Sunday, April 19, 2020

November 8, 2020 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – One by Choice




One by Choice


Ezekiel 28:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘In the pride of your heart
    you say, “I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
    in the heart of the seas.”
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
    though you think you are as wise as a god.
Are you wiser than Daniel?
    Is no secret hidden from you?
By your wisdom and understanding
    you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
    in your treasuries.
By your great skill in trading
    you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
    your heart has grown proud.

“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Because you think you are wise,
    as wise as a god,
I am going to bring foreigners against you,
    the most ruthless of nations;
they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom
    and pierce your shining splendor.
They will bring you down to the pit,
    and you will die a violent death
    in the heart of the seas.
Will you then say, “I am a god,”
    in the presence of those who kill you?
You will be but a mortal, not a god,
    in the hands of those who slay you.
10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised
    at the hands of foreigners.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Who does the Lord want Ezekiel to speak to (verses 1 and 2)?

Where does the ruler of Tyre say I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas” (verse 2)?

How has he gained wealth and amassed gold and silver (verse 4)?

What has his wealth caused (verse 5)?

Why is the Sovereign Lord going to bring foreigners against him (verses 6 and 7)?

What will the foreigners do to him (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why will the presence of those who want to kill him change his attitude about being a god (verse 9)?

Who has declared the death of the ruler (verse 10)?

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

Mark 7:24-30 - New International Version (NIV)

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Where did Jesus go (verse 24)?

What did Jesus not want anyone to know (verse 24)?

Who came to Jesus “as soon as she heard about him” (verse 25)?

What was the woman (verse 26)?

What did she beg for (verse 26)?

Who said “it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss is to the dogs” (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why would the woman have been able to respond “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs” (verse 28)?

How does Jesus respond to the woman’s statement (verse 29)?

What did the woman find when she got home (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, how is the ruler of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-10 different in his view of God from the view of the woman from the vicinity of Tyre in Mark 7:24-30?

Acts 12:19b-24 – New International Version (NIV)

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.

Where did Herod go (verse 19)?

Why did the people of Tyre and Sidon join together to seek an audience with Herod (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that Herod wore his royal robes and sat on his throne to deliver the public address to the people (verse 21)?

What did the people shout (verse 22)?

Why did the angel strike Herod down (verse 23)?

What happened to the word of God (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how is the ruler of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-10 similar to Herod in Acts 12:19b-24 in attitude?  How are they similar in destiny?

In your opinion, how is the woman from the region of Tyre in Mark 7:24-30 different from Herod in Acts 12:19b-24 in attitude?  How are they different in destiny?

Galatians 3:19-29 – New International Version (NIV)

19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

In your opinion, why was the law “added because of transgressions” (verse 19)?

Is the law “opposed to the promises of God” (verse 21)?

What did Scripture lock up “under the control of sin” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, what is “what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ” (verse 22)?

What held us in custody until the coming “of this faith” (verse 23)?

What was the law “until Christ came that we might be justified by faith” (verse 24)?

In your opinion, why are we no longer under a guardian “now that this faith has come” (verse 25)?

What are all in Christ Jesus through faith (verse 26)?

Who is clothed with Christ (verse 27)?

Who is one in Christ Jesus (verse 28)?

Who are “heirs according to the promise” (verse 29)?

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


In your opinion, how is the Phoenician woman in Mark 7:24-30 proof of Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:19-29 that “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”?

In your opinion, how does Herod being stricken in Acts 12:19b-24 show the need for the law to bring us into custody until we are justified by faith as Paul proclaimed in Galatians 3:19-29?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, Mark, Acts and Galatians teach us about the relationship between our view of ourselves and our salvation by faith?

In your opinion, what can we who are “one in Christ Jesus” do to help the Word spread and flourish today?


(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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