September 2, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Meaningless Toil to Life Changing Love

Meaningless Toil to Life Changing Love

Ecclesiastes 4:1-16 - New International Version (NIV)        

¹ Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
    and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
    and they have no comforter.
² And I declared that the dead,
    who had already died,
are happier than the living,
    who are still alive.
³ But better than both
    is the one who has never been born,
who has not seen the evil
    that is done under the sun.

⁴ And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

⁵ Fools fold their hands
    and ruin themselves.
⁶ Better one handful with tranquillity
    than two handfuls with toil
    and chasing after the wind.

⁷ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸ There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

⁹ Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

¹³ Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. ¹⁴ The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. ¹⁵ I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. ¹⁶ There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

What did the Teacher see “taking place under the sun” (verse 1)?

Who did the Teacher declare was “happier than the living” (verse 2)?

Who has not “seen the evil that is done under the sun” (verse 3)?

What does the Teacher say that “all toil and all achievement” spring from (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by “fools fold their hands and ruin themselves” (verse 5)?

What is better than “two handfuls with toil” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does the Teacher say that it is meaningless to endlessly toil alone (verse 8)?

Why are two better than one (verses 9 and 10)?

What do two lying down together do (verse 11)?

What is “not quickly broken” (verse 12)?

Who is better than a “foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning” (verse 13)?

Who followed “the youth, the king’s successor” (verse 15)?

Who was “not pleased with the successor” (verse 16)?

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

Matthew 5:43-47 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

What does Jesus say that His hearers have heard was said (verse 43)?

Who does Jesus tell us to love (verse 44)?

Who does Jesus tell us to pray for (verse 44)?

Who does our Father in Heaven cause His sun to rise on (verse 45)?

What do even tax collectors do (verse 46)?

What do even pagans do (verse 47)?

How are we to be (verse 48)?

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

In your opinion, what causes the difference between the attitude of the Teacher who says that, due to oppression, the dead are better off than the living in Ecclesiastes 4:1-16, and Jesus, who commands in Matthew 5:43-47 “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”?

Romans 12:9-21 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

What must be sincere (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “be devoted to one another in love” (verse 10)?

What are we supposed to keep (verse 11)?

How are we to respond to affliction (verse 12)?

Who are we to share with (verse 13)?

Who are we to bless (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why should we “rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn” (verse 15)?

Who should we be willing to associate with (verse 16)?

How should we not repay evil (verse 17)?

How should we live with others, if it is possible (verse 18)?

What should we leave room for (verse 19)?

How do we heap burning coals on our enemies heads (verse 20)?

How should we overcome evil (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what do the oppressed people that the Teacher talked about in Ecclesiastes 4:1-16 need to become the people that Paul instructed to “bless those who persecute you” and to “overcome evil with good” in Romans 12:9-21?

In your opinion, how can we who find it easy to be zealous in hating our enemies listen to the command of Jesus from Matthew 5:43-47 to “love your enemy” and still be able to follow Paul’s instruction from Romans 12:9-21 that we “never be lacking in zeal” even while we are overcoming “evil with good”?

1 Peter 4:4-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

How will non-Christians be surprised by the Christians (verse 4)?

Who will the non-Christians have to give account to (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does Peter mean when he says the gospel was preached “even to those who are now dead” (verse 6)?

Why should Christians be “alert and of sober mind so that you may pray” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, whose multitude of sins does love cover over (verse 8)?

How should hospitality be offered to others (verse 9)?

What should each one use the gift they received to do (verse 10)?

How should the Christian speak (verse 11)?

How should the Christian serve (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, how are the dead that the Teacher said in Ecclesiastes 4:1-16 were “happier than the living, who are still alive” and the dead that the gospel had been preached to that Peter refers to in 1 Peter 4:4-11 similar?  And what is their biggest difference?

In your opinion, how does Peter’s instruction in 1 Peter 4:4-11 to “love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins” help us move toward obedience to the instruction of Jesus from Matthew 5:43-47 to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”?

In your opinion, what do we learn from 1 Peter 4:4-11 that helps us in attempting to obey Paul’s instruction from Romans 12:9-21 “do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Romans and 1 Peter teach us about living oppressed versus serving “with the strength God provides”?

In your opinion, how do we move from a life of meaningless toil to life changing love?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 26, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – A Time to Die and a Time to Live with Jesus

-            The

A Time to Die and a Time to Live with Jesus

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 - New International Version (NIV)        

¹ There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

¹⁵ Whatever is has already been,
    and what will be has been before;
    and God will call the past to account.

¹⁶ And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
    in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

¹⁷ I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment
    both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
    a time to judge every deed.”

¹⁸ I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. ¹⁹ Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. ²⁰ All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. ²¹ Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”

²² So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

What is there a season for (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what is the Teacher trying to say in the “a time for” verses (verses 2 through 8)?

What has the Teacher seen (verse 10)?

Where has God “set eternity” (verse 11)?

What did the Teacher say about people being happy and doing “good while they live” (verse 12)?

How does the Teacher define eating, drinking and finding satisfaction in toil (verse 13)?

How much can be added to or taken from what God does (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by “whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before” (verse 15)?

Where was wickedness (verse 16)?

For what will there be a “time to judge” (verse 17)?

How did the Teacher tell himself that God will test humans (verse 18)?

What advantage do humans have over animals (verse 19)?

Where do all return (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does the Teacher mean by the question “who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth” (verse 21)?

The Teacher determine that there is “nothing better for a person than to” do what (verse 22)?

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

Matthew 7:21-23 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Who will enter the kingdom of heaven (verse 21)?

What will many say (verse 22)?

How will Jesus respond (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean when He said that He will say “I never knew you” (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the Teacher’s view of the judgment of the “righteous and the wicked” in Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 and what Jesus conveys by His statement “I never knew you.  Away from me you evildoers.” in Matthew 7:21-23?

Romans 3:21-28 – New International Version (NIV)

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. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

What is apart from the “righteousness of God” that has been made known (verse 21)?

How is this righteousness given (verse 22)?

Who is this righteousness given to (verse 22)?

Who has “sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (verse 23)?

How are those who have sinned “justified” (verse 24)?

How is Christ who God presented “as a sacrifice of atonement” to be received (verse 25)?

In your opinion, how can God be “just” and also be “the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus” (verse 26)?

What law excludes boasting (verse 27)?

What does Paul “maintain” (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, how do you think Paul, who said in Romans 3:21-28 that “all have sinned”, might have been able to encourage the Teacher, who saw wickedness where there should have been justice in Ecclesiastes 3:1-22?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion of a righteousness that is received by faith in Romans 3:21-28 help us understand Jesus’s statement in Matthew 7:21-23 “I never knew you.  Away from me you evildoers.”?

2 Timothy 2:8-19 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹ Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
    we will also live with him;
¹² if we endure,
    we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
    he will also disown us;
¹³ if we are faithless,
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot disown himself.

¹⁴ Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. ¹⁷ Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

Who does Paul want Timothy to remember (verse 8)?

What is not chained (verse 9)?

Why is Paul willing to “endure everything” (verse 10)?

What will happen if we “died with” Christ (verse 11)?

When will we reign with Christ (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to us that Jesus “remains faithful” even when we are “faithless” (verse 13)?

What is of no value (verse 14)?

What does it mean to be a worker who is approved (verse 15)?

Who will become “more and more ungodly” (verse 16)?

How did Hymenaeus and Philetus “destroy the faith of some” (verses 17 and 18)?

Who does the Lord know (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Teacher’s statement in Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 that there is “a time to be born and a time to die” expanded on by the “trustworthy saying” of 2 Timothy 2:8-19 that says, “if we died with him, we will also live with him”?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion in 2 Timothy 2:8-19 help us avoid hearing Jesus say on judgment day, “I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!” as He warned in Matthew 7:21-23?

In your opinion, how is Paul’s explanation of the justification of the sinner in Romans 3:21-28 logically followed by his instruction in 2 Timothy 2:8-19 to “remember Jesus Christ” and that “everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Romans and 2 Timothy teach us about moving from enjoying (or not enjoying) our work to being an approved worker who Jesus knows?

In your opinion, how do we move from living and dying in the world to dying and living in Jesus?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 19, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Meaningless Toil or Abounding Love

Meaningless Toil or Abounding Love

Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 - New International Version (NIV)      

¹⁷ So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. ¹⁸ I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. ²⁰ So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹ For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. ²² What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? ²³ All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

²⁴ A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, ²⁵ for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? ²⁶ To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Why did the Teacher hate life (verse 17)?

How did the Teacher feel about the things he “had toiled for under the sun” (verse 18)?

What was going to happen to the things the Teacher toiled for (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why does it matter to the Teacher if the person he leaves his things to is “wise or foolish” (verse 19)?

What did the Teacher’s heart begin to despair over (verse 20)?

Who must the person who labors “with wisdom, knowledge and skill” leave all they own to (verse 21)?

In your opinion, “whot do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor  under the sun” (verse 22)?

What does not rest at night (verse 23)?

What is from “the hand of God” (verse 24)?

In your opinion, without God “who can eat or find enjoyment” (verse 25)?

Who does God give “wisdom, knowledge and happiness” to (verse 26}?

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

Matthew 7:7-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

What will happen if you ask for something (verse 7)?

What will happen if you seek something (verse 7)?

What will happen if you knock (verse 7)?

Who receives (verse 8)?

Who finds (verse 8)?

For whom is the door opened (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He asks “which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone” and “if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake” (verses 9 and 10)?

In your opinion, what point is Jesus making when He says “if you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (verse 11)?

What sums up “the Law and the Prophets” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the Teacher’s view in Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 about who God will give “wisdom, knowledge and happiness” to and Jesus’s statement in Matthew 7:7-12 about who “your Father in heaven” will give good gifts to?

Philippians 1:3-11 – New International Version (NIV)

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. ⁸ God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

When does Paul thank God for the Philippian Christians (verse 3)?

How does Paul pray when he prays for the Philippian Christians (verse 4)?

How have the Philippin Christians been partners with Paul (verse 5)?

What is Paul confident of (verse 6)?

Why is it right for Paul to “feel this way” (verse 7)?

What can God testify to (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he prays “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (verse 9)?

What will the Philippian Christians be able to discern if their love abounds “more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (verse 10)?

Where does the “fruit of righteousness” come from (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Teacher’s statement that a person can do “nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil” in Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 different from Paul’s prayer “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” in Philippians 1:3-11?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s prayer that “your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” in Philippians 1:3-11 begin to help us understand Jesus statement in Matthew 7:7-12 that “how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him”?

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

⁴ I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. ⁷ Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

What does Paul always do when he remembers Philemon in his prayers (verse 4)?

What does Paul hear about Philemon (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what is Paul asking for when he prays that Philemon will be deepened in “understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ” (verse 6)?

What has given Paul “great joy and encouragement” (verse 7)?

What has Philemon done (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the view of the Teacher who “hated all the things I had toiled for” and found toil to be meaningless in Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 and Philemon’s giving “great joy and encouragement” to Paul and refreshing “the hearts of the Lord’s people” in Philemon 1:4-7?

In your opinion, how might Philemon giving “great joy and encouragement” to Paul in Philemon 1:4-7 help us to understand more about the gifts that Jesus says the Father will give to “to those who ask him” in Matthew 7:7-12?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the similarity of Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:3-11 that “your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” and his prayer in Philemon 1:4-7 “that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Philippians and Philemon teach us about how to discern what is a “stone” or a “snake” that we might ask God for and what is a good gift like “bread” or “fish” God would give us instead?

In your opinion, how can we move from a focus of toiling meaninglessly for ourselves to abounding in “love for all his holy people” and “faith in the Lord Jesus”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

August 12, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Seek First

Seek First

Ecclesiastes 2:12-16 - New International Version (NIV)      

¹² Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
    and also madness and folly.
What more can the king’s successor do
    than what has already been done?
¹³ I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
    just as light is better than darkness.
¹⁴ The wise have eyes in their heads,
    while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
    that the same fate overtakes them both.

¹⁵ Then I said to myself,

“The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
    What then do I gain by being wise?”
I said to myself,
    “This too is meaningless.”
¹⁶ For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
    the days have already come when both have been forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise too must die!

What did the Teacher turn his thoughts to (verse 12)?

How is wisdom better than folly (verse 13)?

What is the same for the wise and the fool (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why did the Teacher ask “what then do I gain from being wise” (verse 15)?

Who will “not be long remembered” (verse 16)?

What will the fool and the wise both do (verse 16)?

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

Matthew 6:25-34 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

What does Jesus tell His listeners not to do (verse 25)?

What is “more than food” (verse 25)?

Who feeds the “birds of the air” (verse 26)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus intend to teach with the question, “can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your live” (verse 27)?

What was “Solomon in all his splendor” not dressed like (verses 28 and 29)?

What does Jesus say we should not do (verse 31)?

Who runs after food, drink and clothes (verses 31 and 32)?

What does Jesus tell us to “seek first” (verse 33)?

What does each day have enough of (verse 34)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Teacher becoming aware that the wise will not be remembered long in Ecclesiastes 2:12-16 similar to the pagans worrying food, drink and clothing in Matthew 6:25-34?

Philippians 4:4-9 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

When does Paul say we should rejoice in the Lord (verse 4)?

What should be “evident to all” (verse 5)?

Who is near (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does is mean to “not be anxious about anything” (verse 6)?

How should we present our requests to God (verse 6)?

What will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (verse 7)?

What should we think about (verse 8)?

Who will be with us if we put into practice what we have learned from Paul (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Teacher’s focus on wisdom, madness and folly in Ecclesiastes 2:12-16 different from the focus that Paul recommends in Phillippians 4:4-9?

In your opinion, how does Paul in his instruction to “in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” in Phillippians 4:4-9 help us understand how to implement Jesus command “do not worry” as given in Matthew 6:25-34?

1 Peter 3:8-12 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
¹¹ They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

What does Peter instruct us to do (verse 8)?

How are we to repay evil (verse 9)?

What must the person who “would love life and see good days” do (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “turn from evil and do good” (verse 11)?

Who are the Lord’s eyes on (verse 12)?

What are the Lord’s ears “attentive to” (verse 12)?

Who is the “face of the Lord” against (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how is Peter in 1 Peter 3:8-12 different in his division of the people of the world that the Teacher, who divides the world into those who are wise and foolish in Ecclesiastes 2:12-16?

In your opinion, how does Peter in 1 Peter 3:8-12 echo the command of Jesus in Matthew 6:25-34 to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”?

In your opinion, how does Peter in 1 Peter 3:8-12 say in a much more direct way what Paul said in Phillippians 4:4-9 “let your gentleness be evident to all”?

In your opinion, how do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Phillippians and 1 Peter teach us about how to love life?

In your opinion, how can we, living in sinful world, seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)