Saturday, May 13, 2017

May 21, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Favor and Repentance


Favor and Repentance

Genesis 39:1-6a, 20-23 – New International Version (NIV)
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Who bought Joseph (verse 1)?

Why did Joseph prosper (verse 2)?

What did Joseph’s master see (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why was Joseph entrusted with everything (verse 4)?

When was Potiphar’s household blessed (verse 5)?

What did Potiphar concern himself with (verse 6)?

Where was Joseph (verse 20)?

Who was with Joseph in prison (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why was Joseph put in charge of all those held in prison (verse 22)?

What did the Lord give Joseph (verse 23)?

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

John 6:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)
1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Where did Jesus cross to (verse 1)?
Why did a great crowd follow Jesus (verse 2)?
Who did Jesus sit with (verse 3)?
What was near (verse 4)?
Who did Jesus ask “where shall we buy bread for these people to eat” (verse 5)?
Why did Jesus ask the question (verse 6)?
How much would it take to purchase enough bread “for each one to have a bite” (verse 7)?
In your opinion, why did Andrew point out that there was a boy who had “five small barley loaves and two small fish” when he knew that would not go far among so many (verses 8 and 9)?
What did Jesus want the people to do (verse 10)?
What did Jesus do before he distributed the bread and the fish (verse 11)?
In your opinion, why was there extra after people got done eating (verses 11 & 12)?
How much extra was there (verse 13)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what is similar between Joseph in Potiphar’s house and the prison in Genesis 39:1-6a & 20-23 and Jesus as He feeds the 5,000 in John 6:1-13?

Galatians 6:7-10 - New International Version (NIV)
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

What does a man reap (verse 7)?
Who will reap destruction (verse 8)?
Who will reap eternal life (verse 8)?
Why should we not “become weary in doing good” (verse 9)?
When should we “do good to all people” (verse 10)?
Who should we especially concentrate on doing good to (verse 10)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does Andrew in bringing Jesus the boy with the “five small barley loaves and two small fish” in John 6:1-13 help us understand Paul who said we should help others “as we have opportunity” in Galatians 6:7-10?
In your opinion, how does Paul in Galatians 6:7-10 help us understand about why Joseph had success in Potiphar’s house and in the prison in Genesis 39:1-6a & 20-23?

Revelation 3:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)
1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

What does the One who “holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars” know about the church in Sardis (verse 1)?
Why is the church in Sardis to strengthen “what remains and is about to die” (verse 2)?
How is the church in Sardis to treat what they have heard and received (verse 3)?
Who will come if the church in Sardis does not wake up (verse 3)?
In your opinion, what does it mean that a few people in Sardis have “not soiled their clothes” (verse 4)?
Why will the ones who have not “soiled their clothes” be dressed in white and walk with Jesus (verse 4)?
Who else will be dressed in white (verse 5)?
In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life” (verse 5)?
What are people with ears to do (verse 6)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how would you use Paul’s statement from Galatians 6:7-10 that “a man reaps what he sows” to help in understanding Jesus message to the church in Sardis from Revelation 3:1-6?
In your opinion, how does Jesus giving thanks for the little that Andrew and the boy brought Him in John 6:1-13 help us to understand how to begin to “strengthen what remains” as commanded by Jesus in Revelation 3:1-6?

In your opinion, how does the Lord being present with and blessing Joseph as he is a slave in Potiphar’s house and as a prisoner in Genesis 39:1-6a & 20-23  help us begin understand how the Christians in Sardis or Christians today can walk with Jesus and be victorious in spite of difficult circumstances?
In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Galatians and Revelation teach us about where God is when we are in difficult circumstances today?
In your opinion, how can these passages help us be victorious wherever we find ourselves?                        


(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

No comments:

Post a Comment