Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman
Week 8: Chapter 7 — More Than a Fan of the Miracles (Following in the Hard Places)
Read Chapter 7 of Not a Fan. Key passages: John 11 (Lazarus); John 6:1–15 (feeding the five thousand).
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Fans love Jesus when he multiplies loaves and fish and raises the dead; following him into the hard, dark, waiting places is another matter entirely — and this chapter asks whether your faith can survive the silence.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Idleman observes that the crowds are always largest around Jesus' miracles, but that genuine followers are the ones who remain when the miracles seem to stop. Have you ever had a season where God felt absent or silent? What did that season reveal about the nature of your faith?
2.He draws attention to the detail in John 11 that when Jesus hears Lazarus is sick, he deliberately stays two more days before going. What does that delay say about how God sometimes works — and how do you personally respond to God's delays in your own life?
3.Idleman points out that both Mary and Martha say the same words to Jesus — "If you had been here, my brother would not have died" — but with very different tones. Martha's seems to be faith holding on; Mary's seems to be grief letting go. Which of those feels more like you when you are suffering?
a.What does it say about Jesus that he weeps with Mary even though he knows he is about to raise Lazarus?
b.How does his weeping shape the way you bring your grief to him?
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