August 9, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Celebrating Heaven

Celebrating Heaven

Isaiah 25:6-9 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.
⁷ On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
⁸     he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

⁹ In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
    we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Who will “prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples” (verse 6)?

What will be destroyed “on this mountain” (verse 7)?

What will the Lord “swallow up” forever (verse 8)?

How are those who “trusted in him” to react (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about who celebrate with God?

Matthew 19:30-20:16 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

20 ¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. ² He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³ “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴ He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ ⁵ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. ⁶ About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

⁷ “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹² ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

¹³ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵ Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Who will be first (verse 30)?

What is the “kingdom of heaven” like (verse 1)?

How much was the landowner to pay the workers (verse 2)?

What did the landowner tell the workers hired at nine they would be paid (verses 3-4)?

What were the times that others were hired (verses 5-7)?

Who was paid first that evening (verse 8)?

How much did they receive (verse 9)?

What did the ones who were hired first expect (verse 10)?

Why were they unhappy (verses 11-12)?

In your opinion, was the landowner being unfair (verse 13)?

What did the landowner want to do (verse 14)?

In your opinion, were the workers who had been hired first envious (verse 15)?

Who will be last (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about who celebrates with God?

In your opinion, how would the attitude of the workers who were first employed in Matthew 19:30-20:16 have changed if they viewed what they all received as the salvation celebrated in Isaiah 25:6-9 instead of the payment for a day’s labor?

Philippians 1:21-26 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴ but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

What was living for Paul (verse 21)?

What was dying for Paul (verse 21)?

When would “fruitful labor” occur (verse 22)?

What did Paul desire (verse 23)?

Who would benefit if Paul remained (verse 24)?

Why will Paul “continue with” the Philippian Christians (verse 25)?

Who will the Philippian Christians boast in (verse 26)?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about who celebrates with God?

In your opinion, how does Paul in Philippians 1:21-26 embody the trust in God that Isaiah 25:6-9 proclaims?

In your opinion, how is Paul’s attitude about labor in Philippians 1:21-26 different from the workers in Matthew 19:30-20:16?

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Why did Paul not want the Thessalonian Christians to be “uninformed about those who sleep in death” (verse 13)?

What did Paul believe about Jesus (verse 14)?

Who did Paul believe that God would “bring with Jesus” (verse 14)?

Who will not “precede those who have fallen asleep” (verse 15)?

When will “the dead in Christ” rise (verse 16)?

Who will be “caught up together” to “meet the Lord in the air” (verse 17)?

What should we do with these words (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about who celebrates with God?

In your opinion, how does 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 help us understand who will join in the celebration of God’s swallowing up of death in Isaiah 25:6-9?

In your opinion, how are the different times of day that workers were hired in Matthew 19:30-20:16 represented in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the departing to be with Christ that Paul wants in Philippians 1:21-26 and the catching up to the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Philippians, and 1 Thessalonians help us understand about our place in the Kingdom of Heaven?

In your opinion, how do we celebrate heaven today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 2, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Follow Me

Follow Me

Exodus 20:1-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ And God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

What had God done (verse 2)?

What is the first commandment (verse 3)?

Why should the Israelites not bow to or worship any image (verse 5)?

Who will not be “guiltless” (verse 7)?

Which day is holy (verse 8)?

Who should be honored (verse 12)?

What should not be coveted (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between following regulations and following God?

Matthew 19:13-30 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

²⁷ Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

²⁸ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

How did the disciples treat those who brought little children for Jesus to pray for (verse 13)?

Who did Jesus say the kingdom of heaven belongs to (verse 14)?

What did the man ask Jesus (verse 16)?

What did Jesus tell the man to do (verse 17)?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s answer compare to the ten commandments given in Exodus 20:1-17 (verses 18 and 19)?

What did the man then ask Jesus (verse 20)?

How did Jesus answer him (verse 21)?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s answer compare to the ten commandments given in Exodus 20:1-17 (verse 21)?

Why was the young man sad (verse 22)?

What is hard for someone who is rich to do (verse 23)?

How did Jesus answer the question who then can be saved” (verses 25 and 26)?

What will there be for the disciples (verses 27-30)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between following regulations and following God?

In your opinion, how does the parable in Matthew 19:13-30 help us understand which of the commands in Exodus 20:1-17 are the hardest to follow?  Why?

2 Corinthians 7:8-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— ⁹ yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. ¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. ¹¹ See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

What did Paul not regret causing in the Corinthians Christians (verse 8)?

How long had Paul’s letter hurt them (verse 8)?

Why was Paul now happy (verse 9)?

Who intended for them to be sorrowful (verse 9)?

What “brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret” (verse 10)?

What does “worldly sorrow” bring (verse 10)?

What did Godly sorrow produce in the Corinthian Christians (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between following regulations and following God?

In your opinion, how can a sincere attempt to follow the commands in Exodus 20:1-17 lead to the “godly sorrow” that Paul says brings repentance in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11?

In your opinion, how does the rich young man in Matthew 19:13-30 help us understand the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow that Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11?

2 Timothy 2:22-26 - New International Version (NIV)

²² Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ²⁴ And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

What should Christian’s flee (verse 22)?

What should Christian’s pursue (verse 22)?

Why should Christians avoid “foolish and stupid arguments” (verse 23)?

Who should “the Lord’s servant” be kind to (verse 24)?

Why should opponents be gently instructed (verse 25)?

Who has taken the opponents captive (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between following regulations and following God?

In your opinion, what role do the commandments in Exodus 20:1-17 play in helping us understand more about pursuing “righteousness, faith, love and peace” as instructed by 2 Timothy 2:22-26?

In your opinion, what does 2 Timothy 2:22-26 help us understand about what the rich young man in Matthew 19:13-30 was missing?

In your opinion, how is “godly sorrow” in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 the starting point for the pursuits in 2 Timothy 2:22-26?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Matthew, 2 Corinthians, and 2 Timothy teach us about repentance?

In your opinion, what might we need to leave behind to truly follow Jesus?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 26, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Joined Together

Joined Together

Deuteronomy 24:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, ² and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, ³ and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, ⁴ then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

What does the man who is displeased with his wife do (verse 1)?

How does the remarried woman become single again (verse 3)?

Who cannot marry her (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the relationship between a husband and wife?

Matthew 19:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

⁴ “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

⁷ “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

⁸ Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

Where did Jesus go (verse 1)?

What did He do there (verse 2)?

How did the Pharisees test Him (verse 3)?

What did Jesus say about how the creator made them (verse 4)?

What do the husband and wife become (verse 5)?

Who should separate what God has joined (verse 6)?

How did the Pharisees challenge Jesus’s answer (verse 7)?

Why did Moses permit divorce (verse 8)?

Who commits adultery (verse 9)?

How did the disciples respond (verse 10)?

Who should follow the disciple’s reasoning (verses 11 & 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the relationship between a husband and wife?

In your opinion, how did the Pharisees in Matthew 19:1-12 twist the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 24:1-4?

Ephesians 5:21-33 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Why should Christians “submit to one another” (verse 21)?

What should wives do (verse 22)?

Who is the “head of the church” (verse 23)?

How does the church respond to Christ (verse 24)?

What did Christ do for the church (verse 25)?

How was the church cleansed (verse 26)?

Who was Christ presenting the church to (verse 27)?

How should husbands love their wives (verse 28)?

What does Christ do for the church (verse 29)?

What are members of the church (verse 30)?

What do a man and his wife become (verse 31)?

What profound myster is Paul talking about (verse 32)?

What should each husband do (verse 33)?

What should each wife do (verse 33)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the relationship between a husband and wife?

In your opinion, how is Christ’s example in Ephesians 5:21-33 different from the man who divorces his wife in Deuteronomy 24:1-4?

In your opinion, how are Jesus’s statements about divorce in Matthew 19:1-12 influenced by Ephesians 5:21-33?

Revelation 19:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
²     for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
    who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³ And again they shouted:

“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

⁴ The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:

“Amen, Hallelujah!”

⁵ Then a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God,
    all you his servants,
you who fear him,
    both great and small!”

⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!
    For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad
    and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
    and his bride has made herself ready.
⁸ Fine linen, bright and clean,
    was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰ At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

Who was shouting “Hallelujah!” (verse 1)?

Who has God “condemned” (verse 2)?

What goes up from the condemned “for ever and ever” (verse 3)?

Where was the One the “twenty-four elders and the four living creatures” worshiped (verse 4)?

Who is to “Praise our God” (verse 5)?

What does “our Lord God Almighty” do (verse 6)?

What has come (verse 7)?

Who has “made herself ready” (verse 7)?

What does the “fine linen” stand for (verse 8)?

Who is blessed (verse 9)?

What do John and his brothers and sisters hold on to (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the relationship between a husband and wife?

In your opinion, how does a man who would divorce his wife in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 differ from the groom in Revelation 19:1-10?

In your opinion, who in Revelation 19:1-10 has done what Jesus warned against in Matthew 19:1-12 and separated “what God has joined together”?

In your opinion, how does Ephesians 5:21-33 help us understand what the groom in Revelation 19:1-10 has done for His bride?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Matthew, Ephesians, and Revelations teach us about Christ and the church?

In your opinion, how do we make ourselves ready in “fine linen” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)