September 14 - Real Good News

Real Healing for Hurting Hearts

Icebreaker
What’s the most memorable injury you’ve ever had that needed to be bandaged—and how did you respond in that moment?

Study Questions

1. Read Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4:18. What similarities and differences do you notice? What do you recall from the message about why Luke’s account doesn't contain the phrase “bind up the brokenhearted”?
2. The Hebrew word for “bind up” (khaw-bash) can mean to wrap, compress, or stop. What does it mean for a broken heart to be bound up?
3. In what ways were Israel’s hearts broken during the exile ...
   
   1. By ruin and disappointment?
   2. By grief and disorientation?
   3. By oppression?
   4. By sin?
4. How does this history connect to the hope Jesus proclaimed?
   
5. Read Hebrews 10:23 and 2 Corinthians 4:16–18. How do these passages encourage us to hold onto hope when life feels overwhelming?
6. What do these texts reveal about God’s character when it comes to caring for the poor, the oppressed, and the brokenhearted?

Application Questions

1. Where do you personally feel most like Israel after the exile—longing for “glory days,” grieving loss, feeling oppressed, or weighed down by your own sin?
2. Which of God’s promises brings you the most comfort right now? Why?
3. Jesus binds up broken hearts gently, not with shame. What would it look like for you to extend that same care to someone else this week?
4. How can our group be a place of healing for people who are brokenhearted?

Prayer
Invite members to share areas where their hearts feel broken. Use the bandage activity if possible: tie a bandage around one another’s wrists and pray, “Lord Jesus, bind up this broken heart. Bring healing and hope.” Close by thanking God that Jesus still heals, still restores, and still gives hope.