March 22, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – What are You Waiting For

What are You Waiting For


Genesis 32:22-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Who did Jacob send across the ford of the Jabbok (verse 22?

What else did Jacob send across the stream (verse 23)?

What did Jacob do until daybreak (verse 24)?

Why did the man touch “the socket of Jacob’s hip” (verse 25)?

What did Jacob want before he released the man (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why did the man ask for Jacob’s name (verse 27)?

Why was Jacob’s name to be changed to Israel (verse 28)?

In your opinion, why does the man not tell Jacob his name (verse 29)?

Why does Jacob call the place Peniel (verse 30)?

Why was Jacob limping (verse 31)?

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

Mark 6:14-29 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.”

And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”

¹⁶ But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, ²⁰ because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵ At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶ The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, ²⁸ and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹ On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Why had King Herod head about Jesus (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why would people say that Jesus was Elijah or a prophet (verse 15)?

Who did Herod think Jesus was (verse 16)?

Where did Herod order John to be put (verse 17)?

What had John been saying (verse 18)?

Who nursed a grudge against John (verse 19)?

In your opinion, how could Herod like to listen to John, even if he feared him (verse 20)?

What did Herod do on his birthday (verse 21)?

How did the daughter of Herodias please Herod and the guests (verse 22)?

What did Herod promise the daughter of Herodias (verse 23)?

Who told the daughter of Herodias to ask for the head of John the Baptist (verse 24)?

How did the daughter of Herodias want the head to be presented to her (verse 25)?

Why did Herod give her the head of John the Baptist even though he was greatly distressed (verse 26)?

What did John’s disciples do when they heard about what had happened (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what could be similar between Jacob’s emotions as he anticipated meeting his brother, who he had overcome years before, in Genesis 32:22-32 and Herod’s emotions as he heard about Jesus and thought that He was John the Baptist raised from the dead in Mark 6:14-29?

Acts 22:1-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ ¹¹ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³ He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

What was Paul asking people to listen to (verse 1)?

How did the people respond when Paul spoke in Aramaic (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does Paul mention that he was a Jew, who studied under Gamaliel and was zealous for God (verse 3)?

Who did Paul persecute (verse 4)?

Why did Paul obtain letters from the high priest and the council (verse 5)?

What happened about noon as Paul was nearing Damascus (verse 6)?

What did the voice Paul heard say (verse 7)?

Whose voice was it that Paul heard (verse 8)?

How did Paul’s companions perceive what was happening (verse 9)?

What was Paul to do (verse 10)?

Why did Paul’s companions lead him by the hand (verse 11)?

Who was Ananias (verse 12)?

When was Paul able to see (verse 13)?

Who had chosen Paul (verse 14)?

What was Paul to be (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why did Ananias say “what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jacob being given a new name in Genesis 32:22-32 similar to Paul getting up, being baptized and calling on God’s name in Acts 22:1-16?

In your opinion, how might Herod’s reaction to hearing about Jesus and thinking that He was John the Baptist, who he had liked to listen to but still had killed in Mark 6:14-29 been different if he’d followed the instructions Ananias gave to Paul in Acts 22:1-16?

Hebrews 12:1-3 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

What are we surrounded by (verse 1)?

What should Christians throw off (verse 1)?

How should we run “the race marked out for us” (verse 1)?

Who should we fix our eyes on (verse 2)?

Why did Jesus endure the cross (verse 2)?

Where did Jesus sit (verse 2)?

What can help us “not grow weary and lose heart” (verse 3)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jacob struggling with God before getting a new name in Genesis 32:22-32 similar to our throwing “off everything that hinders” as Paul instructs in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, how is Herodias in Mark 6:14-29 an example of what can happen if we don’t “throw off . . . the sin that so easily entangles” as instructed by Paul in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, how might Ananias’s instruction to Paul to “Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” in Acts 22:1-16 have influenced Paul as he was instructing us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, Mark, Acts and Hebrews teach us about struggling with, holding grudges, seeing the light and persevering?

In your opinion, how can we run our race to Jesus without becoming weary or losing heart?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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)