Bible Study Questions

1. Ken says "sickness is a consequence of sin polluting and corrupting God's good creation." How does understanding sickness this way change how you view your own health struggles?
2. Jesus approached sickness combatively and spent much of his ministry healing people. What does this tell us about God's heart toward human suffering?
3. Ken presents the idea that "sickness does not glorify God, but the way we respond to sickness can." What are some practical ways you have seen someone glorify God through illness?
4. Romans 8:28-29 says God works everything together for good — not that everything is good. How have you personally seen God bring something good out of a difficult health situation?
5. Ken says "God loves those to whom he says no just as much as those to whom he says yes." How do you emotionally and spiritually wrestle with unanswered prayers for healing?
6. Paul begged God three times to remove his thorn in the flesh, and God said no. What does Paul's response in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 teach us about accepting God's answer when it isn't what we hoped for?
7. Ken mentions that "very often, God is more glorified through people who suffer well than through people who get well." Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
8. Ken describes three supernatural gifts God may give in place of physical healing — peace, strength, and a word. Have you ever experienced one of these gifts during a season of suffering? Share your story.
9. Ken's neighbor's husband received a specific word from God that sustained him through his wife's cancer battle. How do you cultivate a spiritual sensitivity to hear from God during painful seasons?
10. Paul connects the Lord's Supper to healing in 1 Corinthians 11, warning that taking it unworthily is connected to weakness and sickness. How seriously does your faith community take self-examination before communion?
11. Ken says he will never stop praying for healing even when the answer is no, comparing it to continuing to share the gospel even when people reject it. How does this perspective challenge or encourage your own prayer life?
12. The sermon closes with the ancient prayer "O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us." What role does corporate, communal prayer play in your own journey toward healing — physical, mental, relational, or spiritual?

Discussion Questions

1. Ken opens with a humorous story about his sons being surprised he could still get up off the floor. What does humor and self-awareness about our physical limitations reveal about a healthy attitude toward aging and mortality?
2. Ken mentions theologies that teach a Christian should never be sick, and says "I think those theologies are sick." Have you ever encountered this kind of teaching? How did it affect you or someone you know?
3. Ken's principle that "suffering is not good, but good can come from suffering" is a careful distinction. Why does it matter that we don't call suffering itself good, even when God redeems it?
4. Ken describes God's goal for us as "continuing fullness until we have been filled with the fullness of God" rather than perpetual physical wellness. How does this reframe the way you think about what a successful Christian life looks like?
5. Ken says "never equate the presence of suffering with the absence of God." Has there been a time in your life when suffering actually made you more aware of God's presence rather than less?
6. The story of Paul leaving Trophimus sick while raising Eutychus from the dead illustrates the mystery of why God heals some and not others. How do you make peace with that mystery in your own faith?
7. Ken's neighbor's husband described hearing a word from God like an announcer speaking over his shoulder. How do you personally discern when you have heard a word from God versus your own thoughts or emotions?
8. Ken says that sometimes "hearing is better than healing." Can you think of a time when what you needed most was not a change in your circumstances but a word of clarity, comfort, or direction from God?
9. Isaiah 40:29-31 promises supernatural strength to those who trust in the Lord. What does "trusting in the Lord" practically look like in the middle of a health crisis, rather than just in theory?
10. Ken describes four categories of healing prayer — physical, mental, relational, and spiritual. Which of these four areas do you find it easiest to bring to God, and which do you tend to hold back? Why?
11. Ken expresses that he was once uncomfortable with the phrase "God is good all the time" because it felt trite. Have you ever had a faith phrase or church tradition lose its meaning for you, and how did you rediscover its truth?
12. Ken closes by inviting the congregation into a communal time of prayer with the elders. What barriers — emotional, cultural, or personal — keep people from asking others to pray for their healing, and how can a small group help break those barriers down?