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The
Our Desires to His Gifts
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 - New International Version (NIV)
14 When you enter the land the Lord
your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and
you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15 be
sure to appoint over you a king the Lord
your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a
foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. 16 The
king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make
the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He
must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not
accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for
himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical
priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it
all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all
the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not
consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the
right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over
his kingdom in Israel.
What
does God, through Moses, anticipate that the Israelites will want in the
promised land (verse 14)?
Who should they appoint as king (verse 15)?
In your opinion, why should the king not “acquire great numbers of horses for himself” (verse 16)?
What will happen if the king takes “many wives” (verse 17)?
How is the king to get a copy of this law (verse 18)?
Why should the king read his copy of the law “all the days of his life” (verse 19)?
Who is the king not to “consider himself better than” (verse 20)?
How is the king to approach the law (verse 21)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,”
they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at
your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink
the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You
will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,
40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to
grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James
and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You
know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not
so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave
of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Who told Jesus “we want you
to do for us whatever we ask” (verse 35)?
How did Jesus respond (verse 36)?
When did they want to sit at Jesus right and left hand (verse 37)?
In your opinion, why did Jesus say they did not know what they were asking (verse 38)?
What question did Jesus ask them (verse 38)?
In your opinion, what did Jesus mean by “you will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with” (verse 39)?
Who do the places at Jesus right and left belong to (verse 40)?
How did the rest of the disciples respond (verse 41)?
What do “those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles” do (verse 42)?
How does the disciple who wants to be great need to act (verse 43)?
Who must “be slave of all” (verse 44)?
Why did “the Son of Man” come (verse 45)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what effect does Jesus have on the law that Moses gave to the kings of Israel in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 when he tells the disciples what they are to do in Mark 10:35-45?
1 Timothy 6:11-21 – New International Version (NIV)
11 But you, man of God, flee
from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and
gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take
hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good
confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the
sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while
testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to
keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus
Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own
time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who
alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen
or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
17 Command those who are rich
in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which
is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with
everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do
good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In
this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the
coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
20 Timothy, guard what has
been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing
ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some
have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith.
Grace be with you all.
What does Paul tell Timothy to pursue (verse
11)?
In your opinion, what is “the good fight of the faith” (verse 12)?
Who “gives life to everything” (verse 13)?
How long is Timothy to do the things
Paul commanded (verse 14)?
Who is “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (verse 15)?
Where does God live (verse 16)?
What are those who are rich not to put
their hope in (verse 17)?
What are the rich to do (verse 18)?
In your opinion, what is “the life that is truly life” (verse 19)?
What is Timothy to “turn away from” (verse 20)?
How does Paul end 1 Timothy (verse 21)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does Jesus’ instruction to those who wish to become great to instead become servants in Mark 10:35-45 become more specific in Paul’s instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:11-21?
James 1:9-18 – New International Version (NIV)
9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their
high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in
their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For
the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and
its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while
they go about their business.
12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having
stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has
promised to those who love him.
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but
each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and
enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every
good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the
heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He
chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of
firstfruits of all he created.
Who
should take pride “in their high
position” (verse 9)?
What should the rich take pride in (verse 10)?
When will the rich “fade away” (verse 11)?
How is the “one who perseveres under trial” blessed (verse 12)?
Why should the person who is tempted not say “God is tempting me” (verse 13)?
When are people tempted (verse 14)?
What happens “after desire has conceived” (verse 15)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to not “be deceived” (verse 16)?
Who does “every good and perfect gift” come from (verse 17)?
How does God “give us birth” (verse 18)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how is Moses’ command to a king to “not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn away from the law to the left or right” in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 echoed by
James’ command to the rich to “take pride in their humiliation” that is followed by the discussion about temptation in James 1:9-18?
In your opinion, how does Jesus ending His discussion about being great through being a servant by saying “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” in Mark 10:35-45 help the disciples understand what was truly valuable in the same way that James does in James 1:9-18 when he says “every good and perfect gift is from above”?
In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that both Paul, in Timothy 6:11-21 “command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant not to put their hope in wealth” and James, in James 1:9-18 “the rich should take pride in their humiliation” address wealth like it is a challenge to faith?
In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Mark, 1 Timothy and James help us understand about the our desires?
In your opinion, how do we move from pursuing our own desires to receiving the “every good and perfect gift” from Father and the One who gave His life to ransom us?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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