May 20, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Love the Lost

Love the Lost

Joshua 13:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)                

¹ When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.

² “This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and Geshurites, ³ from the Shihor River on the east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north, all of it counted as Canaanite though held by the five Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron; the territory of the Avvites ⁴ on the south; all the land of the Canaanites, from Arah of the Sidonians as far as Aphek and the border of the Amorites; ⁵ the area of Byblos; and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.

⁶ “As for all the inhabitants of the mountain regions from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim, that is, all the Sidonians, I myself will drive them out before the Israelites. Be sure to allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have instructed you, ⁷ and divide it as an inheritance among the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh.”

What did the Lord tell Joshua when he “had grown old” (verse 1)?

Who would drive out the inhabitants of the mountain regions (verse 6)?

What was Joshua to do with the mountain regions (verses 6 and 7)?

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.

Where did Jesus go around teaching (verse 6)?

What did Jesus give the Twelve (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus tell the Twelve to “take nothing for the journey except a staff” (verse 8)?

What were the Twelve not to wear (verse 9)?

How long were the Twelve to stay in the houses they entered (verse 10)?

Why were the Twelve to shake the dust off their feet at the places where they were not welcomed or listened to (verse 11)?

What did the Twelve preach (verse 12)?

What did the Twelve do (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, why did God give the Israelites an inheritance in Joshua 13:1-7 and Jesus give the Twelve authority in Mark 6:6b-13?

Acts 8:9-24 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, ¹⁰ and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” ¹¹ They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. ¹² But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³ Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

¹⁴ When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. ¹⁵ When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹ and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. ²² Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. ²³ For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

²⁴ Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

How did Simon amaze “all the people of Samaria” (verse 9)?

What did “all the people” call Simon (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what was the difference between what Simon did that caused the people to follow him and what Philip did that caused the people to be baptized (verses 11 and 12)?

What astonished Simon (verse 13)?

When did the apostles send Peter and John to Samaria (verse 14)?

Why did Peter and John pray for the new believers to receive the Holy Spirit (verses 15 and 16)?

What happened when Peter and John placed their hands on the new believers (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did Simon offer money and ask to be given the ability “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit” (verses 18 & 19)?

Why did Peter tell Simon “may your money perish with you” (verse 20)?

What is not “right before God” (verse 21)?

What did Peter instruct Simon to do (verse 22)?

What did Peter see in Simon (verse 23)?

How did Simon respond to Peter (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how is the kingdom of Israel, who God says still has “very large areas of land to be taken over” in Joshua 13:1-7 and the kingdom of God when Philip went to Samaria in Acts 8:9-24 similar?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the message of repentance that the Twelve gave when they went out in Mark 6:6b-13 and the message of Philip, Peter and John in Acts 8:9-24?

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.

When would Paul (and we) be “only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that he is nothing if he has gifts of prophecy, knowledge and faith but does not have love (verse 2)?

What would Paul gain if he gave all he had to the poor and his body over to hardship and did not have love (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)?

What does love never do (verse 8)?

When will the “in part” that we know and prophesy disappear (verses 9 and 10)?

What do we see now (verse 12)?

What remains (verse 13)?

What is the greatest (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 help us recognize about the difference between the kingdom that Joshua is helping to establish in Joshua 13:1-7 and the kingdom that Jesus established with his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead?

In your opinion, what is the long-term difference in results of the authority that Jesus gave to the Twelve in Mark 6:6b-13 and the love that Paul promotes in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13?

In your opinion, how is the difference between Philip and Simon in Acts 8:9-24 explained by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 Corinthians teach us about the foundation of the Kingdom of God?

In your opinion, how do we, as the kingdom of God, react to the large areas that are not part of the kingdom?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 13, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Victory Over Fears

-            The

Victory Over Fears

Joshua 10:6-15 - New International Version (NIV)              

⁶ The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

⁷ So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

⁹ After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. ¹⁰ The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

¹² On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
¹³ So the sun stood still,
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. ¹⁴ There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

¹⁵ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

Why did the Gibeonites send word to Joshua (verse 6)?

What was Joshua’s response (verse 7)?

Who told Joshua not to be afraid of them (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did Joshua take them by surprise (verse 9)?

Who threw “them into confusion before Israel” (verse 10)?

What killed more of them than “were killed by the swords of the Israelites” (verse 11)?

What did Joshua say “to the Lord in the presence of Israel” (verse 12)?

What did the sun do (verse 13)?

Why was the day that the Israelites protected the Gibeonites unique (verse 14)?

Where did Joshua and all Israel go after the battle (verse 15)?

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!”

When did Jesus tell His disciples “let us go over to the other side” (verse 35)?

How did the disciples take Jesus (verse 36)?

Why was the boat “nearly swamped” (verse 37)?

Where was Jesus (verse 38)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples think Jesus didn’t care if they drowned (verse 38)?

What happened when Jesus rebuked the wind (verse 39)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith” (verse 40)?

Why were the disciples terrified (verse 41)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn from the sun standing still in Joshua 10:6-15 and the wind and waves obeying Jesus in Mark 4:35-41?

Acts 7:54-60 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵⁴ When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

How did the members of the Sanhedrin respond to what Stephen said (verse 54)?

What did Stephen see while he was full of the Holy Spirit (verse 55)?

Where did Stephen see “the Son of Man standing” (verse 56)?

In your opinion, why did the members of the Sanhedrin cover their ears (verse 57)?

What did they do to Stephen (verse 58)?

Where did the witnesses lay their coats (verse 58)?

When did Stephen pray “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (verse 59)?

In your opinion, why did Stephen pray “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (verse 60)?

What happened to Stephen (verse 60)?

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

In your opinion, how is the victory of Stephen over fear and anger in Acts 7:54-60 a more amazing miracle than the sun standing still while the Israelites defeated the Amorites in Joshua 10:6-15?

In your opinion, why do we see a difference in the level of faith exhibited by the disciples as they were in fear of the winds and waves in Mark 4:35-41 and Stephen as he was being hit by the stones in Acts 7:54-60?

Romans 8:28-39 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Who does God work for the good of in all things (verse 28)?

Why did God predestine those He foreknew “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what is Paul describing in the steps of: predestined, called, justified and glorified (verse 30)?

In your opinion, does it change what Paul is saying in verses 31 through 34 if the quote reads this way: ³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be successful against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all eternally important things? ³³ Who will bring any charge that sticks against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who eternally condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

In your opinion, what can we learn from Paul when he follows the statement “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” with the quote “for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered” (verses 35 and 36)?

Where are we “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (verse 37)?

What is Paul convinced that death, life, angels, demons, present, future, powers, height, depth, “nor anything else in all creation” will not be able to do (verses 38 and 39)?

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

In your opinion, how does the Lord hurling large hailstones at the Amorites and stopping the sun from moving in Joshua 10:6-15 show He is greater than those who Paul outlines might be against us in Romans 8:28-39?

In your opinion, how does Jesus calming the wind and waves in response to the disciple’s fear in Mark 4:35-41 demonstrate how we might wish that God would respond to our fears of all the things that Paul outlined in Romans 8:28-39?

In your opinion, how does Stephen’s response to his stoning in Acts 7:54-60 demonstrate the Holy Spirit’s power in allowing him to have victory over his fears, which teaches Saul, who became Paul the author of Romans, who then teaches us about the love of Christ overcoming the things that we fear in Romans 8:28-39?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Romans teach us about God’s abilities in our crises?

In your opinion, how do we move from focusing on a crisis to finding victory over our fears in all circumstances?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 6, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Being Stirred or Sound

-            The

Being Stirred or Sound

Joshua 9:7-16 - New International Version (NIV)                

⁷ The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?”

⁸ “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua.

But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

⁹ They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ ¹² This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. ¹³ And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”

¹⁴ The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. ¹⁵ Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

¹⁶ Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them.

Why did the Israelites think they could not make a treaty with the Hivites (verse 7)?

Who ask the Hivites “who are you and where do you come from” (verse 8)?

Whose fame had the Hivites heard of (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why is what the Lord had done to the “two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan” important to the Hivites (verse 10)?

Who sent the Hivites (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why did the Hivites show the Israelites the moldy bread, old wineskins and worn out clothes and sandals (verses 12 and 13)?

What did the Israelites not do (verse 14)?

Who ratified the peace treaty that Joshua made (verse 15)?

What did the Israelites hear three days after the treaty was made (verse 16)?

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

Mark 3:20-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. ²¹ When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

²² And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

²³ So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. ²⁷ In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. ²⁸ Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

³⁰ He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

What did the crowd keep Jesus and His disciples from doing (verse 20)?

Why did Jesus family go “to take charge of him” (verse 21)?

Who said that Jesus was “possessed by Beelzebul” (verse 22)?

How did Jesus speak to them (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean by the statement that “if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand” and “if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (verses 24 and 25)?

What will happen if Satan opposes himself and is divided (verse 26)?

When can a strong man’s house be plundered (verse 27)?

What can be forgiven (verse 28)?

What “will never be forgiven” (verse 29)?

Why did Jesus say this (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, how were the statements of the Gibeonites to Joshua and the Israelites in Joshua 9:7-16 similar to the statements of the teachers of the law about Jesus in Mark 3:20-30?

Acts 6:8-15 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

¹¹ Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

¹² So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. ¹³ They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. ¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵ All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

How did Stephen perform “great wonders and signs among the people” (verse 8)?

How did the “members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen . . . Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia” oppose Stephen (verse 9)?

Why could the opposition not stand up to Stephen (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why did they secretly persuade some men to say “we have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God” (verse 11)?

What did they do to Stephen (verse 12)?

What kind of witnesses did they produce (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why did they say “we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place” (verse 14)?

Who saw that the face of Stephen was like the “face of an angel” (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, what are the differences between the Israelites as they accepted the lies of the Gibeonites in Joshua 9:7-16 and Stephen as he “performed great wonders and signs among the people” in Acts 6:8-15?

In your opinion, how are the teachers of the law in Mark 3:20-30 and the “members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen . . . Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia” in Acts 6:8-15 similar?

2 Timothy 4:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

In whose presence does Paul give Timothy “this charge” (verse 1)?

How is Timothy to “preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage” (verse 2)?

What will people not put up with in the time that will come (verse 3)?

What will the “great number of teachers” say to the people (verse 3)?

Where will the people turn to (verse 4)?

What four things are Timothy to do (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says he is “already being poured out like a drink offering” (verse 6)?

What three things has Paul done (verse 7)?

Who will award Paul the “crown of righteousness” (verse 8)?

Who else will be awarded the “crown of righteousness” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, how does Joshua and the Israelites being deceived by the lies of the Gibeonites in Joshua 9:7-16 demonstrate how it is possible for us to turn our “ears from the truth and turn aside to myths” as Paul warns Timothy that people will do in 2 Timothy 4:1-8?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s response to those who said He was driving out demons because He was in cahoots with the prince of demons in Mark 3:20-30 help us understand what Paul means when he tells Timothy to “preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” in 2 Timothy 4:1-8?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the discussion of Stephen and those who opposed him in Acts 6:8-15 that will help us to understand the difference between those who “will not put up with sound doctrine” and those who fight the good fight and keep the faith like Paul in 2 Timothy 4:1-8?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 2 Timothy teach us about the difference between being stirred up and being corrected, rebuked and encouraged?

In your opinion, what is “sound doctrine”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 22, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Listening and Doing

Listening and Doing

Joshua 8:30-35 - New International Version (NIV)              

³⁰ Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, ³¹ as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. ³² There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. ³³ All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.

³⁴ Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.

Where did Joshua build an alter to the Lord, the God of Israel (verse 30)?

What was special about the stones that he used to build the alter (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what were the purposes of the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings (verse 31)?

What did Joshua do “in the presence of the Israelites” (verse 32)?

Who was standing on “both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (verse 33)?

What did Joshua read (verse 34)?

Who did Joshua read to (verse 35)?

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

Mark 3:13-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons. ¹⁶ These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), ¹⁷ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), ¹⁸ Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Where did Jesus go (verse 13)?

Who did He call (verse 13)?

What did those He called do (verse 13)?

Why did He appoint twelve (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus give them authority to drive out demons (verse 15)?

What name did Jesus give to Peter (verse 16)?

Who did Jesus call the “sons of thunder” (verse 17)?

What did Judas Iscariot do (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how is Joshua building the alter, writing the law of Moses on the stones, and reading all the words that are written in the Book of the Law to all the Israelites and all who are with them in Joshua 8:30-35 similar to Jesus appointing the twelve and giving them authority in Mark 3:13-19?

Acts 6:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. ² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

What was happening to the number of disciples (verse 1)?

Why were the Hellenistic Jews complaining (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why did the Twelve think “it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables” (verse 2)?

Who was to choose the seven men (verse 3)?

What will the Twelve turn over after the seven men are chosen (verse 3)?

What will the Twelve give their attention to (verse 4)?

How did the group view the proposal (verse 5)?

Who was described as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (verse 5)?

What did the apostles do when the men were presented to them (verse 6)?

What happened to the word of God (verse 7)?

What happened to the number of disciples in Jerusalem (verse 7)?

What happened to “a large number of priests” (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, how is what Joshua did in building the alter and then reading the entire Book of the Law to the Israelites in Joshua 8:30-35 similar to what the Twelve apostles did when they prayed and laid hands on the seven in Acts 6:1-7?

In your opinion, what is different between Jesus appointing the twelve and then giving them authority to drive out demons in Mark 3:13-19 and the Twelve having men selected and then turning responsibility over to them in Acts 6:1-7?

James 1:19-27 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

What should everyone be quick to do (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why should everyone be “slow to speak and slow to become angry” (verse 19)?

What is not produced by human anger (verse 20)?

What are we to get rid of (verse 21)?

How should we accept “the word planted in you, which can save you” (verse 21)?

How can we deceive ourselves (verse 22)?

Who is like “someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (verses 23 and 24)?

Who will be “blessed in what they do” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, why is the religion of someone who considers themselves religious and does not “keep a tight rein on their tongues” worthless (verse 26)?

What is “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless” (verse 27)?

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

In your opinion, how does James who said in James 1:19-27 “whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” illustrate his agreement with Joshua who over a thousand years earlier in Joshua 8:30-35 wrote on stones a copy of the of the law of Moses?

In your opinion, what should we who are called to be brothers and sisters learn from Jesus’s calling and instructing the twelve in Mark 3:13-19 and from the instructions in James 1:19-27?

In your opinion, what should we learn from the care for the widows that the Twelve apostles made sure was correctly administered in Acts 6:1-7 and the James’s instruction in James 1:19-27 that “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and James teach us about our calling today?

What does listening to the words of this lesson show you about yourself?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 15, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Responding in Hope

-            The

Responding in Hope

 Joshua 8:18-29 - New International Version (NIV)              

¹⁸ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out toward the city the javelin that was in his hand. ¹⁹ As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it and quickly set it on fire.

²⁰ The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers. ²¹ For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. ²² Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. ²³ But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

²⁴ When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. ²⁵ Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. ²⁶ For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. ²⁷ But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua.

²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. ²⁹ He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.

Where will the Lord deliver Ai when Joshua holds out the javelin in his hand (verse 18)?

What happened when Joshua held out the javelin in his hand (verse 19)?

Who had “no chance to escape in any direction” (verse 20)?

When did “Joshua and all Israel” turn and attack (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why was the Israelite attack so successful that it left no “survivors nor fugitives” (verse 22)?

Where did they take the king of Ai (verse 23)?

How many people were killed (verses 24 and 25)?

When did Joshua draw “back the hand that held out his javelin” (verse 26)?

Why did Israel carry off the “livestock and plunder” (verse 27)?

What did Joshua make Ai (verse 28)?

What did they do with the body of the king (verse 29)?

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

Mark 3:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. ³ Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Who was in the synagogue when Jesus went in (verse 1)?

Why were “some” watching Jesus closely (verse 2)?

Where did Jesus tell the man to stand (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask them “which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did the people who were watching Jesus remain silent (verse 4)?

What deeply distressed Jesus (verse 5)?

What happened when the man stretched out his hand (verse 5)?

Who began to plot to kill Jesus (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how is the outcome of the confrontation of Joshua and the Israelites against Ai in Joshua 8:18-29 similar to the outcome of Jesus and those who watched in Mark 3:1-6?

Acts 5:17-32 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. ¹⁸ They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. ¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. ²⁰ “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

²¹ At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. ²² But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, ²³ “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” ²⁴ On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.

²⁵ Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” ²⁶ At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.

²⁷ The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ²⁸ “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

²⁹ Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! ³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. ³¹ God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

What filled the high priest and all his associates (verse 17)?

Where did they put the apostles (verse 18)?

Who “opened the doors of the jail and brought them out” (verse 19)?

What were the disciples to do (verse 20)?

Who “sent to the jail for the apostles” (verse 21)?

What did they find at the jail (verse 22)?

In your opinion, why did they say “we found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors” (verse 23)?

How did the captain of the guard and chief priests react to this (verse 24)?

Where were the men they had put in jail (verse 25)?

Why did the captain and his officials not use force (verse 26)?

Where were the apostles taken (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why did the high priest say the apostles were “determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood” (verse 28)?

How did Peter and the other apostles reply to the high priests statement that “we gave you strict orders not to teach in his name” (verses 28 and 29)?

Who “raised Jesus from the dead” (verse 30)?

Why did God exalt Jesus “to his own right hand as Prince and Savior” (verse 31)?

Who are the witnesses (verse 32)?

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

In your opinion, how is the outcome of the confrontation of Joshua and the Israelites against Ai in Joshua 8:18-29 similar to the outcome of the arrest of the apostles in Acts 5:17-32?

In your opinion, why w ere the Pharisees and Herodians of Mark 3:1-6 and the Sadducees and high priest of Acts 5:17-32 so intent on stopping Jesus and Peter and the apostles who were healing people?

1 Peter 3:8-18 – 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. 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.

What does Peter instruct God’s elect to be (verse 8)?

How are God’s elect to respond to evil (verse 9)?

What are those who “would love life and see good days” to keep their tongue from (verse 10)?

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

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

In your opinion, “who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good” (verse 13)?

When are we blessed (verse 14)?

How should we view Christ in our hearts (verse 15)?

How should we answer those who ask us for the reason for the hope that we have (verse 15)?

What does keeping a clear conscience do to those who “speak maliciously against” good behavior in Christ (verse 16)?

What is better to suffer for (verse 17)?

Why did Christ suffer “once for sins” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what changed for Peter, who was the apostle with the sword in the garden when Jesus was captured and who would have been taught from Joshua 8:18-29 how to proceed, to make him the person who in 1 Peter 3:8-18 instructs us to “repay evil with blessing” and to respond “with gentleness and respect”?

In your opinion, what does Jesus, who was angry at the Pharisees in Mark 3:1-6 but reacted by healing the man with the withered hand, teach us today about how to respond to Peter’s instruction that, if it is God’s will it is better to “suffer for doing good than for doing evil”?

In your opinion, how did the words of the angel who told Peter and the other apostles in Acts 5:17-32 to “tell the people all about this new life” prepare him to instruct us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” in 1 Peter 3:8-18?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 Peter teach us about how to respond to adversity?

What is the reason for the hope that you have?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)