Saturday, September 21, 2024

September 29, 2024 – A Study of Matthew – Transforming Love

Transforming Love

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

1 Why do the nations conspire
    and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
    and the rulers band together
    against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
“Let us break their chains
    and throw off their shackles.”

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
    the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
    and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.
Ask me,
    and I will make the nations your inheritance,
    the ends of the earth your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron;
    you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
    be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear
    and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
    and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
    Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Who conspires (verse 1)?

Who bands together “against the Lord and against his anointed” (verse 2)?

What do they want to “throw off” (verse 3)?

How does “the One enthroned in heaven” respond (verse 4)?

How do they react to “his wrath” (verse 5)?

Who has the Lord installed “on Zion, my holy mountain” (verse 6)?

What is the Lord’s decree (verse 7)?

When will the Lord make “the nations your inheritance” (verse 8)?

How will they be broken (verse 9)?

Who should “be warned” (verse 10)?

How should the Lord’s rule be celebrated (verse 11)?

Who is blessed (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the Son of God?

Isaiah 11:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

Where will the shoot “come up from” (verse 1)?

What will “rest on him” (verse 2)?

What will He “delight in” (verse 3)?

How will He “strike the earth” (verse 4)?

What will “be his belt” (verse 5)?

Where will the lamb live (verse 6)?

What will the lion eat (verse 7)?

Where will the young child put its hand (verse 8)?

What will the earth be filled with “as the waters cover the sea” (verse 9)?

Who will “stand as a banner for the peoples” (verse 10)?

Who will the Lord “reach out his hand a second time to reclaim” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the Son of God?

In your opinion, why would the kings of the earth band together against the Lord and against his anointed” in Psalm 2:1-12 when Isaiah 11:1-11 says that His Anointed will have “the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord” and will judge with righteousness?

Matthew 3:13-17 – New International Version (NIV)

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Where did Jesus come to (verse 13)?

What did Jesus come to do (verse 13)?

How did John react to Jesus’s purpose (verse 14)?

What did John think he needed (verse 14)?

How did John react when Jesus said, “Let it be so now, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (verse 15)?

When was heaven opened (verse 16)?

What did Jesus see (verse 16)?

What did the voice from heaven say (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the Son of God?

In your opinion, how does Psalm 2:1-12 help us understand reluctance of John to baptize Jesus in Matthew 3:13-17? 

In your opinion, how is the shoot that “will come up from the stump of Jesse” in Isaiah 11:1-11 revealed to be so much more with the words from heaven in Matthew 3:13-17?

Ephesians 1:18-2:10 – New International Version (NIV)

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Which eyes did Paul pray “may be enlightened” (verse 18)?

What did Paul pray that the enlightenment would enable Christians to know (verses 18 and 19)?

What did God do when he exerted His “mighty strength” (verses 19 and 20)?

What is Christ seated far above (verse 21)?

Where is Christ appointed (verse 22)?

What is Christ’s body (verses 22 and 23)?

How had Christians been in their “transgressions and sins” (verse 1)?

What did Christians used to follow (verse 2)?

What were Christians “by nature deserving of” (verse 3)?

What did God, who has “great love for us” and is “rich in mercy” do “even when we were dead in transgressions” (verses 4 and 5)?

How have we been saved (verse 5)?

Where did God seat us after raising “us up with Christ” (verse 6)?

What will God show “in the coming ages” (verse 7)?

What “is the gift of God” (verse 8)?

Why can no one boast (verse 9)?

What has God “prepared in advance for us to do” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the Son of God?

In your opinion, how does Ephesian 1:18-2:10 help us understand the blessings received by those who follow the recommendation to “take refuge” in the Son in Psalm 2:1-12?

In your opinion, how is the transformation accomplished by the power of God as described in Ephesians 1:18-2:10 shown in Isaiah 11:1-11 to be only the beginning of the transformations that God’s power will accomplish?

In your opinion, how does the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:13-17 anticipate the mighty power of God raising Jesus from the dead and seating Him in the heavenly realms as described in Ephesians 1:18-2:10?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalms, Isaiah, Matthew, and Ephesians teach us about what the Son of God has and will accomplish?

In your opinion, how do our lives today show that the eyes of our hearts have been enlightened?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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