Thankful Rejoicing
Isaiah 12:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)
1 In that day you will say:
“I will praise you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my
strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord,
for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among
you.”
Who will the remnant of God’s people who’ll return to Israel praise
(verse 1)?
What happened after
the Lord’s anger “turned away” (verse 1)?
Why will Israel not
be afraid (verse 2)?
Who is Israel’s
strength and defense (verse 2)?
Where will Israel
draw water (verse 3)?
What will Israel “make
known among the nations” (verse 4)?
Why will Israel “sing
to the Lord” (verse 5)?
Who is great (verse
6)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what
in this passage can we be thankful for?
Luke 2:13-14 - New International Version (NIV)
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel,
praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Who suddenly appeared (verse 13)?
What were
they doing (verse 13)?
Who did they give “glory” to (verse 14)?
Where were those blessed with peace (verse 14)?
How were those blessed with peace described (verse 14)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what in this passage can we be thankful for?
In your opinion, how do the “heavenly host” who appear in Luke
2:13-14 provide an example for Israel for what Isaiah 12:1-6 says they will do “in
that day”?
Philippians 4:4-9 - New International Version (NIV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in
me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Who does Paul instruct the Philippians
to “rejoice in” (verse 4)?
What should “be evident to all” (verse 5)?
Where is
the Lord (verse 5)?
What should the Philippian Christians replace
anxiousness with (verse 6)?
What “will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus” (verse 7)?
What should the Philippians think about (verse 8)?
What should the Philippians do with what they heard
from or saw in Paul (verse 9)?
Who does Paul pray will be with them (verse 10)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what in this passage can we be
thankful for?
In your opinion, how does Jesus’s fulfillment of the
prophecy in Isaiah 12:1-6 that “the Lord . . . he has become my salvation” help
us understand why in Philippians 4:4-9 Paul instructs Christians to “rejoice
in the Lord always”?
In your
opinion, how could following Paul’s instructions in Philippians 4:4-9 help us
receive the “peace” that the heavenly host in Luke 2:13-14 said would bless
those “on whom his favor rests”?
Luke 3:7-18 – New International Version
(NIV)
7 John said to the crowds coming out to
be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the
coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our
father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children
for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees,
and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown
into the fire.”
10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with
the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,”
they asked, “what should we do?”
13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he
told them.
14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people
falsely—be content with your pay.”
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering
in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John
answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more
powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to
untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His
winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather
the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable
fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the
people and proclaimed the good news to them.
What were the crowds coming to John for (verse 7)?
What were the crowds fleeing (verse 7)?
What were they to produce (verse 8)?
Who could God raise up from the stones (verse 8)?
Which trees will “be cut down and thrown into the fire” (verse
9)?
What should the crowds do (verses 10 and 11)?
How did John answer the tax collectors (verses 12 and 13)?
Who was to “be content with your pay” (verse 14)?
What were the people “wondering in their hearts”
(verse 15)?
How will the one who John says will come, baptize (verse 16)?
Where will the wheat be gathered (verse 17)?
What did John proclaim (verse 18)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what
in this passage can we be thankful for?
In your opinion, how is the One who comes after John in Luke 3:7-18 revealed
to be more than just one who “is my strength and my defense” as
proclaimed in Isaiah 12:1-6?
In
your opinion, how is the “peace” that the heavenly host of Luke 2:13-14 said
would rest on those favored by God beginning to be revealed by John in Luke
3:7-18?
In your opinion, how
can the limitations that John gave to those who ask “what should we do” in
Luke 3:7-18 be replaced with the opportunities that Paul opens when he
instructs us to “rejoice” and to “think about” the true, noble,
right, pure, lovely and admirable things?
In your opinion, what do these passages from Isiah, Luke, Philippians
and Luke teach us about how our peace is tied to looking to and praising God?
In your
opinion, how can we be thankful for and “rejoice” in today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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