August 6, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – He Leadeth Me

“He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” KJV Psalm 23:3b

1 Chronicles 15:25-29 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. ²⁶ Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. ²⁷ Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the musicians, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸ So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouts, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.

²⁹ As the ark of the covenant of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David dancing and celebrating, she despised him in her heart.

What did “David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of the units of a thousand” go to bring from the house of Obed-Edom “with rejoicing” (verse 25)?

Why were seven bulls and seven rams sacrificed (verse 26)?

How was David dressed (verse 27)?

What did all Israel bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with (verse 28)?

When did Michal despise King David in her heart (verse 29)?

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

Luke 15:11-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

What did the man have (verse 11)?

What did the younger son want (verse 12)?

How did the younger squander his share of the wealth (verse 13)?

When did the younger son begin “to be in need” (verse 14)?

What did a “citizen of that country” hire the younger son to do (verse 15)?

What did people give the younger son (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean by “when he came to his senses” (verse 17)?

What does the younger son plan to say to his father (verses 18 and 19)?

Where was the younger son when his father saw him and “was filled with compassion for him” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, how was what the younger son accurate when he told his father “I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (verse 21)?

What robe did the father want for the younger son (verse 22)?

What were they going to have a feast and do (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus show the younger son planning to say “make me like one of your hired servants” in verse 19 but the father saying “for this son of mine was dead and is alive again” in verse 24.

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

In your opinion, how is David bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem in 1 Chronicles 15:25-29 similar to the younger son coming home to the father in Luke 15:11-24?

Acts 9:1-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

¹⁷ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹ and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Who was Saul breathing out “murderous threats against” (verse 1)?

What did Saul want to do with “any who belonged to the Way” (verse 2)?

Where was Saul when “suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him” (verse 3)?

Who said “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me” (verses 4 & 5)?

Where is Saul to go to be told what to do (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did the men traveling with Saul not see anyone (verse 7)?

How long was Saul blind and not eating or drinking (verse 9)?

How did the Lord call Ananias (verse 10)?

What did the Lord tell Ananias that Saul was doing (verse 11)?

What did Saul see in the vision that he had (verse 12)?

What had Ananias heard (verse 13)?

Who does the Lord tell Ananias that Saul is (verse 15)?

What is the Lord going to show Saul (verse 16)?

How does Ananias address Saul (verse 17)?

What happened when Ananias placed his hands on Saul (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how is the younger son in Luke 15:11-24 coming “to his senses” similar to Saul having “something like scales” fall from his eyes in Acts 9:1-19?

In your opinion, how is David, who danced as the arc of the covenant was taken to Jerusalem in 1 Chronicles 15:2-29, similar to Saul, who traveled the road to Damascus with a letter from the high priest in Acts 9:1-19; and how are they different?

Romans 1:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

What is Paul called to be (verse 1)?

What is Paul set apart for (verse 1)?

When and how did God promise the gospel (verse 2)?

Who was Jesus in “his earthly life” (verse 3)?

By what was Jesus appointed the Son of God in power (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake” (verse 5)?

Who were the Romans that Paul was writing to (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does it mean for us that Paul, who in Romans 1:1-6 says that he “received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake” was Saul who in Acts 9:1-19 before meeting Christ on the road to Damascus “breathed out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples”?

In your opinion, how is the “obedience that comes from faith” that Paul refers to in Romans 1:1-6 demonstrated by the younger son in Jesus parable of Luke 15:11-24 when he came to his senses and recognized that he had “sinned against heaven and against you” and decided to go back to his father?

In your opinion, how is David, who danced before the ark of the covenant in 1 Chronicles 15:25-29, similar to Paul, who says in Romans 1:1-6 that he is to “call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Chronicles, Luke, Acts and Romans teach us about today’s passage from Psalm 23, “He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his names sake”?

In your opinion, what do these passages help us to understand about coming home to our Father?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 23, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – He Restoreth My Soul

-            The

“He restoreth my soul” KJV Psalm 23:3a

Psalm 51:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

What part of David’s life did he write this Psalm about (introduction)?

What did David base his request for mercy on (verse 1)?

What did David ask to be cleansed from (verse 2)?

Where is David’s sin (verse 3)?

Who has David sinned against (verse 4)?

How long has David been sinful (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why does David say that God desires faithfulness “even in the womb” (verse 6)?

When will David be “whiter than snow” (verse 7)?

How does David want the bones that God has crushed to respond (verse 8)?

How does David want God to respond to his sines (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does David mean when he asks God to “create in me a pure heart” (verse 10)?

What does David request not be taken from him (verse 11)?

What does David want restored to him (verse 12)?

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

Luke 5:27-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Where was Levi sitting when Jesus commanded him to “follow me” (verse 27)?

How did Levi respond to Jesus (verse 28)?

Who was at the great banquet that Levi held for Jesus (verse 29)?

In your opinion, why did the Pharisees and teachers of the law complain to Jesus disciples “why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners” (verse 30)?

How did Jesus respond to the complaints (verse 31)?

Who has Jesus come to call (verse 32)?

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

In your opinion, based on what David says in Psalm 51:1-12, would he have viewed himself in Luke 5:27-32 as one of the healthy, or one of the sick?

Ephesians 2:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

What does Paul say about the people he is writing to (verse 1)?

Who did the people Paul is writing used to follow (verse 2)?

Who is at work in “those who are disobedient” (verse 2)?

What does Paul say that “all of us” did at one time (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says that God is “rich in mercy” (verse 4)?

Where were we when God “made us alive with Christ” (verse 5)?

Why has God “raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms” (verses 6 and 7)?

What allows us to be “saved, through faith” (verse 8)?

Where is the faith from (verse 8)?

Why can no one boast (verse 9)?

What are we (verse 10)?

What has God “prepared in advance for us to do” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does Paul in Ephesians 2:1-10 help us to understand about the how the repentance that Jesus says in Luke 5:27-32 that He came to call sinners to occurs?

In your opinion, what could David, who wrote Psalm 51:1-12 after Nathan came to him following his adultery with Bathsheba, have helped us to understand about the contrast Paul reveals in Ephesians 2:1-10 between the cravings of the flesh and the salvation that is the result of God’s unfailing love and great mercy?

1 Peter 1:13-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

What are we to set our hope on (verse 13)?

How are we to react to the “evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does Peter mean when he tells us to “be holy in all you do” (verse 15)?

Why should we “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” (verse 17)?

What were we redeemed from (verse 18)?

How were we redeemed (verses 18 and 19)?

When was Christ chosen (verse 20)?

Who is our faith and hope in (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 1:13-21 teach us about what we are to do after we receive the salvation that Ephesians 2:1-10 explains?

In your opinion, how would you contrast the “empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors” as revealed in Luke 5:27-32 with the life we who have our “faith and hope . . . in God” are called to in 1 Peter 1:13-21?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 1:13-21 reveal to us about how God accomplished David’s request from Psalm 51:1-12 to “wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalm 51, Luke, Ephesians and 1 Peter teach us about today’s passage from Psalm 23, “He restoreth my soul”?

In your opinion, what do these passages help us to understand about the empty way of life of those who are righteous without Christ versus the “incomparable riches” that those who, through faith, have accepted God’s grace?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 16, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – He Leadeth Me Beside the Still Waters

“He leadeth me beside the still waters” KJV Psalm 23:2b

1 Chronicles 11:15-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Three of the thirty chiefs came down to David to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶ At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. ¹⁷ David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” ¹⁸ So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the Lord. ¹⁹ “God forbid that I should do this!” he said. “Should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?” Because they risked their lives to bring it back, David would not drink it.

Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.

Who came down to David at the cave of Adullam (verse 15)?

Where was the Philistine garrison (verse 16)?

What did David long for (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did David say “oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem” (verse 17)?

Who “broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David” (verse 18)?

What did David do with the water (verse 18)?

Why would David not drink the water (verse 19)?

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

John 4:4-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵ So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

⁹ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Where did Jesus have to go (verse 4)?

What town did He come to (verse 5)?

Why did Jesus sit down by the well (verse 6)?

What did Jesus ask the Samaritan woman (verse 7)?

Where were the disciples (verse 8)?

What did the Samaritan woman ask Jesus (verse 9)?

What would Jesus have given the Samaritan woman if she “knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink” and if she ask Him (verse 10)?

In your opinion, where would Jesus get this “living water” (verse 11)?

What will happen to people who drink water from Jacob’s well (verse 13)?

What will the water that Jesus gives people become (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what is similar between the water that David poured out in 1 Chronicles 11:15-19 and the living water that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman in John 14:4-14?

Ephesians 5:25-33 - New International Version (NIV)

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. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

How should husbands love their wives (verse 25)?

How did Christ make the church holy (verses 25 and 26)?

What will the “radiant church” not have (verse 27)?

How should husbands love their wives (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “no one ever hated their own body” (verse 29)?

What are we members of (verse 30)?

Who will become one flesh (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what profound mystery is Paul talking about (verse 32)?

How should husbands love their wives (verse 33)?

How should wives view their husbands (verse 33)?

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

In your opinion, how would the Samaritan woman in John 4:4-14 have felt about the profound mystery of Jesus loving the church so much that He gave Himself up to make her holy by washing her with water through the word as Paul explains in Ephesians 5:25-33?

In your opinion, how does David pouring out the water that blood was risked to obtain in 1 Chronicles 11:15-19 help us to understand the value of the water that Paul says Jesus washes the church with in Ephesians 5:25-33?

Revelation 22:1-5; 17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

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.

Where does the “river of the water of life” flow from (verse 1)?

What is on each side of the river (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why is there no longer any curse (verse 3)?

What will His servants see (verse 4)?

Who will give them light (verse 5)?

Who says “come” (verse 17)?

What is the one who is thirsty to do (verse 17)?

Who can “take the free gift of the water of life” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, why does the bride, the church that Paul says in Ephesians 5:25-33 was cleansed by Christ who washed her with the water through the word, join with the Spirit to say “come” to the thirsty in Revelation 22:1-5; 17?

In your opinion, how are the water of life that John portrays in Revelation 22:1-5; 17 and the living water that Jesus tells the Samaritan woman about in John 4:4-14 related?

In your opinion, how is the yearning for the water from the “well near the gate of Bethlehem” in 1 Chronicles 11:15-19 similar to the thirsting of the one receiving the invitation to “come” in Revelation 22:1-5; 17?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Chronicles, John, Ephesians and Revelation teach us about today’s passage from Psalm 23, “He leadeth me beside the still waters”?

In your opinion, what do these passages help us to understand about our relationship to the living water that Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman at the well?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)