July 10, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Loving Deeply

Loving Deeply

1 Kings 17:15-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. ¹⁶ For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

¹⁷ Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. ¹⁸ She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

¹⁹ “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. ²⁰ Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

²² The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. ²³ Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

What was there every day for Elijah, the woman and her family (verse 15)?

Who gave Elijah the word to speak about the jar of flour and the jug of oil (verse 16)?

What happened to the son of the woman who owned the house (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did the woman think that Elijah had something against her (verse 18)?

Where did Elijah take the woman’s son (verse 19)?

What did Elijah ask the Lord (verse 20)?

Where was Elijah when he cried out “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why does 1 Kings say “the Lord heard Elijah’s cry” (verse 22)?

What returned to the boy (verse 22)?

How did Elijah respond to the miracle (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why, after the miracle of the jar of flour and jug of oil not emptying, does the woman say to Elijah “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth” (verse 24)?

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

John 21:15-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

When did Jesus ask Simon Peter “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these” (verse 15)?

How did Peter respond (verse 15)?

What instruction did Jesus give Peter (verse 15)?

What did Jesus then ask Peter (verse 16)?

How was this answer different from his first answer (verse 16)?

What did Jesus then ask Peter (verse 17)?

How did this make Peter feel (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does Peter say “Lord, you know all things” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus respond to each of Peter’s assertions that he loves Jesus with a command to “Feed” or “take care of” His lambs or sheep (verses 15, 16 and 17)?

What will happen to Peter when he is old (verse 18)?

What was Peter going to do that “would glorify God” (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how is Elijah stretching out on the boy three times and crying out “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him” in 1 Kings 17:15-24 similar to Jesus asking Peter three times if he loves Him in John 21:15-19?

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What makes speaking “in the tongues of men or of angels” only “a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what should we learn about love if Paul considers someone who had the “gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge” along with a “faith that can move mountains” to be nothing if they do not have love (verse 2)?

What, instead of love, motivated the giver of everything to the poor and the body to hardship in verse 3?

What is love (verse 4)?

What does love not do (verse 5)?

What does love rejoice with (verse 6)?

What does love “always” do (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that prophecies, tongues and knowledge will end but that “love never fails” (verse 8, 9 and 10)?

When did Paul talk, think and reason like a child (verse 11)?

What do we see now (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why is love greater than faith or hope (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jesus indicating to Peter that he should show his love of Jesus by feeding the lambs, taking care of the sheep and feeding the sheep in John 21:15-19 enriched by Paul’s statements that doing things without love has no value in 1 Corinthians 13?

In your opinion, how does Elijah’s response to the accusation in 1 Kings 17:15-24 that the son was killed because Elijah had something against his mother a demonstration of the power of love that Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 13?

1 Peter 4:7-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

What is near (verse 7)?

Why should we “be alert and of sober mind” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, how does love cover “a multitude of sins” (verse 8)?

How should hospitality be offered (verse 9)?

What should each of us use the gift we have received for (verse 10)?

How should the one who speaks speak (verse 11)?

What should we do “with the strength God provides" (verse 11)?

How should God be praised (verses 11)?

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

In your opinion, what are the similarities of the commands of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 and Peter in 1 Peter 4:7-11?

In your opinion, how do Peter’s comments in 1 Peter 4:7-11 show that he has embraced the requests he received from Jesus in John 21:15-19 when he assured Jesus that he loved Him?

In your opinion, how does Elijah in 1 Kings 17:15-24 demonstrate obedience to what Peter commands in 1 Peter 4:7-11 to be alert and of sober mind so that we can pray and loving each other deeply?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from 1 Kings, John, 1 Corinthians and 1 Peter show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to Peter 4:12 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 3, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – From Meditating on God’s Law to Living in God’s Will

From Meditating on God’s Law to Living in God’s Will

Psalm 1:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Who is blessed (verse 1)?

What is their delight in (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be like a “tree planted by streams of water” (verse 3)?

Who is like “chaff that the wind blows away” (verse 4)?

What will sinners not do (verse 5)?

Who watches of the way of the righteous (verse 6)?

Where does the way of the wicked lead (verse 6)?

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

John 5:24-30 - 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.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Who has eternal life (verse 24)?

What have those who have eternal life done (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 authority has the Father granted the Son (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that “all who are in their graves will hear his voice” (verse 28)?

Who will “rise to live” (verse 29)?

Who will “rise to be condemned” (verse 29)?

How does Jesus judge (verse 30)?

Who does Jesus seek to please (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, how is one that John quotes Jesus as saying “has crossed over from death to life” in John 5:24-30 similar to the one the Psalmist says in Psalms 1 “is like a tree planted by streams of water”?

Philippians 2:5-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Who should our mindset be the same as (verse 5)?

What did Jesus not use to His own advantage (verse 6)?

How did Jesus make Himself nothing (verse 7)?

How did Jesus demonstrate His humble obedience (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that God has given Jesus “the name that is above every name” (verse 9)?

What will happen “at the name of Jesus” (verse 10)?

What will happen “to the glory of God the Father” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what will be different about the attitude of the people who have done what is good and “will rise to live” and those who have done what is evil and who “will rise to be condemned” that Jesus spoke of in John 5:24-30 when they respond to the name of Jesus by bowing their knees and acknowledging with their tongues that Jesus Christ is Lord as Paul prophesies in Philippians 2:5-11?

In your opinion, how is Jesus, who Paul says in Philippians 2:5-11, “humbles himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on the cross” a perfect example of the one who the Psalmist in Psalm 1 said had delight in the law of the Lord and meditated on it day and night and who then was “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither —whatever they do prospers”?

1 Peter 4:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. ² As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

What is “whoever suffers in the body” done with (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why would the one who suffered in the body not live for “evil human desires, but rather for the will of God” (verse 2)?

How do pagan choose to live (verse 3)?

Why are the pagans surprised (verse 4)?

Who will the pagans have to give account to (verse 5)?

Why was the gospel “preached even to those who are now dead” (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does Paul in Philippians 2:5-11 teach us about the attitude of Jesus that Peter says we should arm ourselves with in 1 Peter 4:1-6?

In your opinion, how does what Jesus says in John 5:24-30 about the ones who have crossed over from death to life help us to understand about the people that Peter, in 1 Peter 4:1-6, says should arm themselves “with the same attitude”?

In your opinion, how is the contrast between the one “whose delight is in the law of the Lord” and the wicked in Psalm 1 built upon by Peter in his discussion about the Christian and the pagan in 1 Peter 4:1-6?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Psalms, John, Philippians and 1 Peter show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to Peter 4:7 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 26, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Regret and Salvation

Regret and Salvation

Genesis 6:5-8 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

What did the Lord see (verse 5)?

What was “only evil all the time” (verse 5)?

Who did the Lord regret making (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why was the Lord going to wipe out the animals, the birds, and the creatures that move along the ground along with human beings (verse 7)?

Who found “favor in the eyes of the Lord” (verse 8)?

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

Mark 4:35-41 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Where did Jesus tell the disciples they needed to go (verse 35)?

Who did they leave behind (verse 36)?

What nearly swamped the boat (verse 37)?

Where was Jesus (verse 38)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples say “Teach, don’t you care if we drown” (verse 38)?

What happened when Jesus said “Quiet! Be still” (verse 39)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus say “do you still have no faith” (verse 40)?

How did the disciples react to Jesus (verse 41)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jesus saving the disciples from the storm in Mark 4:35-41 similar to the Lord saving Noah from the Flood in Genesis 6:5-8?

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.”

Who surrounds us (verse 1)?

What does Paul say we should “throw off” (verse 1)?

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

In your opinion, why is Jesus called “the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (verse 2)?

Why did Jesus endure the cross and scorn its shame (verse 2)?

Who should we consider when we endure opposition from sinners and begin to grow weary (verse 3)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jesus getting the disciples through the squall in Mark 4:35-41 help us to understand why Paul instructs us to fix our eyes on “Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, how is Paul’s recommendation in Hebrews 12:1-3 that we “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” appropriate when we consider the fact mentioned in Genesis 6:5-8 that the “thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time”?

1 Peter 3:17-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ “For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. ¹⁹ After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— ²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”

In your opinion, why is it better “if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good that for doing evil” (verse 17)?

Why did Christ “suffer once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous” (verse 18)?

What happened to Christ when He was “put to death in the body” (verse 18)?

Who did Christ make a proclamation to (verse 19)?

How did God wait “while the ark was being built” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that the eight people “were saved through water” (verse 20)?

What does the water symbolize (verse 21)?

What is the baptism a pledge of (verse 21)?

How does baptism save (verse 21)?

Where has Jesus gone (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how is the “throwing off everything that hinders” and the running “with perseverance the race marked out for us” that Paul talks about in Hebrews 12:1-3 an appropriate follow up for the “pledge of a clear conscience toward God” that Peter says baptism is in 1 Peter 3:14-22?

In your opinion, what has taken Peter from being afraid of the squall and the terrified of Jesus in Mark 4:35-41 to being confident in the resurrection of Christ and His ascension into heaven in 1 Peter 3:14-22?

In your opinion, what does Noah, who found “favor in the eyes of the Lord” in Genesis 6:5-8 and then was saved from the flood of the water have in common with all those who have been baptized with water which saves through the resurrection of Jesus Christ according to Peter in 1 Peter 3:17-22?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Genesis, Mark, Hebrews and 1 Peter show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to Peter 4:1 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 19, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Suffering and Loving

Suffering and Loving

Psalms 34:12-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
¹³ keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶ but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

What should one who loves life and “desires to see many good days” do (verses 12 and 13)?

In your opinion, why is it important to not only “turn from evil” but to “do good” (verse 14)?

Who are the “eyes of the Lord” on (verse 15)?

How does the Lord react to “those who do evil” (verse 16)?

Who does the Lord hear when they cry out (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why is it important that the Lord is “close to the brokenhearted” (verse 18)?

Who does the Lord save (verse 18)?

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

John 13:31-38 - New International Version (NIV)

³¹ “When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. ³² If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

³³ “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

³⁶ Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

³⁷ Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

³⁸ Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

Who is glorified when the “Son of Man is glorified” (verse 31)?

Who will God glorify “if God is glorified in him” (verse 32)?

How much longer will Jesus be with the disciples (verse 33)?

Will the disciples be able to go where Jesus goes (verse 33)?

What kind of command is “love one another” (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to love each other “as I have loved you” (verse 34)?

How will everyone “know that you are my disciples” (verse 35)?

What did Simon Peter ask Jesus (verse 36)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus answer Peter by saying “where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later” (verse 36)?

What did Peter say he would do for Jesus (verse 37)?

How long will it take Peter to disown Jesus three times (verse 38)?

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

In your opinion, how does the instruction of Psalm 34:12-18 to “turn from evil and do good” gain richness when Jesus says in John 13:31-38 to “as I have loved you, so you must love one another”?

Romans 12:14-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Who does Paul say we should bless (verse 14)?

How should we respond to those who rejoice (verse 15)?

How should we respond to those who mourn (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why would being proud be an obstacle to associating with people of low position” (verse 16)?

What are we to do in the eyes of everyone (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say “if it is possible” before he instructs us to “live at peace with everyone” (verse 18)?

What should we leave room for instead of taking revenge (verse 19)?

What does feeding a hungry enemy do to him (verse 20)?

How should we overcome evil (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, how is the instruction of Jesus in John 13:31-38 to “as I have loved you, so you must love one another” given specifics by Paul in Romans 12:14-21?

In your opinion, how is the instruction of Psalms 34:12-18 to “turn from evil and do good” expanded on by Paul when he says in Romans 12:14-21 to “do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”?

1 Peter 3:8-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
¹¹ They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

¹³ Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” ¹⁵ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶ keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

Who should “be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble” (verse 8)?

How should evil be repaid (verse 9)?

What should those who love life keep their tongue from (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “turn from evil and do good” (verse 11)?

Who are the “eyes of the Lord” on (verse 12)?

Who is the “face of the Lord” against (verse 12)?

Who is blessed (verse 14)?

Who should we revere in our hearts (verse 15)?

What should we always be prepared for (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why would answering with “gentleness and respect” help us to keep a clear conscience (verses 15 and 16)?

Why should those who speak maliciously against us “be ashamed of their slander” (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what do Paul in Romans 12:14-24 and Peter in 1 Peter 3:8-16 agree on in how Christians should react to evil?

In your opinion, how does Peter, in 1 Peter 3:8-16, show that he heard the “new command” of Jesus in John 13:31-38 to “love one another”?

In your opinion, how does Peter, who quotes most of Psalms 34:12-18 expand of the message on turning from evil and doing good in 1 Peter 3:8-16?

In your opinion, what do these passages, from Psalms, John, Romans and 1 Peter show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to Peter 3:17 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)