December 18, 2022 – Love with Us

Love with Us

Isaiah 7:10-16 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹ “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”

¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. ¹⁵ He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶ for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 

Who spoke to Ahaz (verse 10)?

What was Ahaz to ask for (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why did Ahaz refuse to ask, was it that he did not want to put “the Lord to the test” or was there something more (verse 12)?

Who did Isaiah address his response to (verse 13)?

What sign was the Lord going to give (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why will the son be called Immanuel (verse 14)?

What will he be eating when he “knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right” (verse 15)?

What will happen to the “land of the two kings you dread” (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how can we see God’s love in this passage?

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
    shine forth ² before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
    come and save us.

³ Restore us, O God;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

⁴ How long, Lord God Almighty,
    will your anger smolder
    against the prayers of your people?
⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears;
    you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
⁶ You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
    and our enemies mock us.

⁷ Restore us, God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

¹⁷ Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
    the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
¹⁸ Then we will not turn away from you;
    revive us, and we will call on your name.

¹⁹ Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

Who sits “enthroned between the cherubim” (verse 1)?

What was the Psalmist’s request (verse 2)?

What does the Psalmist say will happen if God’s face shines on Israel (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to say that God’s anger smolders “against the prayers of your people” (verse 4)?

What are God’s people being made to drink “by the bowlful” (verse 5)?

Who has made Israel “an object of derision to our neighbors” (verse 6)?

How can Israel be saved (verse 7)?

What will God do for the “son of man” (verse 17)?

When will Israel call on God’s name (verse 18)?

Who does the psalmist ask to restore Israel (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, how can we see God’s love in this passage?

In your opinion, how are Ahaz in Isaiah 7:10-16 and the psalmist in Psalms 80:1-7, 17-19 different?

Romans 1:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

How does Paul describe himself (verse 1)?

What does Paul say he is “set apart for” (verse 1)?

How had God promised the gospel “beforehand” (verse 2)?

Who was God’s Son “in his earthly life” (verse 3)?

How was Jesus “through the Spirit of holiness . . . appointed the Son of God in power” (verse 4)?

What was Paul to do because of the apostleship he received from Jesus (verse 5)?

Who is Paul writing to (verse 7)?

How does Paul bless the readers (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, how can we see God’s love in this passage?

In your opinion, what does Romans 1:1-7 help us understand about the one that God said through Isaiah 7:10-16 would be Immanuel (God with us)?

In your opinion, how does God exceed the request for Him to shine His face on Israel in Psalms 80:1-7, 17-19 by Paul’s call to apostleship in Romans 1:1-7?

Matthew 1:18-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

How does Matthew describe Jesus (verse 18)?

What was found before Mary and Joseph “came together” (verse 18)?

Why was Joseph going to “divorce her quietly” (verse 19)?

How did the angel appear to Joseph (verse 20)?

What was Joseph not to be afraid to do (verse 20)?

Why is Joseph to name the son born to Mary Jesus (verse 21)?

What was this to fulfill (verse 22)?

What is the son of the virgin to be called (verse 23)?

What did Joseph do when he woke up (verse 24)?

What did Joseph name Mary’s son (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how can we see God’s love in this passage?

In your opinion, why would God promise a sign to a king who rejected Him in Isaiah 7:10-16 that would find its ultimate fulfillment in Matthew 1:18-25 in the birth of a son who “will save his people from their sins”?

In your opinion, how would the psalmist, who described God as sitting enthroned between the cherubim in Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, have a different view of a relationship with God than Matthew, who wrote Matthew 1:18-25 and who knew God with Us? 

In your opinion, how is God’s love, which is lived out in Matthew 1:18-25, also expressed by Paul in Romans 1:1-7?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Psalms, Romans and Matthew teach us about how God loves us?

In your opinion, as we learn that God is with us, how can we respond to His love?

In your opinion, how do we share the love of “Immanuel” with others?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)