April 2, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Misery to Praise

Misery to Praise

Genesis 29:31-35 – New International Version (NIV)

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.

³⁴ Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.

³⁵ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

What did the Lord see about Leah (verse 31)?

What did the Lord enable Leah to do (verse 31)?

Why did Leah name her son Reuben (verse 32)?

In your opinion, why did Leah think that Reuben would cause Jacob to love her (verse 32)?

Why did Leah name her second son Simeon (verse 33)?

Why did Leah name her third son Levi (verse 34)?

In your opinion, what is different about Leah’s attitude with the birth of her fourth son (verse 35)?

Why did Leah name her fourth son Judah (verse 35)?

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

John 7:25-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶ Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? ²⁷ But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.”

²⁸ Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, ²⁹ but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

³⁰ At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. ³¹ Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

Who began to ask “isn’t this the man they are trying to kill” (verse 25)?

What was Jesus doing (verse 26)?

Why did they think that Jesus could not be the Messiah (verse 27)?

What was Jesus doing when He cried out (verse 28)?

In your opinion, why did they try to seize Jesus after He cried out (verses 28, 29 and 30)?

Why could no one lay a hand on him (verse 30)?

Why did many in the crowd believe (verse 31)?

What did the Pharisees hear (verse 32)?

What did the Pharisees do (verse 32)?

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

In your opinion, how are Leah, Jacob’s unloved wife who by the time she had her fourth son was able to praise God in spite of her situation in Genesis 29:31-35, and the faith of those in those in the crowd who believed in spite of knowing where Jesus came from and opposition of the Pharisees in John 7:25-32 similar?

Ephesians 1:3-12 - New International Version (NIV)

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

How had the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ blessed us in the heavenly realms (verse 3)?

When did He choose us to be “holy and blameless in his sight” (verse 4)?

What did He predestine us for (verse 5)?

What has He freely given us “in the One he loves” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “have redemption through his blood” (verse 7)?

What has been lavished on us (verses 7 and 8)?

How has He “made known to us the mystery of his will” (verses 8 and 9)?

When will He “bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (verse 10)?

Whose plan “works out everything in conformity” (verse 11)?

Who will be “for the praise of his glory” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how might the belief of those who recognized Jesus as the Messiah in John 7:25-32 lead to the praise Paul heaped on “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” in Ephesians 1:3-12?

In your opinion, how are Leah’s praise of God when she gave birth to Judah (an ancestor of Jesus) in Genesis 29:31-35 and the praise of Paul for adoption into the “sonship through Jesus Christ” in Ephesians 1:3-12 connected?

Revelation 5:11-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. ¹² In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
    and honor and glory and praise!”

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
    be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

¹⁴ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

How many angels did John hear (verse 11)?

What did they say happened to the Lamb (verse 12)?

What is the Lamb worthy to receive (verse 12)?

Who cried out saying “to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever” (verse 13)?

What did the four living creatures say (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, how does John showing every angel and every creature “in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them” praising God in Revelation 5:11-14 help us to understand what Paul meant when he said that God intends to “bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” in Ephesians 1:3-12?

In your opinion, what is different between the people of John 7:25-32 who hear Jesus and see what He does and have opposing views about Him and everyone in Revelation 5:11-14 who see Jesus as the Lamb worthy of praise?

In your opinion, how does Leah’s attitude at the end of the Genesis 29:31-35 passage begin to help us understand the attitude of praise of “every creature” in Revelation 5:11-14?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Ephesians and Revelation help us understand about the different ways that we can react to Jesus?

In your opinion, how do these passages guide our understanding of how to react to the circumstances of our lives?                                                                                                                                                                

 (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 26, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Invitations and Mercy

Invitations and Mercy

Genesis 28:10-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. ¹¹ When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. ¹² He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. ¹⁵ I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God ²² and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Where was Jacob going (verse 10)?

What did he put under his head when he laid down to sleep (verse 11)?

What did he dream (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why did the Lord identify Himself as the “God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac” (verse 13)?

What land did the Lord promise to give Jacob and his descendants (verse 13)?

Who will be blessed through Jacob and his offspring (verse 14)?

Where is the Lord going to bring Jacob (verse 15)?

What did Jacob think when he woke up (verse 16)?

In your opinion, why was Jacob afraid (verse 17)?

How did Jacob treat the stone he slept on (verse 18)?

What did Jacob call the place (verse 19)?

What vow did Jacob make (verses 20, 21 and 22)?

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

John 1:43-51 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

⁴⁴ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

Who did Jesus tell “follow me” (verse 43)?

Where were Philip, Andrew and Peter from (verse 44)?

What did Philip tell Nathanael (verse 45)?

How did Nathanael react to what Philip said (verse 46)?

In your opinion, why is Philip’s invitation to “come and see” a great response to Nathanael’s doubts (verse 46)?

How did Jesus describe Nathanael (verse 47)?

What did Nathanael want to know (verse 48)?

When did Jesus see Nathanael under the fig tree (verse 48)?

Now that Nathanael has met Jesus, what does he think about Him (verse 49)?

What does Jesus say that Nathanael will see (verse 50)?

Who will Nathanael see “the angels of God ascending and descending on” (verse 51)?

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

In your opinion, how are God’s message that He gave to Jacob in a vision from Genesis 28:10-22 and what Jesus tells Nathanael he will see in John 1:43-51 connected?

Romans 9:6-16 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. ⁷ Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ⁸ In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. ⁹ For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁰ Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. ¹¹ Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: ¹² not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

¹⁴ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (verse 6)?

Through which of Abraham’s children will his “offspring be reckoned” (verse 7)?

Who is reckoned as Abraham’s offspring (verse 8)?

What was the promise (verse 9)?

Whose children were “conceived at the same time” (verse 10)?

In your opinion, why is it important that God made the decision that the younger would be severed by the older before they had been born or done anything important (verses 11 and 12)?

Who was it written that God loved (verse 13)?

Who was it written that God hated (verse 13)?

Does that make God unjust (verse 14)?

Who will God have mercy on (verse 15)?

What does it depend on (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what does Nathanael’s reaction to Jesus in John 1:43-51 help us to understand about the “children of the promise” that Paul talks about in Romans 9:6-16?

In your opinion, how is the dream of the stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending in Genesis 28:10-22 a gift of God’s mercy that Paul talks about in Romans 9:6-16?

Revelation 19:6-10 – 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.”

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.”

What did the great multitude that John heard sound like (verse 6)?

Why did the great multitude shout “hallelujah” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does the wedding of the Lamb mean that the great multitude should “rejoice and be glad” (verse 7)?

What is the bride given to wear (verse 8)?

What does fine linen stand for (verse 8)?

Who is blessed (verse 9)?

Who is John supposed to worship (verse 10)?

Who bears testimony to Jesus (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion about God’s mercy in Romans 9:6-16 prepare us to understand those who have been blessed with an invitation to the “wedding supper of the Lamb” in Revelation 19:6-10?

In your opinion, how is work of the Spirit of prophecy bearing the testimony to Jesus as promised to John in Revelation 19:6-10 demonstrated by Philip’s invitation to Nathanael in John 1:43-51?

In your opinion, why or why is not the vision of John in Revelation 19:6-16 greater than the vision of Jacob in Genesis 28:10-22?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Romans and Revelation help us understand about the blessing that all peoples on earth are to receive through Jacob and his offspring?

In your opinion, how do these passages help us understand how people like us can be recipients of an invitation to the “wedding supper of the Lamb”?                                                                                    

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 19, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Birthrights and Grace

Birthrights and Grace

Genesis 25:27-34 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. ²⁸ Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

³¹ Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

³² “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

³³ But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

Who became a “skillful hunter, a man of the open country” (verse 27)?

What did Isaac have a taste for (verse 28)?

Where did Esau come in from (verse 29)?

What did Esau say to Jacob (verse 30)?

In your opinion, why did Jacob want Esau’s birthright (verse 31)?

How did Esau feel about his birthright (verse 32)?

What did Esau do (verse 33)?

In your opinion, how does Esau’s behavior support the statement “so Esau despised his birthright” (verse 34)?

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

John 17:6-19 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸ For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. ⁹ I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. ¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Who has Jesus revealed the Father to (verse 6)?

What do they know (verse 7)?

How did they respond to Jesus giving them the Father’s words (verse 8)?

Who is Jesus not praying for (verse 9)?

What has come to Jesus through the ones He was praying for (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He asks the Father to “protect them by the power of your name” (verse 11)?

Who has been lost (verse 12)?

Why is Jesus saying these things (verse 13)?

Why has the world hated them (verse 14)?

What does Jesus pray for instead of asking for them to be taken out of the world (verse 15)?

Are the disciples “of the world” (verse 16)?

What does Jesus ask for the disciples (verse 17)?

Where has Jesus sent them (verse 18)?

Why does Jesus sanctify himself (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between Esau, who despised his birthright in Genesis 25:27-34, and Jesus, who protected His disciples and is praying for the Father to continue to protect them in John 17:6-19?

In your opinion, what is the difference between Jacob, who coveted Esau’s birthright in Genesis 25:27-34, and Jesus, who is willing to sanctify Himself for His disciples in John 17:6-19?

Hebrews 12:14-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ¹⁶ See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. ¹⁷ Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

What are we to “make every effort” to live with everyone in (verse 14)?

What can bitter roots grow up and do (verse 15)?

How did Esau prove he was godless (verse 16)?

What happened when he “wanted to inherit this blessing” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why could seeking the blessing with tears “not change what he had done” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how does the sanctification that Jesus says He is doing for Himself so that his followers may be sanctified in John 17:6-19 related to the holiness and the grace of God that Paul talks about in Hebrews 12:14-17?

In your opinion, how does the discussion of Esau despising his birthright in Genesis 25:27-34 help us to understand Paul’s instructions to us in Hebrews 12:14-17?

Revelation 15:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. ² And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God ³ and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
    Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
    King of the nations.
⁴ Who will not fear you, Lord,
    and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
    and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Why are the seven angels with the seven plagues the last (verse 1)?

Who was standing beside the sea of glass (verse 2)?

What were they singing (verse 3)?

Whose deeds are “great and marvelous” (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why is God alone holy (verse 4)?

What has been revealed (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, how does Paul’s warnings and instructions in Hebrews 12:14-17 help us to understand how those standing by the sea of glass in Revelation 15:1-4 were “victorious over the beast and its image”?

In your opinion, how is the prayer of Jesus in John 17:6-19 for the Father to “protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one ” shown to be fulfilled by the Father in Revelation 15:1-14?

In your opinion, how dramatic is the transformation that will have to happen to move from a world where the norm is to be like Esau, who despised his birthright in Genesis 25:27-34, to a world where “all nations will come and worship before you” as portrayed in Revelation 15:1-14?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Hebrews and Revelation help us understand about our birthright in the world and our sanctification by Christ to a victory over the world?

In your opinion, how do these passages help us to understand what it means to us today that Jesus prayed “not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one”?                                  

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)