November 3, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Authority and Grace

Authority and Grace


Zechariah 3:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. ² The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

³ Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. ⁴ The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”

Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”

⁵ Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.

⁶ The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: ⁷ “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.

⁸ “‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. ⁹ See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.

Why was Satan standing at Joshua’s right side (verse 1)?

In your opinion, how is Joshua “a burning stick snatched from the fire” (verse 2)?

How was Joshua dressed (verse 3)?

What was taken away from Joshua (verse 4)?

Who said “put a clean turban on his head” (verse 5)?

What did the “angel of the Lord” give to Joshua (verse 6)?

What would happen if Joshua walked in obedience and kept God’s requirements (verse 7)?

In your opinion, how are Joshua and his associates “symbolic of things to come” (verse 8)?

What will the Lord remove in a single day (verse 9)?

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

Mark 1:21-28 - New International Version (NIV)

²¹ They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²² The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. ²³ Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, ²⁴ “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

²⁵ “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” ²⁶ The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

²⁷ The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” ²⁸ News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

When did Jesus go into the synagogue and begin to teach (verse 21)?

Why were the people amazed at His teaching (verse 22)?

How was the man in the synagogue possessed (verse 23)?

In your opinion, how did the man know that Jesus was “the Holy One of God” (verse 24)?

What did Jesus order the impure spirit to do (verse 25)?

How did the people react (verse 26)?

Where did news about Jesus go (verse 27)?

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

In your opinion, how are Joshua in Zechariah 3:1-9 and Jesus in Mark 1:21-28 similar?

Romans 8:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.  And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.

Where is there “now no condemnation” (verse 1)?

What sets us free “from the law of sin and death” (verse 2)?

Why was the law powerless (verse 3)?

What did God send “his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh” to be (verse 3)?

Who fully meets the “righteous requirements of the law” (verse 4)?

What do those who “live in accordance wht the Spirit” have their minds set on (verse 5)?

In your opinion, how is the mind that is governed by the Spirit “life and peace” (verse 6)?

What can the mind that is governed by the flesh not do (verse 7)?

Who cannot please God (verse 8)?

Who does not belong to the realm of the Spirit (verse 9)?

Why does the Spirit give life to those who Christ is in (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how is the removing of the filthy clothes from Joshua in Zechariah 3:1-10 and the righteous requirement of the law being met for those who the Spirit of God lives in in Romans 8:1-10 similar?

In your opinion, how are one who is free of condemnation because they are in Christ Jesus as in Romans 8:1-10 and the man whom Jesus casts the impure spirit out of in Mark 1:21-28 similar?  How are they different? 

 1 Peter 5:6-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Why does Peter say we should humble ourselves “under God’s mighty hand” (verse 6)?

What should we cast on God because He cares for us (verse 7)?

Who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (verse 8)?

What is “the family of believers throughout the world” undergoing (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why does Peter say God is “the God of all grace” (verse 10)?

Where does “the God of all grace” call us (verse 10)?

Who does Peter pray will have “power for ever and ever” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, how does what Satan wanted to do to Joshua in Zechariah 3:1-9 and what the “roaring lion” in 1 Peter 5:6-11 wants to accomplish similar?

In your opinion, how are the casting out of the impure spirit in Mark 1:21-28 and the restoration of the believer in 1 Peter 5:6-11 different?  How are they similar?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 5:6-11 show us about the challenges that those who Romans 8:1-10 say now have no condemnation will still have?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Zechariah, Mark, Romans and 1 Peter teach us about God’s power, authority and plan?

In your opinion, how should we react to the “God of grace” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 27, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – The Time has Come

-                        The

The Time has Come


Daniel 2:31-45 - New International Version (NIV)

³¹ “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. ³⁷ Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. ⁴⁰ Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. ⁴¹ Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵ This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

How does Daniel describe the large statue before Nebuchadnezzer (verse 31)?

What were the head, chest and belly and thighs of the statue made of (verse 32)?

What was made “partly of iron and partly of baked clay” (verse 33)?

Where did the rock that was cut out “but not by human hands” hit the statue (verse 34)?

What happened to “the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold” (verse 35)?

What “filled the whole earth” (verse 35)?

Who has given the “king of kings” “dominion and power and might and glory” (verse 37)?

Who is the “head of gold” (verse 38)?

What will the fourth kingdom, the one as strong as iron, do to the preceeding kingdoms (verse 40)?

How does Daniel interpret the meaning of the feet and toes that are partly iron and partly clay (verses 41 through 43)?

How is the kingdom that God will set up be different from the other kingdoms (verse 44)?

In the vision, what represents the kingdom of God (verse 45)?

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

Mark 1:14-20 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵ “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

¹⁶ As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” ¹⁸ At once they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹ When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. ²⁰ Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

When did Jesus go into Galilee (verse 14)?

What does Jesus say about the kingdom of God (verse 15)?

How are those who hear His words to respond to the kingdom of God (verse 15)?

What were Simon and Andrew doing (verse 16)?

Where was Jesus going to send Simon and Andrew (verse 17)?

How did Simon and Andrew respond to Jesus’s invitation (verse 18)?

What were James and John doing when Jesus saw them (verse 19)?

How did James and John respond to Jesus’s invitation (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, how is the calling of Simon, Andrew, James and John in Mark 1:14-20 a part of the prophecy of the cutting of the rock, “but not by human hands” in Daniel 2:31-45?

Acts 4:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴ But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,
    which has become the cornerstone.’

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

What were Peter and John doing when the priests, the captain of the guard, and the Sadducees came up (verse 1)?

How did the priests, the captain of the guard, and the Sadducees feel about Peter and John’s proclaiming “in Jesus the resurrection of the dead” (verse 2)?

Where did they put Peter and John (verse 3)?

How did many of the people who heard Peter and John proclaiming “in Jesus the resurrection of the dead” respond (verse 4)?

Who met in Jerusalem (verses 5 and 6)?

In your opinion, why did they ask “by what power or what name did you do this” (verse 7)?

Who filled Peter (verse 8)?

How does Peter answer the question “by what power or what name did you do this” (verses 9 and 10)?

What does Peter say Jesus is (verse 11)?

Where is salvation found (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how is the “stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone” in Mark 1:14-20 related to the “rock that was cut out, but not by human hands” in Daniel 2:31-45?

In your opinion, how is the action of Simon (Peter) in Acts 4:1-12 similar to his action in Mark 1:14-20?  In your opinion, how are his actions different? 

 1 Peter 2:4-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

In your opinion, who is “the living Stone” (verse 4)?

What are the “living stones” being built into (verse 5)?

Who lays the “stone in Zion” that the one who trusts in “will never be put to shame” (verse 6)?

In your opinion, how can some people view the stone as precious and others reject it (verse 7)?

Why do people stumble over the stone (verse 8)?

What do “you a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” declare (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what has changed in the people who “once had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how are the “living stones” who Peter is writing to in 1 Peter 2:4-10 a part of the prophecy of Daniel 2:31-45?

In your opinion, how are the people that Jesus was inviting to “repent and believe the good news” in Mark 1:14-20 different from the people that Peter is calling “a chosen people” in 1 Peter 2:4-10?

In your opinion, how do the priests, captain of the temple guard and Sadducees of Acts 4:1-12 and the “living stones” of 1 Peter 2:4-10 represent the two reactions to the stone the builders rejected in both passages?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Daniel, Mark, Acts and 1 Peter help us understand about the differences between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world?

In your opinion, how should we react today to Jesus words in Mark that “the time has come”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 20, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Unexpected and Awesome

Unexpected and Awesome


Isaiah 64:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
    that the mountains would tremble before you!
² As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake before you!
³ For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
    you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
⁴ Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
⁵ You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
    who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
    you were angry.
    How then can we be saved?
⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
⁷ No one calls on your name
    or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
    and have given us over to our sins.

⁸ Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
    We are the clay, you are the potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.
⁹ Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
    do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
    for we are all your people.

What does Isaiah wish God would “rend the heavens” and do (verse 1)?

Who does Isaiah want God to “make your name known to” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does Isaiah say that God did “awesome things that we did not expect” (verse 3)?

Of whom does Isaiah say “no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen” (verse 4)?

How does Isaiah say that God reacted when Israel continued to sin against His ways (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah mean when he says “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (verse 6)?

What has God “given us over to” (verse 7)?

Who is the “work of your hand” (verse 8)?

How long does Isaiah pray that the Lord will not remember our sins (verse 9)?

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

Mark 1:9-13 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

Who baptized Jesus in the Jordan (verse 9)?

When did Jesus see “heaven being torn open” (verse 10)?

How did the Spirit descend on Jesus (verse 10)?

In your opinion, who said “you are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (verse 11)?

Where did the Spirit send Jesus (verse 12)?

How long was Jesus in the wilderness (verse 13)?

Who tempted Jesus (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how was the request of Isaiah in Isaiah 64:1-9 fulfilled in Mark 1:9-13?  How is the request of Isaiah still incomplete?

Acts 7:51-60 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! ⁵² Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— ⁵³ you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

⁵⁴ When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Who does Stephen say that the Sanhedrin always resists (verse 51)?

Who does Stephen say that the Sanhedrin “betrayed and murdered” (verse 52)?

What does Stephen say that the Sanhedrin has not obeyed (verse 53)?

How did the Sanhedrin react to what Stephen said (verse 54)?

Where did Stephen look to see the “glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (verse 55)?

In your opinion, why did Stephen say “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (verse 56)?

What did the Sanhedrin do before the rushed at Stephen (verse 57)?

Where did they take Stephen (verse 58)?

What did Stephen pray while they were stoning him (verse 59)?

When did Stephen “fall asleep” (verse 60)?

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

In your opinion, why is the prayer of Isaiah that God not “remember our sins forever” in Isaiah 64:1-9 much different than the prayer of Stephen to “not hold this sin against them” in Acts 7:51-60?

In your opinion, how are Jesus in Mark 1:9-13 and Stephen in Acts 7:51-60 similar? 

 Ephesians 1:3-10 – New International Version (NIV)

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Who has blessed Christians “in the heavenly realms” (verse 3)?

How are Christians blessed (verse 3)?

When were Christians chosen to “be holy and blameless in his sight” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is “adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ” (verse 5)?

What has God “freely given us in the One he loves” (verse 6)?

What do Christians have “through his blood” (verse 7)?

What did God lavish on Christians (verses 7 and 8)?

In your opinion, what is the “mystery of his will” that He has made known to us (verse 9)?

What will be brought to “all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how is Isaiah’s request in Isaiah 64:1-10 that God “rend the heavens and come down” much different than the “mystery of his will” that Paul revealed in Ephesians 1:3-10?  How might the rending of the heavens still be accomplished within the “mystery of his will”?

In your opinion, how is the time that Christians, who Christ has blessed “in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” according to Ephesians 1:3-10, spend on the earth similar to the time that Jesus spent in the wilderness in Mark 1:9-13?

In your opinion, what does Paul in Ephesians 1:3-10 reveal that Christians today have in common with Stephen who was stoned in Acts 7:51-60?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and Ephesians help us understand how God answered Isaiah’s question “how then can we be saved”?

In your opinion, how can we be a part of the unexpected and awesome thing that God is doing today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

October 13, 2019 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Proclaiming Good News

-                        Th

Proclaiming Good News



Malachi 3:1-5 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

² But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. ³ He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, ⁴ and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.

⁵ “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.

What will the nessenger do (verse 1)?

Who will “come to his temple” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, “who can endure the day of his coming” (verse 2)?

What will the Lord have men bring offerings in (verse 3)?

Whose offerings will be “acceptable to the Lord” (verse 4)?

What do the sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, defrauders, oppressors and people who deprive foreigners of justice have in common in their relationship to the Lord (verse 5)?

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

Mark 1:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, ² as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way”—
³ “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

⁴ And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Who is the good new about (verse 1)?

Who will prepare the way (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “make straight paths for him” (verse 3)?

What did John the Baptist preach (verse 4)?

Where were those who confessed their sins baptized (verse 5)?

What did John the Baptist wear (verse 6)?

What was his message (verse 7)?

What will the one who comes after baptize with (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, when telling about the Lord coming, what is the difference between Malachi asking “who can endure the day of his coming” in Malachi 3:1-5 and Mark saying “the beginning of the good news about Jesus” in Mark 1:1-8?

Acts 19:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples ² and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³ So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

⁴ Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.

⁸ Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

Where did Paul find some disciples (verse 1)?

How did they respond to his question “did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed” (verse 2)?

What baptism had they received (verse 3)?

In your opinion, how did John’s baptism prepare the people to “believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus” (verse 4)?

What did the Ephesian disciples do when they heard about Jesus (verse 5)?

When did they speak in tongues and prophesy (verse 6)?

How many Ephesian disciples were there (verse 7)?

How long did Paul speak boldly in the synagogue (verse 8)?

Why did Paul leave the synagogue (verse 9)?

How long did Paul have discussions in the hall of Tyrannus (verses 9 and 10)?

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

In your opinion, how is the prophecy of Malachi 3:1-5 about sending a messenger to prepare the way fulfilled by the actions of the twelve Ephesian disciples in Acts 19:1-10?

In your opinion, how is the prophecy of John the Baptist in Mark 1:1-8 about the One that would follow him proven true by the Ephesian disciples in Acts 19:1-10?

Ephesians 1:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

How does Paul describe himself (verse 1)?

Who is the source of the “grace and peace” that Paul salutes the Ephesian faithful with (verse 2)?

How had the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” blessed Paul and the Ephesian faithful (and the faithful of today as well) (verse 3)?

What were the faithful chosen to be (verse 4)?

How are the faithful adopted (verse 5)?

What has God our Father “freely given us in the One he loves” (verse 6)?

Through what do the faithful have redemption (verse 7)?

What mystery is going to be accomplished in Christ when the times reach their fulfillment (verses 9 and 10)?

How does the plan of the One who chose the faithful work out (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “be for the praise of his glory” (verse 12)?

When are the faithful “included in Christ” (verse 13)?

What does the deposit of the Holy Spirit guarantee (verses 13 and 14)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, defrauders, oppressors and people who deprive foreigners of justice who the Lord Almighty will testify against in Malachi 3:1-5 and the “faithful in Christ Jesus” and those who were marked with a seal “the promised Holy Spirit” in Ephesians 1:1-14?

In your opinion, how does Ephesians 1:1-14 help us understand the power of the One that John the Baptist said in Mark 1:1-8 was coming after him?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s introduction to his letter in Ephesians 1:1-14 illustrate what resulted from the first twelve disciples receiving the baptizim of the Lord Jesus in Acts 19:1-10?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Malachi, Mark, Acts and Ephesians help us understand about how to move from worrying about the Lord’s coming to have grace and peace “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”?

How can we join Mark in proclaiming “good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)