August 27, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – A Table Before Me

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies” KJV Psalm 23:5a

2 Samuel 9:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

² Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

“At your service,” he replied.

³ The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

⁴ “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

⁵ So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

⁶ When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

⁸ Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

⁹ Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. ¹⁰ You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

¹¹ Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.

Why did David ask if there was anyone still “left of the house of Saul” (verse 1)?

What was Ziba (verse 2)?

How is Jonathan’s son described (verse 3)?

Where is Jonathan’s son (verse 4)?

What did King David do (verse 5)?

Why did Mephiboseth bow down when he came to David (verse 6)?

What did David do “for the sake of your father Jonathan” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Mephibosheth say “what is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me” (verse 8)?

What did David give to Mephibosheth (verse 9)?

Where will Mephibosheth eat (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why is there the comment about Ziba having 15 sons and 20 servants (verse 10)?

How did Mephibosheth eat at the king’s table (verse 11)?

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

John 6:32-40 - New International Version (NIV)

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Who did not give the “bread from heaven” (verse 32)?

Who gives the “true bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (verse 32)?

What is the “bread of God” (verse 33)?

In your opinion, why did the listeners say “always give us this bread” (verse 34)?

What does Jesus declare (verse 35)?

Who will never “go hungry” (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say “you have seen me and still you do not believe” (verse 36)?

Who will Jesus “never drive away” (verse 37)?

What did Jesus come to do (verse 38)?

What is the will of “him who sent me” (verse 39)?

Who will have eternal life (verse 40)?

What will Jesus do for those who have eternal life (verse 40)?

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

In your opinion, how is David taking care of Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9:1-11 similar to Jesus giving the “bread of life” to all who come to Him in John 6:32-40?

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 - New International Version (NIV)

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

What did Paul pass on (verse 23)?

What did Jesus take “on the night he was betrayed” (verse 23)?

What did Jesus do before He broke the bread (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “do this in remembrance of me” (verse 25)?

What will “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, what do Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, reveal to us about the “bread of life” that Jesus promises to those who believe in Him in John 6:32-40?

In your opinion, how is a Christian participating in the Lord’s Supper as instructed in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 similar to Mephibosheth eating at David’s table in 2 Samuel 9:1-11?

Revelation 3:14-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Whose words are sent to the “angel of the church of Laodicea” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus wish the Laodicean Christians were either hot or cold (verse 15)?

What will Jesus do because they are lukewarm (verse 16)?

What do the Laodiceans, who think they are rich, not realize (verse 17)?

Why does Jesus counsel them to purchase “gold refined in the fire” (verse 18)?

Who does Jesus “rebuke and discipline” (verse 19)?

Where is Jesus (verse 20)?

What will Jesus do if “anyone hears my voice and opens the door” (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, how does the image of Jesus standing at the door and knocking before coming in and eating from Revelation 3:14-22 add a rich and wonderful dimension to the eating of the bread and drinking of the cup that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26?

In your opinion, how are those from John 6:32-40 who saw Jesus and “still do not believe” similar to the people from Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22?

In your opinion, what do Mephibosheth, who calls himself a “dead dog” in 2 Samuel 9:1-11 and the Laodiceans of Revelation 3:14-22 have in common?

In your opinion, how do these passages from 2 Samuel, John, 1 Corinthians, and Revelation help us understand today’s passage from Psalm 23 “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies”?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us to have a greater appreciation of the Lord’s Supper?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 20, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – Thy Rod and Thy Staff

“for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” KJV Psalm 23:4b

2 Samuel 7:4-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. ⁷ Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

⁸ “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. ¹⁰ And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹ and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. ¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

¹⁷ Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

What came to Nathan in the night (verse 4)?

Who was Nathan to tell “this is what the Lord says” (verse 5)?

What has the Lord been dwelling in as He moved from place to place (verse 6)?

Who did the Lord move with (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did the Lord tell Nathan to tell David “I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel” (verse 8)?

What will the Lord do with David’s name (verse 9)?

What has the Lord provided for “my people Israel” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the Lord promising with this statement “The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you” (verse 11)?

Who will succeed David (verse 12)?

How long will the “throne of his kingdom” last (verse 13)?

How will David’s successor be punished (verse 14)?

What will never be taken away from David’s successor (verse 15)?

How long will David’s throne be established (verse 16)?

What did Nathan report to David (verse 17)?

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

John 11:30-44 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

³² When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵ Jesus wept.

³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Where was Jesus (verse 30)?

What were the Jews with Mary doing (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why does Mary think that if Jesus had been there her brother would not have died (verse 32)?

Why was Jesus “deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (verse 33)?

How did they answer Jesus question “where have you laid him” (verse 34)?

What did Jesus do (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why did some of the Jews say “could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying” (verse 37)?

What was the tomb (verse 38)?

Why did Martha not want the stone to be taken away (verse 39)?

What was Martha to see if she believed (verse 40)?

Who did Jesus thank (verse 41)?

What did Jesus want the “people standing here” to believe (verse 42)?

What did Jesus call “in a loud voice” (verse 43)?

Who came out with “his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face” (verse 44)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jesus calling Lazarus back from the dead in John 11:30-44 a powerful beginning in the establishment of His kingdom as the Lord promised David’s descendant in 2 Samuel 7:4-17?

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

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

What is the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” the Father of (verse 3)?

What is the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” the God of (verse 3)?

Why does the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” comfort “us in all our troubles” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that we “share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ” (verse 5)?

What does Paul’s distress and comfort, which are both for the comfort of the Corinthians, to produce in the Corinthians (verse 6)?

Why is Paul’s hope for the Corinthians firm (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, how does the suffering that Jesus shared with Mary and Martha in John 11:30-44 help us understand how we can “share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ” but also expect our comfort to abound through Christ as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7?

In your opinion, how is the Lord’s promise to David through Nathan in 2 Samuel 7:4-17 demonstrate that the Lord is the “Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7?

1 Peter 1:3-9 – New International Version (NIV)

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Who has given us “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3)?

Where is the “inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” kept for us (verse 4)?

How are we “shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how can we “greatly rejoice” even though “for a little while you have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trails” (verse 6)?

Why have the trials come (verse 7)?

Who do we love, even though we have not seen Him (verse 8)?

Why are we “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (verses 8 and 9)?

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

In your opinion, how does the comfort in suffering that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 become the great rejoicing even though there may be grief as Peter describes in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

In your opinion, how is Jesus calling Lazarus from the grave in John 11:30-44 a wonderful foreshadowing of the “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” that Peter proclaims in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

In your opinion, how would David’s understanding of the house “that the Lord himself will establish . . . for you” in Nathan’s message to of 2 Samuel 7:4-17 be different from what is revealed in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Samuel, John, 2 Corinthians and 1 Peter teach us about today’s passage from Psalm 23, “for thou are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me”?

In your opinion, how do these passages guide us to understand how the same Jesus who wept at Lazarus’s tomb and endured floggings from human hands can comfort us in our griefs and trials?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 13, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – Valley of the Shadow of Death

-            The

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:” KJV Psalm 23:4a

1 Samuel 17:32-50 – New International Version (NIV)

³² David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

³³ Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

³⁸ Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. ³⁹ David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.

“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. ⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. ⁴² He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

⁴⁸ As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. ⁴⁹ Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

What didn’t David want anyone to lose on account of the Philistine (verse 32)?

Why did Saul think David wasn’t “able to go out against this Philistine and fight him” (verse 33)?

What had David rescued his father’s sheep from (verses 34 and 35)?

Who had the “uncircumcised Philistine” defied (verse 36)?

In your opinion, why did Saul say to David “the Lord be with you” (verse 37)?

What did Saul dress David in (verse 38)?

Why couldn’t David go in the armor and bronze helmet (verse 39)?

With what did David approach the Philistine (verse 40)?

Who was in front of the Philistine (verse 41)?

How did the Philistine react to David (verse 42)?

Who did the Philistine curse David by (verse 43)?

What was the Philistine going to do with David (verse 44)?

Whose name did David say he came against the Philistine in (verse 45)?

What will David’s victory over the Philistine show “the whole world” (verse 46)?

In your opinion, why does David say “the battle is the Lord’s” (verse 47)?

How did David approach the battle line (verse 48)?

Where did David’s stone strike the Philistine (verse (49)?

David triumphed over the Philistine without what (verse 50)?

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

John 5:24-27 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

Who has eternal life (verse 24)?

What will not happen to the one who hears and believes (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live” (verse 25)?

What has the Father granted the Son (verse 26)?

What has the Father given the Son (verse 27)?

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

In your opinion, how is the dead hearing the “voice of the Son of God” and living as promised by Jesus in John 5:24-27 similar to David coming against the Philistine “in the name of the Lord Almighty” in 1 Samuel 17:32-50?

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Who cannot “inherit the kingdom of God” (verse 50)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says that “we will all be changed” (verse 51)?

When will “we all be changed” (verse 52)?

What must the perishable clothe itself with (verse 53)?

When will the saying “death has been swallowed up in victory” come true (verse 54)?

What is the sting of death (verse 56)?

How does God give us victory (verse 57)?

How should “brothers and sisters” stand (verse 58)?

What is not in vain (verse 58)?

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

In your opinion, how is crossing “over from death to life” that Jesus talks about in John 5:24-27 different from the change that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58?

In your opinion, how is the victory over sin and death that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 similar to David’s victory over the Philistine in 1 Samuel 17:32-50?

1 John 4:15-19 – New International Version (NIV)

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.

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.

Who has God living in them and they live in God (verse 15)?

What do we “know and rely on” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why can those who have love “made complete” have confidence on “the day of judgment” (verse 17)?

What does perfect love do to fear (verse 18)?

What does fear have to do with (verse 18)?

Why do we love (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how is the “victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 related to the love that John discusses in 1 John 4:15-19?

In your opinion, how is Jesus’ statement that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” from John 5:24-27 related to John’s statement in 1 John 4:15-19 that “if anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God”?

In your opinion, how is David’s confidence as he faced Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:32-50 related to the confidence that those who acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God have on the “day of judgment” that John writes about in 1 John 4:15-19?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Samuel, John, 1 Corinthians and 1 John teach us about today’s passage from Psalm 23, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”?

In your opinion, how do these passages help us to move from the fear of death to a life of love in Jesus?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)