Redeemed and Fruitful
Isaiah 59:15-60:2 - New International
Version (NIV)
15 Truth is nowhere to
be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked
and was displeased
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one,
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm achieved salvation for him,
and his own righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands their due.
19 From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun, they will revere
his glory.
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath of the Lord drives along.
20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
to
those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you,
will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your
mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the
lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
60 1 “Arise, shine, for your light has
come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon
you
and his glory appears over you.
Why was the Lord displeased with what He looked at (verse 15)?
Who could intervene (verse 16)?
What did the Lord put on as His breastplate (verse
17)?
Who will receive the Lord’s wrath (verse 18)?
How will the Lord come (verse 19)?
Who will the Redeemer come to “in Jacob”
(verse 20)?
How long will the words that God’s Spirit put
in “your mouth” be on the lips of the descendants of “your children” (verse
21)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the
source of salvation?
John 15:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)
1 “I
am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He
cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more
fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I
have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in
you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in
you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If
you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers;
such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask
whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This
is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to
be my disciples.
Who
is “the gardener” (verse 1)?
What
happens to branches that “bear fruit” (verse 2)?
Why
are those listening to Jesus “clean” (verse 3)?
Where
are the listeners to “remain” (verse 4)?
What is necessary to “bear fruit”
(verse 4)?
How much can be accomplished “apart
from” Jesus (verse 5)?
What are those who “do not remain in”
like (verse 6)?
In your opinion, what does Jesus mean
when He says “if you remain in me and my words remain in you” (verse 7)?
What is “to my Father’s glory”
(verse 8)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In
your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the source of salvation?
In
your opinion, what message does John 15:1-8 have for people like those in
Isaiah 59:15-60:2 who see the Redemer and “repent of their sins”?
Romans
11:17-32 - New
International Version (NIV)
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though
a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in
the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider
yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You
do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You
will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted.
But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do
not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not
spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God:
sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you
continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And
if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to
graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of
an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into
a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural
branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this
mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be
conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full
number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this
way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:
“The deliverer will come
from Zion;
he
will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your
sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the
patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are
irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time
disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their
disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient
in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to
you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to
disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
In your opinion, who is the “wild olive shoot”
that has been grafted in and shares the “nourishing sap from the olive root”
(verse 17)?
Who does
the root support (verse 18)?
Why were
branches “broken off” (verse 20)?
Who will
God not spare (verse 21)?
Who is God kind to (verse 22)?
What will happen if the branches that were broken off
“do not persist in unbelief” (verse 23)?
How long has Israel “experienced a hardening in part”
(verse 25)?
In your opinion, who is “all Israel” that God
will turn “godlessness away” from (verse 26)?
Who is “loved on account of the patriarchs” (verse
28)?
What is “irrevocable” (verse 29)?
How does verse 32 help us understand verses 30 and 31?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what
does this passage teach us about the source of salvation?
In your opinion, how is the message in
Isaiah 59:15-60:2 to “Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins”
expanded by Paul in Romans 11:17-32?
In your opinion, how does Paul’s
discussion in Romans 11:17-32 about being “grafted in” build on Jesus’s
instruction in John 15:1-8 to “remain in”?
Galatians 5:16-26 – New International Version (NIV)
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the
desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is
contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They
are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you
want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are
not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies,
and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this
will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness
and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those
who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep
in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become
conceited, provoking and envying each other.
When
will people “not gratify the desires of the flesh” (verse 16)?
What
does the flesh desire (verse 17)?
What does the Spirit desire (verse
17)?
What are Christians “not to do” (verse
17)?
When are people “not under the law”
(verse 18)?
What are obvious (verse 19)?
Who “will not inherit the kingdom of
God” (verse 21)?
What is “love, joy, peace,
forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”
(verses 22 and 23)?
Who has “crucified the flesh with its passions
and desires” (verse 24)?
What should we do “since we live by
the Spirit” (verse 25)?
Who should we not provoke and envy (verse
26)?
In your opinion, what is the basic
message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage
teach us about the source of salvation?
In your opinion, how does Galatians
5:16-25 take the conflict of Romans 11:17-32 between the elect and their
enemies and show that it is a conflict within each individual?
In your opinion, how does Galatians
5:16-25 help us understand what Jesus means by “if you remain in me and
my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”
in John 15:1-8?
In your opinion, what do these passages
from Isaiah, John, Romans and Galatians teach us about what comes after
repentance?
In your opinion, what fruit do we bear to bring glory
to the Father today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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