Series: Short Stories with Jesus
Message: Faithless 
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Karl Haffner
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Jessyka Albert
Editor: Becky De Oliveira

Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Mark 9:17-27 in the New International Version (NIV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.

Reflect: James 1:5–6 (LB) offers this promise: “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you, for He is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask Him; He will not resent it. But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

Ask God what He wants you to do with this story in Mark 9. Remember, “. . . He will gladly tell you.”

Questions to consider:

• What are your learning points in the story?
• In what specific ways does this story inform your mission to live love?
• What does God want you to do that will build your faith?
• What does God want you to do to bring His healing to those who are hurting?
• What does God want you to do to strengthen your prayer life?

Recalibrate: When is the last time you were desperately depending on Jesus for a miracle? What did you learn in that struggle? How does that experience shape your faith journey for today?

Respond: Take a “song sabbatical”—find a quiet space and, in an unhurried state of mind, listen to a hymn about God’s faithfulness.

Research: Reflect on seven quotes from Tim Keller about faith at Newsmax.

Remember: “Everything is possible for one who believes.” —Mark 9:23 (NIV)

Karl Haffner gets to hang out with some fabulous folk at the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ohio where he serves as pastor. He's blessed with his wife, Cherié, and their two daughters, Lindsey (a senior at Walla Walla University) and Claire (a junior at Spring Valley Academy). They also have a mutt named Skip.

Ask for heavenly help today. Know that you are not alone and that heaven waits to send solutions your way. Little ones learn by listening to what we say and do. Pray with them and ask God for what your family needs.

Have you ever tried to help someone who would not let you? It doesn’t work out well does it? Jesus waits for us to ask for help, even if that is help to believe in Him, just like the dad in the story. You can ask Jesus to help you believe in Him more, and then choose to do just that.

Have you ever played a sport or learned an instrument? Did you learn how to play overnight, or did it take time and practice? Faith is kind of like learning to play a sport or an instrument; the more you do it, the stronger you get at it. What are some ways you can build your faith today? This week? This month? This year?