December 18, 2022 – Love with Us

Love with Us

Isaiah 7:10-16 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹ “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”

¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. ¹⁵ He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶ for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 

Who spoke to Ahaz (verse 10)?

What was Ahaz to ask for (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why did Ahaz refuse to ask, was it that he did not want to put “the Lord to the test” or was there something more (verse 12)?

Who did Isaiah address his response to (verse 13)?

What sign was the Lord going to give (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why will the son be called Immanuel (verse 14)?

What will he be eating when he “knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right” (verse 15)?

What will happen to the “land of the two kings you dread” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how can we see God’s love in this passage?

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
    shine forth ² before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
    come and save us.

³ Restore us, O God;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

⁴ How long, Lord God Almighty,
    will your anger smolder
    against the prayers of your people?
⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears;
    you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
⁶ You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
    and our enemies mock us.

⁷ Restore us, God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

¹⁷ Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
    the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
¹⁸ Then we will not turn away from you;
    revive us, and we will call on your name.

¹⁹ Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

Who sits “enthroned between the cherubim” (verse 1)?

What was the Psalmist’s request (verse 2)?

What does the Psalmist say will happen if God’s face shines on Israel (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that God’s anger smolders “against the prayers of your people” (verse 4)?

What are God’s people being made to drink “by the bowlful” (verse 5)?

Who has made Israel “an object of derision to our neighbors” (verse 6)?

How can Israel be saved (verse 7)?

What will God do for the “son of man” (verse 17)?

When will Israel call on God’s name (verse 18)?

Who does the psalmist ask to restore Israel (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how can we see God’s love in this passage?

In your opinion, how are Ahaz in Isaiah 7:10-16 and the psalmist in Psalms 80:1-7, 17-19 different?

Romans 1:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

How does Paul describe himself (verse 1)?

What does Paul say he is “set apart for” (verse 1)?

How had God promised the gospel “beforehand” (verse 2)?

Who was God’s Son “in his earthly life” (verse 3)?

How was Jesus “through the Spirit of holiness . . . appointed the Son of God in power” (verse 4)?

What was Paul to do because of the apostleship he received from Jesus (verse 5)?

Who is Paul writing to (verse 7)?

How does Paul bless the readers (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how can we see God’s love in this passage?

In your opinion, what does Romans 1:1-7 help us understand about the one that God said through Isaiah 7:10-16 would be Immanuel (God with us)?

In your opinion, how does God exceed the request for Him to shine His face on Israel in Psalms 80:1-7, 17-19 by Paul’s call to apostleship in Romans 1:1-7?

Matthew 1:18-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

How does Matthew describe Jesus (verse 18)?

What was found before Mary and Joseph “came together” (verse 18)?

Why was Joseph going to “divorce her quietly” (verse 19)?

How did the angel appear to Joseph (verse 20)?

What was Joseph not to be afraid to do (verse 20)?

Why is Joseph to name the son born to Mary Jesus (verse 21)?

What was this to fulfill (verse 22)?

What is the son of the virgin to be called (verse 23)?

What did Joseph do when he woke up (verse 24)?

What did Joseph name Mary’s son (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how can we see God’s love in this passage?

In your opinion, why would God promise a sign to a king who rejected Him in Isaiah 7:10-16 that would find its ultimate fulfillment in Matthew 1:18-25 in the birth of a son who “will save his people from their sins”?

In your opinion, how would the psalmist, who described God as sitting enthroned between the cherubim in Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, have a different view of a relationship with God than Matthew, who wrote Matthew 1:18-25 and who knew God with Us? 

In your opinion, how is God’s love, which is lived out in Matthew 1:18-25, also expressed by Paul in Romans 1:1-7?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Psalms, Romans and Matthew teach us about how God loves us?

In your opinion, as we learn that God is with us, how can we respond to His love?

In your opinion, how do we share the love of “Immanuel” with others?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 3, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – From Stepping to Transforming

From Stepping to Transforming


Isaiah 8:19-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰ Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. ²¹ Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. ²² Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.

Who should people inquire of when they are told to “consult mediums and spiritists” (verse 19)?

In your opinion, “why consult the dead of behalf of the living” (verse 19)?

Who has “no light of dawn” (verse 20)?

What will the distressed and hungry do “when they are famished” (verse 21)?

When will they see “only distress and darkness” (verse 22)?

Where will they “be thrust” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 8:22-26 - New International Version (NIV)

²² They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³ He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴ He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

What did the people of Bethsaida beg for Jesus to do for the blind man (verse 22)?

How did Jesus lead the blind man outside of the village (verse 23)?

What did Jesus do for the man’s eyes (verse 23)?

What could the man see (verse 24)?

How did Jesus additional help the man (verse 25)?

How was the man changed (verse 25)?

Where was the man supposed to go (verse 26)?

Where was the man not supposed to go (verse 26)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the person who “tells you to consult mediums and spiritists” in Isaiah 8:19-22 and the people who brought the blind man to Jesus in Mark 8:22-26?

Acts 9:1-9, 17-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

. . .

¹⁷ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

What was Saul breathing out (verse 1)?

Why did Saul ask the high priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus (verse 2)?

When did the “light from heaven” flash around him (verse 3)?

What did Saul hear as he fell to the ground (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did Saul not know whose voice he heard (verse 5)?

Whose voice did Saul hear (verse 5)?

When was Saul to be told what he “must do” (verse 6)?

How did the men traveling with Saul react (verse 7)?

Why did the men lead Saul be the hand into Damascus (verse 8)?

How long was Saul blind (verse 9)?

Why had Jesus sent Ananias to Saul (verse 17)?

What did Saul do when he could see again (verse 18)?

When did he regain his strength (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is Isaiah 8:19-22’s prophecy that those who do not speak according to God’s instruction and testimony of warning “will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God” shown to be valid by Saul in Acts 9:1-9, 17-19?

In your opinion, what are the parallels between the healing of the blind man in Mark 8:22-26 and the “something like scales” falling off Saul’s eyes in Acts 9:1-9, 17-19?

2 Peter 1:3-11 – New International Version (NIV)

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

What has God’s divine power given us (verse 3)?

How did we able to participate “in the divine nature” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (verses 5, 6 and 7)?

How can we keep from “being ineffective and unproductive in” our “knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 8)?

Who is “nearsighted and blind” (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “confirm your calling and election” (verse 10)?

What kind of welcome does a Christian who confirms their calling and election receive “into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is the slide into utter darkness portrayed in Isaiah 8:19-22 different from the effort to “confirm your calling and election” presented in 2 Peter 1:3-11?

In your opinion, how does the effort of Jesus to give sight to the blind man in Mark 8:22-26 foreshadow His work as described in 2 Peter 1:3-11 as giving us the knowledge of Himself that is the foundation of our salvation and also the beginning of the process through which we confirm our calling and election?

In your opinion, how does the appearance of Jesus to Saul through the bright light in Acts 9:1-9, 17-19 give us a physical example of the way all people are called to come to Christ through His “glory and goodness” according to 2 Peter 1:3-11? 

In your opinion, how do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and 2 Peter help us understand the difference between seeing God and becoming enraged and seeing Jesus and escaping the “corruption in the world”?

In your opinion, how is escaping the “corruption in the world” only the first step in a lifetime of transformation that rewards us with a welcome into the “eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”?

     A Chinese philosopher named Lao Tzu once said that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.  This is profound, accurate and very misleading.  While it is very true that you can not move toward anything without the first step, it is also very possible to have a deep yearning and desire and to take that first step, followed by many others, and move away from what we are yearning for.

     Consider the person who consults mediums and spiritists in Isaiah 8:19-22.  A yearning within themselves caused them to search for something beyond themselves, and so they consult the dead.  But, if this is their first step and they continue in this process, they will inevitably find themselves with an unfulfilled desire that will lead to their cursing God.

     For the first step to lead to the opportunity for yearning to be satisfied it must be pointed to God.  Consider the blind man in Mark 8:22-26, whose friends brought him to Jesus.  Just because he was in the presence of Jesus did not give him the ability to see.  When he allowed Jesus to lead him by the hand, then spit on and touch his eyes he then had some sight.  When he allowed the hands that would soon be pierced by nails to touch him again then he saw clearly.

     With Saul we get to see both the Isaiah problem and the Jesus solution.  Saul, who had taken many steps following a god who he would have proclaimed as the God of his ancestors, had an unanswered yearning that enraged him to the point that he was not just cursing God but was acting against that who belonged to “the Way”.  He was taking lots of steps, but they were leading him away from God.  Then he met Jesus and was blinded by His “glory and goodness”.  This was the point where the blind man could see people, but they looked like “trees walking around”.  Saul was now ready to start his journey.  Then Ananias came, laid his hands on Saul, and Saul believed and was baptized.  He was finally seeing clearly.

     But for Saul, and us, that is just the first step of the journey.  Peter tells us that escaping the corruption in the world means that we can “participate in the divine nature”.  But for people who have been yearning and following bad advice that is hard.  Peter found it hard also, but he also gives us a map for the journey when he says “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love”.  The wonderful thing about this is that it does not expect us to be immediately perfect, but to take what we are given and build on it.

     You see, we are not taking a journey to heaven.  Salvation is not a ticket that gets us onto a path that ends in heaven.  Salvation itself will get us into heaven.

     But, we who have been saved still have a yearning for God.  We will fill that yearning in some way, and Peter advises that fill the yearning by starting with salvation and then transforming ourselves. He does not demand that we move immediately from faith to love, but suggests that we add to faith goodness. 

     Think about that, Peter is not saying that we need to move from salvation to doing things from love.  He suggests that we move from faith to doing good things.  Then from doing good things to a greater knowledge of who God is and who we are and how He loves and leads.  Then we move from knowing more to being more under control, or to say it differently, to becoming free from the corruption of the world.  Because acting differently from the world is hard they we learn perseverance.  Persevering in being different will lead to us being more like God, in understanding the challenges and difficulties that we face are the same as others face, which leads us to an affection for them.  As we begin to have that affection and truly see who they are and what they are going through and doing then we can begin to love.

     But the cycle then only begins again.  When we have begun to see that those who follow God have the same difficulties and challenges as we do, and we begin to love them for the people that they are we begin to look at those who are wandering in the darkness and cursing God and realizing that the difference between us and them is the intervention of God and the faith that we are blessed with.  This can lead us to begin to do good things for these people who are so different from us, but also so similar.  And we keep going.

     A journey of a thousand miles may begin with a step, but salvation begins with an introduction to Jesus.

     Let each of us take a moment to reintroduce ourselves to the “glory and goodness” of Jesus Christ.

     Then, let each of us bring a blind friend to Jesus.

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 12, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Appointed or Purified

Appointed or Purified


Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

⁷ But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

⁹ Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

¹¹ The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

¹² The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

¹⁷ “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. ¹⁸ Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. ¹⁹ They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Whose word came to Jeremiah (verse 4)?

When was Jeremiah appointed “as a prophet to the nations” (verse 5)?

What objection did Jeremiah raise to the Lord (verse 6)?

How did the Lord respond to Jeremiah’s objection (verse 7)?

Why is Jeremiah not to be afraid (verse 8)?

How did the Lord put words in Jeremiah’s mouth (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the Lord appointed Jeremiah “over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant” (verse 10)?

What did Jeremiah see (verse 11)?

How did the Lord interpret what Jeremiah saw (verse 12)?

What is Jeremiah to say (verse 17)?

Who is Jeremiah to stand against (verse 18)?

How will they respond to Jeremiah (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 3:13-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

Who came to Him (verse 13)?

Why did Jesus appoint the twelve (verse 14)?

What authority did the twelve have (verse 15)?

Who did Jesus give the name Peter (verse 16)?

How is Judas Iscariot described (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, why would the one who knew Jeremiah before He formed him in the womb, in Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19, have appointed “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” to be one of the twelve in Mark 3:13-19? 

Acts 1:12-26 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

¹⁸ (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. ¹⁹ Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

²⁰ “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in it,’

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’

²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴ Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen ²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Who returned to Jerusalem (verse 12)?

Who joined “constantly in prayer” (verse 14)?

How many believers were there (verse 15)?

What did Peter say had to be fulfulled (verse 16)?

How does Peter describe Judas (verses 16 and 17)?

What did Judas do with his payment (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why did Peter quote the Psalms in verse 20?

What criteria did Peter require of Judas’s replacement (verses 21 and 22)?

Who was nominated (verse 23)?

What did they pray (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is an “apostolic ministry” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, how is the way Matthias became a member of the twelve and the way the other eleven became members different (verse 26)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is Jeremiah, who God appointed as a prophet according to Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 different from Judas who Jesus appointed as one of the twelve in Mark 3::13-19 and who fulfilled the Scripture “which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David” according to Peter in Acts 1:12-26?

In your opinion, how could Judas, who was appointed by Jesus in Mark 3:13-19, have been the one who Peter said in Acts 1:12-26 “served as a guide for those who arrested Jesus”?

Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

How did God speak to the ancestors of the Jews (and us) in the past (verse 1)?

How did God speak to us “in these last days” (verse 2)?

Who is “appointed heir of all things” (verse 2)?

Through whom did God make the universe (verse 2)?

Who is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (verse 3)?

Who “provided purification for sins” (verse 3)?

Who “became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs” (verse 4)?

Who did the “God of peace” bring back through “the blood of the eternal covenant” (verse 20)?

What is Paul praying that his Christian readers will be equipped with (verse 21)?

What is Paul praying that God will do in his readers (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is different about the word that God spoke to us through Jeremiah as outlined in Jeremiah 1:4-12, 17-19 and the message delivered “to us by his Son” in the last days according to Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21?

In your opinion, how are we who God has spoken to by His Son and who have been equipped  “for doing his will” as described in Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 to be like the twelve that Jesus appointed in Mark 3:13-19?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the twelve of Acts 1:12-26, of whom Paul includes himself with and says in Hebrews 1:1-4, 13:20-21 “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” and those have received the “purification for sins” but who have not heard Jesus speak?  How are our responsibilities similar?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, Mark, Acts and Hebrews help us understand about the differences between those who are appointed, like Jeremiah and the twelve (including Judas) and those who have been purified from sins and whom God is working in today?

In your opinion, what can we who are purified from sins through Jesus learn about what God’s will for us today is by studying those who were appointed in today’s scriptures?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)