The
Love You had at First
Genesis 50:15-21 –
New International Version (NIV)
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they
said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the
wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying,
“Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This
is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins
and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the
sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to
him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.
“We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place
of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for
good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So
then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he
reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
What did Joseph’s
brothers see (verse 15)?
In your opinion,
why were they concerned about Joseph holding a grudge (verse 15)?
What did they tell
Joseph that their father left (verse 16)?
How was Joseph
supposed to react to his brothers (verse 17)?
In your opinion,
why did Joseph weep (verse 17)?
What did Joseph’s
brothers tell him (verse 18)?
How did Joseph
respond (verse 19)?
What did Joseph
know that his brothers intended (verse 20)?
What did Joseph
know that God intended (verse 20)?
In your opinion,
how does Joseph knowing what God intended shape his reaction to his brothers
(verse 20)?
How will Joseph
treat his brothers and their children (verse 21)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
John 20:19-31 - New
International Version (NIV)
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the
disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders,
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After
he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed
when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent
me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and
said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s
sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not
forgiven.”
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was
not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other
disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But
he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger
where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and
Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among
them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas,
“Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my
side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have
believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his
disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these
are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and
that by believing you may have life in his name.
What did Jesus
tell His disciples (verse 19)?
How did the disciples react “when they saw the Lord” (verse 20)?
How is Jesus
sending the disciples (verse 21)?
In your opinion,
what did Jesus mean by “If you forgive
anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do no forgive them, they are not
forgiven” (verse 23)?
Who was missing
when Jesus came (verse 24)?
What did Thomas
say it would take for him to believe (verse
25)?
When were the
disciples together again (verse 26)?
What did Jesus
tell Thomas to do (verse 27)?
How did Thomas react (verse 28)?
Who is blessed (verse 29)?
What did Jesus do (verse 30)?
Why was the book of John written (verse 31)?
How do we have life in Jesus name (verse 31)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how is God’s intention
for Joseph as Joseph understood it in Genesis 50:15-21 and God’s intention for
Jesus as John understood it in John 20:19-31 similar?
Ephesians 4:17-24
- New International Version (NIV)
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you
must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They
are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because
of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having
lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to
indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when
you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that
is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way
of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful
desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and
to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness.
What does Paul insist on “in
the Lord” (verse 17)?
In your opinion, what is the futility of
the Gentiles thinking (verse 17)?
What causes the
ignorance within the Gentiles (verse 18)?
Why have the
Gentiles “given themselves over to sensuality”
(verse 19)?
What haven’t the Ephesians who Paul is
writing to learned (verses 19 and 20)?
What were the Ephesians taught “in accordance with” (verse 21)?
How were the Ephesians to treat their “former way of life” (verse 22)?
What was to “be made new” in the Ephesians (verse 23)?
What is the “new self” to be created like (verse 24)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how is Joseph’s response
to his brothers in Genesis 50:15-21 a demonstration of putting on a new
attitude as Paul taught about centuries later in Ephesians 4:17-24?
In
your opinion, how does John’s teaching about Jesus and the blessing He gave the
disciples in John 20:19-31 help us understand the sensitivity that Paul says is
lost in Ephesians 4:14-24?
Revelation 2:1-7 –
New International Version (NIV)
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These
are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks
among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your
hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people,
that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found
them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships
for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you
had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do
the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and
remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in
your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the
tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Who sent the message to the angel of the church in Ephesus” (verse 1)?
Who had deeds, hard work and perseverance (verse
2)?
How do the Ephesians treat those who claim
to be apostles (verse 2)?
Who have the Ephesians persevered and
endured hardships for (verse 3)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to say that
the Ephesians had “forsaken the love you
had at first” (verse 4)?
What were the Ephesians to consider (verse
5)?
What were the Ephesians to do (verse 5)?
What is in the Ephesians favor (verse 6)?
Who is the Spirit speaking to (verse 7)?
How will the victorious be rewarded (verse
7)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how
does Paul discussing the results of losing sensitivity in Ephesians 4:17-24
help us to understand how the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 could be
hard working, persevering and discerning, but still have “forsaken the love” they had at first and need to repent?
In your opinion, what does John in stating
his purpose for writing in John 20:19-31 help us to understand what it takes to
be “victorious” and eat from the tree
of life in Revelation 2:1-7?
In your opinion, how
does the transformation of the situation in Genesis 50:15-21 by the love
exhibited by Joseph help us understand what adding the “love you had at first” to the deeds, hard work and perseverance of
the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 could bring about a transformation
that would keep their lampstand in its place?
In your opinion, how do these passages
from Genesis, John, Ephesians and Revelation help us understand God’s
transforming power; from death to life, from old self to new self, and from a
loss of sensitivity to loving like we did at first?
In your opinion, how
can these passages transform us into new selves who do deeds, work hard, and
persevere due to a love greater than that we had at first?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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