On the crowded courts of Venice Beach the rule is brutal: either you belong there and play, or you walk away. From that memory the sermon moves to a question asked head-on, can anyone really come to God? The answer lies in two neighbouring stories from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 15): Jesus and the Canaanite woman who asks only for crumbs, and the feeding of four thousand on the gentile side of the lake. Listen if you have ever thought you must first make yourself fit for God.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Why do Jesus' words about the children's bread and the dogs sound so harsh to us, and how might the Canaanite woman, whose culture treated dogs as part of the household, have understood them?
- Matthew places the encounter with the Canaanite woman right next to the feeding of the four thousand on the Gentile side of the lake. What do these two stories teach together about who Jesus came for?
- The woman answers, "Yes, Lord," and still trusts that a crumb of grace is enough for her. What in her attitude led Jesus to call her faith great?
- Which extreme is closer to you: a sense of entitlement, as if God owes us something, or the belief that your sin is bigger than God's mercy? How does it show up in your life?
- How do you respond when Jesus seems silent about your prayers, and what does the Canaanite woman's story say to you about those moments?
- The woman in the story of the coffee meetings with Natalia changed slowly, over many weeks. Who around you can you invite to Jesus' table this week, and how can you walk with them patiently?
