October 18, 2020 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Witnesses of Love

Witnesses of Love


Deuteronomy 8:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. ² Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴ Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

⁶ Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; ⁸ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; ⁹ a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

Why were the Israelites to “be careful to follow every command I am giving you today” (verse 1?

Who led the Israelites for forty years in the wilderness (verse 2)?

What does man not live on alone (verse 3)?

What does man live on (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did the clothes not wear out and the feet not swell (verse 4)?

How does God discipline the Israelites (verse 5)?

How should the Israelites “observe the commands of the Lord your God” (verse 6)?

Where is the Lord bringing the Israelites (verse 7)?

What are the Israelites to do after they “have eaten and are satisfied” (verse 8)?

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

Mark 6:30-44 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹ Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

³² So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. ³³ But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵ By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. ³⁶ Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

³⁸ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

³⁹ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³ and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

What did the apostles report to Jesus (verse 30)?

Why did Jesus want them to come with Him by themselves (verse 31)?

How did they get to the solitary place (verse 32)?

In your opinion, how could the people know where Jesus was going and get there ahead of them (verse 33)?

Why did Jesus have compassion on the people (verse 34)?

What did the disciples want Jesus to do (verses 35 and 36)?

Why did the disciples object to giving the people something to eat (verse 37)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus tell the disciples to find out how many loaves they had (verse 38)?

How were the people to sit down (verse 39)?

What did Jesus do before he broke the loaves and gave them and the fish to the disciples to distribute (verse 41)?

How much did the people eat (verse 42)?

What did the disciples pick up (verse 43)?

How many men had eaten (verse 44)?

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

In your opinion, what should the people who ate until they were satisfied in Mark 6:30-44 have learned from the instruction given to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8:1-10?

Acts 6:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. ² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. ³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them ⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Why did the Hellenistic Jews complain against the Hebraic Jews (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why did the Twelve say “it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables” (verse 2)?

What were the seven who were chosen to be full of (verse 3)?

How would the responsibilities be divided (verses 3 and 4)?

How did the group respond to the proposal (verse 5)?

What did the disciples do when the men were presented (verse 6)?

In your opinion, did the division of responsibilities have anything to do with the Word of God spreading (verse 7)?  Why or why not?

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

In your opinion, how is the functioning of the early church as described in Acts 6:1-7 similar to the pattern that God laid out for the Israelite people through Deuteronomy 8:1-10 (with special attention paid to verse 10)?

In your opinion, how is what the early church began doing on a daily basis in Acts 6:1-7 related to what Jesus did in a single instance in Mark 6:30-44?  What are the challenges in each situation?

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What is someone like who speaks “in the tongues of men or of angels” but does not have love (verse 1)?

Who is nothing (verse 2)?

What does someone gain who gives everything they have to the poor and their body to hardship so that they can boast, but does not have love (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what is love (verses 4 through 7)?

What does not fail (verse 8)?

What do we do in part (verse 9)?

When does the “in part” disappear (verse 10)?

How do we see now (verse 12)?

When will I be fully known [be careful, this is a trick question] (verse 12)?

What three remain (verse 13)?

What is the greatest (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how is the love that Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 demonstrated by God in Deuteronomy 8:1-10?  How will the Israelites demonstrate their love?

In your opinion, what do we learn about the love that Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 from Jesus in Mark 6:30-44?

In your opinion, what do the actions of the early church in Acts 6:1-7 teach us about how to minister with the faith, hope and love that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 “remain”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Mark, Acts and 1 Corinthians teach us about what is important?

In your opinion, how can we who have been blessed by God live as effective witnesses in the world today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 22, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – What are You Waiting For

What are You Waiting For


Genesis 32:22-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Who did Jacob send across the ford of the Jabbok (verse 22?

What else did Jacob send across the stream (verse 23)?

What did Jacob do until daybreak (verse 24)?

Why did the man touch “the socket of Jacob’s hip” (verse 25)?

What did Jacob want before he released the man (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why did the man ask for Jacob’s name (verse 27)?

Why was Jacob’s name to be changed to Israel (verse 28)?

In your opinion, why does the man not tell Jacob his name (verse 29)?

Why does Jacob call the place Peniel (verse 30)?

Why was Jacob limping (verse 31)?

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

Mark 6:14-29 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

¹⁵ Others said, “He is Elijah.”

And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”

¹⁶ But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, ²⁰ because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹ Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³ And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

²⁴ She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵ At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

²⁶ The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, ²⁸ and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹ On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Why had King Herod head about Jesus (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why would people say that Jesus was Elijah or a prophet (verse 15)?

Who did Herod think Jesus was (verse 16)?

Where did Herod order John to be put (verse 17)?

What had John been saying (verse 18)?

Who nursed a grudge against John (verse 19)?

In your opinion, how could Herod like to listen to John, even if he feared him (verse 20)?

What did Herod do on his birthday (verse 21)?

How did the daughter of Herodias please Herod and the guests (verse 22)?

What did Herod promise the daughter of Herodias (verse 23)?

Who told the daughter of Herodias to ask for the head of John the Baptist (verse 24)?

How did the daughter of Herodias want the head to be presented to her (verse 25)?

Why did Herod give her the head of John the Baptist even though he was greatly distressed (verse 26)?

What did John’s disciples do when they heard about what had happened (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what could be similar between Jacob’s emotions as he anticipated meeting his brother, who he had overcome years before, in Genesis 32:22-32 and Herod’s emotions as he heard about Jesus and thought that He was John the Baptist raised from the dead in Mark 6:14-29?

Acts 22:1-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”

² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ ¹¹ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³ He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

What was Paul asking people to listen to (verse 1)?

How did the people respond when Paul spoke in Aramaic (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does Paul mention that he was a Jew, who studied under Gamaliel and was zealous for God (verse 3)?

Who did Paul persecute (verse 4)?

Why did Paul obtain letters from the high priest and the council (verse 5)?

What happened about noon as Paul was nearing Damascus (verse 6)?

What did the voice Paul heard say (verse 7)?

Whose voice was it that Paul heard (verse 8)?

How did Paul’s companions perceive what was happening (verse 9)?

What was Paul to do (verse 10)?

Why did Paul’s companions lead him by the hand (verse 11)?

Who was Ananias (verse 12)?

When was Paul able to see (verse 13)?

Who had chosen Paul (verse 14)?

What was Paul to be (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why did Ananias say “what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jacob being given a new name in Genesis 32:22-32 similar to Paul getting up, being baptized and calling on God’s name in Acts 22:1-16?

In your opinion, how might Herod’s reaction to hearing about Jesus and thinking that He was John the Baptist, who he had liked to listen to but still had killed in Mark 6:14-29 been different if he’d followed the instructions Ananias gave to Paul in Acts 22:1-16?

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

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

What are we surrounded by (verse 1)?

What should Christians throw off (verse 1)?

How should we run “the race marked out for us” (verse 1)?

Who should we fix our eyes on (verse 2)?

Why did Jesus endure the cross (verse 2)?

Where did Jesus sit (verse 2)?

What can help us “not grow weary and lose heart” (verse 3)?

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

In your opinion, how is Jacob struggling with God before getting a new name in Genesis 32:22-32 similar to our throwing “off everything that hinders” as Paul instructs in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, how is Herodias in Mark 6:14-29 an example of what can happen if we don’t “throw off . . . the sin that so easily entangles” as instructed by Paul in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, how might Ananias’s instruction to Paul to “Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” in Acts 22:1-16 have influenced Paul as he was instructing us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” in Hebrews 12:1-3?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, Mark, Acts and Hebrews teach us about struggling with, holding grudges, seeing the light and persevering?

In your opinion, how can we run our race to Jesus without becoming weary or losing heart?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 15, 2020 – Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Dusting and Reconciling

Dusting and Reconciling


Nehemiah 5:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. ² Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”

³ Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”

⁴ Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”

⁶ When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. ⁷ I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them ⁸ and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.

⁹ So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? ¹⁰ I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! ¹¹ Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”

¹² “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”

Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. ¹³ I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!”

At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

Who did the “men and their wives”  raise a great outcry against (verse 1)?

What were they doing “to get grain during the famine” (verses 2 and 3)?

How were they paying “the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards” (verse 4)?

Why were they powerless over their sons and daughters slavery (verse 5)?

How did Nehemiah respond to the outcry and charges (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why did Nehemiah “ponder them” in his mind before accusing the nobles and officials (verse 7)?

What did the nobles and officials have to say (verse 8)?

How does Nehemiah say the Israelites should walk (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why does Nehemiah say it is okay to lend but not to charge interest (verse 10)?

What were the nobles and officials to give back (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why did Nehemiah make the nobles and officials “take an oath to do what they had promised” (verse 12)?

What does Nehemiah want the people who do not keep their promise to be like (verse 13)?

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

Mark 6:6b-13 - New International Version (NIV)

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷ Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

⁸ These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

What did Jesus do when He went “from village to village” (verse 6)?

Who did Jesus give the Twelve authority over when He sent them out “two by two” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why were the Twelve to “take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts” (verse 8)?

Where were the Twelve to stay when they entered a town (verse 10)?

Why were the Twelve to “shake the dust off” their feet if a place did not welcome them (verse 11)?

What did the Twelve preach (verse 12)?

How did the Twelve treat the sick people (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how is Nehemiah’s shaking out the folds of his robe in Nehemiah 5:1-13 different from the Twelve shaking the dust off their feet in Mark 6:6b-13?  How are they similar?

Acts 20:17-31 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. ¹⁸ When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. ¹⁹ I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. ²⁰ You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. ²¹ I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

²⁵ “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. ²⁶ Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. ²⁷ For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. ²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. ³⁰ Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

Who did Paul send for (verse 17)?

What was Paul in the midst of when he “served the Lord with great humility and with tears” (verse 19)?

Where did Paul teach them (verse 20)?

What was Paul’s declaration to “both the Jews and Greeks” (verse 21)?

Why is Paul going to Jerusalem (verse 22)?

What was Paul being warned of by the Holy Spirit “in every city” (verse 23)?

What task did the Lord Jesus give Paul (verse 24)?

In your opinion, how could Paul know that “none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again” (verse 25)?

Why does Paul declare that he is “innocent of the blood of any of you” (verses 26 and 27)?

How did God purchase the “church of God” (verse 28)?

Who will come in and “not spare the flock” when Paul leaves (verse 29)?

What will men of their own number do to draw away disciples (verse 30)?

How long had Paul been warning them (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, how is Nehemiah’s shaking out his robe in Nehemiah 5:1-13 similar to Paul saying that he “is innocent of the blood” of any of them in Acts 20:17-31?

In your opinion, how is what the Twelve preached in Mark 6:6b-13 different from what Paul preached in Acts 20:17-30?

Ephesians 2:11-22 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

In your opinion, why would “those who call themselves “the circumcision” call the Gentiles the uncircumcised (verse 11)?

What were the Gentiles without when they were “separate from Christ” (verse 12)?

How were they “brought near” (verse 13)?

Who has “destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (verse 14)?

What was Jesus’s purpose (verse 15)?

Who did Jesus want to reconcile “to God through the cross” (verse 16)?

What did Jesus preach to those who were far away and those who were near (verse 17)?

Who do “both” have access to (verse 18)?

What happened to the people who were “foreigners and strangers” (verse 19)?

What is Christ Jesus (verse 20)?

How is “the whole building” joined together (verse 21)?

Who is “being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, how is the reconciliation between the circumcised and the uncircumcised in Ephesians 2:11-22 different from the reconciliation of the nobles and officials with the poorer Israelites in Nehemiah 5:1-13?

In your opinion, how is the repentance that Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach in Mark 6:6b-13 related to the reconciliation with God that Paul writes about in Ephesians 2:11-22?

In your opinion, what do you think that Paul, who declared in Acts 20:17-31 that “savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock”, knew that caused him to write Ephesians 2:11-22 to the Christians in Ephesus?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Nehemiah, Mark, Acts and Ephesians teach us about how to honor Paul’s instruction to be on guard against savage wolves, but still be reconciled to those who once were foreigners and strangers but are now fellow members of God’s household?

In your opinion, how do we know when to “shake the dust off” and when to reconcile?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)