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The
Choosing
Joshua 24:5-15 - New International Version (NIV)
5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by
what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I
brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians
pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. 7 But
they cried to the Lord for help,
and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them
and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then
you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
8 “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the
Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed
them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When
Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he
sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But
I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you again and again, and I
delivered you out of his hand.
11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of
Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites,
Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I
sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two
Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So
I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and
you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not
plant.’
14 “Now fear the Lord
and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors
worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if
serving the Lord seems undesirable
to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the
gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the
Lord.”
Who
did God send (verse 5)?
How did the Egyptians pursue the Israelites (verse
6)?
What did the Israelites see (verse 7)?
Who destroyed the Amorites (verse 8)?
In your opinion, why did Balak son of Zippor
and king of Moab send for Balaam son of Beor to curse the Israelites (verse 9)?
What did Balaam do (verse 10)?
How did the citizens of Jericho and the
Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites
respond to the Israelites (verse 11)?
How did the Lord drive them out (verse 12)?
How did the Israelites get “a land on which you did not toil and cities
you did not build” (verse 13)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to “fear the Lord and serve him with all
faithfulness” (verse 14)?
Who does Joshua ask the Israelites to choose
from to serve (verse 15)?
Who will Joshua and his household serve (verse
15)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of
this passage?
Mark
16:1-8 - New International
Version (NIV)
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the
mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint
Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just
after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they
asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very
large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb,
they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and
they were alarmed.
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the
Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where
they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter,
‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told
you.’”
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the
tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
When
did Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bring spices to anoint
Jesus’ body (verse 1)?
What time of the day were they “on their way to the tomb” (verse 2)?
In your opinion, why did they ask “who will roll the stone away from the
entrance of the tomb” (verse 3)?
What did they see when they looked up (verse 4)?
Why were they alarmed (verse 5)?
What had “Jesus
the Nazarene, who was crucified” done (verse 6)?
Who were they to tell “He is going ahead of you into Galilee” (verse 7)?
What did the “trembling and bewildered” women do (verse 8)?
Why did they say “nothing to anyone” (verse 8)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of
this passage?
In your opinion, how is God bringing the
Israelites out of Egypt and through the Red Sea in Joshua 24:5-15 similar to
Jesus rising from the tomb in Mark 16:1-8?
Acts
28:23-31 – New
International Version (NIV)
23 They arranged to meet Paul
on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was
staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the
kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to
persuade them about Jesus. 24 Some were convinced by
what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They
disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final
statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said
through Isaiah the prophet:
26 “‘Go to this people and
say,
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
27 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
27 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
28 “Therefore I want you to
know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
30 For two whole years Paul
stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He
proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all
boldness and without hindrance!
What
did Paul do “from morning till evening”
(verse 23)?
How did people react to what Paul said
(verse 24)?
When did the people begin to leave (verse 25)?
In your opinion, what is the
difference between seeing and perceiving (verse 26)?
What has happened to “this people’s heart” (verse 27)?
Who has “God’s salvation” been sent to (verse 28)?
How long did Paul stay “in his own rented house and welcomed all
who came to see him” (verse 30)?
What did Paul do “with all boldness and without hindrance” (verse 31)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does Paul’s quote
of Isaiah’s passage “for this people’s
heart has become calloused” in Acts 28:23-31 reveal about how the Israelites
responded to the instruction that Joshua gave them “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve”?
In your opinion, how does the “trembling and bewildered” response of
the women to the empty tomb in Mark 16:1-8 foreshadow the response of the
Israelites in Rome to Paul’s witnessing about Jesus in Acts 28:23-31?
1
Peter 5:6-10 – New
International Version (NIV)
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may
lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him
because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist
him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers
throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in
Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and
make you strong, firm and steadfast.
Why should we humble ourselves “under God’s mighty hand” (verse 6)?
What should we cast on God (verse 7)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to “be alert and of sober mind” (verse 8)?
Who “prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (verse 8)?
Why should we “resist him, standing firm in the faith” (verse 9)?
What will “the
God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ” do (verse
10)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of
this passage?
In your opinion, what similarities are there
between Joshua’s message to the Israelites in Joshua 24:5-15 and Peter’s
message to Christians in 1 Peter 5:6-10?
In your opinion, how is the empty tomb
witnessed by the “trembling and
bewildered” women in Mark 16:1-8 the most powerful testimony to the anxious
people that Peter is encouraging in 1 Peter 5:6-10 to stand “firm in the faith” that God “will himself restore you and make you
strong, firm and steadfast”?
In your opinion, how is Paul’s quote from
Isaiah “they
might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and
turn, and I would heal them”
in Acts 28:23-31 similar to Peter’s
instruction to “humble yourselves,
therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time”?
In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua,
Mark, Acts, and 1 Peter teach us about how people choose to respond to the
empty tomb?
Who do you choose to serve?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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