Genesis 45:1-11 –
New International Version (NIV)
1 “Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his
attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was
no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And
he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard
about it.
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father
still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were
terrified at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When
they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into
Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with
yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me
ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the
land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But
God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save
your lives by a great deliverance.
8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made
me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9 Now
hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God
has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t
delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near
me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you
have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of
famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong
to you will become destitute.’”
What could Joseph “no longer” do (verse 1)?
Who did Joseph
make himself known to (verse 1)?
How loudly did
Joseph weep (verse 2)?
What question did
Joseph ask his brothers (verse 3)?
In your opinion,
why were Joseph’s brothers “terrified at
his presence” (verse 3)?
How did Joseph
describe himself to his brothers (verse 4)?
Why did Joseph
tell his brothers “do not be distressed
and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here” (verse 5)?
What has been in
the land for two years and will be there for five more years (verse 6)?
Who sent Joseph
ahead “to preserve for you a remnant on
earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (verse 7)?
In your opinion,
why does Joseph say “it was not you who
sent me here, but God” (verse 8)?
Who does Joseph
want to come quickly to Egypt (verse 9)?
Where will
Joseph’s father and his family live (verse 10)?
Who will provide for
Joseph’s father and his family (verse 11)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
Matthew 14:22-33 -
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.”
What did Jesus
make his disciples do (verse 22)?
Where did Jesus go to be by himself and
pray (verse 23)?
Why was the boat “buffeted by the waves” (verse 24)?
How did Jesus go
out to them (verse 25)?
In your opinion,
why were the disciples terrified when they saw Jesus “walking on the lake” (verse 26)?
How did Jesus
respond to their fear (verse 27)?
In your opinion,
why would Peter, who was just terrified, ask Jesus to tell him to “come to you on the water” (verse 28)?
What did Peter do
when Jesus said “come” (verse 29)?
Why did Peter
begin to sink (verse 30)?
How did Jesus
respond to Peter’s cry for help when he began to sink (verse 31)?
When did the wind
die down (verse 32)?
How did those in
the boat respond (verse 33)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how is Jesus pulling
Peter from the water after he was afraid of the wind in Matthew 14:22-33
similar to God saving the brothers of Joseph who sold him into slavery through
Joseph in Genesis 45:1-11?
Romans 8:18-28 - New
International Version (NIV)
18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For
the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its
own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that
the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought
into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the
pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only
so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as
we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For
in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes
for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do
not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do
not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us
through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts
knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in
accordance with the will of God.
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.”
What is not worth comparing “with the glory that will be revealed in us”
(verse 18)?
Who does the creation wait “in eager expectation” for (verse 19)?
What was the creation subjected to (verse 20)?
What is creation to be brought into if it
is liberated from it bondage to decay (verse 21)?
In your opinion, what does it mean that
the “whole creation has been groaning as
in the pains of childbirth” (verse 22)?
Who groans inwardly while waiting eagerly
for “our adoption to sonship, the
redemption of bodies” (verse 23)?
What is “no hope at all” (verse 24)?
How do we wait if we “hope for what we do not yet have” (verse 25)?
Who helps us “in our weakness” (verse 26)?
How does the Spirit intercede for us when
we don’t know what to pray for (verse 26)?
How does the Spirit intercede for “God’s people” (verse 27)?
In what things does God work “for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose” (verse 28)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how is Peter asking Jesus
to call him out onto the water in Matthew 14:22-33 an example of how the Spirit
intercedes as Paul talks about in Romans 8:18-28?
In your opinion, how does the story of Joseph
and his brothers in Genesis 45:1-11 anticipate Paul’s statement that “in all things God works for the good
of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” in Romans 8:18-28?
1 Peter 1:1-9 –
New International Version (NIV)
1 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To
God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia,
Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the
Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
Grace
and peace be yours in abundance.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In
his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an
inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in
heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power
until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last
time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These
have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than
gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory
and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not
seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in
him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for
you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Who is Peter
writing to (verse 1)?
What does God the Father have about the
elect that were chosen (verse 2)?
How does the Spirit work in the chosen (verse
2)?
Whose blood are the chosen to be sprinkled
with (verse 2)?
Through what has God the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ “given us new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse
3)?
Where is the “inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” kept (verse 4)?
How are the chosen “shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is
ready to be revealed in the last time” (verse 5)?
In your opinion, how can the chosen “greatly rejoice” even though “for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (verse 6)?
Why have the trials come (verse 7)?
How do the chosen respond to Jesus, even
though they have not seen Him (verse 8)?
What
is the end result of the faith of the chosen (verse 9)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how
are Paul, in Romans 8:18-28, and Peter, in 1 Peter 1:1-9, (who were very
different in personality and background) similar in their teachings about
sufferings and joy?
In your opinion, how does Jesus reaching
down to pull Peter from the water in Matthew 14:22-33 even though he had “little faith” add richness and strength
to what Peter says about being shielded by God’s power through faith in 1 Peter
1:1-9?
In your opinion, how
does God’s preparation to save the brothers of Joseph in Genesis 45:1-11 help
us to understand the foreknowledge and saving work of God that Peter talks
about in 1 Peter 1:1-9?
In your opinion, what do these passages,
from Genesis, Matthew, Romans and 1 Peter show us about ourselves today?
Next, back to Peter 1:10 –
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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