SERIES TITLE
If The Shoe Fits Week 4 Barefoot
series overview
What do our shoes say about us? Whether it’s a pair of work-boots, crocs, flip-flops, loafers, vans, or soccer cleats – each scuff, detail, and well-worn sole provides a glimpse into who we are and where we’re going. We invite you to join us on this journey as we step into the shoes of those whose lives were touched by Jesus. Let their stories fill you with hope and inspire us all to live with courage and purpose.
sermon TITLE
Barefoot
Sermon Summary
In this message, Mike Breaux addresses everything from the current political climate, cancel culture, how we are treated and the way we treat others. Using the story of the leper in Luke 5 highlights the transformative power of Jesus’ love and touch, encouraging all of us to see others with grace, offer love, and be the hands of Jesus in a broken world.
ice breaker
When you were growing up, was there ever a food aversion that made you sick at the taste of it? Why do you think that was? Were others understanding about that or not?
DISCUSSion
Select 3-4 questions from the list below to guide your discussion time.
- Read Luke 5:12. Leprosy made someone untouchable in the first century. Who is untouchable to you in the 21st century? What characteristics make them difficult for you to be close to?
- Read Luke 5:13. Why was Jesus touching the leper significant, and what does this signify about the importance of human touch? What is an intimate equivalent for the kind of person you identified earlier as an “untouchable” for you?
- Read Luke 5:14-15 and Psalm 24:18. Mike pointed out that Jesus didn’t heal everybody in his world, and that this leper eventually got sick and died (as did Lazarus). Why do you think God doesn’t heal everyone today? What do you think are the considerations at play in his responses to those suffering from sickness and hardships?
- Read Luke 5:16. This is a huge way that Jesus refueled after big moments with people and with crowds. How do you refuel? Does prayer replenish you or is it more of a task? How could it refill you in new ways?
- Mike quoted author Sue Monk Kidd as saying, “It’s anguish to come to that place in life where you know all the words but none of the music.” Are you at the place in your spiritual life where you are in danger of knowing the right words to say about God, a topic, or a person but have no passion or heart to respond with the love that Jesus does? What is one step you could take to enter into that music again (or for the first time)?
WRAP UP & PRAYER
- Ask for prayer requests first.
- Thank God for someone who saw you at your worst and chose to come close to you anyway..
- Ask God to help you love someone who qualifies as an “Untouchable” in your life.
- Ask God to address a specific need in the life of someone disadvantaged or wholly different from you..