April 19, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – Active Love

Active Love

Isaiah 29:11-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” ¹² Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”

¹³ The Lord says:

“These people come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
¹⁴ Therefore once more I will astound these people
    with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
    the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”
¹⁵ Woe to those who go to great depths
    to hide their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
    “Who sees us? Who will know?”
¹⁶ You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
    “You know nothing”?

¹⁷ In a very short time, will not Lebanon be turned into a fertile field
    and the fertile field seem like a forest?
¹⁸ In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll,
    and out of gloom and darkness
    the eyes of the blind will see.
¹⁹ Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord;
    the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

What does the person ask to read the scroll say (verse 11)?

What does the person who cannot read who is asked to read the scroll say (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why do people whose “hearts are far from me” come near to the Lord with their mouths and honor Him with their lips (verse 13)?

How will the Lord “astound these people” (verse 14)?

Who will have “woe” (verse 15)?

How do the people “turn things” (verse 16)?

What will the deaf hear (verse 18)?

Who will rejoice (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between words and actions?

Matthew 15:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

⁸ “‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
⁹ They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’”

Where did the “Pharisees and teachers of the law” come from (verse 1)?

What did they accuse the disciples of not doing in “the tradition of the elders” (verse 2)?

What did Jesus suggest the Pharisees and teachers of the law broke “for the sake of your tradition” (verse 3)?

Who said “honor your father and mother” (verse 4)?

Who said that if something is “devoted to God” that it can’t be used to “’honor their father or mother’ with it” (verses 5 and 6)?

Why do they “nullify the word of God” (verse 6)?

Who did Jesus say was right about the “hypocrites” (verse 7)?

Where are the people’s hearts (verse 8)?

What are “their teachings” (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between words and actions?

In your opinion, how does the prophecy in Isaiah 29:11-19 help Jesus expose a problem in Matthew 15:1-9?

Romans 14:10-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

¹³ Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. ¹⁴ I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. ¹⁵ If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸ because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

¹⁹ Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Where will we “all stand” (verse 10)?

What will “every tongue” do (verse 11)?

Who will “each of us” give an account of ourselves to (verse 12)?

What should each of us make up our minds not to do (verse 13)?

What was Paul convinced of (verse 14)?

Who is something unclean for (verse 14)?

What shouldn’t we let our “eating” (or other activities) do (verse 15)?

What shouldn’t be spoken of as evil (verse 16)?

What is the kingdom of God “a matter . . . of” (verse 17)?

Who is “pleasing to God and receives human approval” (verse 18)?

What should we “make every effort to do” (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between words and actions?

In your opinion, how do both Isaiah 29:11-19 and Romans 14:10-19 reveal problems with adhering to human rules only?

In your opinion, how do both Matthew 15:1-9 and Romans 14:10-19 help us identify heart problems?

2 John 1:4-9 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. ⁵ And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

⁷ I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. ⁹ Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 

What has given John “great joy” (verse 4)?

When did we get the command to “love one another” (verse 5)?

What is love (verse 6)?

Who “is the deceiver and the antichrist” (verse 7)?

How will those who “watch out” be rewarded (verse 8)?

Who “has both the Father and the Son” (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the difference between words and actions?

In your opinion, what solution does 2 John 1:4-9 provide for those whose “hearts are far from” the Lord as in Isaiah 29:11-19?

In your opinion, how does 2 John 1:4-9 help us understand why those in Matthew 15:1-9 who declared their possessions were “devoted to God” actually did not have God in their lives?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion of eating in Romans 14:10-19 help us understand the what John means by walking “in obedience to his commands” in 2 John 1:4-9?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Romans and 2 John teach us about looking at the ways we treat and think of others?

In your opinion, how can we walk in love today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 12, 2026 – A Study of Matthew – God’s Mighty Hand

God’s Mighty Hand

Psalm 18:16-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.
¹⁷ He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.
¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
    but the Lord was my support.
¹⁹ He brought me out into a spacious place;
    he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Where did the Lord reach from to take hold of David (verse 16)?

What did the Lord draw David out of (verse 16)?

Who was “too strong” for David (verse 17)?

When did the Lord support David (verse 18)?

Where did the Lord bring David to (verse 19)?

Why did the Lord rescue David (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, where do we see the hand of God in this passage?

Matthew 14:22-36 - New International Version (NIV)

²² Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

³⁴ When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him ³⁶ and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

What did Jesus make the disciples do before He “dismissed the crowd” (verse 22)?

Where did Jesus go after dismissing the crowd (verse 23)?

Why was the boat “buffeted by the waves” (verse 24)?

What did Jesus do “shortly before dawn” (verse 25)?

How did the disciples react when they saw Jesus (verse 26)?

What did Jesus tell them (verse 27)?

Who wanted Jesus to tell him to “come to you on the water” (verse 28)?

What did Jesus tell him (verse 29)?

When did Peter cry out “Lord, save me” (verse 30)?

What did Jesus do when Peter cried out (verse 31)?

When did the wind die down (verse 32)?

What did the disciples do (verse 33)?

Where did they land (verse 34)?

What did the people there do (verse 35)?

Who was healed (verse 36)?

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

In your opinion, where do we see the hand of God in this passage?

In your opinion, how are David (symbolically) in Psalm 18:16-19 and Peter in Matthew 14:22-36 alike?

Acts 3:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. ² Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴ Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹ When all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

When were Peter and John “going up to the temple” (verse 1)?

Why was the man “who was lame from birth” being carried to the gate called Beautiful (verse 2)?

What did the man ask Peter and John for (verse 3)?

How did Peter and John respond to the man’s request (verse 4)?

What did Peter say to the man (verse 6)?

What did Peter do for him (verse 7)?

How did the man react (verse 8)?

What filled the people who recognized the beggar (verse 10)?

In your opinion, where do we see the hand of God in this passage?

In your opinion, how are the lame man at the Beautiful Gate in Acts 3:1-10 and David in Psalm 18:16-19 alike?

In your opinion, how might Jesus reaching to pull Peter from the water in Matthew 14:22-36 influenced his actions with the lame man in Acts 3:1-10?

1 Peter 5:5b-11 - New International Version (NIV)

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

 

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Why should Christians “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another” (verse 5)?

When will God lift up the ones who humble themselves under His “mighty hand” (verse 6)?

What should Christians cast on God and why (verse 7)?

Who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (verse 8)?

How can Christians resist the lion (verse 9)?

When will God “restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, where do we see the hand of God in this passage?

In your opinion, how does David being aware that his foes were too strong for him but being rescued by the Lord in Psalm 18:16-19 help us understand what Peter means by instructing us to humble ourselves “under God’s mighty hand” in 1 Peter 5:5b-11?

In your opinion, how could Peter’s doubting, then sinking, and Jesus saving him in Matthew 14:22-36 have shaped his instructions to us in 1 Peter 5:5b-11?

In your opinion, what does the beggar’s feet and ankles becoming strong when Peter helps him up in Acts 3:1-10 help us understand about what might happen when God lifts us up “in due time” in 1 Peter 5:5b-11?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalms, Matthew, Acts and 1 Peter teach us about ourselves?

In your opinion, where do you see “God’s mighty hand” in your life today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 5, 2026 – Easter – Everlasting Love

 

Everlasting Love

Jeremiah 31:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

² This is what the Lord says:

“The people who survive the sword
    will find favor in the wilderness;
    I will come to give rest to Israel.”

³ The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
⁴ I will build you up again,
    and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt.
Again you will take up your timbrels
    and go out to dance with the joyful.
⁵ Again you will plant vineyards
    on the hills of Samaria;
the farmers will plant them
    and enjoy their fruit.
⁶ There will be a day when watchmen cry out
    on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.’”

What will happen “at that time” (verse 1)?

Who will “find favor in the wilderness” (verse 2)?

What had the Lord said, “in the past” (verse 3)?

Who will “Virgin Israel” go out to dance with (verse 4)?

Who will enjoy the fruit of the vineyards (verse 5)?

What will the watchmen cry out (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s relationship with us?

John 20:1-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

When did Mary Magdalene see that the stone had been removed from the tomb’s entrance (verse 1)?

Who did she tell, “they have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him” (verse 2)?

Who got to the tomb first (verse 4)?

What did he see in the tomb (verse 5)?

Who went into the tomb and saw the strips of linen and the “cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head” (verses 6 and7)?

When did the other disciple believe (verse 8)?

What did the two disciples still not understand (verse 9)?

Where did the two disciples go (verse 10)?

What was Mary doing when she looked into the tomb (verse 11)?

What did she see (verse 12)?

How did Mary answer the angel’s question, “Woman, why are you crying?” (verse 13)?

Who did Mary not recognize (verse 14)?

What was Mary going to do when she found out were Jesus was (verse 15)?

How did Mary respond when Jesus said “Mary” (verse 16)?

What was Mary to do (verse 17)?

Who did Mary give the news to (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s relationship with us?

In your opinion, how is the everlasting love the Lord proclaimed in Jeremiah 31:1-6 displayed in John 20:1-18?

Acts 10:34-43 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹ “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, ⁴⁰ but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹ He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Who said they realized it is true that “God does not show favoritism” (verse 34)?

Who does God accept (verse 35)?

What message did God send to the “people of Israel” (verse 36)?

When did things begin “in Galilee” (verse 37)?

How was Jesus of Nazareth anointed (verse 38)?

How was Jesus killed (verse 39)?

Who raised Jesus from the dead (verse 40)?

Who saw Jesus (verse 41)?

What were the people who saw Jesus commanded to do (verse 42)?

What do the people who believe in Jesus receive (verse 43)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s relationship with us?

In your opinion, what does Peter in Acts 10:34-43 reveal about the one who proclaimed in Jeremiah 31:1-6 that “I will be the God of all the families of Israel”?

In your opinion, how does Peter in Acts 10:34-43 help us understand the significance of what John recorded in John 20:1-18?

Colossians 3:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Who have the Christians “been raised with” (verse 1)?

What should Christians set their “hearts on” (verse 1)?

What should Christians not set their minds on (verse 2)?

Where is the Christian’s life hidden (verse 3)?

How will Christians appear with Christ (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about God’s relationship with us?

In your opinion, how is the rejoicing of the exiles in Jeremiah 31:1-6 like the Christian focus instructed in Colossians 3:1-4?

In your opinion, how is Jesus’s first message after rising to Mary Magdalene for the disciples in John 20:1-18 crucial to Colossians 3:1-4?

In your opinion, how is the message of Colossians 3:1-4 important for all those who hear and believe Peter’s message in Acts 10:34-43?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, John, Acts, and Colossians teach us about God’s “everlasting love”?

In your opinion, how can we respond to God’s “everlasting love” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)