March 7, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Heart Conditions

 Heart Conditions

Exodus 34:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. ² Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. ³ No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

⁴ So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. ⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

⁸ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. ⁹ “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

What words will the Lord write on the two tablets that Moses chisels out (verse 1)?

Where is Moses to present himself to the Lord (verse 2)?

Who is to come with Moses (verse 3)?

When did Moses go up Mount Sinai (verse 4)?

What did the Lord proclaim (verse 5)?

What is “the Lord, the Lord the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger” abounding in (verse 6)?

Who does the Lord not leave unpunished (verse 7)?

How did Moses react to the Lord (verse 8)?

What does Moses ask for the Lord to do for this “stiff-necked people” (verse 9)?

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

Mark 10:1-12 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

² Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ “What did Moses command you?” he replied.

⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

⁵ “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰ When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. ¹¹ He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. ¹² And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

What did Jesus do when the crowds came to Him (verse 1)?

How did the Pharisees test Jesus (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask “what did Moses command you” (verse 3)?

What did the Pharisees say that Moses permitted (verse 4)?

Why did Jesus say that Moses wrote this law (verse 5)?

How did God make “them” (verse 6)?

Who is a man united to (verse 7)?

What do the two become (verse 8)?

What should “no one separate” (verse 9)?

When did the disciples ask Jesus about this (verse 10)?

When does a husband commit adultery (verse 11)?

When does a wife commit adultery (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how is being stiff-necked, like Moses described the people as being in Exodus 34:1-9, and having hard hearts, as Jesus described the people in Mark 10:1-12 similar?  How are they different?

Acts 28:23-28 – New International Version (NIV)

²³ They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. ²⁴ Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. ²⁵ They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶ “‘Go to this people and say,
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
²⁷ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
    they hardly hear with their ears,
    and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸ “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

What did Paul do “from morning till evening” (verse 23)?

How did they react to what Paul said (verse 24)?

What did those who disagreed do (verse 25)?

Who did Paul say spoke the truth (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “be ever hearing but never understanding” and “ever seeing but never perceiving” (verse 26)?

What has happened to “this people’s heart” (verse 27)?

Who will listen to “God’s salvation” (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, how does the reaction of the Jewish people to Paul in Acts 28:23-28 show the importance of the prayer of Moses in Exodus 34:1-9 for God to “forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance”?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s teaching in Acts 28:23-28 help us understand the process that causes a person’s heart to become hard enough to reject both God and spouse like Jesus discusses in Mark 10:1-12?

Hebrews 3:12-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ¹⁴ We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. ¹⁵ As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.”

¹⁶ Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? ¹⁷ And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? ¹⁹ So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

What does Paul warn the Hebrews not to have (verse 12)?

What does Paul say to do “so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (verse 13)?

How long are Christians to “hold our original conviction firmly” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, how is hearing God’s voice linked to hardening of hearts (verse 15)?

What is the hardening of hearts linked to (verse 15)?

Who “heard and rebelled” (verse 16)?

What happened to those that God was angry with for forty years (verse 17)?

Why were they unable to enter God’s rest (verses 18 and 19)?

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

In your opinion, what does Hebrews 3:12-19 teach us about how to react to the God that Exodus 34:1-9 says is “abounding in love and faithfulness” and who forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin, but does not let the guilty go unpunished? 

In your opinion, how does beginning a question with “is it lawful”, like the Pharisee’s question in Mark 10:1-12, demonstrate that the hardening of the heart “by sin’s deceitfulness, described in Hebrews 3:12-19 has already begun?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s quote “if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” in Hebrews 3:12-19 provide hope for all who might feel condemned by his quote in Acts 28:23-28 when he said, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”  For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Mark, Acts and Hebrews help us understand about how the condition of our heart effects our response to the generosity of God?

In your opinion, how can we “encourage one another daily” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 28, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Restoring Saltiness

Restoring Saltiness

Leviticus 21:16-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷ “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. ¹⁸ No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; ¹⁹ no man with a crippled foot or hand, ²⁰ or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles. ²¹ No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God. ²² He may eat the most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food; ²³ yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.’”

²⁴ So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

Who gave the instructions to Moses (verse 16)?

What could the generations of Aaron’s descendants who had defects not do (verse 17)?

What are some of the defects that are listed (verses 18, 19 and 20)?

What may the descendant of Aaron who has a defect not do (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why could the descendants with defects “eat the most holy food” even though they can’t present food offerings to the Lord (verse 22)?

What would someone with a defect approaching the curtain or approaching the alter do to the sanctuary (verse 23)?

Who makes the curtain, alter and sanctuary holy (verse 23)?

Who did Moses give these instructions to (verse 24)?

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

Mark 9:42-50 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴² “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. ⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.  ⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ where

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
    and the fire is not quenched.’

⁴⁹ Everyone will be salted with fire.

⁵⁰ “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

What is better than causing “one of these little ones – those who believe in me” to stumble (verse 42)?

Why should a hand that causes you to stumble be cut off (verse 43)?

What should you do if your foot causes you to stumble (verse 45)?

In your opinion, plucking out an eye keep a person from stumbling (verse 47)?

How does Jesus describe hell (verse 48)?

Who will be salted with fire (verse 49)?

What is good (verse 50)?

In your opinion, how can you make salt that has lost its saltiness salty again (verse 50)?

What are the disciples, and others who believe in Christ, to have (verse 50)?

How are Christians to be with each other (verse 50)?

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

In your opinion, why would Jesus in Mark 9:42-50 tell the disciples, and through the disciples us, to make ourselves defective and therefore, according to Leviticus 21:16-24 unable to “come near to offer the food of his God”?

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

¹ One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. ² Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴ Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹ When all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

When were Peter and John “going up to the temple” (verse 1)?

Who was “being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful” (verse 2)?

What did he ask Peter and John for (verse 3)?

Who said “Look at us” (verse 4)?

What did the man expect (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what would the man have felt when Peter said “silver or gold I do not have” (verse 6)?

How did Peter issue the command for the man to walk (verse 6)?

What did Peter do in addition to commanding the man to walk (verse 7)?

Who did the man go with after “he jumped to his feet and began to walk” (verse 8)?

What did people see him doing (verse 9)?

Why were the people “filled with wonder and amazement” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that the man of Acts 3:1-10 was forbidden by Leviticus 21:16-24 from coming near “to offer the food of his God” but after receiving the command from Peter to, “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” ended up entering the temple courts “walking and jumping, and praising God”?

In your opinion, does what happened in Acts 3:1-10 begin to teach us the answer to the question Jesus ask in Mark 9:42-50, “salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again”?

2 Corinthians 2:12-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, ¹³ I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? ¹⁷ Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

What did Paul find when he “went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ” (verse 12)?

Why did Paul not have peace of mind in Troas (verse 13)?

What does Paul thank God for (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is “the aroma of the knowledge of him” (verse 14)?

What two groups does Paul say he is “the pleasing aroma of Christ” among (verse 15)?

In your opinion, to which of the two groups is Paul the “aroma that brings death” and which is Paul the “aroma that brings life” (verse 16)?

How does Paul speak in Christ and “before God” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how are the two groups portrayed in Leviticus 21:16-24, those who can “come near to offer the food of his God” and those who can’t, different from the two groups portrayed in 2 Corinthians 2:12-17, “those who are being saved and those who are perishing”? 

In your opinion, is there an answer in 2 Corinthians 2:12-17 to the question that Jesus ask in Mark 9:42-50 “salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how do you make it salty again”?

In your opinion, which is a greater miracle, the healing of the man who was lame from birth in Acts 3:1-10 or accepting the “pleasing aroma of Christ” that brings life in 2 Corinthians 2:12-17?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Leviticus, Mark, Acts and 2 Corinthians teach us about the defects of people and how Jesus can transform them and restore saltiness, so that they are welcome into God’s holy presence?

In your opinion, how can we, individually and as a church, have “salt” among ourselves and be the “aroma that brings life” to others?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 21, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Giving Water

 

Giving Water

Genesis 24:6-21 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. ⁷ “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. ¹¹ He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

¹² Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. ¹⁶ The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

¹⁸ “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. ²¹ Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

Who did Abraham not want to be taken “back there” (verse 6)?

Why will the angel go before Abraham’s servant (verse 7)?

When would the servant be released from Abraham’s oath (verse 9)?

Where did the servant go (verse 10)?

When did the servant arrive at the spring (verse 11)?

What did the servant pray for (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why would the servant pray this very specific prayer “May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac” (verse 14)?

When did Rebekah come out (verse 15)?

What did Rebekah do (verse 16)?

What did the servant ask Rebekah (verse 17)?

How did Rebekah respond to the question (verse 18)?

How much water did Rebekah say she would draw for the camels (verse 19)?

How much water did Rebekah draw (verse 20)?

Why did the servant watch her (verse 21)?

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

Mark 9:38-41 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁸ “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

³⁹ “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, ⁴⁰ for whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

Why did John tell the person driving out demons to stop (verse 38)?

Why did Jesus tell John not to stop him (verse 39)?

Who is “for us” (verse 40)?

Who will not lose their reward (verse 41)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn from Rebekah in Genesis 24:6-21 about the reward Jesus says in Mark 9:38-41 that “anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose”?

Acts 18:24-28 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

²⁷ When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. ²⁸ For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.

Where did Apollos go to (verse 24)?

How was Apollos described (verse 24)?

How did Apollos teach about Jesus (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what did Apollos not know (verse 25)?

What did Priscilla and Aquila do (verse 26)?

In your opinion, why would “the brothers and sisters” in Ephesus encourage Apollos and write to the disciples in Achaia (verse 27)?

Who did Apollos help in Achaia (verse 27)?

How did Apollos prove to “his Jewish opponents in public debate” that Jesus was the Messiah (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, what are the similarities between the relationships of Priscilla, Aquila and Apollos in Acts 18:24-28 and Rebekah to the servant of Abraham in Genesis 24:6-21 of Rebekah to the servant of Abraham?

In your opinion is there anyone in Acts 18:24-28 who will receive the reward that Jesus promises in Mark 9:38-42 to “anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah”?  Why or why not?

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

⁵ What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. ⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Who is Paul addressing this message to (verse 1)?

Why could he not address them as “people who live by the Spirit” (verse 1)?

Why did he address them as “infants in Christ” (verse 1)?

What did Paul give them because they were not yet ready for “solid food” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why does jealousy and quarreling among the Corinthian Christians prove that they are “worldly” (verse 3)?

What does it show about the Corinthian Christians that some follow Paul and others follow Apollos (verse 4)?

What are Apollos and Paul (verse 5)?

Who made the seed (of faith) grow (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean in verse 7?

Who will be rewarded (verse 8)?

How does Paul describe the Corinthian Christians (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, what is similar about Rebekah giving Abraham’s servant water and then watering the camels in Genesis 24:6-21 and the work of Paul and Apollos in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9? 

In your opinion, what does Paul saying that Apollos watered the seed in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 do to enrich our understanding about the cup of water Jesus discusses in Mark 9:38-41?

In your opinion, which of the following from Acts 18:24-28 and 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 could be considered giving a disciple “a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah”?  Why or why not?

            Teaching about Jesus accurately,

Inviting Apollos home,

Explaining the way of God more accurately,

Encouraging Apollos to go to Achaia,

Refuting opponents in public debate,

Jealousy, quarreling,

Planting the seed,

Watering the seed,

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, Mark, Acts and 1 Corinthians teach us about the difference between immature and mature Christians?

In your opinion, how can we, individually and as a church, give disciples “a cup of water” in Jesus name because they “belong to the Messiah” now?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

February 14, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Rejecting or Accepting Service

 Rejecting or Accepting Service

1 Kings 12:1-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. ² When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. ³ So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: ⁴ “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵ Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

⁷ They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

⁸ But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. ⁹ He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. ¹¹ My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”

¹² Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” ¹³ The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, ¹⁴ he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the Lord, to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

“What share do we have in David,
    what part in Jesse’s son?
To your tents, Israel!
    Look after your own house, David!”

So the Israelites went home. ¹⁷ But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.

Why did Israel go to Shechem (verse 1)?

Why was Jeroboam in Egypt (verse 2)?

What did Jeroboam and “the whole assembly of Israel” say to Rehoboam (verses 3 and 4)?

What did Rehoboam ask Jeroboam to do (verse 5)?

Who was the first group of people Rehoboam ask for advice (verse 6)?

In your opinion, how could Rehoboam becoming a servant to the people cause them to become his servants (verse 7)?

How did Rehoboam react to the advice he received (verse 8)?

Who was the second group of people Rehoboam ask for advice (verse 8)?

What was their reply (verses 10 and 11)?

How did Rehoboam answer Jeroboam and all the people after the three days had passed (verse 13)?

Whose word was fulfilled in all that happened (verse 15)?

How did “all Israel” answer king Rehoboam (verse 16)?

Where did the Israelites go (verse 16)?

Who did Rehoboam still rule over (verse 17)?

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

Mark 9:30-37 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁰ They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, ³¹ because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” ³² But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

³³ They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

³⁵ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

³⁶ He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Why did Jesus “not want anyone to know where they were” (verses 30 and 31)?

Where did Jesus tell the disciples that “the Son of Man is going to be delivered into” (verse 31)?

What would happen three days after He was killed (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why were the disciples afraid to ask Jesus what He meant (verse 32)?

What did Jesus ask them when they were in the house in Capernaum (verse 33)?

Why did the disciples keep quiet (verse 34)?

What did Jesus tell the Twelve (verse 35)?

Who did Jesus take into His arms (verse 36)?

Who welcomes Jesus (verse 37)?

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

In your opinion, how is the advice of the elders who had served Rehoboam’s father in 1 Kings 12:1-17 similar to the instruction Jesus gave the disciples in Mark 9:30-37?  In your opinion, why were the disciples more like the young men who had grown up with Rehoboam?

Acts 4:23-31 – New International Version (NIV)

²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
    and the peoples plot in vain?
²⁶ The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.’

²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. ²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

What did Peter and John do “on their release” (verse 23)?

How did everyone react when they heard the report (verse 24)?

By who did they say God spoke “through the mouth of your servant, our father David” (verse 25)?

Who do the “kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together” against (verse 26)?

Who conspired “against your holy servant Jesus” (verse 27)?

What did those who conspired together do (verse 28)?

How did Peter, John, and those with them identify themselves to the Lord when they ask to be enabled “to speak your word with great boldness” (verse 29)?

What did they pray would happen “through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (verse 30)?

What happened after the people prayed (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, how are Jeroboam and those from Israel who told Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12:1-17 that they would serve him if he lightened their load different from Peter, John, and the people with them coming to God in prayer and asking the Lord to “enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness” in Acts 14:23-31?

In your opinion, how have Peter and John, who would have been with those arguing about “who was the greatest” in Mark 9:30-37, changed to have become the people who prayed in Acts 14:23-31 “Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness”?

1 Peter 4:7-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

What is near (verse 7)?

Why should we “love each other deeply” (verse 8)?

What should be offered “to one another” (verse 9)?

How should each one “use whatever gift you have received” (verse 10)?

Who should speak “as one who speaks the very words of God” (verse 11)?

How should the one who serves do so (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between how Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12:1-17 thought people would serve him and the service in 1 Peter 4:7-11 that Peter calls Christians to provide? 

In your opinion, what does Peter’s teaching in 1 Peter 4:7-11 that Christians should act “so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” show us that he learned from Jesus lesson “anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all” in Mark 9:30-37?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 4:7-11 reveal about the strength of the love that Peter and John had that enabled them to receive threats from those in power and then in Acts 4:23-31 pray “Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 1 Kings, Mark, Acts and 1 Peter teach us about the strength of the one being served and the one serving?  Is there difference in this from a worldly and a heavenly perspective?

In your opinion, how do we learn to serve so that God is praised?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)