December 28, 2025 – Advent 2025 – A Son is Given

A Son is Given

Isaiah 9:2-7 – New International Version (NIV)

² The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

Who has a “light” dawned on (verse 2)?

What has God “increased” (verse 3)?

What has God “shattered” (verse 4)?

Whose boots and garments “will be destined for burning” (verse 5)?

Where will “the government” be (verse 6)?

How will the establishing and upholding of His kingdom “with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” be accomplished (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what do we learn about Jesus in this passage?

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

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Where did Joseph go (verse 4)?

Why did he go (verse 4)?

Who went with him (verse 5)?

Why did she go with him (verse 5)?

What “time came” while they were there (verse 6)?

Why was the baby placed “in a manger” (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what do we learn about Jesus in this passage?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah 9:2-7 outline about the future burdens of the baby born in Luke 2:4-7?

Titus 2:11-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Who does God’s grace offer “salvation” to (verse 11)?

What does God’s grace teach us to “say “No” to” (verse 12)?

How does God’s grace teach us to live “in this present age” (verse 12)?

What is the “blessed hope” we wait for (verse 13)?

What did Jesus “redeem us” from (verse 14)?

Who did Jesus “purify for himself” (verse 14)?

What are these people “eager to do” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what do we learn about Jesus in this passage?

In your opinion, what does Titus 2:11-14 help us understand about the kingdom in Isaiah 9:2-7?

In your opinion, why was Jesus, described in Titus 2:11-14 as “our great God and Savior”, born and laid in a manger “because there was no guest room available” in Luke 2:4-7?

Revelation 1:12-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

¹⁹ “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

What did John see when he turned (verse 12)?

Who was wearing the “robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest” (verse 13)?

How were His eyes described (verse 14)?

What was His voice like (verse 15)?

Where were the “seven stars” (verse 16)?

How did John react (verse 17)?

What keys did “the Living One” hold (verse 18)?

What is John to write (verse 19)?

Who are the seven stars (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what do we learn about Jesus in this passage?

In your opinion, how might Revelation 1:12-20 be considered a fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah 9:2-7?

In your opinion, how is the baby in Luke 2:4-7 the “First and Last” of Revelation 1:12-20?

In your opinion, how does seeing Jesus through the eyes of John in Revelation 1:12-20 make the “grace of God” of Titus 2:11-14 even more astounding?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Isaiah, Luke, Titus and help us understand about the gift of Jesus given to us?

In your opinion, how do we share that gift?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 21, 2025 – Advent 2025 – Enduring Love

Enduring Love

1 Chronicles 16:25-35 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
²⁷ Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

²⁸ Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²⁹ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
³⁰     Tremble before him, all the earth!
    The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

³¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
³² Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
    let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!
³³ Let the trees of the forest sing,
    let them sing for joy before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.

³⁴ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.
³⁵ Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior;
    gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
    and glory in your praise.”

Who is to be “feared above all gods” (verse 25)?

What are the “gods of the nations” (verse 26)?

Where are “strength and joy” (verse 27)?

Who should “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength” (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what does worship in the “splendor of his holiness” mean (verse 29)?

How should the earth react before the Lord (verse 30)?

What does the Lord do “among the nations” (verse 31)?

What should “resound” (verse 32)?

Why should the “trees of the forest sing” (verse 33)?

What “endures forever” (verse 34)?

Who should we cry “save us” to (verse 35)?

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

In your opinion, how is our need for God’s love revealed in this passage?

John 3:16 – King James Version (KJV)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

How did God feel about “the world” (verse 16)?

Who did God give (verse 16)?

What will those who “believeth in him” have (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how is our need for God’s love revealed in this passage?

In your opinion, what plea that David instructed the Levite ministers to cry out in 1 Chronicles 16:25-35 does John 3:16 perfectly answer?

Galatians 2:15-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles ¹⁶ know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷ “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! ¹⁸ If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

¹⁹ “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Who knows “that a person is not justified by works of the law” (verses 15 and 16)?

What justifies a person (verse 16)?

What doesn’t Christ promote (verse 17)?

When would Paul be “a lawbreaker” (verse 18)?

Why did Paul die “to the law” (verse 19)?

Who lives in Paul (verse 20)?

How did “the Son of God” feel about Paul (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, how is our need for God’s love revealed in this passage?

In your opinion, how does Galatians 2:15-21 transform the salvation of the Jewish nation that 1 Chronicles 16:25-35 to a salvation of everyone who is justified “by faith in Jesus Christ”?

In your opinion, how does Galatians 2:15-21 help us understand the way that John 3:16’s promise to deliver “everlasting life” is accomplished?

1 John 4:7-19 - New International Version (NIV)

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

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

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

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.

Where does love come from (verse 7)?

Who does not “know God” (verse 8)?

How did God show “his love among us” (verse 9)?

What is love (verse 10)?

Why should we “love one another” (verse 11)?

When is God’s love “made complete in us” (verse 12)?

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

What does John “testify that the Father has sent his Son to be” (verse 14)?

What happens when someone “acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God” (verse 15)?

What can we “rely on” (verse 16)?

What are Christians like “in this world” (verse 17)?

How is fear driven out (verse 18)?

Why do we love (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how is our need for God’s love revealed in this passage?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 16:25-35 show the transformative effect of God’s enduring love for us as proclaimed by David in 1 Chronicles 16:25-35?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 4:7-19 help us understand what the “everlasting life” promised by John 3:16 will be like?

In your opinion, how is the love of God explained by Paul in Galatians 2:15-21 changed by John’s discussion in 1 John 4:7-19?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from 1 Chronicles, John, Galatians and 1 John teach us about God’s love as displayed on Christmas morning?

In your opinion, what is our response to God’s enduring love today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 14, 2025 – Advent 2025 – Great Joy

Great Joy

Psalm 51:7-12 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

When will David, the psalmist, “be whiter than snow” (verse 7)?

What does David want to hear (verse 8)?

How does David want God to treat his “iniquity” (verse 9)?

What does David want God to “create” in him (verse 10)?

Who does David not want to be taken from him (verse 11)?

What kind of joy does David want restored (verse 12)?

Why does David want a “willing spirit” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about Christian joy?

Luke 2:8-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Where were the shepherds (verse 8)?

What were the shepherds doing (verse 8)?

Why were the shepherds “terrified” (verse 9)?

Who will the “good news” the angel brings cause “great joy” for (verse 10)?

What has happened in the “town of David” (verse 11)?

What will be the sign (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about Christian joy?

In your opinion, how does knowing that David was pleading with God to restore the “joy of your salvation” in Psalm 51:7-12 after Nathan had confronted him about Bathsheba add richness to the “good news that will bring great joy” the angel brought in Luke 2:8-12?

Acts 16:25-34 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. ²⁷ The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ³³ At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. ³⁴ The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

When were Paul and Silas “praying and singing hymns to God” (verse 25)?

What caused the prison doors to fly open and the chains to come loose (verse 26)?

Why was the jailer about to kill himself (verse 27)?

Who shouted “don’t harm yourself” (verse 28)?

How did the jailer respond (verse 29)?

What did the jailer ask Paul and Silas (verse 30)?

How did they answer the jailer (verse 31)?

What did they speak to the jailer and his household (verse 32)?

When were the jailer and his household baptized (verse 33)?

Why was the jailer filled with joy (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about Christian joy?

In your opinion, how does the joy of the jailer in Acts 16:24-34 compare to the joy that David was pleading for in Psalm 51:7-12?

In your opinion, how is the joy announced by the angel in Luke 2:8-12 related to the joy of the jailer in Acts 16:25-34?

1 Thessalonians 1:2-8a - New International Version (NIV)

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. 

How often does the church of the Thessalonians appear in the prayers of Paul, Silas and Timothy (verse 2)?

What do they remember about the Thessalonians (verse 3)?

Who has God chosen (verse 4)?

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

How did they welcome “the message in the midst of severe suffering” (verse 6)?

What did they become (verse 7)?

Where did their “faith in God” become known (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about Christian joy?

In your opinion, how does Psalm 51:7-12 help us understand how the Thessalonian Christians could have had joy “in the midst of severe suffering” in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-8a?

In your opinion, what does 1 Thessalonians 1:2-8a help us understand about the “good news that will bring great joy” announced by the angel in Luke 2:8-12?

In your opinion, how do both Acts 16:25-34 and 1 Thessalonians 1:2-8a prove that Christian joy is not related to physical circumstances?  What is Christian joy related to?

In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Psalms, Luke, Acts and 1 Thessalonians teach us about the source of Christian joy?

In your opinion, how can we model Christian joy today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)