October 6, 2019 – Festivals and Foundations – The Sabbath Blessing

The Sabbath Blessing


Leviticus 23:1-3 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

³ “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

Who was Moses to speak to (verse 2)?

Who “appointed” the festivals that Moses was to speak about (verse 2)?

How many days are there to work (verse 3)?

What is the seventh day (verse 3)?

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

Exodus 16:15-30 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”

¹⁷ The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. ¹⁸ And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

¹⁹ Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”

²⁰ However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

²¹ Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. ²² On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. ²³ He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”

²⁴ So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. ²⁵ “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. ²⁶ Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

²⁷ Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? ²⁹ Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

How did Moses answer the Israelites question “what is it” (verse 15)?

How much were the Israelites to gather (verse 16)?

Who gathered “just as much as they needed” (verse 18)?

How much is to be kept until morning (verse 19)?

In your opinion, why did some people not pay attention to Moses (verse 20)?

What happened when “the sun grew hot” (verse 21)?

When did they gather twice as much (verse 22)?

What did the Lord say about “tomorrow” (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why was there no Manna on the seventh day (verses 24 through 26)?

What did some people do on the seventh day (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why was Moses angry with the people who gathered too much in verse 20 and the Lord with those who “refuse to keep my commands” speaking of the people who went out and gathered in verse 28?

What are the Israelites to “bear in mind” (verse 29)?

When did the people rest (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, how would the history of the manna in Exodus 16:15-30 help the people hearing Moses in Leviticus 23:1-3 better understand the Sabbath rest?

Mark 2:23-27 – New International Version (NIV)

²³ One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. ²⁴ The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

²⁵ He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? ²⁶ In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

²⁷ Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

When was Jesus going through the grainfields (verse 23)?

What did the disciples begin to do (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why did the Parisees say “look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath” (verse 24)?

What did David do when “he and his companions were hungry and in need” (verses 25 and 26)?

Who could lawfully eat the bread that David ate (verse 26)?

Who was the Sabbath made for (verse 27)?

What is the “Son of Man” the Lord “even of” (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, how is the position of the Pharisees in Mark 2:23-27 supported by the instructions of Leviticus 23:1-3?  How might the Pharisees response been too strong?

In your opinion, are the actions of the disciples who were gathering the grain in Mark 2:23-27 similar to the actions of the people in Exodus 16:15-30 who went out on the Sabbath to gather the “bread the Lord has given you to eat”? 

In your opinion, does Jesus change anything about the Sabbath by His statement that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”?

Romans 14:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. ² One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

Who is to be accepted “without quarreling over disputable matters” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why would one person’s faith allow them to eat what another person’s faith would not allow them to eat (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between treating someone with contempt and judging someone (verse 3)?

Why will the Lord’s servants stand (verse 4)?

Where should those who consider whether a day is sacred or not be fully convinced (verse 5)?

What do each of the people in verse 6 have in common?

What do none of us do “for ourselves alone” (verse 7)?

Who do Christians belong to in life and death (verse 8)?

Why did Christ die and return to life (verse 9)?

Where will we all stand (verse 10)?

Who will every knee bow to (verse 11)?

What will each of us give to God (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how are the people who hear the instruction of Moses to keep the Sabbath in Leviticus 23:1-3 different from the people who Paul is telling to be “fully convinced in their own minds” in Romans 14:1-12?

In your opinion, how is the focus of gathering the proper amount of bread the Lord had provided on each of the six days in Exodus 16:15-30 and the focus on living and dying for the Lord (instead of the things that we can disagree on) in Romans 14:1-12 similar?

In your opinion, what is the uniting truth that both Jesus in Mark 2:23-27 and Paul in Romans 14:1-23 both use to move from confrontational and unimportant items to what is central?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Leviticus, Exodus, Mark and Romans help us understand about the differences that Christians may have and the unity that Christians must have?

In your opinion, how can those who consider one day sacred and those who don’t all receive Sabbath blessings when they understand what led Jesus to say that “the Sabbath was made for man”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 22, 2019 – Festivals and Foundations – Rivers of Living Water

Rivers of Living Water


Leviticus 23:33-36 - New International Version (NIV)

³³ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵ The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. ³⁶ For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

Who spoke to Moses (verse 33)?

How long does the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles last (verse 34)?

What kind of work is forbidden on the first day of the celebration when they have “a sacred assembly” (verse 35)?

What is to happen on “the eighth day” (verse 36)?

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

Zechariah 12:10-13:1 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. ¹¹ On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, ¹³ the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, ¹⁴ and all the rest of the clans and their wives. ¹ “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

What kind of spirit will God pour out on “the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (verse 10)?

Who will they “look on . . . mourn . . . and grieve” (verse 10)?

Where will there be great weeping “on that day” (verse 11)?

Who will mourn (verses 12, 13 and 14)?

What will the fountain that is opened on that day do (verse 1)?

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

In your opinion, how is the closing assembly of the Festival of Tabernacles in Leviticus 23:33-36 similar to the day when the “spirit of grace and supplication” is poured out and the fountain is opened to “cleanse them from sin and impurity” in Zechariah 12:10-13:1?

John 7:32-44 – New International Version (NIV)

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

³³ Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

³⁵ The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? ³⁶ What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

When did the “chief priests and the Pharisees” send temple guards to arrest Jesus (verse 32)?

Where does Jesus say He is going (verse 33)?

What will the people not be able to do (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why could the Jews not understand where Jesus was going (verses 35 and 36)?

When did Jesus stand up and speak “in a loud voice” (verse 37)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean by “let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink” (verse 37)?

Where will “rivers of living waters” flow (verse 38)?

Why had the Spirit not been given “up to that time” (verse 39)?

What did some people say (verse 40)?

In your opinion, why did some people say “He is the Messiah” (verse 41)?

In your opinion, why did others ask “how can the Messiah come from Galilee” (verses 41 and 42)?

What effect did Jesus have on the people (verse 43)?

How many people “laid a hand” on Jesus (verse 44)?

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

In your opinion, why would Jesus use the day that Leviticus 23:33-36 called the “closing special assembly” to stand up in John 7:32-44 and say “let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink”?

In your opinion, how is Zechariah 12:10-13:1 where the prophecy is about mourning the one who was pierced and about the fountain that will cleanse related to John 7:32-44 where Jesus talks about going to where “you cannot come” and invites the thirsty to come to Him?

Revelation 22:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Who showed John “the river of the water of life” (verse 1)?

Where did the river flow from (verse 1)?

What stood on each side of the river (verse 2)?

What will there no longer be (verse 3)?

Where will the “throne of God and of the Lamb” be (verse 3)?

What will the servants of God and the Lamb see (verse 4)?

Why will there be no night or need for the “light of a lamp or the light of the sun” (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, how is the “sacred assembly” that Leviticus 23:33-36 indicates is to occur on the eighth day related to the “servants” in Revelation 22:1-5 seeing the face of God and the Lamb?

In your opinion, how is the mourning for “the one they have pierced” of Zechariah 12:10-13:1 related to the “river of the water of life” in Revelation 22:1-5?

In your opinion, how is “river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb” of Revelation 22:1-5 related to the place that Jesus said He would be going in John 7:32-44?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Leviticus, Zechariah, John and Revelation show us about the relationship between mourning and salvation?

In your opinion, how can we who are thirsty able to not only drink of the “spirit of grace and supplication” but have the “rivers of living water flow from within”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

September 15, 2019 – Festivals and Foundations – Living in a Temporary Shelter

-                        The

Living in a Temporary Shelter


Leviticus 23:33-43 - New International Version (NIV)

³³ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁴ “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵ The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. ³⁶ For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

³⁷ (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. ³⁸ These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the Lord.)

³⁹ “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters ⁴³ so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

What are the Israelites to celebrate “on the fifteenth day of the seventh month” (verse 34)?

What is the first day of the celebration (verse 35)?

When are the food offerings to be presented to the Lord (verse 36)?

Who appointed the “sacred assemblies” (verse 37)?

In your opinion, how do the “branches from luxuriant trees-from palms, willows and other leafy trees” aid in rejoicing before the Lord (verse 40)?

Where are the people to live for seven days (verse 42)?

Why are they to live there (verse 43)?

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

Genesis 23:1-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. ² She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

³ Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, ⁴ “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

⁵ The Hittites replied to Abraham, ⁶ “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”

⁷ Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. ⁸ He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf ⁹ so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”

¹⁰ Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. ¹¹ “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”

¹² Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land ¹³ and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵ “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”

¹⁶ Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.

¹⁷ So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded ¹⁸ to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. ¹⁹ Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

How long did Sarah live (verse 1)?

Where did she die (verse 2)?

Who did Abraham speak to (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Abraham say “I am a foreigner and stranger among you” (verse 4)?

What did the Hittites offer (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did Abraham not take the Hittites offer but ask to buy the cave of Machpela (verses 7, 8 and 9)?

What did Ephron the Hittite offer (verses 10 and 11)?

How did Abraham respond to the offer (verses 12 and 13)?

How much was the land worth (verse 15)?

What did Abraham do (verse 16)?

What happened to “Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre” (verses 17 and 18)?

When was Sarah buried in the cave (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how are the situations of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 23:1-20 and of the Israelite people during the time they were remembering that they lived in temporary housing during the festival appointed by the Lord in Leviticus 23:33-43 similar?

John 7:1-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. ² But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, ³ Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴ No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. ⁸ You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹ Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”

¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” ¹³ But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.

Why did Jesus not “want to go about in Judea” (verse 1)?

When did Jesus brothers say “leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do” (verses 2 and 3)?

Did Jesus “own brothers”  believe in Him (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why was Jesus’ time different than His brothers for whom “any time will do” (verse 6)?

Why does the world hate Jesus (verse 7)?

When did Jesus go to the festival secretly (verse 10)?

Who was at the festival “watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?” (verse 11)?

Where was the “widespread whispering” about Jesus (verse 12)?

Why would no one publicly say anything about Jesus (verse 13)?

When did Jesus go to the temple courts and begin to teach (verse 14)?

Why were the Jews amazed (verse 15)?

Where did Jesus teaching come from (verse 16)?

Who will find out “whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (verse 17)?

Who has nothing false about themselves (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, how was Jesus’ hesitation to go to the Festival of Tabernacles in John 7:1-18 because His time was not yet here, similar to the Israelites who Leviticus 23:33-43 says were to hold the Festival so their descendents would remember them living in temporary shelters as they were brought out of Egypt?

In your opinion, how was Sarah, who died in Genesis 23:1-20 without a place to be buried, similar to Jesus who says in John 7:1-18 that He was hated by the world?

1 Peter 1:1-9 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

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.

Who does Peter call “exiles” (verse 1)?

What have these “exiles” been chosen for (verse 2)?

In what had “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (verse 3)?

Where is our inheritance kept (verse 4)?

How long are we “through faith shielded by God’s power” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how can we “greatly rejoice” in the midst of trials (verse 6)?

Why have trials come (verse 7)?

What fills those who believe in Jesus even though they don’t see Him (verse 8)?

What is the “end result” of faith (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, how are the Israelites living in temporary shelters in Leviticus 23:33-43 similar to the “exiles” scattered through the world with an inheritance in heaven that Peter refers to in 1 Peter 1:1-9?

In your opinion, how is what Abraham did by purchasing the cave where Sarah was buried in Genesis 23:1-20 similar to what Jesus does for those who believe by sprinkling them with His blood according to 1 Peter 1:1-9?

In your opinion, how do the crowds in John 7:1-18 whispering “he is a good man”  versus “no, he deceives the people” help us understand what it takes to become what Peter calls an “exile” in 1 Peter 1:1-9?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Leviticus, Genesis, John and 1 Peter teach us about living as Christians in todays world?

In your opinion, how can we have “grace and peace” in abundance in a world which hates Jesus?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)