February 4, 2018 – Moses and Jesus and Us – Transformations

-            The

Transformations

Exodus 34:29-35 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. ³² Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³ When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵ they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

What was Moses not aware of when he came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets (verse 29)?

When where Aaron and all the Israelites afraid to come near Moses (verse 30)?

Who went to Moses when he called (verse 31)?

When did Moses give “all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai” (verse 32)?

What did Moses do when he finished speaking (verse 33)?

In your opinion, why did Moses remove the veil when he entered the Lord’s presence (verse 34)?

What did the Israelites see when Moses came from the Lord’s presence (verses 34 and 35)?

How long would Moses leave the veil on (verse 35)?

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

Luke 24:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words.

Where were the women going “very early in the morning” (verse 1)?

What did they find (verse 2)?

What did they not find in the tomb (verse 3)?

Who appeared “while they were wondering” (verse 4)?

How did the women react (verse 5)?

What did the two men say about Jesus being there (verse 6)?

Who did the Son of Man have to be delivered to (verse 7)?

What did the women remember (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, why were the Israelites afraid of the radiant face of Moses in Exodus 34:29-35 and the women afraid of the “two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning” in Luke 24:1-8?

Romans 6:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

In your opinion, why does Paul ask “shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase” (verse 1)?

How does Paul answer that question (verse 2)?

Where are all who were baptized “into Christ Jesus” (verse 3)?

Why were we buried with Christ “through baptism into death” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why is Paul confident that if we are united with Christ in death that we will “also be united with him in a resurrection like his” (verse 5)?

What happens to the body when “our old self was crucified with him” (verse 6)?

Who has “been set free from sin” (verse 7)?

Who will we live with if we died with Christ (verse 8)?

What can Christ not do again (verse 9)?

Who does Christ live for (verse 10)?

What are we to count ourselves as (verse 11)?

What is not to reign in our mortal bodies (verse 12)?

How are we to offer every part of ourselves to God (verse 13)?

Why is sin no longer our master (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, what does Romans 6:1-14 help us understand about how our baptism connects us with the empty tomb in Luke 24:1-8?

In your opinion, how does Moses being transformed by being in God’s presence in Exodus 34:29-35 compare with the transformation that Paul says we undergo when we are “baptized into Christ Jesus” in Romans 6:1-14?

2 Corinthians 3:7-18 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, ⁸ will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? ⁹ If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! ¹⁰ For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. ¹¹ And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

¹² Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. ¹³ We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. ¹⁴ But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶ But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

What did the “ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone” come with (verse 7)?

What will be even more glorious (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the “ministry that brought condemnation” (verse 9)?

What has no glory now (verse 10)?

What is the greater glory (verse 11)?

Why are we “very bold” (verse 12)?

Why did Moses put a veil over his face (verse 13)?

How can the veil that is over “their minds” be taken away (verse 14)?

When does a veil cover their hearts (verse 15)?

What happens when “anyone turns to the Lord” (verse 16)?

Where is there freedom (verse 17)?

What happens when we “contemplate the Lord’s glory” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 how does Paul’s statement that “we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory” help us understand how the transformation that he instructs us to make in Romans 6:1-14 from sinful to sinless is possible?

In your opinion, how is the women’s experience at the tomb in Luke 24:1-8 the foundation for Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 about the “ministry that brought condemnation” and the “ministry that brings righteousness”?

In your opinion, why does Paul use the veil that Moses wore in the presence of the Israelites in Exodus 34:29-35 to explain the separation of people from God in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18?

In your opinion, what can each of us who have been raised from death to life in Jesus Christ learn from the transformation of Moses when he was in the presence of God?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Luke, Romans, and 2 Corinthians teach us about our transformation from death to life?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 28, 2018 – Moses and Jesus and Us – Forgiven and Reconciled

Forgiven and Reconciled

Exodus 34:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. ² Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. ³ No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

⁴ So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. ⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

⁸ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. ⁹ “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

What did Moses do to the first tablets (verse 1)?

When is Moses to be ready (verse 2)?

Who can come with Moses (verse 3)?

What did Moses chisel out (verse 4)?

Where did the Lord stand (verse 5)?

Who is “abounding in love and faithfulness” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between “forgiving wickedness” and not leaving “the guilty unpunished” (verse 7)?

What did Moses do “at once” (verse 8)?

Who is “stiff-necked” (verse 9)?

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

Luke 23:32-43 - New International Version (NIV)

³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Who was led out to be executed with Jesus (verse 32)?

Where were they crucified (verse 33)?

Why did Jesus ask His Father to “forgive them” (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why can’t Jesus save others and Himself (verse 35)?

What did the soldiers do (verse 36)?

How did the soldiers want Jesus to prove that he was “king of the Jews” (verse 37)?

What written notice was above Jesus (verse 38)?

What did one of the criminals want Jesus to do (verse 39)?

How did the other criminal rebuke him (verse 40)?

What did the criminal think that Jesus had done wrong (verse 41)?

In your opinion, why does the criminal, who is suffering torment and dying on the cross, ask for Jesus to “remember me” instead of asking to be taken from the cross (verse 42)?

Where will the criminal join Jesus (verse 43)?

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

In your opinion, how is Moses petitioning the Lord in Exodus 34:1-9 similar to the plea of the second criminal to Jesus in Luke 23:32-43?

2 Corinthians 5:11-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. ¹² We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. ¹³ If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Why does Paul try to persuade others (verse 11)?

Who does Paul want the Corinthians to be able to answer (verse 12)?

Who would Paul be for if in his right mind (verse 13)?

What compels Paul (verse 14)?

Who should those who live now live for (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to regard someone “from a worldly point of view” (verse 16)?

What has come for anyone in Christ (verse 17)?

Who did God give a ministry of reconciliation to (verse 18)?

What is God not counting (verse 19)?

What does Paul implore (verse 20)?

Why did God make “him who had no sin to be sin for us” (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, how does the interaction of the second criminal and Jesus on the cross in Luke 23:32-43 help us understand the reconciliation to Christ that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5:11-21?

In your opinion, how is God’s statement in Exodus 34:1-9 that He is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,  maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” proven in Paul’s message of reconciliation given in 2 Corinthians 5:11-21?

Jude 1:17-23 – New International Version (NIV)

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.

What does Jude want his friends to remember (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does it mean to “follow mere natural instincts” (verse 19)?

How do Jude’s dear friends keep themselves “in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life” (verses 20 and 21)?

How are we to treat those who doubt (verse 22)?

How should “others” be saved (verse 23)?

What is to be hated (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jude 1:17-23 help us understand what Paul means in 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 by “from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view”?

In your opinion, how are Jesus’s actions on the cross in Luke 23:32-43 an example of what Jude means in Jude 1:17-23 when he writes “be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear”?

In your opinion, what can we learn from Moses plea for the “stiff-necked people” people of Israel in Exodus 34:1-9 and the “scoffers” that Jude talks about and then encourages his “dear friends” to snatch from the fire in Jude 1:17-23?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Luke, 2 Corinthians, and Jude show us about God’s forgiveness and our reconciliation?

In your opinion, how should each of us who have been snatched from death respond to God and to those who have not been reconciled?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 14, 2018 – Moses and Jesus and Us – Not Heirs to Gold, but to Hope

Not Heirs to Gold, but to Hope

Exodus 32:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

² Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” ³ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. ⁴ He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” ⁶ So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

⁷ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. ⁸ They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

Who did the people gather around when Moses was a long time “in coming down from the mountain” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what are they asking for when they say “make us gods who will go before us” (verse 1)?

What did Aaron ask for to make this god (verse 2)?

How did the people respond to the idol Aaron “cast in the shape of a calf” and fashioned with a tool (verse 4)?

What did Aaron build in front of the calf (verse 5)?

What did the people do before they “sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does God tell Moses that the people “have become corrupt” (verse 7)?

What have the people turned away from (verse 8)?

Who have the people said brought them out of Egypt (verse 8)?

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

Luke 23:13-25 - New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. ¹⁵ Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”

¹⁸ But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” ¹⁹ (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

²⁰ Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. ²¹ But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²² For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”

²³ But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate decided to grant their demand. ²⁵ He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

Who did Pilate call together (verse 13)?

What basis has Pilate found to charge Jesus (verse 14)?

Who sent Jesus back to Pilate because he did not find anything to charge him with (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why does Pilate indicate that he will punish and then release Jesus (verse 16)?

What did the crowd shout (verse 18)?

Why was Barabbas in prison (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why does Pilate want to release Jesus (verse 20)?

What did the chief priests, the rulers and the people shout (verse 21)?

What grounds did Pilate find for the death penalty (verse 22)?

What did the crowd insist on (verse 23)?

What did Pilate decide (verse 24)?

Who was released (verse 25)?

What happened to Jesus (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how is demanding the crucifixion of Jesus in Luke 23:13-25 similar to creating and worshiping the golden calf in Exodus 32:1-8?

Galatians 4:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. ² The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. ³ So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. ⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶ Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

When is an heir like a slave (verse 1)?

How is the heir different from the slave (verse 1)?

Who is the heir subject to (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “when we were underage” (verse 3)?

Who did God send “when the time had fully come” (verse 4)?

What were the redeemed, who had been under the law, to receive (verse 5)?

Who has been sent into our hearts (verse 6)?

What has God made us (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, how do you feel when realize that the one Paul says in Galatians 4:1-7 was God’s Son who came to “redeem those under the law” was the one in Luke 23:13-25 about whom those who were slaves to the law and in need of redeeming were chanting “crucify him”?

In your opinion, what can we learn by knowing that the ones Paul says in Galatians 4:1-7 are “in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world” are the ones who also insisted in Exodus 32:1-8 that Aaron “make us gods who will go before us”?

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 should our minds be like when we set our hope on the grace to be brought when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming (verse 13)?

How should we act as “obedient children” (verse 14)?

Who is holy (verse 15)?

What is written (verse 16)?

How are we to “live out your time as foreigners here” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why are silver or gold called “perishable things” (verse 18)?

What has the “precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” accomplished (verses 18 and 19)?

When was Christ chosen (verse 20)?

How do we believe in God (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 1:13-21 reveal about how God accomplished the process of redeeming slaves and making them heirs that Paul wrote about in Galatians 4:1-7?

In your opinion, how does Peter’s statement that we “believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God” in 1 Peter 1:13-21 help us understand the victory that we the redeemed have over the same evil desires the chief priests, rulers and people of Luke 23:13-25 who shouted “crucify him” had?

In your opinion, how does the contrast between Aaron gathering the golden earrings to make the golden calf who “are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt” in Exodus 32:1-8 and Peter explaining how Christians are redeemed from “the empty way of life” by the “precious blood of Christ” in 1 Peter 1:13-21 help us comprehend the magnitude of what God has accomplished?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Luke, Galatians, and 1 Peter reveal to us about our need for “the precious blood of Christ”?

In your opinion, how should each of us who have been redeemed from the “empty way of life” move forward with our faith and hope in God?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)