October 8, 2017 – Moses and Jesus and Us – Suffering People, Burning Bushes and Snatching from the Fire

-            The

Suffering People, Burning Bushes and Snatching from the Fire

Exodus 3:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Whose flock was Moses tending (verse 1)?

Where did Moses take the flock (verse 1)?

How did the angel of the Lord appear to Moses (verse 2)?

What did Moses think he would go and see (verse 3)?

Who called Moses from “within the bush” (verse 4)?

How did Moses answer (verse 4)?

Why was Moses to take off his sandals (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why was Moses afraid to look at God (verse 6)?

What has God seen (verse 7)?

What has God heard (verse 7)?

What is God concerned about (verse 7)?

Who will God rescue them from (verse 8)?

Where will God bring them to (verse 8)?

What has reached God (verse 9)?

What is God sending Moses to do (verse 10)?

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

Luke 3:21-23a - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

²³ Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.

When was Jesus baptized (verse 21)?

What was Jesus doing when “heaven was opened” (verse 21)?

How did the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus (verse 22)?

What did the Voice from Heaven say (verse 22)?

What did Jesus do when He was “about thirty years old” (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, how are the burning bush in Exodus 3:1-10 and the dove descending in Luke 3:21-23a similar?

Romans 1:1-7 – 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.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who is “called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God” (verse 1)?

What was “promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (verse 2)?

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

Who was “appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says he has received “grace and apostleship” through Jesus (verse 5)?

What are the people that Paul is writing called to (verse 6)?

How does Paul bless those in Rome who are “loved by God and called to be his holy people” (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, since we are like the ones in Rome that Paul said were “loved by God and called to be his holy people” in Romans 1:1-7, what can we learn from what the Voice from Heaven said to Jesus “you are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” in Luke 3:21-23a?

In your opinion, what can the calling of Moses in Exodus 3:1-10 to “bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt” and the calling of Paul in Romans 1:1-7 to “call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake” teach we who are called to holiness today?

Jude 1:1-4; 17-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

² Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

³ Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. ⁴ For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

¹⁷ But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” ¹⁹ These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

²² Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

²⁴ To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Who is Jude (verse 1)?

Who is Jude writing to (verse 1)?

What does Jude pray for his readers to have “in abundance” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Jude mean when he urges his readers to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (verse 3)?

What do the “certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago” do after they slip in among Christians (verse 4)?

Whose words are the friends to remember (verse 17)?

When will scoffers “follow their own ungodly desires” (verse 18)?

What do people who “follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit” do to Christians (verse 19)?

How do Christians “keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ” (verses 20 and 21)?

How should Christians treat those who doubt (verse 22)?

What should Christians hate while showing “mercy, mixed with fear” (verse 23)?

How will Christians be presented “to the only God our Savior” (verses 24 and 25)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jude, who urges in Jude 1:1-4; 17-25 that we “contend for the faith”, help us to understand what it must have been like for Paul who says in Romans 1:1-7 that he was “called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God”?

In your opinion, how does it humble and empower you to be linked to what the Father told Jesus in Luke 3:21-23a “you are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” by Jude who says in 1:1-4; 17-25 “to those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ”?

In your opinion, how does Moses who went to the burning bush only to see why it did not burn up and received instructions from God in Exodus 3:1-10 illustrate for us what Jude meant in Jude 1:1-4; 17-25 when he told us to “be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Luke, Romans and Jude teach us about God’s call and our reaction to it?

In your opinion, who are the suffering people, what are our burning bushes, and how does God expect us to “save others by snatching them from the fire” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 1, 2017 – Moses and Jesus and Us – Growth in Grace and Knowledge

Growth in Grace and Knowledge

Exodus 2:11-15 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. ¹² Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³ The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”

¹⁴ The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

¹⁵ When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.

Who did Moses go out to watch (verse 11)?

What did Moses see (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why did Moses look “this way and that” (verse 12)?

What did Moses do with the Egyptian that he killed (verse 12)?

Who did Moses ask “why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew” (verse 13)?

What made Moses afraid (verse 14)?

How did the Pharaoh react when he heard what Moses had done (verse 15)?

What did Moses do (verse 15)?

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

Luke 2:41-52 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴¹ Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. ⁴² When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. ⁴³ After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. ⁴⁴ Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

⁴⁹ “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰ But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁵¹ Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Where did Jesus’ parents go every year (verse 41)?

How old was Jesus when this event happened (verse 42)?

What did Jesus do when His parents “were returning home” (verse 43)?

How long did His parents travel without Him (verse 44)?

Where did his parents go when they could not find him (verse 45)?

What was Jesus doing when His parents found Him (verse 46)?

In your opinion, why was everyone who heard Him “amazed at his understanding and his answers” (verse 47)?

What did Jesus’ mother ask Him (verse 48)?

How did Jesus refer to the temple (verse 49)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus parents not understand “what he was saying to them” (verse 50)?

How did Jesus react to His parents (verse 51)?

What did Jesus do (verse 52)?

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

In your opinion, what does the behavior of Moses, who was called to free the Israelites and killed the Egyptian in Exodus 2:11-15, and the behavior of Jesus, who was called to free all people and amazed all who heard Him with “his understanding and his answers” in Luke 2:41-52, help us to understand about their differences?

Romans 3:10-22a – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”
¹³ “Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
¹⁴     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶     ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.”
¹⁸     “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

How many are righteous (verse 10)?

How many understand and seek God (verse 11)?

How many do good (verse 12)?

What do people’s tongues practice (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that people’s mouths are full of bitterness (verse 14)?

What marks people’s ways (verse 16)?

What do people not know (verse 17)?

Who is held accountable to God by the law (verse 19)?

How many will be declared “righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law” (verse 20)?

Who testifies to the “righteousness of God” (verse 21)?

Who is the “righteousness of God” given to “through faith in Jesus Christ” (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jesus, at age 12 in Luke 2:41-52, prove that Paul is right with his quote in Romans 3:10-22, “there is no one who understands”?

In your opinion, how does the action of Moses, the privileged adopted son of the Pharaoh’s daughter, in Exodus 2:11-15 prove the accuracy of Paul’s quote in Romans 3:10-22, “”all have turned away, they have together become worthless”?

2 Peter 3:13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷ Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

What are Christians looking forward to (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (verse 14)?

What does “our Lord’s patience” mean (verse 15)?

Who wrote “with the wisdom that God gave him” (verse 15)?

What is the result of “ignorant and unstable people” distorting Paul’s writings and other Scriptures (verse 16)?

What are we to do since we “have been forewarned” (verse 17)?

How should we grow (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn from Paul in Romans 3:10-22 and Peter in 2 Peter 3:13-18 about accountability and destruction but also about faith and righteousness?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that the instruction of Peter in 2 Peter 3:13-18 to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” echoes the reality of the life of Jesus portrayed by Luke in Luke 2:41-52 when He “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man”?

In your opinion, how does Moses, in his action to protect the Hebrew from the Egyptian in Exodus 2:11-15, demonstrate the importance of Peter’s warning in 2 Peter 3:13-18 to “be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Luke, Romans and 2 Peter show us about the differences between Moses and Jesus, who both came to lead people to freedom but who were opposites in their approach, and what do those differences help us understand about ourselves?

In your opinion, how can these passages provide us guidance in our growth as Christians today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 24, 2017 – Moses and Jesus and Us – Children not Welcomed by the World

-            The

Exodus 2:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, ² and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. ³ But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

⁵ Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. ⁶ She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

⁷ Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”

⁸ “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. ¹⁰ When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

Who married the Levite woman (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why did she hide her son for three months (verse 2)?

What did she do when she could not hide him any longer (verse 3)?

Who watched to see what would happen (verse 4)?

Why did the Pharaoh’s daughter go to the Nile (verse 5)?

What did she send her female slave to get (verse 5)?

How did the Pharaoh’s daughter react to the crying baby (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did she believe the baby was “one of the Hebrew babies” (verse 6)?

What did his sister ask the Pharaoh’s daughter (verse 7)?

Who did his sister get (verse 8)?

When did the baby become the Pharaoh’s daughter’s son (verse 10)?

Why was the baby named Moses (verse 10)?

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

Luke 2:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Who issued a decree that “a census should be taken of the entire Roman world” (verse 1)?

Which census was this (verse 2)?

Where did everyone go to register (verse 3)?

Why did Joseph go from the town of Nazareth to Bethlehem, the town of David (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why did Mary go with Joseph (verse 5)?

What time occurred “while they were there” (verse 6)?

Why did Mary wrap her firstborn in cloths and place Him in a manger (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what are the similarities between the childhood of Moses in Exodus 2:1-7 and the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:1-7?

1 Peter 1:3-9 – New International Version (NIV)

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Who does Peter praise (verse 3)?

What have we been given “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3)?

Where is the “inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” kept (verse 4)?

How long are Christians “through faith . . . shielded by God’s power” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how can Christians “greatly rejoice” even though “for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (verse 6)?

What do the trials and the “proven genuineness of your faith” result in “when Jesus Christ is revealed” (verses 6 and 7)?

What fills those who believe in Jesus (verse 8)?

What is the end result of faith (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, how is the birth of Jesus when He was wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger because “there was no guest room available for him” in Luke 2:1-7 similar to the “new birth into a living hope” that Christians receive that leads them to “suffer grief in all kinds of trials” according to Peter in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

In your opinion, how is the presence of God’s hand in the drawing of Moses from the Nile in Exodus 2:1-7 similar to being shielded by God’s power through faith until “the coming of salvation” as promised by Peter in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

1 John 3:1-3 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

What has the Father “lavished on us” (verse 1)?

Why does the world not know us, the children of God (verse 1)?

Who we be like when Christ appears (verse 2)?

Who purifies themselves (verse 3)?

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

In your opinion, what does John, in 1 John 3:1-3, reveal to us about what we are through the “new birth” that Peter, in 1 Peter 1:3-9, says we receive through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead?

In your opinion, what is similar between the child that was wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger in Luke 2:1-7 and those who John says the Father has lavished great love on in 1 John 3:1-3?

In your opinion, how is the birth and nursing of Moses by a Levite woman before he becomes the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter in Exodus 2:1-7 a foreshadowing of we who are called the “children of God” in 1 John 3:1-3 even though God is not our parent?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Luke, 1 Peter, and 1 John help us understand about the world’s relationship with a child of God and also the relationship of a child of God with God?

In your opinion, what can you take from these passages to apply in your life today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 17, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – Dwelling with the Lord

“and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” KJV Psalm 23:6b

2 Samuel 7:18-29 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:

“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? ¹⁹ And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!

²⁰ “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. ²¹ For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

²² “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. ²³ And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? ²⁴ You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

²⁵ “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, ²⁶ so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

²⁷ “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. ²⁸ Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. ²⁹ Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

Who said “who am I, Sovereign Lord” (verse 18)?

What did the Sovereign Lord also speak about (verse 19)?

Who does the Sovereign Lord know (verse 20)?

What has the Sovereign Lord done for the sake of His word and according to His will (verse 21)?

Who is like the Sovereign Lord (verse 22)?

What has God done for Israel (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what does David mean by saying that the Lord has become the God of Israel (verse 24)?

What does David ask the Lord to “keep forever” (verse 25)?

What will be “established” in God’s sight (verse 26)?

How has David “found courage” to make this request of God (verse 27)?

What is trustworthy (verse 28)?

What does David ask the Lord to bless (verse 29)?

How long does David expect the blessing to last (verse 29)?

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

John 14:22-27 - New International Version (NIV)

²² Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Who ask “Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world” (verse 22)?

What will the ones who love Jesus do (verse 23)?

How will Jesus and His Father respond to those who love Jesus (verse 23)?

Who will not obey Jesus’s teaching (verse 24)?

When did Jesus speak these words (verse 25)?

What will “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name” do (verse 26)?

What does Jesus give (verse 27)?

In your opinion, how does this promise of peace from Jesus help us to obey His invitation to not let our “hearts be troubled” or to be afraid (verse 27)?

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

In your opinion, what is different between the house that David requests the Lord to establish forever in 2 Samuel 7:18-29 and the home that Jesus promises that He and His Father will make in John 14:22-27?

Ephesians 3:14-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

What does Paul do before the Father (verse 14)?

Who derives its name from the Father (verse 15)?

What does Paul pray that the Father will do “out of his glorious riches” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to have Christ dwell in our hearts through faith (verse 17)?

Where does Paul expect that we will be “rooted and established” (verse 17)?

What does Paul pray for us to grasp (verse 18)?

What does Paul expect to happen if we “know this love that surpasses knowledge” (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says that God is “able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (verse 20)?

What does Paul pray for the Father to have “in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever” (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, how is the home that Jesus promised in John 14:22-27 He and His Father would make with those who love Him partially explained by Paul Ephesians 3:14-21 when he prayed for us to be strengthen with power through the Spirit “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”?

In your opinion, how is the greatness of God that David talks about in his prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18-29 demonstrated by the “great and awesome wonders” that David mentions in the prayer and also by the width, length, height and depth of His love that Paul proclaims in Ephesians 3:14-21?

Revelation 21:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

What did John see (verse 1)?

How was the “Holy City, the new Jerusalem” prepared (verse 2)?

What did the “loud voice from the throne” say about God’s dwelling place (verse 3)?

Why will there be “no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain” (verse 4)?

Why was John to “write this down” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does God mean when He tells John “it is done” (verse 6)?

Who will have “water without cost from the spring of the water of life” (verse 6)?

Who will be the God of the victorious (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, how is Paul’s prayer “that Christ may dwell in” our hearts through faith in Ephesians 3:14-21 a wonderful promise for today that anticipates the future that John sees in Revelation 21:1-7 where God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them”?

In your opinion, how is the promise that Jesus and His Father would make a home with those who love Him in John 14:22-27 fulfilled not only by Christ dwelling in our hearts as explained by Paul in Ephesians 3:14-21 but also by the new Jerusalem descending that John saw in Revelation 21:1-7?

In your opinion, how is the truth of David’s statement in 2 Samuel 7:18-29 that “there is no one like you, and there is no God but you” demonstrated by the fact that the house of David that David was praying for finds its final fulfillment not in an earthly throne but in the descent of a new Jerusalem from heaven and God dwelling with “his people” forever in Revelation 21:1-7?

In your opinion, how do these passages from 2 Samuel, John, Ephesians, and Revelation help us understand today’s passage from Psalm 23 “and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us to understand both Christ dwelling in us and God dwelling with us for ever?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)