August 23, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – The Day of the Lord

  

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The Day of the Lord

Matthew 24:36-44 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Who knows the day or hour (verse 36)?

How will it be “at the coming of the Son of Man” (verse 37)?

What were people doing “up to the day Noah entered the ark” (verse 38)?

In your opinion, how could the people know “nothing about what would happen until the flood came” when the ark was being built in the midst of them (verse 39)?

At the coming of the Son of Man what will happen to the two men in the field (verse 40)?

At the coming of the Son of Man what will happen to the two women grinding with a hand mill (verse 41)?

Why should we keep watch (verse 42)?

What would the owner of the house have done if he knew what time of night the thief was coming (verse 43)?

When will the Son of Man come (verse 44)?

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

Amos 5:18-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ “Woe to you who long
    for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
    That day will be darkness, not light.
¹⁹ It will be as though a man fled from a lion
    only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
    and rested his hand on the wall
    only to have a snake bite him.
²⁰ Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
    pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?

²¹ “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
    your assemblies are a stench to me.
²² Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.
²³ Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.
²⁴ But let justice roll on like a river,
    righteousness like a never-failing stream!”

Who does Amos “woe” (verse 18)?

What does Amos say about that day (verse 18)?

In your opinion, how would you feel if you fled from a lion and met a bear (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what is distressing about the man who entered his house and rested his hand on the wall “only to have a snake bite him” (verse 19)?

How is the darkness of the “day of the Lord” described (verse 20)?

How does God feel about the religious festivals of the Israelites that Amos is writing to (verse 21)?

How will God respond if the Israelites bring “choice fellowship offerings” (verse 22)?

How will God respond to the music of the Israelites harps (verse 23)?

What should justice do (verse 24)?

What should righteousness be like (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how does Amos warning to the Israelites that their comfort in their religion brings “woe” to them in Amos 5:18-24 change our understanding of the warning of Jesus in Matthew 24:36-44 that “as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man”?

2 Peter 2:4-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶ if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹ if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. ¹⁰ This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; ¹¹ yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. ¹² But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.”

Who did God not spare when they sinned (verse 4)?

Who did God bring the flood on in “the ancient world” (verse 5)?

What did God do for Noah, “a preacher of righteousness, and seven others” (verse 5)?

How did God condemn “the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah” (verse 6)?

How is Lot described (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Lot live in a place where he was “tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard” (verse 8)?

Who does the Lord know how to rescue (verse 9)?

What will the unrighteous be held for (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why is it wrong to “heap abuse on celestial beings” (verse 10)?

How are angels described (verse 11)?

In what matters do the unrighteous blaspheme (verse 12)?

How are the unrighteous like unreasoning animals (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how does Peter’s statement that “these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand” in 2 Peter 2:4-11 help us understand why the people who God refuses to accept anything from in Amos 5:18-24 could “long for the day of the Lord”?

In your opinion, how does Peter’s discussion of the protection of Noah and the rescue of Lot in 2 Peter 2:4-11 help us understand what Jesus meant when He said that “one will be taken and the other left” in Matthew 24:36-44?

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, ² for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

⁴ But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. ⁵ You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Who is Paul writing to (verse 1)?

Why does Paul say he does not need to write about the “times and dates” (verses 1 and 2)?

When will destruction come (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why does Paul use the illustration of “as labor pains on a pregnant woman” (verse 3)?

Why should the brothers and sisters not be surprised (verse 4)?

What are the brothers and sisters children of (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be “asleep” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be “awake and sober” (verse 6)?

When do those who sleep, sleep, and those who get drunk, get drunk, (verse 7)?

What do we who are sober put on (verse 8)?

Who did not appoint us “to suffer wrath” (verse 9)?

How are we to “receive salvation” (verse 9)?

Why did Jesus die for us (verse 10)?

What are we to do (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, how does Peter talking about the protection of Noah and the rescue of Lot in 2 Peter 2:4-11 help us understand the way that God can carry through on the promise of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 when he says “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”?

In your opinion, how does the promise of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 that “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” bring us comfort as we read the statement of God in Amos 5:18-24, “Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord!”?

In your opinion, how does Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 with his instruction to “encourage one another and build each other up” help us understand how Jesus wants us as the community of believers to “be ready” in Matthew 24:36-44?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Amos, 2 Peter and 1 Thessalonians show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 24:45 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 16, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Words

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Words

Matthew 24:32-35 – New International Version (NIV)

³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

What are we to learn a lesson from (verse 32)?

How do we tell that summer is near (verse 32)?

In your opinion, what will we know is near when we “see all these things” (verse 33)?

What will not pass away until all these things have happened (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (verse 35)?

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

Isaiah 55:6-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

When are we to seek the Lord (verse 6)?

Who will the Lord have mercy on (verse 7)?

What does the Lord declare is different from us (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does God mean when He says “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts that your thoughts” (verse 9)?

What does the rain and snow do before returning to heaven (verse 10)?

How is God’s word like the rain and snow (verses 10 and 11)?

What will God’s word not do (verse 11)?

What will God’s word accomplish (verse 11)?

What will God’s word achieve (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, how does God’s promise in Isaiah 55:6-11 that His word “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” amplify the statement of Jesus in Matthew 24:32-35 that “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”?

2 Peter 3:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

³ Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ⁵ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶ By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷ By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”

Why has Peter written two letters (verse 1)?

What does Peter want the reader to recall (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does Peter want the reader to understand “that in the last days scoffers will come” (verse 3)?

What will the scoffers follow (verse 3)?

What statement will the scoffers use to ridicule “this ‘coming’ he promised” (verse 4)?

How do the scoffers “forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water” (verse 5)?

What was “deluged and destroyed” “by these waters” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does Peter say that “the same word” that caused the heavens to come into being and the earth to be formed out water and by water now has reserved “the present heavens and earth” for fire (verses 6 and 7)?

What are “the present heavens and earth” being kept for (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, how does Peter’s reminder that “by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water” in 2 Peter 3:1-7 when combined by God’s promise in Isaiah 55:6-11 that the word that goes out from His mouth “will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” add force to Peter’s statement that “by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly”?

In your opinion, what can we understand when we consider that Jesus said in Matthew 24:32-35 that “when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door” and that Peter in 2 Peter 3:1-7 said “above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires”?

Revelation 1:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

⁴ John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

⁷ “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Why did God give Jesus Christ this revelation (verse 1)?

What does John testify to (verse 2)?

Who is blessed (verse 3)?

Why are they blessed (verse 3)?

In your opinion, who is “him who is, and who was, and who is to come” (verse 4)?

How is Jesus Christ described (verse 5)?

In your opinion, who is “him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (verse 4)?

Why are we made into “a kingdom and priests” (verse 6)?

Who will see Jesus when He comes “with the clouds” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why will “all people on earth” “mourn because of him” (verse 7)?

How does God describe himself (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what is the relationship between God’s word that Peter talks about in 2 Peter 3:1-7 and the “word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ” that John is to reveal according to Revelation 1:1-8?

In Isaiah 55:6-11 God promises that “my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty”, in your opinion, what are the “words of this prophecy” from Revelation 1:1-8 and the rest of Revelation supposed to accomplish?

In your opinion, how reassuring is it that the “One” John says in Revelation1:1-8 “who loves us and has freed us of our sins by his blood” is the “One” who in Matthew 24:32-35 says “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away”?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Isaiah, 2 Peter and Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 24:36 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 9, 2015 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Mourning and Confidence

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Mourning and Confidence

Matthew 24:26-31 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

³⁰ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

What should you do if someone tells you “there he is, out in the wilderness” (verse 26)?

How should you react if some tells you “here he is, in the inner rooms” (verse 26)?

How will the “coming of the Son of Man” be (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean by “wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather” (verse 28)?

When will the sun be darkened, the moon not give its light, the stars fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies be shaken (verse 29)?

Where will “the sign of the Son of Man” appear (verse 30)?

How will “all the peoples of the earth” react when the see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (verse 30)?

What will He send his angels “with a loud trumpet call” to do (verse 31)?

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

Isaiah 34:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Come near, you nations, and listen;
    pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
    the world, and all that comes out of it!
² The Lord is angry with all nations;
    his wrath is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy them,
    he will give them over to slaughter.
³ Their slain will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies will stink;
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.
⁴ All the stars in the sky will be dissolved
    and the heavens rolled up like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall
    like withered leaves from the vine,
    like shriveled figs from the fig tree.”

Who is supposed to “come near” and “listen” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why does Isaiah say “let the earth hear, and all that is in it” (verse 1)?

How does the Lord feel about the nations and the armies (verse 2)?

What will the Lord do to the nations and the armies (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah want to point out when he says “their dead bodies will stink” (verse 3)?

What will “be soaked with their blood” (verse 3)?

What will happen to the “stars in the sky” (verse 4)?

How will the heavens be treated (verse 4)?

How will the “starry host” fall (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, how does reading Isaiah 34:1-4, the passage that Jesus quotes from in Matthew 24:26-31, help us to understand more about why the people of the earth will “mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory”?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Why does Paul not want his “brothers and sisters” to be “uninformed about those who sleep in death” (verse 13)?

What does Paul say “we believe” about Jesus (verse 14)?

What does Paul say “we believe” about those “who have fallen asleep in him” (verse 14)?

Who will not precede those who have fallen asleep (verse 15)?

Where will “the Lord himself” come from (verse 16)?

What will happen first after the “loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (verse 16)?

What will happen “after that” (verse 17)?

Where will the meeting with the Lord take place (verse 17)?

In your opinion, how can we use “these words” to “encourage one another” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how does the fact that “Jesus died and rose again” that Paul points to in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 alter the grim prophecy of Isaiah 34:1-4 that the Lord’s anger with and destruction of the nations?

In your opinion, how can the mourning of “all the peoples of the earth” that Jesus predicts in Matthew 24:26-31 and the encouragement that Paul offers in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 both be about the same event?

1 John 4:7-18 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Why are we to “love each other” (verse 7)?

What does John say about “everyone who loves” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, how can John say that “whoever does not love does not know God” (verse 8)?

How did God show His love among us (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why does John say “this is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (verse 10)?

Why should we love each other (verse 11)?

What happens “if we love one another” (verse 12)?

How do we “know that we live in him and he in us” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how does love being complete among us allow us to “have confidence on the day of judgment” (verse 17)?

Why does perfect love drive out fear (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how does the information that Paul gives in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 to help Christians not grieve but have hope and Johns discussion in 1 John 4:7-18 of love and about how “love that is made complete among us” so that we can “have confidence on the day of judgment” give Christians a reason to anticipate instead of fear that day?

In your opinion, how is the fear and intimidation that is created by Isaiah 34:1-4 altered by the love that John explains in 1 John 4:7-18?

In your opinion, how does your understanding of Jesus’s statement that “all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” in Matthew 24:26-31 change any when you consider John’s discussion in 1 John 4:7-18 about love and the statement that “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.”?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Matthew, Isaiah, 1 Thessalonians and 1 John show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 24:32 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)