Calvary Vero Community Groups

Sermon Based Discussion

Week of 6/26/2026

Pastor Nate Gallagher

John 5:1-18 “Do You Want To Be Made Well?”

Introduction

We all long for wholeness, yet we often look for healing and fulfillment in our own human effort, traditions, false ideas, etc. In John 5:1–18, Jesus meets a man paralyzed for 38 years at the Pool of Bethesda, asking him a foundational question: "Do you want to be made well?" This message reminds us how God’s grace meets us in our times of need, and how Jesus invites our active participation in the work He wants to do in our lives. Also, how He calls us to live transformed lives once He’s touched us, rather than remaining passive or returning to old habits.

Q. Nate mentioned how people often look to success, religion, or self-improvement to find completeness. In what practical ways do you catch yourself leaning on your own efforts or modern "traditions" to fix broken areas of your life instead of turning to God?

When Jesus asked the paralyzed man if he wanted to be made well, the man responded with excuses about why he couldn't get into the pool. True change requires us to stop blaming our circumstances or past experiences and surrender control to Christ.

Q. Why do you think it can sometimes feel safer or easier to stay in our familiar brokenness rather than experience the real change Jesus offers?

Q. Is there an area in your life right now where you tend to offer excuses (e.g., "That's just how I am," or "No one is helping me") instead of bringing the situation openly to Jesus?

Jesus commanded the man to "Rise, take up your bed and walk"—an instruction requiring immediate action. While grace completely saves us apart from works, walking in freedom requires our active, ongoing participation with the Holy Spirit and obedience to the word of God.

Q. It was noted that "grace doesn't eliminate our involvement; it empowers it." How have you seen the idea of God’s extended grace towards you in a situation or season of life play out, as it is connected to your actively receiving it and then walking in it?

Q. What is one concrete, practical step of obedience—your equivalent of “picking up your mat”—that God is prompting you to take up in your spiritual walk?

Jesus gives us unmerited grace not because we are worthy, but because He is good—calling us to respond with deep gratitude and transformed living.

Q. Seeing how Jesus extended healing to someone who didn't earn or initially appreciate it shows us the depth of God's grace. How does remembering that God loved and saved you at your weakest moment change the way you view and treat difficult people in your life?

Q. Jesus later found the man in the temple and told him to "sin no more." How can we support and encourage each other to move beyond just being "forgiven" to actively walking in everyday freedom and personal holiness?

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16