I sat in front of a sorority woman, determined to inspire her to lead a bible study in her chapter. I pulled out the story of the paralytic man. We read the story, observed it, and began to interpret what it would have meant to the original hearers.

Teary-eyed, she said, “I need to stop sleeping with my boyfriend.”

I scanned the passage. I reread it. I had prepared multiple questions about the text that would help us to see that Jesus chose to heal the paralytic man because of the four men’s faith and that he had the authority to heal the body to forgive sins. My questions were carefully crafted to lead us into the application that our faith could heal our friends and we could use a bible study to bring people to Jesus' feet.