Open Blind Eyes

In one paragraph

Brian walked the congregation through John 9, the account of a man born blind who is healed by Jesus, expelled by the Pharisees, and then found again by Jesus. Rather than preaching straight through, Brian invited the room to read aloud together, ask questions, and make connections, turning the whole chapter into a shared conversation. The thread running through it was one the congregation...

Read together

1. John 9:1-41 primary text read aloud and discussed throughout the entire sermon
2. Isaiah 35:5-7 quoted as a prophecy of Jesus opening blind eyes, connected to the water imagery in the healing story
3. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 quoted by a congregation member to connect physical blindness in the story to spiritual blindness caused by Satan
4. John 16:33 paraphrased as 'in this life there will be trials and tribulations, but take heart, I have overcome the world' to address whether God caused the man's blindness
5. Romans 3:10 paraphrased as 'there is no one perfect, no not one' while explaining universal spiritual blindness
6. Romans 3:23 paraphrased as 'all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God' in the same discussion of spiritual blindness
7. James 2:10 paraphrased as 'if you keep all the law and stumble at but one point you are guilty of having broken all the law'
8. Genesis 12:3 paraphrased as 'those who bless Israel I will bless' when explaining why Tribe stands with the Jewish community

What was said

• Read all of John chapter nine on your own this week and write down every time the words see, seen, sight, or blind appear.
• If you have been carrying something from your past that you feel still owns you, take a few minutes this week to tell God specifically what it is and ask him to help you lay it down.
• If you have never invited Jesus into your life, find a quiet moment this week and ask him to open your eyes to your own condition the way he did for the man in John nine.
• If you feel rejected or cast out by people around you right now, read the end of John chapter nine again and sit with the fact that Jesus went looking for the man after he was thrown out.
• Fill out a connect card at the back of the room on your way out, or reach out to the prayer team this week if there is something specific you need people to agree with you in prayer over.

Talk about it

1. Brian pointed out that the disciples' question about who sinned seemed like an attempt to impress Jesus with their knowledge. When have you caught yourself approaching God or faith more as a performance than as genuine seeking?
2. Jesus answered that the man's blindness was not caused by his sin or his parents' sin, but that the works of God would be displayed through it. How do you personally wrestle with the tension between God not causing suffering and God working through it?
3. Brian noticed that after the man was healed, almost nobody celebrated with him. Instead he was questioned, doubted, and eventually thrown out of the synagogue. Has there been a time when God did something real in your life that others around you dismissed or ignored? What did that feel like?
4. The man's parents refused to speak up for their own son because they were afraid of being expelled from the synagogue. What communities, relationships, or forms of belonging have made it hard for you to speak openly about what Jesus has done in your life?
5. Brian described spiritual blindness as a condition none of us could see ourselves out of, and said the first step was becoming aware of it. What helped you become aware of your own blindness, and what does it look like now to keep walking in that awareness rather than drifting back?