March 15, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Dusting and Reconciling

Dusting and Reconciling


Nehemiah 5:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. ² Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”

³ Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”

⁴ Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”

⁶ When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. ⁷ I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them ⁸ and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.

⁹ So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? ¹⁰ I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! ¹¹ Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”

¹² “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”

Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. ¹³ I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!”

At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

Who did the “men and their wives”  raise a great outcry against (verse 1)?

What were they doing “to get grain during the famine” (verses 2 and 3)?

How were they paying “the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards” (verse 4)?

Why were they powerless over their sons and daughters slavery (verse 5)?

How did Nehemiah respond to the outcry and charges (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did Nehemiah “ponder them” in his mind before accusing the nobles and officials (verse 7)?

What did the nobles and officials have to say (verse 8)?

How does Nehemiah say the Israelites should walk (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why does Nehemiah say it is okay to lend but not to charge interest (verse 10)?

What were the nobles and officials to give back (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why did Nehemiah make the nobles and officials “take an oath to do what they had promised” (verse 12)?

What does Nehemiah want the people who do not keep their promise to be like (verse 13)?

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

Mark 6:6b-13 - New International Version (NIV)

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

What did Jesus do when He went “from village to village” (verse 6)?

Who did Jesus give the Twelve authority over when He sent them out “two by two” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why were the Twelve to “take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts” (verse 8)?

Where were the Twelve to stay when they entered a town (verse 10)?

Why were the Twelve to “shake the dust off” their feet if a place did not welcome them (verse 11)?

What did the Twelve preach (verse 12)?

How did the Twelve treat the sick people (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how is Nehemiah’s shaking out the folds of his robe in Nehemiah 5:1-13 different from the Twelve shaking the dust off their feet in Mark 6:6b-13?  How are they similar?

Acts 20:17-31 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. ¹⁸ When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. ¹⁹ I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. ²⁰ You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. ²¹ I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

²⁵ “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. ²⁶ Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. ²⁷ For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. ²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. ³⁰ Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

Who did Paul send for (verse 17)?

What was Paul in the midst of when he “served the Lord with great humility and with tears” (verse 19)?

Where did Paul teach them (verse 20)?

What was Paul’s declaration to “both the Jews and Greeks” (verse 21)?

Why is Paul going to Jerusalem (verse 22)?

What was Paul being warned of by the Holy Spirit “in every city” (verse 23)?

What task did the Lord Jesus give Paul (verse 24)?

In your opinion, how could Paul know that “none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again” (verse 25)?

Why does Paul declare that he is “innocent of the blood of any of you” (verses 26 and 27)?

How did God purchase the “church of God” (verse 28)?

Who will come in and “not spare the flock” when Paul leaves (verse 29)?

What will men of their own number do to draw away disciples (verse 30)?

How long had Paul been warning them (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, how is Nehemiah’s shaking out his robe in Nehemiah 5:1-13 similar to Paul saying that he “is innocent of the blood” of any of them in Acts 20:17-31?

In your opinion, how is what the Twelve preached in Mark 6:6b-13 different from what Paul preached in Acts 20:17-30?

Ephesians 2:11-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

In your opinion, why would “those who call themselves “the circumcision” call the Gentiles the uncircumcised (verse 11)?

What were the Gentiles without when they were “separate from Christ” (verse 12)?

How were they “brought near” (verse 13)?

Who has “destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (verse 14)?

What was Jesus’s purpose (verse 15)?

Who did Jesus want to reconcile “to God through the cross” (verse 16)?

What did Jesus preach to those who were far away and those who were near (verse 17)?

Who do “both” have access to (verse 18)?

What happened to the people who were “foreigners and strangers” (verse 19)?

What is Christ Jesus (verse 20)?

How is “the whole building” joined together (verse 21)?

Who is “being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how is the reconciliation between the circumcised and the uncircumcised in Ephesians 2:11-22 different from the reconciliation of the nobles and officials with the poorer Israelites in Nehemiah 5:1-13?

In your opinion, how is the repentance that Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach in Mark 6:6b-13 related to the reconciliation with God that Paul writes about in Ephesians 2:11-22?

In your opinion, what do you think that Paul, who declared in Acts 20:17-31 that “savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock”, knew that caused him to write Ephesians 2:11-22 to the Christians in Ephesus?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Nehemiah, Mark, Acts and Ephesians teach us about how to honor Paul’s instruction to be on guard against savage wolves, but still be reconciled to those who once were foreigners and strangers but are now fellow members of God’s household?

In your opinion, how do we know when to “shake the dust off” and when to reconcile?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 8, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Conditions of the Heart

Conditions of the Heart


Exodus 7:14-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵ Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. ¹⁶ Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. ¹⁷ This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. ¹⁸ The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”

¹⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.”

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. ²¹ The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

²² But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. ²³ Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. ²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.

What is the condition of Pharaoh’s heart (verse 14)?

Where is Moses to confront Pharaoh (verse 15)?

In your opinion, how would Pharaoh react to Moses saying “the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you” (verse 16)?

What will Pharaoh know when Moses strikes the water of the Nile with the staff in his hand (verse 17)?

How will things change when Moses strikes the water with the staff (verses 17 and 18)?

When does the water in the streams, canals, ponds, reservoirs and even in the vessels of wood and stone turn to blood (verse 19)?

What did Moses do (verse 20)?

Where was the blood (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why does the Pharaoh’s heart become hard after the Egyptian magicians do the same things “by their secret arts” (verse 22)?

What did Pharaoh do (verse 23)?

How did the Egyptians get water to drink (verse 24)?

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

Mark 6:1-6a - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. ² When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” ⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Where did Jesus go (verse 1)?

What did Jesus do on the Sabbath (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did the listener’s reaction go from amazement to questioning that gets more and more personal, and then to taking offense at Jesus (verses 2 and 3)?

Where is a prophet without honor (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why were a few sick people still able to receive miraculous healing in spite of the general lack of miracles (verse 5)?

By what was Jesus amazed (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how is the pharaoh in Exodus 7:14-24 similar to the people of Jesus hometown in Mark 6:1-6a that allowed all of them (except for a few sick people in Jesus hometown) to reject the Lord?

Acts 17:1-15 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ² As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. ⁴ Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

⁵ But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” ⁸ When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. ⁹ Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

¹⁰ As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. ¹² As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

¹³ But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. ¹⁴ The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. ¹⁵ Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Where did Paul and him companions come to (verse 1)?

Where did Paul go on the Sabbath (verse 2)?

What did Paul explain and prove that the Messiah had to do (verse 3)?

Who was persuaded and joined Paul and Silas (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why were other Jews jealous (verse 5)?

What did the jealous Jews do with Jason and other believers when they could not find Paul (verse 6)?

What crime did they say Jason and the other believers had committed (verse 7)?

How did the city officials respond (verse 8)?

What did Jason and the others have to do (verse 9)?

Where did Paul and Silas go when they got to Berea (verse 10)?

How did the Berean Jews respond to the message (verse 11)?

What was the result of the message (verse 12)?

Why did the crowds in Berea get stirred up (verse 13)?

What did the Berean believers do (verse 14)?

What instructions did Paul send to Silas and Timothy (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, why did Pharaoh turn from God after hearing Moses in Exodus 4:14-24 but many Berean Jews turned to Jesus and believed after hearing Paul in Acts 17:1-15?

In your opinion, why would the people of Jesus’s hometown in Mark 6:1-6a respond more like the Thessalonians Jews than the Berean Jews of Acts 17:1-15?

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Paul, Silas and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace to you.

² We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. ³ We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵ because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. ⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. ⁷ And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, ⁹ for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

Who do Paul, Silas and Timothy thank God for and continually mention in their prayers (verses 1 and 2)?

In your opinion, why does Paul link work with faith, labor with love, and endurance with hope (verse 3)?

How does God feel about these people (verse 4)?

How did the gospel come to them (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to welcome “the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit” (verse 6)?

What did they become to “all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (verse 7)?

Where has their faith in God become known (verse 8)?

Who did they turn to God from (verse 9)?

Who do they wait for (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn from the difference between Thessalonians that Paul is writing to in 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 who turned from idols to God and the Pharaoh who received God’s message through Moses but hardened his heart and returned to the palace in Exodus 7:14-24?

In your opinion, why would the familiarity of the people in Jesus’s hometown in Mark 6:1-6a have made it more difficult for them to be like the Thessalonian Christians who Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 turned from idols to God?  What can we learn today from their difficulty?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that in 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Paul begins with thanks and praise for the Christians who dwell in the town where he had once been forced to flee from in Acts 17:1-15?

In your opinion, what can we learn from these passages in Exodus, Mark, Acts and 1 Thessalonians about the importance of the condition of the heart and what it means to the receptiveness of the message of God?

In your opinion, how is the condition of our own hearts linked to our work, our labor and our endurance?  How can we improve our heart condition today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 1, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Overcoming Through Faith

Overcoming Through Faith


2 Chronicles 20:20-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” ²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.”

²² As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ²³ The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.

²⁷ Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

²⁹ The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

Who did King Jehoshaphat say the people of Judah and Jerusalem should have faith in (verse 20)?

What were the men at the head of the army to do (verse 21)?

How were the Ammonites, Moabites and men from Mount Seir destroyed (verses 22 and 23)?

What did Judah’s army see when they got to the desert (verse 24)?

How long did it take to gather up the plunder (verse 25)?

Who led the joyful return to Jerusalem (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why did they go to the “temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets” (verse 28)?

When did the “fear of God” come upon all the surrounding kingdoms (verse 29)?

Why was the kingdom of Jehoshaphat at peace (verse 30)?

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

Mark 5:21-43 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. ²² Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. ²³ He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” ²⁴ So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. ²⁵ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶ She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. ²⁷ When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” ²⁹ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

³⁰ At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹ “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

³² But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³ Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

³⁵ While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

³⁶ Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

³⁷ He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. ³⁸ When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹ He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” ⁴⁰ But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). ⁴² Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. ⁴³ He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Who was Jairus (verse 22)?

Why did Jairus plead with Jesus to “please come and put your hands on her” (verse 23)?

How long had the woman in the crowd been bleeding (verse 25)?

Why did she touch Jesus’s cloak (verses 27 and 28)?

What immediately happened (verse 29)?

What did Jesus do when He realized that “power had gone out from him” (verse 30)?

In your opinion, why was the woman “trembling with fear” when she told Jesus “the whole truth” (verse 33)?

What did Jesus tell the woman (verse 34)?

When did the people tell Jairus “your daughter is dead” (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus tell Jairus “don’t be afraid; just believe” (verse 36)?

Who did Jesus let follow Him (verse 37)?

How did the people respond when Jesus said “the child is not dead but asleep” (verses 39 and 40)?

What did Jesus say after “He took her by the hand” (verse 41)?

When did the girl stand up and begin to walk around (verse 42)?

Who was to know about this (verse 43)?

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

In your opinion, what role did faith play in dealing with the challenge of the invading kingdoms in 2 Chronicles 20:20-30 and also in dealing with the twelve years of bleeding that doctor’s care had not helped in Mark 5:21-43?

Acts 9:36-43 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁶ In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. ³⁷ About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. ³⁸ Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

³⁹ Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

⁴⁰ Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. ⁴² This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. ⁴³ Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

What was Tabitha always doing (verse 36)?

Where was her body (verse 37)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples urge Peter to “come at once” (verse 38)?

What did the widows do when Peter arrived (verse 39)?

When did Peter get down on his knees and pray (verse 40)?

What happened when Peter said “Tabitha, get up” (verse 40)?

Who did Peter present Tabitha to (verse 41)?

How did many of the people in Joppa react (verse 42)?

Where did Peter stay (verse 43)?

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

In your opinion, how are having the people leading the army in 2 Chronicles 20:20-30 singing and praising the Lord and the kneeling and praying of Peter in Acts 9:36-43 different?  How are they similar?

In your opinion, what can we learn from Jairus coming to Jesus and pleading with Him for help in Mark 5:21-43 and the people of Joppa sending for Peter when Tabitha dies in Acts 9:36-43?

1 John 5:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Who is “born of God” (verse 1)?

Who “loves his child” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why is “loving God and carrying out his commands” proof that we love the children of God (verse 2)?

What is “love for God” (verse 3)?

Who “overcomes the world” (verse 4)?

What is the “victory that has overcome the world” (verse 4)?

“Who is it that overcomes the world” (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, how are the people Jehoshaphat placed “to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness” at the front of the army in 2 Chronicles 20:20-30 help us understand about how John portrays those who are “born of God” having the victory that overcomes the world in 1 John 5:1-5?

In your opinion, how is the faith of the woman who was bleeding in Mark 5:21-43 and our faith in Jesus being able to call us from death in sin to being “born of God” as John described in 1 John 5:1-5 similar?

In your opinion, how is the amazing miracle of God through Peter restoring Tabitha to life in Acts 9:36-43 dwarfed by the amazing miracle of God calling for us to overcome the world by believing that “Jesus is the Son of God” as declared 1 John 5:1-5?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Chronicles, Mark, Acts and 1 John teach us about overcoming through faith?

In your opinion, how should we who have “overcome the world” through our faith that “Jesus is the Christ” respond to the challenges of the world today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)