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)

July 19, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Overcoming Evil

Overcoming Evil

1 Samuel 24:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” ² So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

³ He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. ⁴ The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵ Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” ⁷ With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

⁸ Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. ⁹ He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? ¹⁰ This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ ¹¹ See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. ¹² May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. ¹³ As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.

Where was Saul told that David was (verse 1)?

How many “able young men” did Saul take (verse 2)?

Where were David and his men (verse 3)?

What did David cut off (verse 4)?

Why was David “conscience-stricken” (verse 5)?

How did David describe Saul (verse 6)?

What did David not allow his men to do (verse 7)?

What did David call out to Saul (verse 8)?

What were the men Saul was listening to saying (verse 9)?

Where had the Lord delivered Saul (verse 10)?

How did David demonstrate that he did not want to harm Saul (verse 11)?

Who does David want to judge between he and Saul (verse 12)?

Where do evil deeds come from (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about responding to evil?

Matthew 18:21-35 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

What did Jesus tell Peter he needed to do seventy-seven times (verses 21-22)?

What is the “kingdom of heaven” like (verse 23)?

How much did the man who was brought in owe the king (verse 24)?

Why did the master order the man and his wife and children sold (verse 25)?

In your opinion, would the man have been able to repay what he owed (verse 26)?

What did the master do (verse 27)?

Who did the servant find when he “went out” (verse 28)?

How did that person respond to the servant who had been forgiven (verse 29)?

What did the servant who had been forgiven do (verse 30)?

How did the other servants react (verse 31)?

How did the master address the servant who had been forgiven (verse 32)?

How did the master say the servant should have responded to the other servant (verse 33)?

How long was the servant handed over to the jailers (verse 34)?

How does our Heavenly father expect us to forgive our brothers and sisters (verse 35)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about responding to evil?

In your opinion, how are the David’s actions in 1 Samuel 24:1-13 contrary to the actions of the man who owed ten thousand bags of gold in Matthew 18:21-35?

Romans 12:17-21 - New International Version (NIV)

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.

How should we not repay anyone (verse 17)?

What should we be careful “to do” (verse 17)?

If it depends on us, how should we live (verse 18)?

What should we leave room for (verse 19)?

Who should we feed if they are hungry (verse 20)?

How should we overcome evil (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about responding to evil?

In your opinion, how does 1 Samuel 24:1-13 illustrate the instructions in dealing with others that Romans 12:17-21 gives us?

In your opinion, how could the instructions in Romans 12:17-21 have benefited the servant who owed the ten thousand bags of gold in Matthew 18:21-35?

Colossians 1:9-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

What does Paul pray that God fills them with (verse 9)?

Who does Paul pray for them to “live a life worthy of” (verse 10)?

What is the outcome of “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” (verse 11)?

Who has qualified Christians to “share in the inheritance of his holy people” (verse 12)?

What have Christians been rescued from (verse 13)?

Where does God bring Christians (verse 13)?

What is “redemption” (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about responding to evil?

In your opinion, how might David’s restraint in 1 Samuel 24:1-13 be a product of the same kind of filling with God’s will that Paul prays the Colossian Christians will have in Colossians 12:17-21?

In your opinion, how is the forgiveness that Paul describes in Colossians 1:9-14 greater than the forgiveness described in Matthew 18:21-35?

In your opinion, how does Colossians 1:9-14 show the change that must happen in Christians to allow them to obey the instruction to “overcome evil with good” in Romans 12:17-21?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Samuel, Matthew, Romans, and Colossians teach us about God’s forgiveness?

In your opinion, how can we overcome evil in the world today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 12, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Practical Love

Practical Love

Leviticus 19:14-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.

¹⁵ “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

¹⁶ “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.

“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.

¹⁷ “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.

¹⁸ “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

In your opinion, what would happen if you “put a stumbling block in front of the blind” (verse 14)?

What should not be shown to the poor (verse 15)?

What should not be shown to the great (verse 15)?

Where should slander not be spread (verse 16)?

Who should not be endangered (verse 16)?

Who should not be hated (verse 17)?

How should a neighbor be loved (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about practical love?

Matthew 18:15-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

How many people should initially be taken when a Christian goes to point out a fault (verse 15)?

Why should “one or two” be taken the next time (verse 16)?

What is to happen if they “refuse to listen even to the church” (verse 17)?

Where will whatever is loosed on earth also be loosed (verse 18)?

Who will do what two agree about and ask for (verse 19)?

Where will Jesus be (verse 20)?

How many times did Peter think he should have to forgive his brother or sister (verse 21)?

How many times did Jesus say that Peter should forgive his brother or sister (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about practical love?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s instructions in Matthew 18:15-22 follow the instructions of Deuteronomy 17:2-13?

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

¹¹ We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. ¹² Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. ¹³ And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.

¹⁴ Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed. ¹⁵ Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.

Who are Christian “brothers and sisters” to keep away from (verse 6)?

What did Paul and his companions do while they were among the Thessalonians (verses 7-8)?

Why did they do this (verse 9)?

What rule did they give (verse 10)?

How did the “busybodies” behave (verse 11)?

What are these people commanded and urged “in the Lord Jesus Christ” to do (verse 12)?

What should “brothers and sisters” never tire of (verse 13)?

Why are the people who don’t obey this instruction to not be associated with (verse 14)?

How are they not to be regarded (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about practical love?

In your opinion, what are the similarities between the instructions in Deuteronomy 17:2-13 and in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15?

In your opinion, what does 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 help us understand about the instructions of Jesus in Matthew 18:15-22 “treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector”?

1 John 3:18-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

¹⁹ This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God ²² and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. ²⁴ The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

How does John say we should not love (verse 18)?

How does John say we should love (verse 18)?

In your opinion, how does knowing that “God is greater than our hearts” set our hearts at rest “in his presence” (verses 19-20)?

When do we have “confidence before God” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, how is keeping his commands and doing what pleases God related to receiving from God “anything we ask” (verses 21-22)?

What is God’s command for us related to Jesus Christ (verse 23)?

What is God’s command for us related to “one another” (verse 23)?

How do we know that “he lives in us” (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about practical love?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the list of “do nots” in Deuteronomy 17:2-13 ends in a command to “love your neighbor” and the positive and affirming passage in 1 John 3:18-24 contains the similar command to “love one another”?

In your opinion, how do Jesus’s instructions in Matthew 18:15-22 help us implement the command in 1 John 3:18-24 to love “with actions and in truth”?

In your opinion, how could loving “with words or speech” which 1 John 3:18-24 warns against be similar to the “idle and disruptive” believer of 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Matthew, 2 Thessalonians, and 1 John teach us about living as a Christian among other Christians?

In your opinion, how do we share practical love in our interactions with other Christians today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)