Hard Hearts and New Attitudes
Deuteronomy 30:11-20 - New International Version (NIV)
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or
beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have
to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may
obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask,
“Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No,
the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may
obey it.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and
destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to
him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and
increase, and the Lord your God
will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you
are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I
declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live
long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you
that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose
life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you
may love the Lord your God, listen
to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord
is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to
your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
What is not too
difficult (verse 11)?
Why won’t they
need to ask “who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so
we may obey it” (verse 12)?
Where is the
word (verse 14)?
In your
opinion, what does Moses mean when he says “I set before you today life and
prosperity, death and destruction” (verse
15)?
Who are the
the Israelites to love and walk in obedience to (verse 16)?
What will
happen if the Israelites are drawn to “bow down to other gods and worship
them” (verses 17 and 18)?
Who did Moses
call as witnesses (verse 19)?
In your
opinion, how do the Israelites “choose life” (verse 19)?
Who is their
life (verse 20)?
In your
opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Mark 3:1-6 - New
International Version (NIV)
1 Another
time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some
of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely
to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the
man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good
or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their
stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out,
and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went
out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
Who was in the
synagogue (verse 1)?
Why were some of
the people in the synagogue watching Jesus closely (verse 2)?
What did Jesus
ask the man to do (verse 3)?
In your
opinion, “which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save
a life or to kill” (verse 4)?
How did the
people respond to Jesus question (verse 4)?
What
distressed Jesus (verse 5)?
When was the
man’s hand restored (verse 5)?
In your
opinion, was there anything unusual about the Pharisees plotting with the
Herodians (verse 6)?
In your opinion, how would a refusal by the
Israelite people to love the Lord as commanded by Moses in Deuteronomy 30:11-20
be similar to the refusal of the people Jesus ask the question about the
Sabbath to answer it in Mark 3:1-6?
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this
Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to
Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your
children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them,
“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who
accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to
their number that day.
What has God “made
this Jesus, who you crucified” (verse 36)?
In your opinion, why
were the people “cut to the heart” (verse 37)?
How did Peter answer the question “brothers, what shall
we do” (verses 37 and 38)?
What gift will the people who follow Peter’s instruction receive
(verse 38)?
Who is the promise for (verse 39)?
What did Peter plead for the people to do (verse 40)?
Who was baptized (verse 41)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does the command of Moses in
Deuteronomy 30:11-20 to “love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to
him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and
increase, and the Lord your God
will bless you in the land you are entering to possess” similar to the plea of Peter to “save yourselves from
this corrupt generation” in Acts 2:36-41?
In your
opinion, how is the man who stretched out his hand and was healed by Jesus in
Mark 3:1-6 similar to the 3,000 people who accepted the message of Peter and
where baptized in Acts 2:36-41?
Ephesians
4:17-32 –
New International Version (NIV)
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no
longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They
are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because
of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having
lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to
indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when
you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that
is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way
of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful
desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and
to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness.
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully
to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In
your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and
do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been
stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their
own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only
what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may
benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit
of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get
rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every
form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Who does Paul
tell the Ephesian Christians they must no longer live like (verse 17)?
In your
opinion, what does it mean that the Gentiles are “darkened in their
understanding” (verse 18)?
Why have the
Gentiles “given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind
of impurity” (verse 19)?
When did the Ephesian
Christians learn about a different way of life (verses 20 and 21)?
How is the old
self being corrupted (verse 22)?
Where were the
Ephesian Christians to be “made new” (verse 23)?
What was the
new self created to be like (verse 24)?
Why were the
Ephesian Christians to “speak truthfully to your neighbor” (verse 25)?
What should
they not give the devil (verse 27)?
Why must those
who have been stealing work (verse
28)?
What is to come from the Ephesian Christians mouths (verse 29)?
Why were they
sealed with the Holy Spirit (verse 30)?
How are they
to forgive (verse 32)?
In your
opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your
opinion, how would the result of the change that Paul is asking the Ephesian
Christians to make in Ephesians 4:17-32 similar to the result of obedience to the
command that Moses gave the Israelite people in Deuteronomy 30:11-20?
In
your opinion, who, in Mark 3:1-6, is most like the Gentiles that Paul warns us to
no longer live like in Ephesians 4:17-32?
What is the best demonstration of replacing the old self with the new?
In your
opinion, what can we learn from the fact that Paul describes the Gentiles in
Ephesians 4:17-32 as being ignorant because of “hardening of the hearts” and
Luke describes the people listening to Peter in Acts 2:36-41 as being “cut
to the heart”?
In your
opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Mark, Acts and Ephesians teach
us about why it is difficult to be sensitive to the Word of God even though He
is very near to us?
In your
opinion, what can we do today to follow Paul’s instruction to “be made new in
the attitude of your minds”?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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