions did the message raise for you? Which ones, in light of your understanding of scripture and the character, ministry, and mission of Jesus raise questions or concerns for you?

3. Read Matthew 15:21-28 (also Mark 7:24-30). Jesus has traveled about 80 km. north and He is now in Gentile territory. At first glance, it may appear that Jesus’ response to the woman’s plea for her daughter is ungracious, dismissive, and insulting – what do you think? Does anything in these verses bother you? How does this fit into the “picture” you have of our Lord as a loving savior, gracious redeemer, and sinless and perfect
representation of who God is.

4. In these verses, we have a second reversal – an outsider (the
Canaanite woman) teaches the insider (the disciples) how to have faith
and how to pray. How did that interaction between Jesus and the woman contrast with the disciples’ own attitudes and beliefs? Do you see yourself in these eight verses? In what way? As you read these verses did the Lord reveal anything to you about your own attitudes or beliefs?

5.Verse 27 may upset or shock some who look to the Lord for generous
responses to prayer. Of course, we know that God does respond to us
generously, but what does this teach us about the sufficiency of our Lord? You might want to reflect on God’s answers to some of your prayers. Did His response always satisfy you? How did you feel and/or react to occasions where your requests were not satisfied?

6. Take a moment of silence to consider how God is speaking to you through the message you have heard today. Is God asking you to make changes or to do something new? What concrete steps of response do you want to take? How can your group support you in these steps?