Gifts
and Service
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.’
Who cried out “have everyone leave my presence” (verse
1)?
How loudly did
Joseph weep (verse 2)?
In your opinion,
why was Joseph’s first question “is my
father still living” (verse 3)?
Why were Joseph’s
brothers unable to answer him (verse 3)?
What did Joseph
want his brothers to do (verse 4)?
Why were Joseph’s
brothers to “not be distressed and do not
be angry with yourselves” (verse 5)?
What will not
happen for the next five years (verse 6)?
Why did God send
Joseph ahead of the brothers (verse 7)?
What has God made
Joseph (verse 8)?
Who are Joseph’s
brothers to “hurry” to (verse 9)?
Where will
Joseph’s father and brothers live (verse 10)?
What will Joseph
do (verse 11)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
John 13:3-17 - New
International Version (NIV)
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his
power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so
he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel
around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin
and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was
wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you
going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but
later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus
answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my
hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash
their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one
of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that
was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet,
he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for
you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me
‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed
your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I
have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than
his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be
blessed if you do them.
What did Jesus
know (verse 3)?
What did Jesus do
(verse 5)?
Who ask “Lord, are you going to wash my feet” (verse
6)?
In your opinion,
why did Jesus say “you do not realize now
what I am doing, but later you will understand” (verse 7)?
How did Jesus
respond when Peter said “you shall never
wash my feet” (verse 8)?
In your opinion,
why did Peter want Jesus to wash his hands and head as well (verse 9)?
What do those who
have had a bath need to wash to be clean (verse 10)?
Why did Jesus say
that not everyone was clean (verse 11)?
What did Jesus
finish doing (verse 12)?
Why is it right for the disciples to call
Jesus “‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’” (verse 13)?
Why should the
disciples “wash one another’s feet”
(verse 14)?
In your opinion,
what example has Jesus set (verse 15)?
Who is not greater
than his master (verse 16)?
When will the
disciples be blessed (verse 17)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, how is Joseph’s service
to his brothers as he explained, that God sent him to Egypt to save them, in
Genesis 45:1-11 similar to Jesus serving His disciples by washing their feet in
John 13:3-17?
1 Corinthians
12:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)
1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I
do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were
pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore
I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says,
“Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy
Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit
distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but
the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in
all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for
the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a
message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same
Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts
of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers,
to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another
speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation
of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same
Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
What does Paul want his brothers and sisters not to be
uninformed of (verse 1)?
What were Paul’s brothers and sisters influenced
and led astray to while they were pagans (verse 2)?
What can someone
speaking by the Spirit of God not say (verse 3)?
In your opinion,
why can no one “say, “Jesus is Lord,”
except by the Holy Spirit” (verse 3)?
Who distributes all the different gifts (verse
4)?
In your opinion, what does Paul mean when
he says “There are different kinds of
service, but the same Lord” (verse 5)?
Who is at work in all the different kinds
of working (verse 6)?
Why is each “manifestation of the Spirit” given (verse 7)?
What are the different gifts of the Spirit
that Paul lists here (verses 8, 9, and 10)?
Who determines how the gifts are
distributed (verse 11)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, what can we, who are
recipients of the gifts of the Spirit that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians
12:1-11, learn from Jesus in John 13:3-17?
In
your opinion, what can we, who are recipients of the gifts of the Spirit that
Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, learn from Joseph’s understanding as
revealed in Genesis 45:1-11 about why things happened to him?
Revelation 5:5-10 –
New International Version (NIV)
5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the
Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to
open the scroll and its seven seals.”
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.”
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.”
Why was John not supposed to weep (verse 5)?
What did the Lamb look like had happened
to it (verse 6)?
Who are the “seven horns and seven eyes” (verse 6)?
Where was the scroll that the Lamb took (verse
7)?
What was in the cup of the four living
creatures and the twenty-four elders who fell down before the Lamb (verse 8)?
What had the Lamb purchased for God with
His blood (verse 9)?
Who are the “kingdom and priests” to serve
(verse 10)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message
of this passage?
In your opinion, what
does it mean that the same people who Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 are to
receive different kinds of gifts for different kinds of service are in
Revelation 5:5-10 are shown as “a kingdom
and priests to serve our God”?
In your opinion, what
does John’s statement about the blood of the slain Lamb in Revelation 5:5-10
help us to understand what Jesus meant in John 13:3-17 when he said “unless I wash you, you have no part with
me”?
In your opinion, how
does the fact that God sent Joseph ahead of his brothers into Egypt to “save your lives by a great deliverance” in
Genesis 45:1-11 help us to understand the Lamb who had been slain and had
purchased with his blood “persons from
every tribe and language and people and nation” in Revelation 5:5-10?
In your opinion, how do these passages
from Genesis, John, 1 Corinthians and Revelation teach us about the reason for
the gifts of the Spirit?
In your opinion, how
do these passages encourage us “serve our
God”?
No comments:
Post a Comment