June 6, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Responding to Circumstances and to God

Responding to Circumstances and to God

Lamentations 3:17-26 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is.
¹⁸ So I say, “My splendor is gone
    and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”

¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰ I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹ Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.

 

What has Lamentations’ author been deprived of (verse 17)?

What has happened to “all that I had hoped from the Lord” (verse 18)?

What does the author remember (verse 19)?

How does the author’s soul respond (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what can verse 21 teach us about a way we can change our outlook when things are hard (verse 21)?

Why are “we not consumed” (verse 22)?

What is “new every morning” (verse 23)?

Who is the author going to wait for (verse 24)?

Who is the Lord “good to” (verse 25)?

How should we wait for “the salvation of the Lord” (verse 26)?

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

Mark 13:9-13 - New International Version (NIV)

⁹ “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. ¹¹ Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

¹² “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ¹³ Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

What will happen to the disciples (verse 9)?

Why will the disciples stand “before governors and kings” (verse 9)?

Where must the gospel be preached (verse 10)?

What were the disciples not to “worry beforehand” about (verse 11)?

Who will be speaking when they “say whatever is given to you” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what could be strong enough to overwhelm the bonds of brothers and fathers (verse 12)?

How will children react to parents (verse 12)?

Who will hate the disciples (verse 13)?

Who will be saved (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how are the disciples’ future in Mark 13:9-13 and the circumstances of the author in Lamentations 3:17-26 similar? How is their reason for hope also similar?      

Acts 8:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ And Saul approved of their killing him.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. ² Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. ³ But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

⁴ Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. ⁵ Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. ⁶ When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. ⁷ For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. ⁸ So there was great joy in that city.

What did Saul approve of (verse 1)?

Who did the “great persecution” break out against (verse 1)?

Where did “all except the apostles” scatter (verse 1)?

Who buried and mourned deeply for Stephen (verses 2)?

What did Saul begin to do (verse 3)?

Who “preached to word wherever they went” (verse 4)?

What did Philip do in “a city in Samaria” (verse 5)?

How did the crowds react to Philip (verse 6)?

Where was there “great joy” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what do the affliction and hope in Lamentations 3:17-26 and the mourning and joy in Acts 8:1-8 teach us?

In your opinion, how are the warnings of Jesus to the disciples in Mark 13:9-13 related to the events of Acts 8:1-8? 

2 Corinthians 12:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. ² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. ³ And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— ⁴ was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. ⁵ I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. ⁶ Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, ⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What must Paul do (verse 1)?

Where was the “man in Christ” caught up to (verse 2)?

What did the man hear (verse 4)?

What will Paul boast about himself (verse 5)?

Why would Paul not be a fool if he boasted (verse 6)?

What was Paul given to keep him “from becoming conceited” (verse 7)?

How many times did Paul pray for “the Lord to take it away” (verse 8)?

Where is God’s power made perfect (verse 9)?

Why will Paul boast “all the more gladly” about his weaknesses (verse 9)?

In your opinion, do you think that Paul mourned the thorn even while he boasted about his weaknesses (verse 9)?

When is Paul strong (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what is different between the author of Lamentations 3:17-26 waiting “quietly for the salvation of the Lord” and Paul boasting “all the more gladly about my weaknesses” in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10?  How are they related?

In your opinion, what does 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 teach us about the strength that it takes to stand “firm to the end” as the disciples were instructed to do in Mark 13:9-13? 

In your opinion, what can we learn from the fact that Paul, called by his Hebrew name of Saul in Acts 8:1-8, exercised strength and power in persecution but in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, as the recipient of persecution, boasts of weaknesses? 

In your opinion, how are the events of these passages from Lamentations, Mark, Acts and 2 Corinthians similar to the events of today? 

In your opinion, how should our response to the circumstances of our lives be different from our response to God in our lives?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 30, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Seeking and Testing

Seeking and Testing

2 Chronicles 15:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. ² He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. ⁴ But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. ⁵ In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. ⁶ One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

⁸ When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

⁹ Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

Who “came on Azariah son of Oded” (verse 1)?

Who will the Lord be found by (verse 2)?

Who will the Lord forsake (verse 2)?

Where did Israel turn “in their distress” (verse 4)?

Why was it not safe to travel (verse 5)?

Why were nations and cities “being crushed” (verse 6)?

What will happen if Asa, Judah and Benjamin are “strong and do not give up” (verse 7)?

When did Asa take “courage” (verse 8)?

What did Asa do after he “took courage” (verse 8)?

Why had people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon settled among Judah and Benjamins (verse 9)?

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

Mark 13:1-8 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

² “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

⁵ Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁸ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

What did the disciple tell Jesus about the temple (verse 1)?

What did Jesus say would happen (verse 2)?

Where was Jesus sitting when Peter, James, John and Andrew privately ask Him the question (verse 3)?

In your opinion, were Peter, James, John and Andrew asking about when the temple would be destroyed, or were they asking about the end of times (verse 4)?

What were they to “watch out” for (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why would many claim “I am he” (verse 6)?

What are we not to do when we hear of “wars and rumors of wars” (verse 7)?

What does Jesus say that nation rising against nation, earthquakes, and famines are (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, how are the time of distress in 2 Chronicles 15:1-9 and the “beginning of the birth pains” in Mark 13:1-8 similar?      

Acts 5:20-26 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

²¹ At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. ²² But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, ²³ “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” ²⁴ On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.

²⁵ Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” ²⁶ At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.

What are the apostles to do “in the temple courts” (verse 20)?

When did the apostles enter “the temple courts” (verse 21)?

Who did the Sanhedrin send for (verse 21)?

What did the officers report (verses 22 and 23)?

Who was “wondering what this might lead to” (verse 24)?

Where were the men they had “put in jail” (verse 25)?

What did the captain and his officers do (verse 26)?

Why did they “not use force” (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, how are the apostles telling people “all about this new life” in Acts 5:20-26 similar to Asa, in 2 Chronicles 15:1-9 when he removed the idols and repaired the alter “in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple”?  How is the telling different from the removing and repairing?

In your opinion, what does the fact that the care takers of the “magnificent buildings” that made up the temple that Jesus referred to in Mark 13:1-8 were against the message of the apostles in Acts 5:20-26 teach us about Jesus’ warning to Peter, James, John and Andrew to “watch out that no one deceives you” in Mark 13:1-8?

1 John 4:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

⁴ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵ They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

What should we “test the spirits” to determine (verse 1)?

Who has “gone out into the world” (verse 1)?

How can we “recognize the Spirit of God” (verse 2)?

What is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?

Where is the “spirit of the antichrist” (verse 3)?

How have Christians overcome the antichrists (verse 4)?

Why does the world listen to antichrists (verse 5)?

What do people of God do (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how does Azariah’s message to Asa about seeking and forsaking in 2 Chronicles 15:1-9 demonstrate why the test of the spirits that 1 John 4:1-6 requires is needed today?

In your opinion, how much of John’s command that we test the spirits in 1 John 4:1-6 came as a result of what he learned from Jesus in Mark 13:1-8? 

In your opinion, who, if you apply the test of the spirits that John commands in 1 John 4:1-6, would be the false prophets in Acts 5:20-26? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Chronicles, Mark, Acts and 1 John teach us about how we should respond to the “birth pains” of today? 

In your opinion, what importance does testing the spirits have in seeking God today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 23, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Giving and Receiving for God’s Glory

Giving and Receiving for God’s Glory

Amos 5:4-15 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ This is what the Lord says to Israel:

“Seek me and live;
⁵     do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,
    do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
    and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
⁶ Seek the Lord and live,
    or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;
it will devour them,
    and Bethel will have no one to quench it.

⁷ There are those who turn justice into bitterness
    and cast righteousness to the ground.

⁸ He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
    who turns midnight into dawn
    and darkens day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.
⁹ With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
    and brings the fortified city to ruin.

¹⁰ There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court
    and detest the one who tells the truth.

¹¹ You levy a straw tax on the poor
    and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
    you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
    you will not drink their wine.
¹² For I know how many are your offenses
    and how great your sins.

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes
    and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
¹³ Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
    for the times are evil.

¹⁴ Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
¹⁵ Hate evil, love good;
    maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy
    on the remnant of Joseph.

Who does Israel need to seek in order to live (verse 4)?

What will happen to Bethel (verse 5)?

What will Bethel not have (verse 6)?

Who “made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why would someone “hate the one who upholds justice in court” (verse 10)?

Who will not live in the stone mansions they have built (verse 11)?

What does the Lord know (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why would the prudent “keep quiet in such times” (verse 13)?

What is to be loved (verse 15)?

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

Mark 12:38-44 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Where did Jesus sit (verse 41)?

What did He watch (verse 41)?

Who “threw in large amounts” (verse 41)?

What did the poor widow put in (verse 42)?

How did Jesus compare what the poor widow put in to “all the others” (verse 43)?

What did the poor widow put in (verse 44)?

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

In your opinion, how is the poor widow of Mark 12:38-44 living out the command of God to Israel given in Amos 5:4-15?    

Acts 20:32-38 – New International Version (NIV)

³² “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³ I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. ³⁵ In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. ³⁷ They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. ³⁸ What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

What can God and “the word of his grace” do (verse 32)?

In your opinion, why did Paul say “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing” (verse 33)?

How were the needs of Paul and his companions supplied (verse 34)?

Who said “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (verse 35)?

When did Paul knell down with them and pray (verse 36)?

How did they respond to Paul (verse 37)?

Why were they most grieved (verse 38)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the rich people of Israel who “levy a straw tax on the poor” in Amos 5:4-15 and Paul in Acts 20:32-38?

In your opinion, what can the poor woman in Mark 12:38-44 who gave “all she had to live on” teach us about the quote of Jesus by Paul in Acts 20:32-38, “it is more blessed to give than to receive”?

Philippians 4:10-20 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

¹⁴ Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. ¹⁵ Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; ¹⁶ for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. ¹⁷ Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. ¹⁸ I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

²⁰ To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

What did Paul rejoice “greatly in the Lord” about (verse 10)?

How does Paul’s circumstances affect his contentment (verse 11)?

What secret has Paul learned (verse 12)?

How can Paul do this (verse 13)?

What did the Philippians share with Paul (verse 14)?

What did the Philippian church do that no other church did (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says he desires “that more is being credited to your account” (verse 17)?

How does Paul feel about the gifts that the Philippian church sent to him (verse 18)?

How will God meet the needs of the Philippian church (verse 19)?

Who does Paul give the glory to (verse 20)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between what the poor in Amos 5:4-15 gave and what the Philippian church in Philippians 4:10-20 gave?

In your opinion, how are Philippian church in Philippians 4:10-20 and the poor woman of Mark 12:38-44 similar? 

In your opinion, why did Paul emphasize in Acts 20:32-38 that he had not accepted anything from the church at Ephesus, but in Philippians 4:10-20 he “greatly rejoiced” in the fact that he had received a gift from the Philippian church? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Amos, Mark, Acts and Philippians teach us about giving and receiving?

In your opinion, how can we apply these passages to understanding ways in which we can bring “glory” to our God and Father today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 16, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Permanent Priesthood

 Permanent Priesthood

Psalm 110 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The Lord says to my lord:

“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”

² The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,
    “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
³ Your troops will be willing
    on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor,
    your young men will come to you
    like dew from the morning’s womb.

⁴ The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁵ The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
⁶ He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
    and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
⁷ He will drink from a brook along the way,
    and so he will lift his head high.

What is the Lord going to do for “my lord” (verse 1)?

From where is the Lord extending the “mighty scepter” (verse 2)?

How will “your young men” be arrayed (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to be a priest “in the order of Melchizedek” (verse 4)?

Who will “crush kings on the day of his wrath” (verse 5)?

What will the Lord judge (verse 6)?

How will the Lord lift His head (verse 7)?

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

Mark 12:35-37 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
    under your feet.”’

³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Where was Jesus teaching (verse 35)?

What question did Jesus ask (verse 35)?

How was David speaking (verse 36)?

In your opinion, in the quote “the Lord said to my Lord” who is the first Lord?  And who is the second Lord? (verse 36)?

How was the large crowd listening (verse 37)?

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

In your opinion, what would the already disgruntled “teachers of the law” of Mark 12:35-37 have thought about what Jesus was implying or claiming when He quoted the first verse of Psalm 110 in Mark 12:35-37?    

Acts 24:1-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. ² When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. ³ Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. ⁴ But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

⁵ “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect ⁶ and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.  ⁸ By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

⁹ The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

¹⁰ When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense. ¹¹ You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹² My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. ¹³ And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. ¹⁴ However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, ¹⁵ and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. ¹⁶ So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

Who went to Caesarea to bring “charges against Paul before the governor” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why did Tertullus begin his presentation with “we have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation” (verse 2)?  Was it true?

How did Tertullus “acknowledge this” (verse 3)?

What did Tertullus want Felix to do “briefly” (verse 4)?

How did Tertullus describe Paul (verse 5)? 

What was Paul accused of doing (verse 6)?

How is Felix to “learn the truth about all these charges” (verse 8)?

What did the other Jews assert (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why is Paul’s beginning “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation” so much different that Tertullus’s in verse 2 (verse 10)?

When did Paul say he went “up to Jerusalem to worship” (verse 11)?

How did Paul respond to the charges Tertullus made against him in verse 6 (verse 12)?

How did Paul respond to the charges Tertullus made against him in verse 5 (verse 14)?

What did Paul claim to believe (verse 14)?

What did Paul hope for (verse 15)?

What does Paul strive for (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how does Psalm 110’s discussion of God’s troops being arrayed “in holy splendor” enrich our understanding of the meeting of Paul the prisoner (and Christian warrior) meeting with Felix in Acts 24:1-16?

In your opinion, what part does Paul in Acts 24:1-16 play in the fulfillment of the prophecy of David’s Psalm that Jesus quotes in Mark 12:35-37?

Hebrews 7:11-28 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? ¹² For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. ¹³ He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. ¹⁵ And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶ one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸ The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless ¹⁹ (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

²⁰ And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, ²¹ but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
    ‘You are a priest forever.’”

²² Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

²³ Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴ but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶ Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

What are the two orders of priesthood that Paul lists (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why must the law change if the priesthood changes (verse 12)?

What has no one from the tribe of the person being discussed ever done (verse 13)?

Where has “our Lord” descended from (verse 14)?

What do the two orders of priests become priests “on the basis of” (verse 16)?

Why was the “former regulation” set aside (verse 18)?

How do we “draw near to God” (verse 19)?

What has the Lord sworn (verse 21)?

What has Jesus become (verse 22)?

Why have there been many priests (verse 23)?

Why does Jesus have a “permanent priesthood” (verse 24)?

Who is Jesus able to “save completely” (verse 25)?

How is Jesus “unlike the other high priests” (verse 27)?

Who does the law appoint as high priests (verse 28)?

Who has been “made perfect forever” (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, how is the image of Jesus as the perfect high priest as presented by Paul in Hebrews 7:11-28 enhanced by the prophecy of Psalm 110?

In your opinion, why does Jesus, as He taught in the temple courts in Mark 12:35-37 discuss the part of Psalm 110’s prophecy that deals with ruling instead of the part that deals with priesthood while when Paul quotes from the same Psalm in Hebrews 7:11-28 he quotes the part about priesthood and not the part that deals with ruling? 

In your opinion, how do you think Ananias, the high priest who went to Paul’s trial in Caesarea in Acts 24:1-16, would have responded to what Paul said about the priesthood in Hebrews 7:11-28?  How does Ananias being there before Felix prove the differences between the priesthood of those appointed by the law and the priesthood of the One appointed by the oath? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalms, Mark, Acts and Hebrews teach us about how truly different Jesus is from what we in the world normally expect of a leader?

In your opinion, how should we respond today to the One who is sitting at the right hand of the Father until makes His enemies “a footstool for your feet”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)