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 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)
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