Matthew 28:18-20 – New
International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission
18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. 19 Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age.”
Service and Love
Matthew 25:14-30 –
New International Version (NIV)
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called
his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he
gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each
according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The
man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work
and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of
gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag
went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and
settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five
bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with
five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many
things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said,
‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many
things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came.
‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have
not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So
I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what
belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew
that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered
seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit
with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with
interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one
who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and
they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be
taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside,
into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
In your opinion,
what will be like “a man going
on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them” (verse 14)?
How did the man
decide how many bags to give to each servant (verse 15)?
What did the man
with five bags and the man with two bags do (verses 16 and 17)?
What did the man
who received one bag do (verse 18)?
When
did the master of the servants return (verse 19)?
What
did the man who received five bags of gold report (verse 20)?
In your opinion, why was the servant
invited to “come and share your master’s
happiness” (verse 21)?
What did the man who was entrusted
with two bags report (verse 22)?
In your opinion, why was the
response of the master the same, even though the amounts they gained were
different (verse 23)?
How does the third man describe the
master (verse 24)?
Why did the man hide the money in
the ground (verse 25)?
How does the master describe this
man (verse 26)?
In your opinion, why should the
master have received back the money with interest (verse 27)?
Who was the one bag of gold given to
(verse 28)?
In your opinion, why is it fair that
“whoever has will be given more, and they
will have an abundance” (verse 29)?
What is being taken from the one who
“does not have” (verse 29)?
Where will the “worthless servant” be thrown (verse 30)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
Ezekiel 3:16-21 - New
International Version (NIV)
16 “At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son
of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I
speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked
person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to
dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked
person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn
from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but
you will have saved yourself.
20 “Again, when a righteous person turns from their
righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will
die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous
things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable
for their blood. 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not
to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning,
and you will have saved yourself.”
When did the word
of the Lord come to Ezekiel (verse 16)?
What was Ezekiel made into (verse 17)?
What was Ezekiel
to do with the Word of the Lord (verse 17)?
In your opinion, why
was Ezekiel to be accountable for the blood of the person he does not warn or
speak out to dissuade (verse 18)?
What is the effect
for Ezekiel if he warns a wicked person but they do not turn from their evil
ways and die for their sins (verse 19)?
Who will the Lord
put a “stumbling block” before (verse
20)?
Why will the
person “die for their sin” (verse 20)?
What will not be
remembered (verse 20)?
Who will be
accountable (verse 20)?
In your opinion,
why will Ezekiel “have saved” himself
if he warns “the righteous person not to
sin and they do not sin” (verse 21)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how could the warning to
Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:16-21 be applied to the three men in Matthew 25:14-30 who
received the bags of gold and to the rewards and punishment that they received?
Romans 12:3-8 - New
International Version (NIV)
3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of
yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed
to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many
members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so
in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the
others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given
to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with
your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching,
then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;
if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if
it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
With
what does Paul tell his readers to think of themselves “in accordance with the faith God has distribute to each of you” (verse
3)?
Who has “one body with many members” (verse 4)?
In Christ who does “each member” belong to (verse
5)?
In your opinion, why do we have “different gifts, according to the grace
given to each of us” (verse 6)?
What should we do if our gift is
prophesying (verse 6)?
What should we do if our gift is serving (verse 7)?
What should we do if our gift is teaching (verse 7)?
If our gift is gift is giving then how
should we give (verse 8)?
If our gift is leading then how should we
lead (verse 8)?
If our gift is showing mercy then how
should we show mercy (verse 8)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, what can we who have
different gifts according to Paul in Romans 12:3-8 learn from Ezekiel, the
watchman that the Lord appointed in Ezekiel 3:16-21, and the instructions that
he received from the Lord?
In your opinion, should we who Paul says
have different gifts in Romans 12:3-8 learn anything from the promise of Jesus
in Matthew 25:14-30 that “whoever has
will be given more” and the accompanying warning that “whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them”?
1 Peter 4:7-11 –
New International Version (NIV)
7 “The end of all things is near. Therefore
be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love
each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without
grumbling. 10 Each of you should use
whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s
grace in its various forms. 11 If
anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If
anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all
things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the
power for ever and ever. Amen.”
What is near (verse 7)?
Why should we “be alert and of sober mind” (verse 7)?
In your opinion, why does love cover “over a multitude of sins” (verse 8)?
How should hospitality be offered to one
another (verse 9)?
What should we use “whatever gift” we have received for (verse 10)?
How should the one who speaks speak (verse
11)?
How should the one who serves serve (verse 11)?
What should happen “in all things” (verse 11)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how
do the statements of Paul in Romans 12:3-8 that we have different gifts have an
additional impact when combined with the instruction of Peter in 1 Peter 4:7-11
that ends with “so that in all things God
may be praised through Jesus Christ”?
In your opinion, how is the stern
statement of God to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 3:16-21 about being a watchman given a
different emphasis when combined with the statement of Peter from 1 Peter
4:7-11 to “above all, love each other
deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins”?
In your opinion, how
does the parable of Jesus about the three servants and the bags of gold in
Matthew 25:14-30 illustrate Peter’s instruction to “use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful
stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” in 1 Peter 4:7-11?
In your opinion, what do these passages,
from Matthew, Ezekiel, Romans and 1 Peter show us about the Great Commission?
Next, back to Matthew 25:31 –
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment