Jeremiah 17:7-14 – New International Version (NIV)
7 “But blessed is the one
who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree
planted by the water
that sends out its roots by
the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear
fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful
above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds
deserve.”
11 Like a partridge that hatches
eggs it did not lay
are those who gain riches by
unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
and in the end they will
prove to be fools.
12 A glorious
throne, exalted from the beginning,
is the place of our
sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel;
all who forsake you will
be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
because they have forsaken
the Lord,
the spring of living water.
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
save me and I will be
saved,
for you are the one I praise.
Who is blessed (verse 7)?
What are the blessed like (verses 7 and 8)?
How is the heart described (verse 9)?
What will the Lord do after searching the heart and examining the
mind (verse 10)?
What will those who “gain
riches by unjust means” prove to be in the end (verse 11)?
Where is “our
sanctuary” (verse 12)?
What will happen to
those who forsake the Lord (verse 13)?
When will we be
saved (verse 14)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what does this
passage teach us about Christian giving?
Matthew 6:1-4 - New International
Version (NIV)
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others
to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in
heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by
others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when
you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees
what is done in secret, will reward you.
Why should we not
practice our “righteousness in front of others to be seen by them” (verse
1)?
Who announces
their giving to the needy with trumpets (verse 2)?
Why do they announce it with trumpets (verse 2)?
What have they received in full (verse 2)?
When should the left hand not know what the right hand is doing (verse 3)?
Who knows what is done “in secret” (verse 4)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about Christian giving?
In your opinion, how does Matthew 6:1-4 help us understand what the Lord looks
when He searches the hearts and examines the minds “to reward each person
according to their conduct” in Jeremiah 17:7-14?
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 - New International
Version (NIV)
6 Remember
this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows
generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should
give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God
is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times,
having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As
it is written:
“They
have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”
10 Now he
who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and
increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your
righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way
so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your
generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This
service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s
people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because
of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise
God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel
of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with
everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their
hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given
you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Who will “reap generously” (verse
6)?
What should each person give (verse 7)?
Why can
we “abound in every good work” (verse 8)?
Whose “righteousness endures forever” (verse 9)?
Who will “enlarge the harvest of your righteousness”
(verse 10)?
What will “result in thanksgiving to God” (verse
11)?
What two things does “this service that you perform”
do (verse 12)?
Why will others “praise God” (verse 13)?
Why will their hearts go out for you in their prayers
(verse 14)?
What should we thank God for (verse 15)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about
Christian giving?
In your opinion, what is the connection between being
blessed for trusting the Lord, Jeremiah 17:7-14, and sowing generously as instructed
by 2 Corinthians 9:6-15?
In your
opinion, how do Paul’s instructions about being a cheerful giver in 2
Corinthians 9:6-15 align with Jesus’s instructions about giving in Matthew
6:1-4?
2 Corinthians 13:5-14
- New International
Version (NIV)
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the
faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in
you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust
that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now
we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see
that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though
we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything
against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We are glad
whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you
may be fully restored. 10 This is why I write these things
when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of
authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing
you down.
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for
full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in
peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All
God’s people here send their greetings.
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love
of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Why should Christians “exam” themselves (verse 5)?
What did Paul trust (verse 6)?
Why did Paul “pray to God that you will not do anything
wrong” (verse 7)?
What can Paul not do (verse 8)?
What is Paul’s prayer (verse 9)?
Why did God give Paul authority (verse 10)?
What are Christians to “strive for” (verse 11)?
How should Christians “greet one another” (verse 12)?
Who sends “their greetings” (verse 13)?
What does Paul want to “be with you all” (verse 14)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion,
what does this passage teach us about Christian giving?
In your opinion, what does Jeremiah 17:7-14 prepare us to look for when we
follow 2 Corinthians 13:5-14’s instruction to examine ourselves?
In
your opinion, how would following the instructions of 2 Corinthians 13:5-14
help us follow Jesus’s instructions about giving in Matthew 6:1-4?
In your opinion, how
does understanding the outcomes of sowing generously in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 help
us strive for what Paul instructs in 2 Corinthians 13:5-14?
In your opinion, what do these Scriptures from Jeremiah, Matthew,
2 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians teach us about examining how and what we sow?
In your
opinion, how can we be cheerful givers today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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