A Kingdom with Joy
Ezra
1:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)
1 In the
first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by
Jeremiah, the Lord moved
the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his
realm and also to put it in writing:
2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“‘The Lord, the
God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me
to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any
of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of
the Lord, the God of Israel,
the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. 4 And
in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to
provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with
freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”
When
did the Lord move the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia (verse 1)?
Why did the Lord move the heart of Cyrus, king
of Persia (verse 1)?
What did Cyrus, king of Persia, do when the
Lord moved his heart (verse 1)?
In your opinion, why did Cyrus say “the
Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth” (verse
2)?
What did Cyrus say the Lord had appointed him
to do (verse 2)?
Who can “go up to Jerusalem in Judah and
build the temple of the Lord” (verse 3)?
How does Cyrus bless those who go to Jerusalem
to build the temple (verse 3)?
What are the people around those who are going
to build the temple supposed to do (verse 4)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
John 1:1-13 - New
International Version (NIV)
1 In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through
him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been
made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the
light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He
came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him
all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came
only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming
into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the
world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He
came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet
to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born
not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of
God.
Who
was “in the beginning . . . with God” (verse 1)?
In your opinion, why does John stress
that Jesus was “with God in the beginning” (verse 2)?
What was made through Him (verse 3)?
What was the life that was in Him (verse 4)?
Where does the light shine (verse 5)?
Why was John sent “as a witness to
testify concerning that light” (verses 6 through 8)?
What does the “true light” do
(verse 9)?
Who did not recognize the “true light”
(verse 10)?
Who did not receive Him (verse 11)?
Who did He give “the right to become
children of God” (verses 12 and 13)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
1
John 1:1-4 –
New International Version (NIV)
1 That which was
from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim
concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we
have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal
life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We
proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have
fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son,
Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy
complete.
Where was “that which” from (verse 1)?
What is John doing with “which we have . . . heard
. . . seen with our eyes . . . looked at . . . touched” (verse 1)?
In your opinion, who is the “Word of life”
(verse 1)?
How did John interact with the “life” that
appeared (verse 2)?
Where was the “eternal life” (verse 2)?
Why did John proclaim what he saw and
heard (verse
3)?
Who
does John want to have fellowship with (verse 3)?
Who
does John already have fellowship with (verse 3)?
Why
does John write (verse 4)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In
your opinion, how does this passage show the interaction of the people (boots
on the ground) and the Lord?
Revelation 1:1-8 – New
International Version (NIV)
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to
show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending
his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to
everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus
Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of
this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is
written in it, because the time is near.
4 John,
To the seven
churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to
you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the
seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus
Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and
the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his
blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and
priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and
ever! Amen.
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of
him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the
Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Who is the revelation from (verse 1)?
How was the revelation made known (verse 1)?
What did John testify to (verse 2)?
Why is the “one who reads aloud” and those who
“hear it and take to heart what is written in it” blessed (verse 3)?
In your opinion, why does John address the letter to “the
seven churches in the province of Asia” (verse 4)?
Who is the blessing of grace and peace from (verses 4
and 5)?
What has Jesus Christ made those He loves and has
freed from sins by His blood to be (verses 5 and 6)?
Who will see Him (verse 7)?
Who will “mourn because of him” (verse 7)?
How does God describe Himself in verse 8?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, how does this passage
show the interaction of the people (boots on the ground) and the Lord?
In your opinion, how is the call of Cyrus in Ezra
1:1-4 for those who want to participate to go to Jerusalem and build a temple
similar to the invitation of Jesus in John 1:1-13 for people to receive Him and
believe in His name and become “children of God” similar?
In your opinion, why
does John in his gospel (John 1:1-13) and in his letter (1 John 1:1-4) stress
that Jesus was “in the beginning” and “from the beginning”?
In your opinion, how is
the kingdom of God in Ezra 1:1-4 a foreshadowing of the kingdom of God
portrayed in Revelation 1:1-8 (please consider the circumstances and the outcomes)?
In your opinion, how is
the invitation to the reader of John 1:1-13 and the invitation of the reader of
Revelation 1:1-8 similar (please consider who the invitation is from and what
the invitation is to)?
In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezra,
John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about how we who have our boots on the
ground today can be freed from our pasts to become children of God in all
circumstances?
In your opinion, how can we, who have moved from
being just boots on the ground to a “kingdom and priests”, make “our
joy complete”?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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