June 17, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Following Jesus

-            The

 Following Jesus

Joshua 22:10-20 - New International Version (NIV)            

¹⁰ When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan. ¹¹ And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, ¹² the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.

¹³ So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ¹⁴ With him they sent ten of the chief men, one from each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.

¹⁵ When they went to Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh—they said to them: ¹⁶ “The whole assembly of the Lord says: ‘How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? ¹⁷ Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord! ¹⁸ And are you now turning away from the Lord?

“‘If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel. ¹⁹ If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the Lord’s land, where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful in regard to the devoted things, did not wrath come on the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.’”

What did the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh build (verse 10)?

When did the the “whole assembly of Israel” gather at Shiloh to go to war with the Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh (verses 11 and 12)?

Where was Phinehas sent (verse 13)?

Who was sent with Phinehas (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why did Phinehas and the men who were with him ask “how could you break faith with the God of Israel like this” (verse 16)?

What had Israel not cleansed itself from yet (verse 17)?

What will happen if the Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh rebel against the Lord (verse 18)?

Where did Phinehas say “the Lord’s tabernacle stands” (verse 19)?

Who bore the wrath of God when Achan sinned (verse 20)?

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

Mark 10:17-31 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

²⁸ Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

²⁹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ³⁰ will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

What did the man who fell on his knees and ask Jesus “what must I do to inherit eternal life” call Jesus (verse 17)?

How does Jesus respond (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus list five of the six ten commandments that have to do with relating to other people and leave out the sixth, do not covet, and then add do not defraud (verse 19)?

How did the man respond to Jesus listing of these commandments (verse 20)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus tell the man to “sell everything you have and give to the poor . . . then come, follow me” instead of listing the four commandments having to do with worshiping God (verse 21)?

Why did the man go away sad (verse 22)?

How hard is it for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven (verses 23, 24 and 25)?

What did the disciples ask (verse 26)?

What is possible with God (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why did Peter say “we have left everything to follow you” (verse 28)?

What will come with the hundredfold blessings to those who leave “home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel” (verses 29 and 30)?

Where will “many who are first” be (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, how is the alter that “the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh” in Joshua 22:10-20 similar to the wealth of the man who calls Jesus “good teacher” in Mark 10:17-31?

Acts 13:38-48 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁸ “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. ³⁹ Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

⁴¹ “‘Look, you scoffers,
    wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
    that you would never believe,
    even if someone told you.’”

⁴² As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. ⁴³ When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
    that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

What is proclaimed “through Jesus” (verse 38)?

Who is “set free from every sin” (verse 39)?

In your opinion, why would scoffers not believe “even if someone told” them (verse 41)?

Who invited Paul and Barnabas to “speak further about these things” (verse 42)?

What did Paul and Barnabas urge the “Jews and devout converts to Judaism” to continue in (verse 43)?

Who gathered to hear “the word of the Lord” the next Sabbath (verse 44)?

What filled the Jews (verse 45)?

In your opinion, why did Paul and Barnabas say to the Jews “since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life” (verse 46)?

Who were Paul and Barnabas made “a light for” (verse 47)?

Who “believed” (verse 48)?

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

In your opinion, how is the decision that “the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh” had to make in Joshua 22:10-20 similar to the choice that the Jews in Antioch had to make in Acts 13:38-48?

In your opinion, why is the rich man’s rejection of Jesus in Mark 10:17-31 different than the rejection of the Jews in Acts 13:38-48?

Colossians 1:15-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Who is the Son the image of (verse 15)?

What was created in the Son (verse 16)?

Who holds all things together (verse 17)?

Where does the Son have supremacy (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says that “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (verse 19)?

How does God “reconcile to himself all things” (verse 20)?

Why were Paul’s Colossian readers “alienated from God” (verse 21)?

How are we presented after we are reconciled “by Christ’s physical body through death” (verse 22)?

What has Paul become a servant of (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, what do all the Israelites, the two and a half tribes and the nine and a half tribes that we read about in Joshua 22:10-20, the readers of Paul’s message in Colossians 1:15-23, and we who are going through this Bible Study have in common?

In your opinion, what does Colossians 1:15-23 reveal about how God accomplishs what Jesus says is impossible with man in Mark 10:17-31?

In your opinion, what does Paul reveal that God did in Colossians 1:15-23 that the scoffers of Acts 13:38-48 would miss, “even if someone told” them?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Colossians reveal about the choice that each of us has to make?

In your opinion, how are we following Jesus today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 10, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Resting in God’s Service

-            The

Resting in God’s Service

Joshua 22:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)                

¹ Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh ² and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. ³ For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you. ⁴ Now that the Lord your God has given them rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ⁵ But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

⁶ Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. ⁷ (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them, ⁸ saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth—with large herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing—and divide the plunder from your enemies with your fellow Israelites.”

Who did Joshua summon (verse 1)?

What did he say they had done (verse 2)?

Who had they not deserted (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what did Joshua mean by “the Lord your God has given them rest” (verse 4)?

What are the commandments and laws are the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to be careful to keep (verse 5)?

What did Joshua do before he sent them away (verse 6)?

Who were those that Joshua blessed and sent home to divide their great wealth with (verse 8)?

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

Mark 9:33-37 - New International Version (NIV)

³³ They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

³⁵ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

³⁶ He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

What did Jesus ask His disciples when they were in the house in Capernaum (verse 33)?

Why did the disciples keep quiet (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why does the person who wants to be first need to be “the very last, and the servant of all” (verse 35)?

Who did Jesus place among them (verse 36)?

Who does the person who “welcomes one of these little children in my name” welcome (verse 37)?

Who does the person who “welcomes me” welcome (verse 37)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jesus’s command in Mark 9:33-37 to welcome “one of these little children in my name” an example of how to follow the command of Joshua to the “Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh” in Joshua 22:1-9 to “love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul” ?

Acts 12:19b-25 – New International Version (NIV)

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. ²⁰ He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

²¹ On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. ²² They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” ²³ Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.

²⁵ When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

Where did King Herod go and stay (verse 19b)?

Who had King Herod been quarreling with (verse 20)?

Why did they ask for peace (verse 20)?

What did King Herod do while he was wearing his royal robes and sitting on his throne (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why did the people shout “this is the voice of a god, not of a man” (verse 22)?

Why did the Lord strike Herod down (verse 23)?

What “continued to spread and flourish” (verse 24)?

What did Barnabas and Saul finish (verse 25)?

Who did they take with them to Jerusalem (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how does Herod in Acts 12:19b-25 violate the command that Joshua gave to”the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh” in Joshua 22:1-9?

In your opinion, how does Herod’s attitude in Acts 12:19b-25 and the instructions of Jesus in Mark 9:33-37 conflict?

Hebrews 4:6-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, ⁷ God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.”

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. ⁹ There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰ for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. ¹¹ Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

What remains for some to do (verse 6)?

What should people not do when hearing God’s voice (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says “if Joshua had given them rest” (verse 8)?

Who does the Sabbath-rest remain for (verse 9)?

What does the person who enters God’s rest also do (verse 10)?

What should we make every effort to do (verse 11)?

What does the word of God judge (verse 12)?

How much is “uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why should we “hold firmly to the faith we profess” (verse 14)?

Why can Jesus empathize with our weaknesses (verse 15)?

How is Jesus different from us (verse 16)?

How can we “approach Good’s throne of grace” (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how is the rest that Joshua said that the Israelite people had in Joshua 22:1-9 different than the rest that Paul talks about in Hebrews 4:6-16?

In your opinion, how would you explain the difference between Jesus’s instruction to welcome “one of these little children in my name” in Mark 9:33-37 and Paul’s warning not to “harden your hearts” in Hebrews 4:6-16?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the confidence that Herod had in Acts 12:19b-25 and the confidence that Paul says that we can have in approaching God’s throne in Hebrews 4:6-16?

In your opinion, how can we welcome little children in Jesus’s name today?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Hebrews teach us about resting confidently in God’s presence today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 3, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Lost and Saved Lives

-            The

Lost and Saved Lives

Joshua 20:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)                

¹ Then the Lord said to Joshua: ² “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³ so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. ⁴ When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

Who told Joshua to tell “the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge” (verses 1 and 2)?

Why would some flee to the city of refuge (verse 3)?

What is the fleeing person to do when they get to the city of refuge (verse 4)?

What must the elders of the cities of refuge not do (verse 5)?

How long is the fugitive to stay in the city of refuge (verse 6)?

Who could flee to the cities of refuge (verse 9)?

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

Mark 8:31-38 - New International Version (NIV)

³¹ He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. ³² He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³ But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

³⁴ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ³⁸ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Who must “suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priest and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed” (verse 31)?

What will happen three days after He is killed (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why did Peter take Jesus aside and begin to rebuke Him (verse 32)?

What did Jesus say Peter was concerned about (verse 33)?

Who must “deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (verse 34)?

What will happen to the person who wants to save their life (verse 35)?

Who will save their life (verse 35)?

In your opinion, “what good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul” (verse 36)?

How will the Son of Man react to the person who is ashamed of Jesus and His words “in this adulterous and sinful generation” when He comes “in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (verse 38)?

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

In your opinion, what is the similarity between fleeing to a city of refuge until the death of the high priest in Joshua 20:1-9 and the disciple of Jesus losing their life for Jesus and the gospel and saving their life in Mark 8:31-38?

Acts 12:1-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. ² He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. ³ When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. ⁷ Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. ⁹ Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

¹¹ Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

¹² When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. ¹³ Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶ But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

¹⁸ In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Why did King Herod arrest “some who belonged to the church” (verse 1)?

What did King Herod do to James the brother of John (verse 2)?

When did King Herod seize Peter (verse 3)?

How many soldiers guarded Peter (verse 4)?

What was the church doing (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why was Peter so heavily guarded, with two soldiers, bound with two chains, and with senteries at the entrance (verse 6)?

What happened when the “angel of the Lord appeared” (verse 7)?

Who told Peter to “put on your clothes and sandles” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did Peter think he was seeing a vision (verse 9)?

What did the iron gate do for Peter and the angel (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say “Peter came to himself” (verse 11)?

What were people doing in the “house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark” (verse 12)?

What did Rhoda do when Peter knocked on the door (verse 13)?

How do we know that Rhoda was excited (verse 14)?

What did the people who had been praying for Peter think when Rhoda said he was at the door (verse 15)?

How did the people feel when they opened the door and saw Peter (verse 16)?

Who did Peter say got him out of prison (verse 17)?

What did Herod order for the guards who had been guarding Peter (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, what had God done for James, who was put to death by the sword in Acts 12:1-19, that was greater than the sanctuary cities that the Lord told Moses and Joshua to establish in Joshua 20:1-19?

In your opinion, how is Peter’s escape from the four squads of soldiers with the help of the angel in Acts 12:1-19 a symbolic representation of Jesus’s words “whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it”  in Mark 8:31-38?

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.

What has God done “in his great mercy” (verse 3)?

Where is our inheritance kept (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does Peter mean when he says we are “shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation” through faith (verse 5)?

What does Peter say Christians may have had to suffer “in all kinds of trials” (verse 6)?

When will “the proven genuineness of your faith” result in praise, glory and honor (verse 7)?

What fills those who are “receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (verses 8 and 9)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the refuge that is offered by the designated cities in Joshua 20:1-9 and the shielding by God’s power through faith that Peter talks about in 1 Peter 1:3-9?

In your opinion, what is the difference between Peter in Mark 8:31-38 who was rebuked by Jesus for having “merely human concerns” when he rebuked Jesus for saying He was going to die and Peter in 1 Peter 1:3-9 who talks about a “a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”?

In your opinion, how does knowing that Peter had a friend killed by the sword and was in jail in Acts 12:1-19 add strength to his instruction in 1 Peter 1:3-9 to “greatly rejoice” even though there may be griefs and trials?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and 1 Peter show us about the difference between being a refugee in the world and being reborn “into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”?

In your opinion, how does Jesus losing His life to save us enable us to save our lives by losing them for Jesus and the gospel?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 27, 2018 – Kingdom Planting – Conviction, Action and Salvation

-            The

Conviction, Action and Salvation

Joshua 14:6-14 - New International Version (NIV)              

⁶ Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. ⁷ I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, ⁸ but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. ⁹ So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’

¹⁰ “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! ¹¹ I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. ¹² Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

¹³ Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. ¹⁴ So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.

Who said “you know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me” (verse 6)?

What did he bring back to Moses (verse 7)?

Who “made the hearts of the people melt in fear” (verse 8)?

Why did Moses swear that “the land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever” (verse 9)?

How old is Caleb (verse 10)?

 In your opinion, why does Caleb say “I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out” (verse 11)?

What does Caleb ask for (verse 12)?

Who helps Caleb drive out the Anakites (verse 12)?

What did Joshua do (verse 13)?

What did Caleb do “wholeheartedly” (verse 14)?

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

Mark 7:24-30 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵ In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸ “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

What could Jesus not keep secret (verse 24)?

When did the “woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit” come to Jesus and fall at His feet (verse 25)?

Where was the woman from (verse 26)?

What did she beg Jesus to do (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “first let the children eat all they want . . . for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (verse 27)?

How did the woman respond to Jesus (verse 28)?

What does the woman receive for her reply (verse 29)?

What did the woman find when she went home (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, what do Caleb, the eighty-five year old vigorous Israelite, in Joshua 14:6-14 and the Greek woman who was born in Syrian Phoenicia, with the demon possessed daughter, in Mark 7:24-30 have in common?

Acts 11:1-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him ³ and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴ Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. ⁶ I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. ⁷ Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

⁸ “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹ “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

¹¹ “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. ¹² The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. ¹⁴ He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵ “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸ When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

What did “the apostles and the believer throughout Judea” hear (verse 1)?

Why did “the circumcised believers” criticize Peter (verses 2 and 3)?

How did Peter respond to the criticism (verse 4)?

What did Peter see being let down from heaven when he was praying and in a trance (verse 5)?

What was Peter supposed to do (verses 6 and 7)?

In your opinion, why did Peter say “surely not, Lord” (verse 8)?

How did the voice from heaven respond to Peter’s refusal (verse 9)?

Who came after this had happened three times (verse 11)?

What did the Spirit tell Peter (verse 12)?

What did the man say the angel said that “Simon who is called Peter” would bring (verses 13 and14)?

Who came on them when Peter began to speak (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why is what Peter remembered “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” important (verses 16 and 17)?

How did the circumcised believers praise God (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what is similar between Caleb in Joshua 14:6-14 and Peter in Acts 11:1-18?

In your opinion, how does Jesus giving the Greek woman “children’s crumbs” in Mark 7:24-30 help prepare Peter to respond to the vision of the large sheet filled with “four footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds” in Acts 11:1-18?

Romans 10:5-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” ⁶ But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”  ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

What did Moses write about “the righteousness that is by the law” (verse 5)?

What does saying “who will ascend into heaven” do (verse 6)?

What does saying who will descend into the deep” do (verse 7)?

Where is the Word (verse 8)?

How are you saved (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be justified (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be saved (verse 10)?

Who will never be put to shame (verse 11)?

Why does Paul believe there is no difference between Jew and Gentile (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how is Caleb who reports in Joshua 14:6-14 that he made his report to Moses based on his convictions an Old Testament example of what Paul instructs us to do to be saved in Romans 10:5-13 when he tells us to “declare with our mouth” and to “believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead”?

In your opinion, how does Jesus driving the demon from the Greek woman’s daughter in Mark 7:24-30 illustrate the truth of Paul’s statement in Romans 10:5-13 that “anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame”?

In your opinion, how does the objection to the uncircumcised by the circumcised and the way Peter overcomes that objection in Acts 11:1-18 help us to understand what Paul means in Romans 10:5-13 when he says “for there is no difference between Jew and Gentile”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Joshua, Mark, Acts, and Romans teach us about how God leads us to act on convictions?

In your opinion, what convictions and actions must come together to bring salvation?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)