November 27, 2016 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – God’s Providence

God’s Providence

Genesis 22:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

What did God do “some time later” (verse 1)?

Where was Abraham to take his only son and offer him as a burnt offering (verse 2)?

When did Abraham set out for the place “God told him about” (verse 3)?

What did Abraham do when he saw the place in the distance (verses 4 & 5)?

In your opinion, why did Abraham place the wood for the burnt offering on his son Isaac (verse 6)?

What question did Isaac ask his father (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what did Abraham mean when he said “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (verse 8)?

What did Abraham do when they got to the site (verse 9)?

How close did he get to slaying Isaac (verse 10)?

Who called out to stop Abraham (verse 11)?

What did Abraham’s actions prove (verse 12)?

How was the ram caught (verse 13)?

What did Abraham call the place (verse 14)?

What is said “to this day” (verse 14)?

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

John 1:29-34 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

Who did John call the “Lamb of God” (verse 29)?

What did John say the “Lamb of God” takes away (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what did John mean when he said “a man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me” (verse 30)?

Why was John baptizing with water (verse 31)?

What did John testify (verse 32)?

How did John know that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (verse 33)?

Who does John testify that Jesus is (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jesus, as testified to in John 1:29-34, similar to the ram who was caught by the horns in Genesis 22:1-14?

1 Corinthians 5:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. ² And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? ³ For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. ⁴ So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

⁶ Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

What kind of sexual immorality was reported to be among the Corinthians (verse 1)?

How did the Corinthians respond to this immorality (verse 2)?

How does Paul think they should have responded (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say he is with them “in spirit” (verse 3)?

What has Paul done “in the name of our Lord Jesus” (verse 3)?

When are they to “hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (verses 4 & 5)?

What is not good (verse 6)?

Why does Paul want them to “get rid of the old yeast” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why does the sacrifice of “Christ, our Passover lamb” make it possible for the Corinthians to “get rid of the old yeast” (verse 7)?

How did Paul invite them to keep the Festival (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does Paul’s discussion of “Christ, our Passover lamb” in 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 help us to understand about how John the Baptist could say that Jesus “takes away the sins of the world” in John 1:29-34?

In your opinion, how is Abraham’s statement that “God himself will provide the lamb” in Genesis 22:1-14 proven to be true for the whole world by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:1-8?

Revelation 5:6-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. ⁸ And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
    and with your blood you purchased for God
    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth.”

Who did John see “looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the Lamb has seven horns (verse 6)?

Who are the seven eyes (verse 6)?

What did the Lamb do (verse 7)?

Who had the harps and the “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people” (verse 8)?

Why is the Lamb “worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals” (verse 9)?

Who has the Lamb made into “a kingdom and priests to serve our God” (verses 9 & 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does John in Revelation 5:6-10 help us to understand about the Passover Lamb that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 has been sacrificed?

In your opinion, why is it significant that John sees the Spirit “come down and remain” with Jesus in John 1:29-34 and in Revelation 5:6-10 he sees that the Lamb has “seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth”?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the Lamb and “him who sat on the throne” in Revelation 5:6-10 from the willingness of Abraham to offer Isaac but God providing the ram in Genesis 22:1-14?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, 1 Corinthians and Revelation help us understand the Father’s tremendous gift of His Son, how to respond to that gift and what to look forward to?

In your opinion, what should these passages inspire in us today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 4, 2016 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Weddings, Earthly and Divine

Weddings, Earthly and Divine

Genesis 2:18-24 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

¹⁹ Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³ The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man.”

²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Why did God say He would make a helper for man (verse 18)?

Who brought all the wild animals and birds to Adam (verse 19)?

What did Adam do (verse 20)?

In your opinion, why wasn’t a helper for Adam found in all the livestock, birds and wild animals (verse 20)?

What did God do after causing Adam to fall into a deep sleep (verses 21 and 22)?

What was Adam’s reaction to the woman (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what is meant by “that is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife” (verse 24)?

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

John 2:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴ “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

⁸ Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, ⁹ and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside ¹⁰ and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

¹¹ What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Who was at the wedding in Cana in Galilee (verses 1 and 2)?

What did Jesus mother do when the “wine was gone” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “my hour has not yet come” (verse 4)?

What did Jesus’ mother instruct the servants to do (verse 5)?

What kind of stone water jars stood nearby (verse 6)?

How full did the servants fill the stone water jars (verse 7)?

Who took the water to the master of the banquet (verse 8)?

What did the master of the banquet do (verse 9)?

How did the master of the banquet perceive the situation (verse 10)?

How does John describe what “Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee” (verse 11)?

How did the disciples react to what Jesus had done (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what is the significance of Jesus’ first miracle in John 2:1-11 being the celebration of what Genesis 2:18-24 describes as a man leaving his father and mother and being “united to his wife”?

Ephesians 5:21-32 - 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.

Why should husbands and wives “submit to one another” (verse 21)?

Who should the wives submit to (verse 22)?

In your opinion, how is Christ’s relationship to the church like a husband’s relationship to a wife (verse 23)?

How should the church relate to Christ (verse 24)?

How does Christ provide an example for husbands (verse 25)?

Why did Christ give Himself up for the church (verses 25 and 26)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says that Christ gave himself up for the church “to present her to himself as a radiant church” (verse 27)?

How should husbands love their wives (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “he who loves his wife loves himself” (verse 28)?

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

Who are “members of his body” (verse 30)?

What happens to the man and wife who are united (verse 31)?

What is a profound mystery (verse 32)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s comparison of the union of a husband and wife to the union of Christ and the church in Ephesians 5:21-32 enrich our understanding of Jesus participating in the wedding in John 2:1-11?

In your opinion, how does God’s creation of a helper suitable for Adam in Genesis 2:18-24 foreshadow the preparation of the church for Jesus as Paul describes in Ephesians 5:21-32?

Revelation 19:6-9 – New International Version (NIV)

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.”

Who shouted “hallelujah” (verse 6)?

Why did they shout “hallelujah” (verse 6)?

What has come that causes rejoicing (verse 7)?

Who has made the bride ready (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the “fine linen, bright and clean” that was given to the bride to wear (verse 8)?

Who is blessed (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that the “profound mystery” of the union of Christ and the church that Paul talks about in Ephesians 5:21-32 generates a very loud “hallelujah” in Revelation 19:6-9?

In your opinion, what does Jesus presenting the choice wine in the miracle in John 2:1-11 help us to understand about the wedding of the Lamb and His bride in Revelation 19:6-9?

In your opinion, what does the fact that the woman and the man are united and become one flesh in Genesis 2:18-24 help us understand about Jesus and the church in Revelation 19:6-9?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Ephesians and Revelation help us understand about how the Biblical relationship of husband and wife is an example of the relationship between Jesus and the church?

In your opinion, how do these passages cause us to love, prepare and celebrate today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 20, 2016 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Breath of Life and Water of Life

Breath of Life and Water of Life

Genesis 2:5-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, ⁶ but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

⁸ Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹ The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Why had no shrub appeared or plant sprung up (verse 5)?

How was the “whole surface of the ground” watered (verse 6)?

What did the Lord God form man from (verse 7)?

When did man become a living being (verse 7)?

Where was the garden planted (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did God place the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden (verse 9)?

Where did the river watering the garden flow from (verse 10)?

What is in the land of Havilah (verse 11)?

Where does the second river wind (verse 13)?

What is the name of the fourth river (verse 14)?

Why did God put man in the Garden of Eden (verse 15)?

What was the consequence of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (verses 16 and 17)?

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

John 5:24-29 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Who has eternal life and will not be judged but has “crossed over from death to life” (verse 24)?

What is coming and has now come (verse 25)?

In your opinion, who are the dead (verse 25)?

Where does the Son have life (verse 26)?

Why does the Son of God have the authority to judge (verse 27)?

What is coming (verse 28)?

In your opinion, who are the “all who are in their graves” (verse 28)?

Who will rise to live (verse 29)?

Who will be condemned (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the life that was breathed into man in Genesis 2:5-17 and the life that is being given to those who believe in John 5:24-29?

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

What compels Paul (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “one died for all, and therefore all died” (verse 14)?

How should those who live, live (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to regard someone “from a worldly point of view” (verse 16)?

What is anyone who is in Christ (verse 17)?

How did God reconcile us to Himself (verse 18)?

What has God given us (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the message of reconciliation (verse 19)?

Who does God make His appeal through (verse 20)?

Who became sin for us (verse 21)?

Why did He become sin for us (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does Paul’s discussion of Christ’s death in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 help us to understand how Jesus was able to say in John 5:24-29 that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life”?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s statement that “one died for all, and therefore all died” in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 help us to understand how God’s statement to Adam that “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” in Genesis 2:5-17 is fulfilled for those who Paul says are reconciled to God?

Revelation 22:16-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Who sent the angel to give testimony (verse 16)?

What does the Spirit and the bride say (verse 17)?

What is the one who hears to say (verse 17)?

Who is to come (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the “free gift of the water of life” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does Revelation 22:16-17 help us understand about the “ministry of reconciliation” that Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 says he (and John in Revelation says that the one who hears) has?

In your opinion, what do the words of Jesus in John 5:24-29 help us to understand about the source of the “water of life” that John quotes Jesus as offering in Revelation 22:16-17?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the people who receive the breath of life from God in Genesis 2:5-17 and the people who take “the free gift of the water of life” in Revelation 22:16-17?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, 2 Corinthians and Revelation help us understand about life and crossing from death to life?

In your opinion, what should these passages inspire in us today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 13, 2016 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – From Darkness to Perfect Light

From Darkness to Perfect Light

Genesis 1:2-5 – New International Version (NIV)

² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

What was the earth (verse 2)?

What was “over the surface of the deep” (verse 2)?

Where was the Spirit of God (verse 2)?

Who said “let there be light” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why was the light “good” (verse 4)?

What was the evening and the morning (verse 5)?

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

John 3:16-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Why did God give “his one and only Son” (verse 16)?

Who will not perish (verse 16)?

Why did God “send his Son into the world” (verse 17)?

Who is not condemned (verse 18)?

Why are those who do not believe condemned (verse 18)?

Where has light come (verse 19)?

Why do people love the darkness (verse 19)?

Who hates the light (verse 20)?

Why won’t those who hate the light come into the light (verse 20)?

Who comes into the light (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, how does John 3:16-21 help us understand why God said that the light was good in Genesis 1:2-5?

Ephesians 5:8-20 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “you once were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (verse 8)?

What does the fruit of the light consist in (verse 9)?

How should we treat “fruitless deeds of darkness” (verse 11)?

What does Paul say about what “the disobedient do in secret” (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why does Paul say that “everything exposed by the light becomes visible” (verse 13)?

What does everything that is illuminated become (verse 13)?

Who will shine on the sleeper who wakes up and rises from the dead (verse 14)?

How should we be careful to live (verse 15)?

Why should we make the most of every opportunity (verse 16)?

What should we understand (verse 17)?

What leads to debauchery (verse 18)?

How do we speak to each other when we are filled with the Spirit (verses 18 and 19)?

What should we always give thanks to God the Father for (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn about the people Paul said are now “light in the Lord” although they “were once darkness” in Ephesians from John, who said “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed” in John 3:16-21?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion of the fruit of the light and the fruitless deeds of darkness in Ephesians 5:8-20 help us understand why God in Genesis 1:2-5 considered the light good?

Revelation 21:22-27 – New International Version (NIV)

²² I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. ²⁴ The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. ²⁵ On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. ²⁶ The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. ²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Why is there no temple in the city (verse 22)?

What gives the city light (verse 23)?

Who is the lamp for that light (verse 23)?

Who will walk in the light of the city (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of “on no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there” (verse 25)?

What glory and honor will be “brought into it” (verse 26)?

What will never enter the city (verse 27)?

Who will enter the city (verse 27)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn if we consider Paul’s statement In Ephesians 5:5-20 “For you were once darkness” and John’s statement in Revelation 21:22-27 that “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” both to be true?

What does John’s discussion in John 3:16-21 about who is condemned and who is not condemned teach us about the ones who in Revelation 21:22-27 John says will enter the Holy City that came down from heaven because their “names are written in the Lamb’s book of life”?

In your opinion, what does it mean that in Genesis 1:2-5 the first thing created was light and it was separated from the darkness and then in Revelation 21:22-27 we find out that there will no longer be darkness?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Ephesians and Revelation help us understand about light and darkness and how to live today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)