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Bargaining - March 23, 2025

This Sunday, we'll continue our Lenten journey on the five stages of grief with a powerful message from Mark 7:24-30, exploring the encounter between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman. This remarkable story shows us what happens when desperation meets faith, as a mother from outside the Jewish community approaches Jesus seeking healing for her daughter. When faced with what appears to be rejection, she doesn't retreat but instead engages Jesus with clever persistence that ultimately results in her daughter's healing. This passage invites us to examine our own tendency to bargain with God during difficult times, and how God might transform our negotiations into deeper, more trusting relationships.

As you prepare for worship this week, I invite you to reflect on these questions: 

  • When have you found yourself bargaining with God during times of crisis or need? 
  • How might your own desperation become an opportunity for deeper faith rather than just a transaction?

Consider how the Syrophoenician woman's story challenges us to move beyond conditional offers ("God, if you do this, I'll do that") toward a faith characterized by persistent trust.

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